Refurbished Vantage NP Chrony Numbers

[cryptoad]

My F1 Chrony gave me bookoo err2 readings so these numbers took a while to get:

Pellet                       LO         HI         AVG        ES         SD        AVG FPE

AA Falcon 7.33gr      892.2    911.7   905.9     19.56     6.92     13.36

JSB Exact 10.34gr    745.6    755.4   750.7     9.81       5          12.94

Crosman Wad 7.4                             909.2                               13.59

Crosman Dest 7.4                            968.7                                15.42

For the last two pellets listed, I only had one good reading for each.  This particular rifle takes quite a bit of effort to cock, more so than needed for my Silver Kodiak X2.  The recoil is minimal compared to the Kodiak X2.

[rwt]

I'm wondering if I need to check on sending mine back.  I wasn't happy with the chrony numbers at all.  I probably have between 250 and 350 pellets through mine so far and the velocity just isn't what I'd expect.  I've gotten the following results:

Pellet                                 FPS        SD        Avg FPE

Crosman Premium HP         760       14.97     10.15
Crosman Premium Heavy    668       10.46     10.41
Crosman Destroyer             800       9.66       10.92
RWS Superdome                845       22.38      13.6
Gamo Match WC                782        14.17     10.28
JSB Exact Heavy                643        10.08     9.52

Accuracy has improved as I've gotten more pellets through the bore, but I have serious questions about the velocity performance.  I quit getting smoke in the barrel after shooting about 100 pellets.  I was surprised that the Superdome's at 8.3 gr. were consistantly faster than all of the 7.9 gr. pellets.   What do you think?  Send her back, or shoot some more lead?

[cryptoad]

Your rifle should be shooting about 100fps faster when you compare my numbers to yours and factor in the figures Crosman advertises for the Vantage.

Any reason to suspect your Chrony might be off?

[rwt]

Not really sure about the chrony.  The same unit measures Destroyers at 935 fps from my RWS 52.

[OleTomCat]

Kim,

ER2 is the second sensor not reading, make sure it is clean and that you are getting light to it and that you are aligned over both sensors when shooting, I usually use four of the legs for the sun shade as a guide as to where to shoot even when I am not using the shades.

rwt,

Your numbers are a little incomplete, instead of SD, look at ES (Extreme Spread) and shot to shot spread they are a little more telling of problems with the gun.

Hi/Lo/Avg/SD are good to look at for comparing pellets to one another but for diagnosis of problems the whole string tells more.  The whole string gives you more of an idea of shot to shot consistency.

[LAalex]

I'm wondering if I need to check on sending mine back.  I wasn't happy with the chrony numbers at all.  I probably have between 250 and 350 pellets through mine so far and the velocity just isn't what I'd expect.  I've gotten the following results:

Pellet                                 FPS        SD        Avg FPE

Crosman Premium HP         760       14.97     10.15
Crosman Premium Heavy    668       10.46     10.41
Crosman Destroyer             800       9.66       10.92
RWS Superdome                845       22.38      13.6
Gamo Match WC                782        14.17     10.28
JSB Exact Heavy                643        10.08     9.52

Accuracy has improved as I've gotten more pellets through the bore, but I have serious questions about the velocity performance.  I quit getting smoke in the barrel after shooting about 100 pellets.  I was surprised that the Superdome's at 8.3 gr. were consistantly faster than all of the 7.9 gr. pellets.   What do you think?  Send her back, or shoot some more lead?

I've owned two Crosman springers and both of the OEM piston seals were chewed up.  A simple lube tune will probably set things right.  You might also check the breech seal.

Scotty

[rwt]

To include spread for each of the pellets, here is an updated table:

Pellet                                 FPS        SD        Avg FPE    Spread

Crosman Premium HP         760       14.97     10.15          44.4
Crosman Premium Heavy    668       10.46     10.41          34.8
Crosman Destroyer             800       9.66       10.92         37
RWS Superdome                845       22.38      13.6           55.5
Gamo Match WC                782        14.17     10.28          57.4
JSB Exact Heavy                643        10.08     9.52           34.6

Here's a string of 20 shots with the Gamo Match WC
792.9
754.8
775.7
776.3
792.8
780.8
792.7
776.1
764.1
787.7
783.2
769.6
810.2
773.7
780.2
786.6
791.3
781.2
812.2
775.6

[avator]

I'm wondering if I need to check on sending mine back.  I wasn't happy with the chrony numbers at all.  I probably have between 250 and 350 pellets through mine so far and the velocity just isn't what I'd expect.  I've gotten the following results:

