Dave Markowitz
Member
I've been getting back into shooting airguns this year as an inexpensive way to practice marksmanship fundamentals at home. I live in a suburb of Philadelphia, so unfortunately shooting in my backyard is out of the question. However, I have space in my house for a 25 foot airgun range.
The .177 (4.5mm) caliber 2300T is one of a series of CO2 powered pistols from Crosman. The .22 (5.6mm) caliber 2240 is on the low end, with the 2300S at the top. You can also order custom variants from Crosman's custom shop. The key features of the 2300T are:
The first order of business upon unpacking the pistol and verifying that it wasn't loaded, was to install the rear sight. To do so I had to turn in the large screw on the rear top of the breach, to provide more clearance for the rear sight, then slide the sight into a dovetail and tighten two set screws with a provided Allen wrench.
I then noticed that the front sight was canted a bit to the right. Using a pair of slipjoint pliers with a couple layers of duct tape padding the jaws, I was able to straighten it.
Before shooting any pellets I dry fired the gun and determined the trigger pull was adjusted too high. Following the instruction pamphlet, I removed one of the grip panels and turned the brass trigger adjustment dial to lower the pull. It's down to a couple pounds now with minimal takeup but a fair amount of creep. I haven't tinkered with the overtravel adjustment yet.
The ambidextrous plastic grips are comfortable for me, but I have fairly small hands. A shooter with large hands may want beefier grips.
The LPA rear sight is shaped a bit like the Novak rear sights found on many modern service pistols. There are white dots on either side of the notch. The front is a plastic blade on a barrel band. I'd rate the sight picture as acceptable for plinking but mediocre for target shooting. I used a Sharpie marker to blacken the white dots. The rear sight notch is a little too wide, IMO. The front sight is too shiny, but since it's plastic you can't smoke it with a match or candle. You might be able to cut the shine with a bit of 220 grit sandpaper.
The balance of the pistol is neutral. As it comes from the factory it could use a bit more weight towards the muzzle, IMO. I made a replacement front sight/muzzle brake unit out of aluminum to improve the sight picture and add a little more weight towards the muzzle end. Details below.
I put 10 rounds through the pistol the night I got it, plus another 40 or so the next. The target below was shot from 25', one handed, with RWS Meisterkuglen pellets. Power was from an old Daisy CO2 cylinder. Crosman recommends using a drop of their Pellgun Oil on the end of each C02 cylinder to keep the seals lubricated.
Point of aim was at 6 o'clock on the bull.
My initial impression is favorable. As long as no mechanical issues arise, it should make a good pistol for indoor marksmanship practice. It's nice to shoot and accurate.
The Crosman 22xx series is sort of the Ruger 10/22 or AR15 of the air pistol world, in that they are modular, easily customizable, and there is a large variety of aftermarket and Crosman-branded parts for modifying the gun to your own preference. For example, Crosman sells a shoulder stock to convert it to a carbine. Longer barrels are available, including in .22 caliber, and even valves which enable more CO2 per shot for higher velocity.
I've recently acquired a bench top milling machine and lathe, so I made a replacement front sight. The base was made on the lathe from a piece of 5/8" 6061 aluminum with a 1/8" slot cut in it using my mill. The blade is from a piece of 1/8" flat 6061 stock.
The blade is held to the base with some Loctite rubber-filled cyanoacrylate glue. The back of the blade was blackened. The bore of the sight base came out a little too large so I shimmed it with a couple pieces of aluminum duct tape on the barrel. It's secured in place by a 1/4"-20 set screw on the bottom. The new front sight gives a better sight picture and made the gun a little muzzle heavy, which is what I was looking for.
Shooting a CO2 powered air gun isn't as cheap per shot as a spring piston or pneumatic gun, but at most it's on par with a .22 rimfire. CO2 and pellets are still easily available, so even with the current buying panic on you can get a lot of practice in.
Overall, the Crosman 2300T is a good choice for target practice, but it can be made better with some modifications.
