New Purchase Crown or Raw

I had the same thoughts and questions. I was about to get a RAW and seeing some of the reviews with people with a RAW and Red Wolf and taking to a couple people, I got Ken at SPAW to set me up a Red Wolf instead. Just arrived a few days ago and my dovetail rings arrived today to put my scope on. I am pretty excited, even if I haven’t gotten to check it out yet. Just throwing that idea out there, and sharing what I did when I had the same exact thoughts.

I was faced with this same dilemma last year, except in .30 caliber. I ended up with the RAW HM1000X. I had the opportunity to shoot a friends blue laminate Crown in .30. Wow, what a gun. The Crown is just beautiful, ridiculously accurate, not too heavy, quiet and was a pleasure to shoot. I almost bought a Crown, but the RAW was one of those special guns I had dreamed of owning, hand made and built specifically for me. I have no regrets. I know what you’re going through deciding, it was a tough decision for me as both guns are, in my opinion, two of the nicest available. I don’t think you would go wrong with either one. I don’t think you could go wrong with the Daystate either, their reputation speaks for itself. Good luck with your decision!

I have more air rifles that I can name off hand. Among them I have the FX Crown, RedWold HP and the RAW hm 1000 LRT. Asking which one is best is difficult to answer as they are definitely among the best performers in my collection. All 3 shot well out of the box and with them all I’ll get single hole groups at 50 yards and not much worse at 100 yards. 

Pick whichever appeals to you and you won’t be sorry. I got both the RedWolf and RAW from Ken who is decent to deal with. 

I have more air rifles that I can name off hand. Among them I have the FX Crown, RedWold HP and the RAW hm 1000 LRT. Asking which one is best is difficult to answer as they are definitely among the best performers in my collection. All 3 shot well out of the box and with them all I’ll get single hole groups at 50 yards and not much worse at 100 yards. 

Pick whichever appeals to you and you won’t be sorry. I got both the RedWolf and RAW from Ken who is decent to deal with.

Click to expand...

Brian. 

I know you should not be jealous of another man’s possessions but gee whiz I’d love to shoot some of your guns. Thank you for the insight to the rest of us. Best wishes.

Tim

Crowns are a mass produced product, not in the same league as a RAW. Spend the extra money and have zero regrets.

Brian

The Crown has a larger capacity magazine which you really notice after having smaller ones.

RAW all the way 

I shoot and tune both.

RAW is a class apart if you are in the know 

You can gain a lot of useful information by just searching this forum. See for yourself just how many problems or complaints members have had with either of these. That by itself should make the decision easy. Uj

I'm fortunate enough to own both a Crown and RAW, each in .22. I've owned the RAW several years, and the Crown only a couple of months, so, my experience with it is limited. Frankly, I was not expecting great accuracy from the Crown, as I didn't trust the rather complex barrel system, containing more parts than I believe necessary, but part of the system that yields its utility of easy barrel changes. Well, it shoots great, so I was proven wrong. The RAW has always shot great, and I have had no problems with it. The RAW trigger is much better. I have my Crown trigger set up as single stage right now, I keep playing with it, but can't get a two-stage operation that satisfies me. Since your primary purpose is bench shooting, my recommendation is the RAW, without reservation. It's built like a tank, a few big parts vs. a lot of small parts (a bit oversimplified, but I think basically true). The cost of that robust build is a big, heavy rifle, but that's fine for bench use. It doesn't have the range of adjustment of the Crown, but again, not needed for your purpose, and adding to its simplicity. I have found, anything adjustable tends to be adjusted too much. 

You can gain a lot of useful information by just searching this forum. See for yourself just how many problems or complaints members have had with either of these. That by itself should make the decision easy. Uj

Click to expand...

That would only be true if sales volumes were comparable. If you sell 100,000 rifles a year and have a 1% defect rate you will see a lot more complaints than if you sell 5,000 rifles and have a 10% defect rate. Forums are remarkably bad at determining a manufacturer's actual defect rate. 



As far as RAW vs Crown, they really are different animals, similar only in accuracy. One is a custom hand made built-to-order rifle, the other is a production rifle. Both come with a host of advantages and disadvantages. Neither is really the wrong choice.

I was in the same position as you not too long ago, and went with the Crown for it's parts support (including after-market items), and modularity. The only real strike I would put against RAW is that they have been bought out by Airforce and are being pushed in a variety of directions. What that does to the quality and long term prospects nobody knows yet, but you should know it before investing in one of their rifles. 

You can gain a lot of useful information by just searching this forum. See for yourself just how many problems or complaints members have had with either of these. That by itself should make the decision easy. Uj

Click to expand...

That would only be true if sales volumes we're comparable. If you sell 100,000 rifles a year and have a 1% defect rate you will see a lot more complaints than if you sell 5,000 rifles and have a 10% defect rate. Forums are remarkably bad at determining a manufacturer's actual defect rate.

Click to expand...

Like that! good advice!

Regarding C vs R, more salt and pepper: if you wanted fast Crown (stock) if you want to wait RAW (Build to order)

The Red Wolf is an amazing rifle. Mine is a standard power .22 and it shoots great. You probably know this, but, the Red Wolf HP may not shoot the lighter pellets real well. You mentioned a desire for shooting the 25 grain Monsters, and you will probably find that they shoot great. I had a HP for a while, but realized it was not the rifle for me, just because I do relatively close range shooting and don't need the power. Mine shot the redesigned 25 grain pellets great, but it was a little disappointing with lighter stuff. You may find yourself shooting your girlfriend's Crown more than you think. I have been satisfied with mine beyond expectations. It can't keep up with the HP at long range with heavy pellets, but inside 50 yards, there is not much it doesn't do well, and offers a lot of adjustability. Mine shoots the 18 well on high power, and I have a setting that is just as good with the 16. I'm going to experiment a little, try to find a good setting for the 16 at really low power, just for close backyard plinking. Good luck with your choices, all your considerations are very good. And, don't forget the RAW, maybe for a future purchase, it is really an outstanding rifle, not as versatile as your other considerations, but IMO, unsurpassed as a dedicated target rifle. 

 RAW all the way!, If you have already ordered the Daystate give it to your girlfriend,when the RAW arrives..., seriously the RAW’s are well engineered & BUILT, they just shoot!, and shoot well!,need little or no service, no weird anomalies, tendencies nor leave you scratching your head every shooting session! and so you know I own or have owned all the guns you’ve mentioned. ( 3-RAW’s 1- DAYSTATE Redwolf hp. ) will never own another fx product! ( a crown) they had there chance...

Well the non-moderated RAW’s are both .177, (BM-500’s) and not to loud! My neighbors don’t mind when I shoot ( I Asked them and neither said they were loud at all ) and I have lengthy shooing sessions! But I know it’s all relative one neighbors loud isn’t another’s!, also don’t know your specific laws but keep in mind that my Redwolf has a shrouded barrel that cuts back on noise considerably! but also is threaded for a additional silencers... which may cause issues with permits etc. but with this in mind you can have RAW fit your barrel with a full length shroud ( as they were originally made! ) it will look just like the Redwolf configuration, with out the threaded adapter on end of shroud, this may actually be beneficial in your case?

Between Crown and RAW , I would go with RAW. It’s built like a tank and dependable shooter right out of the box. 

I will say the RAW is not really backyard friendly as it has some bark to it. The offset moderator helps but still loud and my neighbors can tell when I use it vs my RW.

I have the RW for a couple reasons one it’s quiet and I can add a a moderator second it has three preset power levels.