Pellet                                 FPS        SD        Avg FPE

Crosman Premium HP         760       14.97     10.15
Crosman Premium Heavy    668       10.46     10.41
Crosman Destroyer             800       9.66       10.92
RWS Superdome                845       22.38      13.6
Gamo Match WC                782        14.17     10.28
JSB Exact Heavy                643        10.08     9.52

Accuracy has improved as I've gotten more pellets through the bore, but I have serious questions about the velocity performance.  I quit getting smoke in the barrel after shooting about 100 pellets.  I was surprised that the Superdome's at 8.3 gr. were consistantly faster than all of the 7.9 gr. pellets.   What do you think?  Send her back, or shoot some more lead?

Man !  I am by no means a weakling. I'm 6' and 225 lbs. I've done physical labor all my life. But' I must say.... If you cocked this rifle 350 consecutive times.... your arm is either Popeyed or hamburger.  This this is a beast. I'll chrony mine this morning. FYI... mine likes CPUM real well and it must have been broken in before I got it because it stacked pellets really well right out of the box. It looks brand new though. Stock screws were loose and I haven't cleaned the barrel yet. I bought this gun for Betty Lou but that ain't gonna happen. She cocked it 3 times and handed it back to me. I really don't remember my B-I-L's being this hard to cock. Don't get me wrong, I don't have buyer's remorse. This may be the best $68 I ever spent. It's just, I bought this gun for Betty Lou to shoot when I shoot my Nitro Venom and it's supposed to be fun, not a muscle pulling workout.

[rwt]

I'm no lightweight at 6' 2" and 250 lbs, but I will admit that I had a sore left shoulder when I got done.  Also, I had the day off so I took a break from shooting and mowed the grass in the afternoon before resuming the shooting in the evening.  I've been working each day since and haven't had time to mess with the Vantage any more.  I will say that my dad's new Vantage springer that I shot in August shot better than this one with far fewer pellets being fired.  That was the rifle that made me want to get this one.  So far, it hasn't been so good.

[Papa Smurf]

I am really glad I got to read this post . I'm 5' 5 at 140# ( with my beard they call me Papa Smurf---go figure) and now I can scratch the Vantage NP from my "want to have list" , my Nitro venom is tough enough . --------------Thanks guys -----------Good Shooting to all

[OleTomCat]

Pellet                                 FPS        SD        Avg FPE    Spread

Gamo Match WC                782        14.17     10.28          57.4

Here's a string of 20 shots with the Gamo Match WC
792.9
754.8 Shot to Shot spread here is huge
775.7
776.3 Did you do something different here?
792.8
780.8 If you skip this shot you have a decent shot to shot, what happened here,
792.7
776.1
764.1
787.7
783.2
769.6
810.2
773.7
780.2
786.6
791.3
781.2
812.2
775.6

Notes on each shot when you are doing a string will help you analyze what is going on, Pellet Fit and conditions, if there is not a notable difference in the pellets shot to shot then you need to look at seals and lubricants for the answers....

[Stickstoff]

I am really glad I got to read this post . I'm 5' 5 at 140# ( with my beard they call me Papa Smurf---go figure) and now I can scratch the Vantage NP from my "want to have list" , my Nitro venom is tough enough . --------------Thanks guys -----------Good Shooting to all

The Nitro Venom and Vantage NP are virtually the same gun. What parts they don't share shouldn't have any impact on cocking effort.

[FuzzyGrub]

Some data from mine when it was 1000 shots new:






I probably have only 5-6K thru it now, but pcps get most of my attention these days.  It is at camp and has red tree rat duty.
I use only the H&N BM 10.65g (krytek) lubed now.  820fps

[N6CRV]

Hello, So glad I read this!!!! I got the Vantage NP new and had a heck of a time cocking it. My friend liked it so he got the Vantage Springer. Well I now have the springer and he has the NP. I have COPD and just could not cock that thing. Now my Titan NP in no trouble. Can't see why the Vantage would be so much harder then the Titan with the same Gas/Ram?
Don

[cryptoad]

I was going to try and use the plastic sights instead of mounting a scope but boy, those are some cheap, cheap plastic sights on mine!  I went ahead and mounted the 4x32 scope for now.  The plastic sights just aren't holding up.  Probably the reason mine was originally returned.

