1st pistol questions

[mcoulter]

1)  Is the extra cost of the Lothar Walther Barrel worth adding to a 2300KT?  How much more accurate will that be?   Or should I just get an off-the-shelf Crosman 2240? 

2) I know this is a Crosman message board, but what is everyone's opinion on the Daisy Avanti 717 Triumph Match?  It's pricey, but not THAT much more than a pimped-out 2300KT.

Basically I want an accurate pistol for targets (no hunting).  AND I do like to shoot outdoors summer and winter.  (That's my only concern with a CO2....)

Thanks!

[northern lights]

THe daisy is super nice shooter both the717 747. I enjoy mine I,m not that great of pistol shooter but the daisy is a great plinker or 10 meter shooter. I do like lothar barrels seem less pellet fussy easier to find a cheap pellet that shoot well. I would go with the dasiy for year round shooting an they have a great trigger. sights on the daisy are big but work well an its super easy to pump. most shoot about 380 fps with a 7.9 gr pellet enough for 20 yd plinking or ten meter target work. Lot of good deals on used daisy 717 or 747. the 2240 is alot more expenive to shoot c0-2 plus 22cal pellets. an also loud. To me me the 2240 is more of a hunting pistol. Enjoy your new pistol what ever you get.

[althawk]

The daisy 717 is a nice gun,  you might want to also consider a beeman p17. I find it less complicated.
It's a good pistol to start out with...cheap, reasonably accurate, generally 380-400 fps, single-stroke pneumatic, trigger is great, can easily mount a scope/reddot. The crosman 2240, usually need(s) an additional purchase to make them scope-able (intermounts or a steel breech).

What kind of accuracy do you need to be happy with whatever pistol you end up with?

Personally, I'd try out the stock barrel first. 

[1377x]

there is a kid winning a lot of championships with a crosman pistol.he was featured on crosmans website and a few other places
just add a 1701 trigger group/hammer assembly and you have yourself a winner

[breakfastchef]

1)  Is the extra cost of the Lothar Walther Barrel worth adding to a 2300KT?  How much more accurate will that be?   Or should I just get an off-the-shelf Crosman 2240?

I think the extra cost is worth it. Sometimes Crosman barrels are ver good, and other times you can get a lemon. At least with the LW you can be pretty well assured of having about the most accurate barrel right out of the box. I would also recommend purchasing a pistol from the Crosman Custom Shop rather than a stock 2240. You get to choose the parts assembled saving you time, money and frustration of sourcing out parts you will likely add anyway (i.e. steel breech, custom grips, etc.)

Basically I want an accurate pistol for targets (no hunting).  AND I do like to shoot outdoors summer and winter.  (That's my only concern with a CO2....)

CO2 is never a good choice for cold weather shooting, especially if you will be using Powerlets. This gas regulates to ambient temperature so you will see marked decrease in velocities when the gas gets cool. If you were to bulk feed a 22xx gun with CO2 (or even HPA), it would perform much better in the cold.

[dwk54rak]

I just rebuilt a 1970 vintage 717. The gun is super simple to work on and parts are cheap from daisy. It shoots with very little noise and is quite accurate. Sight is a little rough but useable.
For the money $160, I believe that to be a bit pricey. The p17 is way less expensive.
Darrell

[Cathartes]

I agree, get the LW. It's such a great value from the Custom Shop site, considering the blanks are usually >$100. I also second the 1700 trigger group and hammer. Totally worth the money. I gotta say, my 2400 with the LW barrel, 1700 group, and Hi-Pac is the most accurate gun that I own, even over my Beeman R11 rifle.

You may want to consider a Hi-Pac, although many around here don't care much for it. The site advertises 2k psi without modification, which I am told is stretching it a bit. For mine, I only go to 1500 psi. I get about 5 good shots above 600 fps with 8.64 grain pellet from about 6-8 pumps from my Benjamin pump. If I dial it down to around 400 fps I get ten shots with very little deviation. This makes it perfect for paper punching or pistol-range small game hunting, depending on the power setting. Also, the 2400kt with the LW barrel fits the 2250 Hi-Pac perfectly. All you have to do is file/sand down the bottom of front site piece.

Below is a picture of my 2400 before I installed a MellonAir power adjuster and fixed the barrel band so that it covers the junction between the air tube and the Hi-Pac.

[mcoulter]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!  I decided to go with a 1377 since winter is here and I want to shoot!