Air Gun Maniac – Best Air Rifle Reviews

In the air gun market today, there are many air rifles made with nitro piston technology, even the best selling list on amazon.com has a bunch of nitro piston air guns at the top such as the Crosman Nitro Venom, Benjamin Trail XL 1500, Nitro Venom Dusk, Crosman Vantage and so on. In this post, we will take an in-depth look at the nitro piston air gun so you will know whether you need one, whether one is right for you, and whether you should buy one at all.

When nitro piston gun come to the market?

The very first air gun made with nitro piston technology was the Nitro Piston Short Stroke (NPSS). It was introduced publicly for the first time in the summer of 2009 by Crosman Corporation. Crosman had this technology licensed under the name Crosman Nitro Piston ^TM and used it for gun manufacturing in the wide range of air rifles.

How it works?

A nitro piston air gun is a spring gun without the spring. Instead of using a coiled spring as the power plant, it uses a nitrogen-filled cylinder. The nitrogen in this cylinder is already kept under pressure and you put more pressure to it when you cock the gun. The air is held under tension until you pull the trigger. When that happens, the pressurized air expands and propels the piston forward. The piston, in turn, comes abruptly at the air transferred port. The compressed air has nowhere to go but behind the pellet as the chamber is sealed completely. As a result, the pellet is pushed out of the barrel due to the driving force of the compressed air.

Advantages of nitro piston air gun

Nitro piston guns do have plenty of advantages in comparison with spring air guns. Here they are:

Read the rest of this entry

Have you ever wondered how many types of air rifles are out there? Or is your head spinning around with various powerplants and you don’t know which one to choose? I got you covered. In this post, you will get the detailed information about all types of air guns and each type’s advantages and disadvantages so you can save time and money in the quest of searching for the best air gun on the market.

There are 5 types of air guns in the whole world. They are spring powered, gas piston, precharged pneumatic (PCP) , variable pump and CO2 air guns. Each type has its own unique characteristics but all of them got their names due to the way they operate.

Spring powered

In the spring powered air rifle (springer), there is a piston and a coiled spring inside the chamber. The spring is compressed when you cock the gun. When you pull the trigger, you make the spring decompressed so it causes the piston to move forward. The piston movement makes the air compressed and the pellet is propelled out of the muzzle due to the force from pressurized air. All of this happens in the blink of an eye.

Pros

• Simple to use
• Cheap to buy
• Accurate, powerful, consistent on shot-to-shot basis
• Fully self-contained, no need for CO2 cartridges or pumping equipments
• Helps you sharpen your shooting skills since springer often has lots of recoil
• Gun parts are available in the market
• Easy to service, modify or tweak the gun for better performance.

Cons

• More recoil compared to other types
• Requires practice to cock and shoot properly
• Cannot be left cocked since the spring will be fatigued and might not function perfectly
• Gets weaker if you shoot for several years, but can be modified for better performance

Read the rest of this entry

The Crosman M4-177 was first introduced publicly in November, 2011. It got its official name of M4-177 in January, 2012 (before that time it was called the M417). Since its first introduction, it quickly became one of the most popular and sought-after air rifles on the market. Crosman has made this gun as a replica of the M4-Assault rifle with the pumping action to reflect the tactical style air gun shooters are looking for. You will find it easy to fall in love with this cool air rifle at the end of this review.

Gun Type

The Crosman M4-177 is a multi-pump pneumatic air rifle. A multi-stroke air gun has a piston and a pressure cylinder inside the chamber. When you cock the gun, the air between the piston and the cylinder is compressed. It has no where to go and is forced into the cylinder. The cylinder itself has a lock valve that allows the air in, keeps it there and doesn’t let it leak out. When you pull the trigger, you release the pressurized gas and it propels the bullet downrange inside the barrel. All of this happens in a fraction of a second.

A multi-pump air rifle permits you to have control over the power of the gun. The more you pump, the higher the velocity, the greater the power. The less you pump, the lower the FPS, and the lower the power. This characteristic of a multi-stroke air gun provides you adaptability for short and long range shooting as well as for indoor or outdoor shooting.

