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All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Air Guns And Related Accessories Review Gates => Air Gun Review Gate => Topic started by: gene_sc on July 22, 2010, 11:46:33 PM
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First I would like to say "Dat A Boy Crosman". With that said I had time this afternoon to break down the NPSS .177.
First is the stock. Personally I have never like any of the thumbhole stocks that I have shot. Reason being my thumb knuckle does not fit right. Very uncomfortable for me.
The rubber comb pad is a nice feature though. The stock weight is much heavier than any synthetic stock I have held in its class. On my NPSS the stock screws were securely fastened to the point of aching hands after I got them out.. That is a good thing though. The stock feels well balanced once the scope is on.
The Centerpoint "4-9-40AO" scope is very nice that came with the gun. In fact I was a bit surprised at its feature with the lock down gimbals. This is another feature that Crosman seems to be dealing well with. Selling a combo with a good scope. It is clear all the way up to 9 power. As some of you know I am not a Centerpoint or Leapers
fan.., but outside of this Center Point being heavier than any of my 50AO scopes I own, it has good glass and a bargain at that.
The barrel is a bull barrel and on close inspection it looks like it can be removed. Did not try but you can see at the end of barrel you can use an allen wrench to turn the end to remove it. I am not positive but that is what it looks like. The barrel is a steel barrel in the shroud, not a sleeve with plastic around it. Great quality there.The barrel and breech has a common screw to hold and adjust the preloads. Another good quality and it all is steel and not plastic... I checked the barrel with a swab and I have to say it was very dirty with oil. So remember to always clean your new gun barrels before shooting them to get the factory goop out of there...
One other note is that Crosman has increased the size of the chisel wedge pin. I took a picture of it so you can check that out as well.
The NPSS is made right here in the USA. Lets hope Crosman keeps that up..
OK now for under the hood of the NPSS.
First off you really need a spring compressor to relieve the pressure from the gas ram. Right away I noticed that the action tube was much larger than any Crosman, Gamo, Chinese etc. air gun's in its class. Once apart it was very apparent that the size of seal and piston were big. Seal measures roughly 1.1375". About the same O/D as a RWS 350 Magnum.
I had a chance to compare some of the parts from a Gamo that I exchanged the gas piston for a spring. Have had a few of these because of complaints that the Gamo with the gas ram was way to harsh, and I tend to agree. The gas pistons are the same shaft diameter, but the Crsman gas ram is shorter than the one's I have taken out of the Gamo's..
I have heard the NPSS referred to as a short stroke air rifle... Here is where Crosman is way ahead. The piston itself is one machined part which ways in at about 16 oz. Very heavy one piece piston but shorter than the Gamo piston which is just stamped metal and it is two piece affair. Crosman also machined a hole in bottom of piston so the gas ram shaft would fit and not be able to move, unlike Gamo which they just use the standard piston. There are a few other details that make the Crosman NPSS a winner like the rear adapter for ram to the inside diameter of action fit. Also Crosman has use a solid piece of steel for the rear block. What I have seen so far makes the NPSS a very
solid built air gun.
Three Main Improvements. The larger action tube. Then new design of the piston and it's weight factor. The over all weight of the gun makes for a great balanced shooter.
Just the weight itself will help with hold sensitivity. All around great build. I hope that Crosman keeps putting out guns built like the NPSS.
Chrony numbers. After the deburr and new lubes along with cleaning the barrel bore. I run about 40 pellets through her. Then set up on the chrony.. Respectively with JSB Exacts "8.3 grn" she was pumping lead out at an average of 932 fps which calculates to just over 16 fpe. I only run 12 shots through the chrony but the overall deviation was
14fps. That is a good as some high end springers get..
I have taken some pictures so you can actually see some of the differences between the parts.
Next will be my review on CBR Trigger change. And when I have time I will take some target groups as well. I hope this answers some of your questions. Feel free to ask me what ever comes to mind on this review that I may have forgot to put down.
Also I will be buying a new Trail NP but will have to wait until the .177's are released.
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Gene,
Thanks for the report on the NPSS. I just bought the Remington version and it looks identical. I was able to turn my outer barrel sleeve so I unscrewed the muzzle end fitting that you spoke of just to see what was up. The end fitting is about 2" long and has holes around it's perimeter which open up into the space between the barrel and outer sleeve. I'm guessing some sort of sound suppression? The outer sleeve rides on O-rings at each end. After blowing off some machining chips I reassembled the barrel and sleeve. I tightened the end fitting just to the point that the outer sleeve wouldn't turn. It has stayed tight after about 300 shots so far.
