Edit: added this video...
I've been looking forward to this rifle!
Day 1 - UPS arrives, knowing I'm waiting on a package. He tells me, "All I have is an envelope for you." Then the kidder pulls out a long brown box. Just to watch the smile re-appear on my face. Give that man a snickers!
Now, I could tell you a long story about how I opened the box, and what's inside, and things I noticed. Na. Skip it. I will say this though, I was so tired from work that I just let it sit in the box for a few hours while I took a siesta.
One is the Crown, One is an old Crosman 160 CO2
Pics Pics Pics....
First thing I did was get into the barrel to clean it. Since the Crown comes with a generic FX manual, I gave AoA a quick call to make sure I was going to disassemble the rifle correctly. Here's where my Crown story begins....
You do NOT have to disassemble the rifle down this far in order to get the barrel out. In fact, you can remove it by simply moving your scope out of the way to access the setscrews. But, since I was in there, I figured I'd share some interesting pics with you guys...
The little black thing is a plastic fitting cover. It fits on nice and snug. I think it will do a better job at dust protection than the magnetic ones.
It only makes sense that this would be the reg adjustment. Looks like mine is set at 135 but, these gauges are known to be a little off. So... +/-.
If I were to adjust it, I would only use the gauge as a guide.
Trigger is fully adjustable including blade height, angle, and front to back. I'll have to look into this more since I like a very light trigger.
NICE! Pre-labeled probes!
That little silver post is what aligns the barrel. Just like the Impact.
Disassembly WARNING! Watch out for these two little springs! (The silver disc is my magnet)
Looks very similar to the Impact here.
THIS is why I wanted to get to the barrel for cleaning. That first patch came out quite black. I cleaned with patches first, then moved on to a cleaning pellet and pushrod.
I believe it is very important to take this first step before shooting any airgun for the first time.
WOW!!!!
Just... WOW!!!
And, notice the adjustable butt pad.
Sometimes it really pays off to be among the first to order a new rifle! I think this might be an "experimental" grade 2 stock? I haven't heard of a grade 2 option for these but, this is simply gorgeous! A little paint thinner gives me a sneak peek at what this will look like after the finish is applied...
(Yup.. Satin finish)
Back of the power wheel. Those steel balls are NOT held in place by anything but grease! This is another disassembly WARNING!
Safety switch.
FX, lose the pointer! Great design but it's sharp, and can catch on clothing when it's on "fire" and it gouges the stock when it's on "safe". Just keep it round and put a simple indicator line on it.
I'd guess this is how to remove the probe. I have no reason to remove it so, I didn't try.
Rear stock screw 3mm. I'll post more on stock removal/installation below.
Front stock screw 4mm
The tongue of the stock is only 5/16" thick. I wish it were a little thicker for installation of an atlas rail. This is probably going require heli-coil inserts.
Will the "X" be available for the Impact? I really can't see why not and it might be a game changer for the Impact owners! Here's the bottom of the barrel and transfer port. Look familiar?
Top of barrel and indents from the barrel set screws.
Unlike the Royale, which needs it's indents to be re-aligned perfectly, the Crown's barrel uses a slot to re-align everything easily and precisely.
Rear of shroud with tube removed.
Front of barrel. This is as far as I took it. I have no intention on pulling the sleeve out at this time.
I was wondering how the rifling was going to "come in." On the standard smooth twist, it comes to a point where the pellet first hits it. On the "X" it start abruptly. But... it runs the whole length!
To remove the shroud...
Extend it,
Rotate it until it locks in place (using the little silver post),
Unscrew it and carefully pull it forward off the barrel. That's it.
No locktite. When re-installing, make sure to guide the tube along the barrel to keep it from hitting the barrel and bottle.
The Crown mag is a mirror image of the Impact mag.
The Impact mag...
Yes, it fits. No, I would not recommend it. You'll need "sky scraper" tall scope rings! lol
Also, The Royale mags fit as well as the black single shot loaders.
Some groups.
Before you judge these groups, read this!!!
These are some of my first groups and were shot primarily to get a feel for the rifle, not to shoot the best groups I could. I did try to do my part to shoot it well, the rest is up to a rifle that has a lot going against it at this point... It just had a thorough cleaning of the barrel, didn't wait to re-lead it, no idea what velocity it's at, never shot it before, have no clue what pellets I'm shooting (unsorted, to say the least) other than they were .25's, using a scope I dropped by mistake a few days ago, off sandbags, no trigger adjustment, no adjustment of any kind, maxed out on settings (just like it came to me), and a regulator that's surely still settling itself in. And, all of these are at 100 yards.