[cryptoad]

I tried using the scope (Centerpoint 4x32) but the scope rings were too cheesy and didn't hold.  So, I removed the scope and tried using the even cheesier plastic sights.  I got this thing sighted in and it shoots the JSB Exact Heavy 10.34gr and the AA Falcon 7.33gr with great accuracy!  I had the rifle setting on a camera tripod during my test shooting.  Pellet holes were touching at 10yds.

Whoever had this before me may have put a hundred or so pellets through before I got it.  I did clean the barrel but there wasn't much to clean!

I am confident I can shoot this thing accurately enough to take down squirrels within 20yds with head shots.

[avator]

Guys, do yourselves a huge favor and put a CDT GRTIII trigger in these. I got my trigger yesterday and watched the you tube video. 5 minutes later the trigger was in and I was on the back porch ready to try it out. I added a little more pull from stock by backing the set screw out a bit. Out of the box the trigger had zero first stage. I like a little. WOW what a difference! This is my first CDT and I'm hooked. It took a good shooting gun to a great shooting gun. I can even overlook the hard-cocking nature of it now. Sorry but I haven't had the chance to chrony yet. Working 11 hour days leaves me with only a couple hours of daylight to do all I need to in the evening,
 I originally bought this gun for Betty Lou to shoot when I shoot my Nitro Venom. It turns out that this gun cocks way too hard for her. I really don't understand why it is some much harder than the Venom, it's virtually the same gun. However, the wrist of the Vantage fits her hand much better than the Venom's thicker wrist so I swapped the stocks. The switch was plug and play. We now have 2 tack driving nitro piston guns that we can shoot together. At 20yds they rip the 1/2" yardsale stickers right off of the painted steel blanks with 1 shot. They both like the 10.5 Crosman Ultra Mags which makes me happy because they are about $7 a tin from WallyWorld. Betty Lou don't mind the stock trigger in the Venom but, I'm going to install a CDT anyhow. She likes a bit more pull but I can adjust that. We stretched them out to 50 yds. and hit the 1/2" sticker 3 out of 5 times. If we were better, it would have been 5/5 but I wouldn't hesitate to take the heart/lung shot at a nutter from this distance with confidence of a humane kill. Another 6 day workweek and rain in the forecast for Sunday probably will prevent a chrony session again this week but, it's on my todo list. So, bottom line...... $68 to my door and $36 for the CDT and puts another great gun on my rack for right around $100.

[cryptoad]

Bill, I noticed that not only does the Vantage NP take more cocking effort than my Beeman Silver Kodiak but it is also a longer cocking stroke.

[avator]

Yep, I beleive you are correct Kim. This is the case with the Nitro Venom as well. And I know this because I have all 3 guns.

[rwt]

Original numbers from the first Vantage NP
Pellet                                 FPS        SD        Avg FPE

Crosman Premium HP         760       14.97     10.15
Crosman Premium Heavy    668       10.46     10.41
Crosman Destroyer             800       9.66       10.92
RWS Superdome                845       22.38      13.6
Gamo Match WC                782        14.17     10.28
JSB Exact Heavy                643        10.08     9.52

NOW I'm A HAPPY CAMPER!
I opted to send my original refurbished Vantage back to Crosman and received a replacement refurbished Vantage yesterday.  I must say that I was pleased with the quick turnaround on the replacement as well.  Anyway, today I installed the GRT-III trigger and mounted the scope so I could begin evaluating this gun.  I fired several shots until I heard it quit dieseling and then fired several more across the chronograph until I saw the velocities stabilize.  Then, I began shooting 10 shot groups across the chronograph.  I now have a total of 65 shots through this rifle, testing performance with 5 different pellets.  Here are the 10 shot results for the five pellets tested so far:

Pellet                               Avg. FPS        SD        Avg FPE   Spread   Spread %

Crosman Premium HP         972.3     2.59      16.59        9.3         1.0
Crosman Premium Heavy    833.6     3.47      16.21        10.6       1.3
RWS Superdome                957.5     2.78      16.59        6.3         0.7
Gamo Match WC                975.0     12.72     15.96        45          4.6
JSB Exact Heavy                796        8.12      14.55        26.7       3.4

212 FPS improvement on the CPHP's and 165 FPS improvment on the CPH's is what I would have expected.  I was getting 25 yard rested groups the size of a silver dollar with the crappy scope they include.  I expect the groups to tighten up as I get more pellets down the bore.  I have $64.17 (including shipping) in the rifle, and $33.00 in the GRT-III trigger.  I think I'll have a pretty decent shooting rifle for under $100.00