Crosman Nitro Venom Dusk .22

[aznboi3644]

Upon opening the box the packaging is quite simple.  There is the rifle in a plastic bag and the scope in bubble wrap along with the owners manual.  There is only three pieces of styrofoam holding everything in place.  Simple.  It works.  Nothing was damaged.

The rifle was lightly covered in some kind of oil.  I just wiped that off.  The overall feel and construction are pretty good.  Nice and tight fit up of the barrel and breech.  The barrel is secured firmly and breaks with a firm thump.  On the last rifle I bought, the Benjamin Titan GP, the barrel lock up was quite loose.  I could hold the rifle and swing the barrel down and then up and the barrel would break open quite easily.  So easily that I accidentally fired the gun with the barrel slightly open and wondered why it sounded so different.  This lock up is very nice.  I can swing the barrel end around and everything is firm.

Cocking the gun for the first time felt a little rough.  Maybe it will break in.  The alignment of the cocking arm underneath is not perfectly centered in the gap.  But nothing rubs.  I'll call Crosman about it if I have any problems.

First shot I fired off in my room at an old textbook.  WOW!! It must have dieseled good because I saw a flash or a spark.  I couldn't tell in the light.  Second shot wasn't as bad.  My room smelled like dieseling air gun for a little bit lol.

Power wise.  I have nothing to compare to besides the Daisy 880 and the Benji Titan GP I had for a short time.  I shot a full tin of CPHPs through the Titan GP before I returned it.  I never could get used to the horrible trigger the Titan had.  Mushy, a lot of creep, and I could never tell when the second stage hit.  I'd rather get a straight one stage trigger than that awful contraption of a trigger.  Initial penetration tests into the book showed better penetration than the Titan GP.  Well test again after break in.  The trigger on the Nitro Venom is better.  I can feel the increase in weight from the second stage.  Not as mushy and a bit crisper.

The feel of the stock fits me soooo much better than the Titan with the thumb hole.  I hate that style.  The Titan seemed like there was a lot of excess wood on the stock still.  If I had kept it I would have taken my 4 way rasp to it and reshaped it.  This Nitro Venom shoulders very well and is not uncomfortable at all to hold and aim.

The scope that came with it is a Centerpoint 3x9 variable zoom scope to mate to the weaver rail.  A heckuva lot better than the setup on the Titan.  I took the scope off of the Titan GP to return it after shooting a tin of pellets and found the scope stope on the bottom about half way from being sheared off.  WOWZA the recoil must have been a bit jarring. 

I'll update this after I shoot a couple hundred pellets through the gun.

[aznboi3644]

after about 50 shots and practicing the artillery hold the rifle is still smoking.  About the artillery hold...I have never used it so far.   Usually I just hold the stock against my shoulder with a little pressure and focus the shot.  But after practicing the artillery hold the whole shot cycle feels much smoother now.  The recoil is non existent and i can stay on target after the shot.

Can't wait to put the scope on after break in.

[redone1992]

Good review