QB78 vs the Crosman 160

Jump to latest Follow Reply
J

Jonah

Member
Aug 12, 2015
664
34
Lake Buchanan, Texas, United States
QB78 vs. Crosman 160



Seeing all the ads for the QB78 in .177 I thought I’d just buy one and play with it and maybe play with some of the mods for the QB78. Ordered a .177 for $59.95, it was about $10 cheaper than the .22s. When it was delivered, lo and behold, it turned out to be a .22. 



I shot it with the sights that came on the gun and was surprised at how well it shot. So mounted a scope and I did even better. Since my 3rd variant Crosman 160 just has the s331 receiver sight on it, I thought I’d pit the QB against the 160. Mounted a Williams WGRS-54 receiver sight on the QB and got it sighted in. 



I consider my 160 to be very accurate with JSB 15.89 pellets, so I also used the JSB in the QB. Is the QB as accurate as the 160? With me shooting both guns with the same pellet and both with receiver sights, I would be hard pressed to be able to measure any difference in accuracy between the two guns. Maybe I just got an extra good QB, but to say I am impressed with the QB would be an understatement. So far I’ve only shot the QB about 125 times, but I am very happy with the QB.



Will I shoot the QB more often than the 160? Heck no! But when I do shoot the QB, I will know if I miss that it is my fault.



I think I need to find a bulk fill cap for the QB since I usually bulk the 160. 
 
I've written much about QBs in multiple books and forum posts, and even more about Crosman 160s in books, articles, and forum posts. I'd venture to say QB barrels are more "a roll of the dice" in quality and accuracy than 160s; the only 160 barrels not impressively accurate being those that were brutalized by rug-rats, or neglected into rusty bores. 

BTW, my first writing on QBs was a chapter titledQB, Or Not QB? in my first book, The Manic Compressive. That was after I purchased five brand-new QB78s for $159 from a distributor (in Florida, I think). Only two held pressure, all had shavings in the valve and lock-works, and some had misaligned screw drillings. Chinese quality control has improved over the ensuing decades.

My 1950's vintage .22 Sears & Roebuck Ted Williams Match Rifle (Crosman 160 variant). It averages .87" groups at 50 yards.-

TW 160 trophies.1622145014.JPG




The first QB I converted to regulated high-pressure air bottle averaged .70-.80" groups at 50 yards.-

AR Nats trophy.1622145067.JPG




And my current QB averages 3/4" at fifty.-

T A QB LS.1622145652.JPG



 
Upvote 0
I had read a lot about the QB barrels being a lottery. For the price, I figured I could not loose much buying one. I guess I got a good one. However, I will admit that only having the QB two days I haven't had much of a chance to shoot past about 25 yards. I live on the shores of Lake Buchanan and for the last month, the winds have played the devil with any kind of shooting past about 25 yards. One day shooting my .25 Marauder at 50 yards, I had to hold between one and two mil dots into the wind. Even the .22 Gauntlet was requiring about the same hold into the wind. At between 500 and 600 fps with the QB and the 160, I don't know how much I would have had to hold into the wind. I didn't even try with the QB or 160.

My 160 would do very well at 50 yards probably like yours, but only if I let you do the shooting. I can hold 5/8" minus at 50 yards with the .25 Marauder most of the time. Have even done better on occasion, but I wouldn't bet money I could do it on demand. I'd definitely mount the scope on the 160 if I were to try to see what it would do at 50 yards. I'm not even sure that I have even thought about shooting the 160 at 50 yards. I enjoy shooting the 160 so much with the receiver sight that I only had the scope on it one time.

I would never convert the 160 to HPA, but may decide to do so with the QB. I really haven't thought too much about what mods I may want to do to the QB.
 
Upvote 0
That’s great, I’m glad to hear you got a good one. Glad for you plus it’s encouraging in general because the last two new production QBs that went through my hands represented the only 2 bad barrels I’ve encountered in nearly a decade. I was able to fix one with a cast lead lap but the other one has been re-deployed as a tomato stake.

If you don’t mind the effort, the trigger can be made into one rivaling those at 5x the price. It’s a proper drop sear design…just polish the contact points and install a weaker return spring. I also like to swap in a spring plunger in place of the overtravel screw to give a tactile wall just before the sear releases.

And yes, they really sing on HPA as Ron demonstrated above. I reach for one of mine almost every day. Enjoy it and let us know if you have any questions.
 
Upvote 0
I went for the Crosman/Sheridan 2260MB steel breech, as the QB78 and its related horror stories brought me to the 2260MB. I put a GravMag 9S 10shot Gravity Fed Magazine that connects to the Dove tail over the Breech, this 10shot Gravity Fed Magazine is Offset to one side off of centered to creates a Good Loading angle even when Scoped, or when using a Peep sight as I do. Love the Quick Follow up shots. I also did a trigger polish/tune, adjustable trigger spring, and deburr and Polish cocking slot, and Co2 tube. The Gravity Fed Magazine feeds Flawlessly every time, it is a great 22xx upgrade.
 
Upvote 0
I purchased the QB78s in .177 from Amazon about 6 weeks ago, it's my first co2 air rifle and maybe I got lucky because it's accurate at 15 yards which is all the room I have in my backyard. How do I check my rifle for flaws? For less than $60 I don't have much to lose but it is a fun plinker and I've been satisfied with the groups. I've only shot it with one co2 and plan to shoot it this weekend with two co2's. My only problem is loosening the co2 cap because I have muscular dystrophy and have to use pliers to unscrew it, I don't have the strength in my hands to remove it without the pliers. I'd like to find a replacement that's more like the one I use with my 2240 and 2300s which I tighten and loosen with a quarter. Is there something out there that'll work with the QB78s?
 
Upvote 0
I don't know of any cap similar to the one on the 2240. Since you need to use pliers, make sure to pad the jaws with a strip of leather so you don't chew up the cap. Make sure all the CO2 is gone by cocking the gun and shooting it without a pellet to get the last of the CO2 out and all you hear is the click of the hammer before you try to remove the cap.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu