In .22 the CP and CPHP are both highly inconsistent (tested in many guns) and non-uniform producing frequent fliers so I stopped buying them about 2 years ago. They didn't used to be that way and were my pellet of choice for a couple of my 22's, but the last 5-6 years the quality control has deteriorated.
Okay so I've lamented this point a few times in the past. Probably enough that some of you guys wish I would just shut up about it. Sorry, but you're going to have to hear it at least one more time When I first got into airgunning in 2012, Crosman pellets were quite good. Seldom the best but frequently good for 1.5 - 2 MoA at 25 yards (around 3/8" to 1/2"), and occasionally flirting with 1 MoA. I even had a batch of the heavy .177s that put down some sweet sub-MoA bugholes on the 43 yard target. Oh how I long to experience that cheap accuracy again. But in recent years the quality has degraded to the point where they are hardly worth the $7 - $8 a tin. A few others have echoed similar sentiments of their quality going down hill, the most recent example being Harry's comment this week:Quote from: only1harry on October 26, 2018, 04:59:07 PMIn .22 the CP and CPHP are both highly inconsistent (tested in many guns) and non-uniform producing frequent fliers so I stopped buying them about 2 years ago. They didn't used to be that way and were my pellet of choice for a couple of my 22's, but the last 5-6 years the quality control has deteriorated.I've sometimes wondered if it's just a perception thing, or that maybe other variables have changed and I'm giving unfair criticism. I've long since shot all the "good ones" so I have no way to compare them under the same conditions. Well, a serendipitous thing happened the other day. My uncle had a partial tin of .22 CPHPs that I'd given him back in 2013:So today I decided to do a little test to see if there's anything to it. I chose the FD-PCP for this test for two reasons:It's not pellet picky. It's not my most accurate .22 but it gives a fair shake to most any pellet and doesn't throw fliers.I've continued to try some Crosman pellets from time to time and I had tagged two tins, one from 2016 and one from 2017, as being good in the FD-PCP. Many other tins from recent years have not fared as well. I'm not wanting to stack the deck, I want to steel man Crosman for this test. So with that said, here's how it went:And here is a markup with the group sizes:The two newer tins show the sort of thing I've come to expect...they look like they either want to stack into two distinct groups (leftmost group) or give an errant shot that would be tempting to call a flier (the second group). And look at our old pellets from 2013, a pretty MoA group. I added the JSB group as a control.So what I want to know is, will Crosman pellets ever return to their former glory?
I recently received an order of boxed .177 caliber CPH's on Sept 11th, production date on the box was Apr 16, 2016 [Die 'M']... is it typical for current purchases to have a production date that dated? (Purchased made from Amazon)My initial shot groups out of this lot were all over the place; high, low, left, right... no consistency at all.Upon closer observation, I found that approximately 35-40% of the pellets had heavy seams/mold line flashings...I sorted out 10 of the more heavily seamed pellets and shot a 10 shot group @ 12 yards... produced an approximate 2" groupI deburred 10 of the lighter seamed pellets and shot a 10 shot group @ 12 yards... produced an approximate 1/2" groupI shot a follow-up 5 shot group using H&N Baracuda Hunter HP 10.34 grain pellets @ 12 yards... 3/8" groupThe CPH's have been a disappointment to say the least!!! After reading thru countless posts regarding Crosman pellet quality issues over the past several years... I can assure you, I'll not be placing any orders for Crosman pellets anytime soon...
Okay here's a quick test of the new box of .177 heavies (Die M dated July 2018):And a markup with the group sizes:Not looking very promising unfortunately. The first group with the QB79 had the "two distinct groups" pattern that has shown up frequently over the last few years. I was hoping it was a fluke but the second group did the same thing again.The next rifle wasn't too fond of them either.I'll try them in some other rifles this weekend