16 shots ~2-1/4" @ 100 yards. One went above the edge but, that was all my fault. What this picture can't show you is what I see happening through the scope. A pellet hits the target and leaves a splat. The next pellet lands on the same splat. The next pellet lands on the same splat again! This is a pretty rare experience at 100 yards. Especially when you consider that these are unsorted, unknown pellets. They might even be a batch with different skirt depths! But, it keeps happening over and over. You can see that the bulk of these shots landed above the drilled hole in about a 1" group and again slightly to to the right in about a 1" group.
Here's a 5 shot group @ 100 yards that made a nice arc. That's 3/4" Left to Right! This is after I changed some settings.
Here's another 5 shots (2 landed in the same spot). That looks like 3/8" to me. This is a hanging target that swings when hit. It hangs right above my big 100 yard metal plate.
Oh yeah, winds were 0-2mph, head-on. Really nice day to shoot!
I'm not trying to pat myself on the back here. I can tell that this rifle is still sorting itself out internally from how it's shooting. It stacks for a few then tosses a flier. Then a few more and maybe a few fliers. But, when it stacks them... It STACKS them!
The 16 shot group was shot at max power. It felt like it was shooting a bit too hot. So, I dropped the transfer port to #1 and dropped the power to B. Well, I couldn't even see where they were landing in my scope (lol) so I bumped it up to something like 2 and D. Then they poi'd at about 5 mils down. So, I just ran with it and had fun. I even skipped the magazine (Royale) and hand loaded. My cross hairs were probably about a foot above my poi at these settings. lol
How to remove the stock...
There are 4 pieces/screws holding the stock in and they all have different size screws. You'll need 2, 2.5, 3, and 4mm allen wrenches.
Take the safety and power wheel off first.
Safety uses a 2.5mm
Power wheel uses a 2mm. Remember to watch out for the steel balls and springs!
Then there are two stock screws. I'd remove the rear 3mm first. The pressure gauges can get beat up when removing the stock and this leaves the front 4mm screw supporting the stock around them.
Barrel removal...
I didn't take a picture, sorry. It looks very similar to the top of a Royale. In the center of the forward dovetail are three setscrews. You only need to remove the front two. They are 3mm.
Power Wheel - 2mm
Safety - 2.5mm
Rear stock - 3mm
Front Stock - 4mm
Barrel - 3mm (x2)
It's too early to have a hands down solid opinion on this rifle. However, there are some VERY promising things happening with it and if it continues to impress me like it has today, it has the potential to quickly become my top shooter, surpassing even my Royale 400!
Happy Shooting!
Tom
Note: PLEASE DON'T QUOTE ALL THESE PICTURES! It makes the thread harder to read.
I've been looking forward to this rifle!
Day 1 - UPS arrives, knowing I'm waiting on a package. He tells me, "All I have is an envelope for you." Then the kidder pulls out a long brown box. Just to watch the smile re-appear on my face. Give that man a snickers!
Now, I could tell you a long story about how I opened the box, and what's inside, and things I noticed. Na. Skip it. I will say this though, I was so tired from work that I just let it sit in the box for a few hours while I took a siesta.
One is the Crown, One is an old Crosman 160 CO2
Pics Pics Pics....
First thing I did was get into the barrel to clean it. Since the Crown comes with a generic FX manual, I gave AoA a quick call to make sure I was going to disassemble the rifle correctly. Here's where my Crown story begins....
You do NOT have to disassemble the rifle down this far in order to get the barrel out. In fact, you can remove it by simply moving your scope out of the way to access the setscrews. But, since I was in there, I figured I'd share some interesting pics with you guys...
The little black thing is a plastic fitting cover. It fits on nice and snug. I think it will do a better job at dust protection than the magnetic ones.
It only makes sense that this would be the reg adjustment. Looks like mine is set at 135 but, these gauges are known to be a little off. So... +/-.
If I were to adjust it, I would only use the gauge as a guide.
Trigger is fully adjustable including blade height, angle, and front to back. I'll have to look into this more since I like a very light trigger.
NICE! Pre-labeled probes!
That little silver post is what aligns the barrel. Just like the Impact.
Disassembly WARNING! Watch out for these two little springs! (The silver disc is my magnet)
Looks very similar to the Impact here.
THIS is why I wanted to get to the barrel for cleaning. That first patch came out quite black. I cleaned with patches first, then moved on to a cleaning pellet and pushrod.
I believe it is very important to take this first step before shooting any airgun for the first time.
WOW!!!!
Just... WOW!!!
And, notice the adjustable butt pad.
Sometimes it really pays off to be among the first to order a new rifle! I think this might be an "experimental" grade 2 stock? I haven't heard of a grade 2 option for these but, this is simply gorgeous! A little paint thinner gives me a sneak peek at what this will look like after the finish is applied...
(Yup.. Satin finish)
Back of the power wheel. Those steel balls are NOT held in place by anything but grease! This is another disassembly WARNING!
Safety switch.
FX, lose the pointer! Great design but it's sharp, and can catch on clothing when it's on "fire" and it gouges the stock when it's on "safe". Just keep it round and put a simple indicator line on it.