I too added the CBR trigger as everyone recommended, very nice! All in all I'm very pleased as this is my first air rifle. Being a "newbie" if you have any suggestions that I should think about regarding this gun I would very much like to hear them. Thanks!
Regards,
Don
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Believe it or not the NPSS and Trail NP's are a couple of the quietest pellet guns you will find in that class of air guns. Both of mine are Crosman NPSS but my one has the Remington camo stock on it.:) Don't ask me how I got it..:) I have to say that you have made a great decision on your first pellet gun. I love mine and will be getting a new Trail NP when Crosman releases the Lam stock version.
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Hello Gene:
I see you have disassembled both the NPSS and the Benjamin Trail. My son is agonizing over which to buy. The NPSS should have better quality control (USA) and therefore more likely to be an accurate gun out of the box, but he prefers the stock (black all-weather), the Weaver mounts, and sling swivels on the BJM Trail. What do you suggest?
GGN
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Hello Gene:
I see you have disassembled both the NPSS and the Benjamin Trail. My son is agonizing over which to buy. The NPSS should have better quality control (USA) and therefore more likely to be an accurate gun out of the box, but he prefers the stock (black all-weather), the Weaver mounts, and sling swivels on the BJM Trail. What do you suggest?
GGN
Both are great guns from Crosman. But like I have said the NPSS is a better design. Actually over designed in my opinion. Personally with knowing the hands on quality of both I would choose the NPSS which I have done..:) But I will soon own another NP Trail again when the laminant stocks come out. There is definitely allot of improvements that can be made to the NP Trail to improve efficiency and longevity. There is not much room for improvement on the NPSS though. They are a solid build period.
If this is your son's first gun then I would say let him buy the Trail if he likes the stocks better. Certainly would be a good choice. Of course the advantage of the weaver mounts are a great plus. Eliminates any mount movement.
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Thanks again for that original write-up, Gene. I am told that my Remington is shipping today. I will be referring to this again when it gets here.
In your opinion, would it be worth doing a deburr and lube on receipt, or should that not be necessary? It has been too hot here to hang out in the garage but I keep reading about excessive dieseling and resulting seal issues.
Most of the issues I've read about seem to be on the Benjamin NPSS version, but of course they have sold more of them.
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Dave I personally take down all my new springer/gas rams to at least inspect the seals. But normally I will shoot them for a while to work out any excessive lube. One thing I have noticed is that with the gas rams the factory when it does use lube it is very light weight and if the seal is bad you will keep dieseling and smoking until you change it. Pay special attention to the inside of back of piston. There is the cocking slot and seer slot. Make sure there is not high spots or burrs there. It is a good idea if you do not have a lathe, use a drill motor. Take a dowel and wrap emery around end and finalize cutting any excessive roughness from the inside of piston prior to re Assembly.
Crosman does use some hard steel on the NPSS so be aware....:) Best of luck and happy shooting bud..
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I've had two of these guns and my friend has had two also (I traded one of mine he got a bad one and had it replaced) and from my experience the Crosman ones have deeper bluing. The two Remingtons I've seen both had very cloudy and dull bluing and several nicks and dings even though they were brand new. My two Crosmans were both brilliantly blued with immaculate fit and finish.
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They all come out of the same plant in New York.
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So just for clarification, both the Crosman and the Remmington versions are completely American made correct?
They all come out of the same plant in New York.
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Yes, right here in NY, USA
So just for clarification, both the Crosman and the Remmington versions are completely American made correct? They all come out of the same plant in New York.
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Thanks for the report
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They all come out of the same plant in New York.
I know but still, the remingtons just look and feel cheaper to me. The brown stocks on the remys are nicer than the green ones that come on the crosmans but other than that the crosmans seem to be made better.
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What about accidently dry firing the Remington npss? My granpas an ooldddd man and he forgets things and today he dry fired it once. Is it okay just that one time? He was a vet in Nam so it ticked me off. I would expect more from someone who spent his life witha gun practically.
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Gene is this gun the new improved nito-piston 2 ?
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Yes when Crosman went from - NP - too NP2 they switched from the GRT-III in the NP, To the CBR, in the NP2. There is a big difference.
the older Remington NPSS similar to to the next generation. This one is a Short Stroke. CDT, CBR trigger was the replacement triggers for these models.
As well as the new Remington NP2, which also uses the new CDT, CBR triggers.
All the plain NP models use the CDT, GRT-III triggers,
Gene