A multi-pump air gun is lightweight, compact and recoilless. Most of them have medium power. They are also self-contained with manual pumping action so you don’t have to buy expensive pumping equipment such as CO2 cartridges or scuba tanks like other pneumatic air rifles. The only downside of a pump air gun is the considerable amount of time and effort required for cocking action before each shot. In a hunting situation, your animal target can run away if you don’t hit it with the first shot and are still busy with the pumping action.

The caliber (the internal diameter of the bore, measured in inches) of the Crosman M4-177 is .177 inches or 4.5 millimeters. .177 caliber is the most common caliber of air gun. It uses .177 pellet which often has high velocity, good knockdown power and flat trajectory. To be more specific, flat trajectory makes it easy to zero in the target and effortless to make an accurate shot. .177 pellet also is very cheap so it’s awesome for shooters who want to shoot a lot without worrying about the cost of ammo.

Read the rest of this entry

The Crosman Nitro Venom .22 caliber air rifle has a high-technology built-in feature that sets it apart from other spring air guns. Plenty of people love this air gun for its new technology feature, quietness, high power, and high velocity. At the end of this review, I guarantee that this is the air gun you want to add into your gun collection.

Gun Type

The Crosman Nitro Piston .22 air gun features nitro piston technology. It works based on the principles of gas ram technology. Back to 1976, Ben Taylor and his team invented the first gas ram gun due to frustration with the performance of the springers. Today, Crosman Corporation has taken this innovation to the next level with nitro piston technology. They had this technology licensed and use it in wide range of air rifles.

So, how does the nitro piston air gun work? Basically, a nitro piston gun works the same way as the spring air gun does, but it has nitrogen filled gas ram instead of a coiled spring as the propulsion system. Inside the chamber, there are a nitrogen cylinder and a piston. The nitrogen in the cylinder is already held under pressure and you apply more pressure to it when you cock the gun. The pressurized air is kept under tension until you pull the trigger. When that happens, the gas expands and propels the piston forward. The piston comes rapidly after the air transferred port. The compressed air has nowhere to go but behind the pellet since the chamber is sealed completely. As a result, the pellet is discharged from the barrel due to propellant force of compressed air.

A nitro piston air gun offers lots of advantages in comparison with traditional spring air guns. I wrote the whole post discussing about what nitro piston technology is, its merits, and its demerits here.

Read the rest of this entry

The Crosman Optimus .177 air rifle is presented publicly first time in 2011. Since its first introduction, it has quickly become the most popular and sought-after air gun in the market. It is not overstated to say that Crosman Optimus .177 has given its manufacturer (Crosman Corporation) more profit, bigger market share and more loyal customers. You will find all reasons behind it in the end of this Crosman Optimus .177 review.

Gun Type

The Crosman Optimus .177 Caliber air rifle is a spring powered air gun. As the name suggests, there are a coiled spring and a piston inside the chamber. When you cock the gun, you make the spring compress until the small hook of the rear of the piston engages into the sear. When you pull the trigger, you release the hook, causing the spring to decompress. The decompressed spring makes the piston move forward and causes the air to compress inside. As a result, the bullet is propelled out of the barrel.

Spring air guns are known for their consistentcy in shot-to-shot basic, high power and for their impressive accuracy.

The barrel of this air gun is a rifled barrel (or spiral barrel) with grooves inside. This is designed to make the bullet spin before it leaves the barrel. Spin increases the bullet’s stability, improves accuracy and enhances shooting range.

The Crosman Optimus .177 is a single-shot, break barrel air gun. It means that you can only shoot 1 bullet at a time. Besides, you have to break the barrel after each shot. In order to cock it, you have to hold the gun close to your body, firmly slap the muzzle, pivot it toward the end of the gun, insert the pellet (with the pellet’s skirt toward you and the pellet’s nose forward of the barrel), and swing it back into its original position. This may take some practice at first but when you get used to it, it will become second nature.

This air rifle has .177 caliber . It means that the internal diameter of the barrel is .177 inches. The .177 caliber is the most common caliber in the air gun world. The .177 caliber is truly popular and is a top choice of consumers for cost effective plinking/shooting since the ammo it uses (.177 pellet ) is very cheap.