I'd guess this is how to remove the probe. I have no reason to remove it so, I didn't try.
Rear stock screw 3mm. I'll post more on stock removal/installation below.
Front stock screw 4mm
The tongue of the stock is only 5/16" thick. I wish it were a little thicker for installation of an atlas rail. This is probably going require heli-coil inserts.
Will the "X" be available for the Impact? I really can't see why not and it might be a game changer for the Impact owners! Here's the bottom of the barrel and transfer port. Look familiar?
Top of barrel and indents from the barrel set screws.
Unlike the Royale, which needs it's indents to be re-aligned perfectly, the Crown's barrel uses a slot to re-align everything easily and precisely.
Rear of shroud with tube removed.
Front of barrel. This is as far as I took it. I have no intention on pulling the sleeve out at this time.
I was wondering how the rifling was going to "come in." On the standard smooth twist, it comes to a point where the pellet first hits it. On the "X" it start abruptly. But... it runs the whole length!
To remove the shroud...
Extend it,
Rotate it until it locks in place (using the little silver post),
Unscrew it and carefully pull it forward off the barrel. That's it.
No locktite. When re-installing, make sure to guide the tube along the barrel to keep it from hitting the barrel and bottle.
The Crown mag is a mirror image of the Impact mag.
The Impact mag...
Yes, it fits. No, I would not recommend it. You'll need "sky scraper" tall scope rings! lol
Also, The Royale mags fit as well as the black single shot loaders.
Some groups.
Before you judge these groups, read this!!!
These are some of my first groups and were shot primarily to get a feel for the rifle, not to shoot the best groups I could. I did try to do my part to shoot it well, the rest is up to a rifle that has a lot going against it at this point... It just had a thorough cleaning of the barrel, didn't wait to re-lead it, no idea what velocity it's at, never shot it before, have no clue what pellets I'm shooting (unsorted, to say the least) other than they were .25's, using a scope I dropped by mistake a few days ago, off sandbags, no trigger adjustment, no adjustment of any kind, maxed out on settings (just like it came to me), and a regulator that's surely still settling itself in. And, all of these are at 100 yards.
16 shots ~2-1/4" @ 100 yards. One went above the edge but, that was all my fault. What this picture can't show you is what I see happening through the scope. A pellet hits the target and leaves a splat. The next pellet lands on the same splat. The next pellet lands on the same splat again! This is a pretty rare experience at 100 yards. Especially when you consider that these are unsorted, unknown pellets. They might even be a batch with different skirt depths! But, it keeps happening over and over. You can see that the bulk of these shots landed above the drilled hole in about a 1" group and again slightly to to the right in about a 1" group.
Here's a 5 shot group @ 100 yards that made a nice arc. That's 3/4" Left to Right! This is after I changed some settings.
Here's another 5 shots (2 landed in the same spot). That looks like 3/8" to me. This is a hanging target that swings when hit. It hangs right above my big 100 yard metal plate.
Oh yeah, winds were 0-2mph, head-on. Really nice day to shoot!
I'm not trying to pat myself on the back here. I can tell that this rifle is still sorting itself out internally from how it's shooting. It stacks for a few then tosses a flier. Then a few more and maybe a few fliers. But, when it stacks them... It STACKS them!
The 16 shot group was shot at max power. It felt like it was shooting a bit too hot. So, I dropped the transfer port to #1 and dropped the power to B. Well, I couldn't even see where they were landing in my scope (lol) so I bumped it up to something like 2 and D. Then they poi'd at about 5 mils down. So, I just ran with it and had fun. I even skipped the magazine (Royale) and hand loaded. My cross hairs were probably about a foot above my poi at these settings. lol
How to remove the stock...
There are 4 pieces/screws holding the stock in and they all have different size screws. You'll need 2, 2.5, 3, and 4mm allen wrenches.
Take the safety and power wheel off first.
Safety uses a 2.5mm
Power wheel uses a 2mm. Remember to watch out for the steel balls and springs!
Then there are two stock screws. I'd remove the rear 3mm first. The pressure gauges can get beat up when removing the stock and this leaves the front 4mm screw supporting the stock around them.
Barrel removal...
I didn't take a picture, sorry. It looks very similar to the top of a Royale. In the center of the forward dovetail are three setscrews. You only need to remove the front two. They are 3mm.
Power Wheel - 2mm
Safety - 2.5mm
Rear stock - 3mm
Front Stock - 4mm
Barrel - 3mm (x2)
It's too early to have a hands down solid opinion on this rifle. However, there are some VERY promising things happening with it and if it continues to impress me like it has today, it has the potential to quickly become my top shooter, surpassing even my Royale 400!
Happy Shooting!
Tom
Note: PLEASE DON'T QUOTE ALL THESE PICTURES! It makes the thread harder to read.
WOW!........ must, have,one,more!