Basic airgun shooting with the pumpers

[North Country Gal]

I really think the old school multiple pump up guns are under rated for accuracy by many pump gun shooters, probably because not many shooters actually try to shoot good groups with this type of air gun. These guns are bought mostly for plinking fun and some pest control and they are great for that, but they can be pretty accurate, too.

Here's a classic favorite pump up air pistol, one you can buy just about anywhere air guns are sold and at a very affordable price, too. It's an old Crosman 1377 I bought at a gun show for 25 bucks. I added a Crosman butt stock specifically made for this gun and then a nice Nikon 4x Rimfire rifle scope via a mount (yeah, the scope is worth more than the gun). This makes a very comfy and nice handling carbine.


One big plus for the 1377 as far as pump up air pistols go is that long cocking arm. Makes pumping much easier compared to the very short cocking arm on old Benjamin H9 pumper air pistols. I used 8 pumps for my 30 yard range shooting which probably gave me in the 400 fps ball park. Okay, a competition air pistol the Crosman 1377 is not, but it still shoots a respectable group at 30 yards.



Next I changed to a multi pump air rifle for more 30 yard work.


That's an early 90s Benjamin 397 PA. This vintage is known as a transition gun, made with a combination of left over Benjamin parts and some Crosman parts just after Crosman bought out Benjamin. The scope is an old 4-12x Bushnell. I do not like this scope, so will change it for something better at some point. It work well enough for today's range session, though.


Here's proof that old school pumpers are capable of very good accuracy. 10 shots with me pulling one.


Yeah, that's a lot of pumping for one range session, but old granny me sure had fun.

[Ernie]

That would be a lot of work but great job shooting. I would maybe have had a nap in the middle of the session.

[daytime dave]

I've always liked the pumpers.
Great shooting with yours!

[North Country Gal]

Thanks, guys. Yeah, have to admit it that my pumpers typically collect dust before I pull them out for another shooting session. Hard to say if I spend more time pumping or shooting in a go en shooting session. Pumping also gets the HR up which isn't especially helpful for your shooting technique.

[daytime dave]

One of my favorite things in the decent weather is to take my 1377 and 1322 pump pistols and shoot at my steel targets from the deck. It winds me down nicely. You can't be in a hurry and I take a pause after pumping usually.

[North Country Gal]

Me, too. When pumping, I also count off the shots as I pump. Seems to help with the rhythm.

Here's another old sentimental favorite pumper. It's my Crosman vintage H9A in 177, but the H9A goes way back to the Sheridan and Benjamin days, before Crosman bought out Benjamin/Sheridan. It wears a vintage old Bushnell 1.5x scope. The H9A series has more of a pistol feel, but that short cocking arm makes for more cocking effort. These can be accurate, too, at least at normal pistol ranges.



I was going to go out and shoot this one today, but we have an air quality alert from smoke up in Canada. Not a great day to be outdoors.

[daytime dave]

Wow, I have one of those in .22. I find it just as accurate as my 1322. The cocking mechanism is not as easy as the 13XX series, but the sights are metal and not as chunky. Now I'll have to take a photograph of the group.

[North Country Gal]

Yeah, do post a pic. Those old H9A series guns are very rugged and durable. I think the later ones had plastic grips, but mine are still walnut.

[daytime dave]

Here is my humble assembly of Crosman handgun pumpers. The H9A has the safety warning on the air tank body with Crosman Corp, E. Bloomfield NY. The serial number is laser engraved. The wooden grips are original. It's a .22 cal.
The light custom grips are maple. They are on the 1322. The other custom grips are walnut, on the 1377. A fairly new vintage 1377 rounds out the group.
The leather holster is a Crosman made for the 1300 series. The custom stocks don't fit it well.

[North Country Gal]

I like those mods, especially the maple grips. Very cool. Those wood forearms are great, too.