Read the rest of this entry

The Gamo Big Cat 1250 air rifle has the word “Big Cat” in its name, implying that there is something special( and nasty!) about this gun. After reviewing it carefully, I am confident to say that no matter what your shooting skill is, this air gun will take you to the next level (or should I say supersonic level?)

Gamo Big Cat 1250’s Gun type

The Gamo Big Cat 1250 is a spring powered air rifle. For each shot, the spring inside is compressed by the cocking action. When you pull the trigger, the spring decompresses, causing the piston to move forward. The piston in turn makes the pellet go down range due to propellant force from compressed air. All of this happens in the fraction of a second. With this springer, you don’t need to pay for on-going expenses such as CO2 cartridges or pumping equipment like other air rifles.

The barrel of the Gamo Big Cat 1250 is not a smooth bore but a rifled barrel with grooves inside. Unlike the smooth bore, the rifled barrel makes the pellet spin. Spin stabilizes the pellet, improves its accuracy and enhances the shooting range. Moreover, this barrel is fluted (fluting means cut out materials from the cylindrical surface), so it is lighter (since the materials are removed) and dissipates heat quicker. But it dissipates heat rapidly not due to increasing surface area as conventional wisdom states. The real reason is the air inside the barrel is able to reach the surface quickly, then equalizes with the outside temperature at a fast rate. As a result, the bore is cooled off faster than the normal barrel. This unique feature of the Gamo Big Cat 1250 allows you to shoot for long hours without worrying about an overheated barrel.

Read the rest of this entry

Daisy Outdoor Product is a well-known manufacturer for many decades in American. The Daisy Red Ryder 1938 is one of the most famous and popular models the company ever produced. In my opinion, there are five great reasons people choose to buy this particular air rifle:

• Budget price
• Respected name
• Had one as the kid
• Are a fan of the Christmas Story movie
• Looking for a beginner air rifle for someone aged 10 and up ( and I do mean ALL the way up because there are plenty of adults who like this rifle )

The gun has undergone a few changes over the years and the materials used in production aren’t the same as when you might had one as a child – even WHERE it’s manufactured has changed – but it’s still got the same look and a nice, accurate shot.

Read the rest of this entry

Among the choices of free-time hobbies, air rifle shooting comes to the top of the list. It’s cheap, quiet, and enjoyable. There is nothing to compare to this fun hobby, whether you use an air rifle for plinking, pest control, hunting or simple shooting at your mother’s frying pan in the back yard, the experiences are extremely relaxing, cool and entertaining.

However, when it comes to choosing the right rifle for you to buy, it’s a whole different story. Tell me if this sounds familiar to you: You are excited to buy an air rifle for your own or as the gift. You ask Mr. Google for help, and it answers with dozens of websites. You open 4 browsers with 8 tabs each. You see a lot of air rifles to choose, many types of bullet to decide, and so on. That makes you feel in control with abundant choices, but it also puts you in trouble. You recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all gun if you only look at the price tags and few lines of product descriptions. And then your browsers crash and you have to reopen it again. It all seems like many times have passed until the early birds begin to sing, and you realize that you take too much time and effort in this air rifle buying matter.

So, wouldn’t it be great if something or someone could give you what you want and help you decide which one is best? Can you afford to ignore the site that has all-in-one information you seek? At Airgunmaniac.com, we give you all the things you need before spending your serious money. We gather information from various sources, conduct deep research about each product individually, and consolidate them in the bite-sized and easy-to-use format.

No more look up to dictionary trying to understand what the heck does “ballistic coefficient” mean.

No more reading through hundreds of Amazon customer reviews page with different and completely opposite opinions.

No more spinning around with a dozen of product manuals, no more pain and frustration.

We have done all the dirty, hard work for you so you can make a conscious buying decision without breaking the bank. And please keep in mind that all information in this site is written carefully and objectively, nothing but research and in-depth reviews here. So feel free to read and check it out, while enjoying your own cup of coffee.