The .177 (4.5mm) caliber 2300T is one of a series of CO2 powered pistols from Crosman. The .22 (5.6mm) caliber 2240 is on the low end, with the 2300S at the top. You can also order custom variants from Crosman's custom shop. The key features of the 2300T are:
- .177 caliber
- Single shot bolt action
- 10.1" barrel
- Single stage adjustable trigger, with overtravel stop
- Adjustable rear sight and blade front sight
- Steel breach, grooved for optics (as opposed to the plastic breach of the 2240)
- Crossbolt safety mounted behind the trigger.
- Weight of 42.5 oz.
- MV up to 520 FPS
- 40 shots or so per CO2 cylinder
The first order of business upon unpacking the pistol and verifying that it wasn't loaded, was to install the rear sight. To do so I had to turn in the large screw on the rear top of the breach, to provide more clearance for the rear sight, then slide the sight into a dovetail and tighten two set screws with a provided Allen wrench.
I then noticed that the front sight was canted a bit to the right. Using a pair of slipjoint pliers with a couple layers of duct tape padding the jaws, I was able to straighten it.
Before shooting any pellets I dry fired the gun and determined the trigger pull was adjusted too high. Following the instruction pamphlet, I removed one of the grip panels and turned the brass trigger adjustment dial to lower the pull. It's down to a couple pounds now with minimal takeup but a fair amount of creep. I haven't tinkered with the overtravel adjustment yet.
The ambidextrous plastic grips are comfortable for me, but I have fairly small hands. A shooter with large hands may want beefier grips.
The LPA rear sight is shaped a bit like the Novak rear sights found on many modern service pistols. There are white dots on either side of the notch. The front is a plastic blade on a barrel band. I'd rate the sight picture as acceptable for plinking but mediocre for target shooting. I used a Sharpie marker to blacken the white dots. The rear sight notch is a little too wide, IMO. The front sight is too shiny, but since it's plastic you can't smoke it with a match or candle. You might be able to cut the shine with a bit of 220 grit sandpaper.
The balance of the pistol is neutral. As it comes from the factory it could use a bit more weight towards the muzzle, IMO. I made a replacement front sight/muzzle brake unit out of aluminum to improve the sight picture and add a little more weight towards the muzzle end. Details below.
I put 10 rounds through the pistol the night I got it, plus another 40 or so the next. The target below was shot from 25', one handed, with RWS Meisterkuglen pellets. Power was from an old Daisy CO2 cylinder. Crosman recommends using a drop of their Pellgun Oil on the end of each C02 cylinder to keep the seals lubricated.
Point of aim was at 6 o'clock on the bull.
My initial impression is favorable. As long as no mechanical issues arise, it should make a good pistol for indoor marksmanship practice. It's nice to shoot and accurate.
The Crosman 22xx series is sort of the Ruger 10/22 or AR15 of the air pistol world, in that they are modular, easily customizable, and there is a large variety of aftermarket and Crosman-branded parts for modifying the gun to your own preference. For example, Crosman sells a shoulder stock to convert it to a carbine. Longer barrels are available, including in .22 caliber, and even valves which enable more CO2 per shot for higher velocity.
I've recently acquired a bench top milling machine and lathe, so I made a replacement front sight. The base was made on the lathe from a piece of 5/8" 6061 aluminum with a 1/8" slot cut in it using my mill. The blade is from a piece of 1/8" flat 6061 stock.
The blade is held to the base with some Loctite rubber-filled cyanoacrylate glue. The back of the blade was blackened. The bore of the sight base came out a little too large so I shimmed it with a couple pieces of aluminum duct tape on the barrel. It's secured in place by a 1/4"-20 set screw on the bottom. The new front sight gives a better sight picture and made the gun a little muzzle heavy, which is what I was looking for.
Shooting a CO2 powered air gun isn't as cheap per shot as a spring piston or pneumatic gun, but at most it's on par with a .22 rimfire. CO2 and pellets are still easily available, so even with the current buying panic on you can get a lot of practice in.
Overall, the Crosman 2300T is a good choice for target practice, but it can be made better with some modifications.
