Nodak Outdoors Hunting & Fishing Forums

[gryd]

Hi,

I purchased the Crosman Storm break barrel pellet gun the other day. When I brought it home and began firing it it sounded like a .22 rifle. A little smoke also came from the barrel. It was way to loud for my neighborhood ( I plan to use it in my backyard to rid myself of a squirrel problem). After firing about 10 shots I had to go out so I left the gun in the garage. Upon returning an hour later I fired the gun (using the same ammo) and it was considerable quieter. It only has made the loud sound once since then. My questions are:

1. Has the gun already lost power or is something wrong?

2. I may have left it cocked (which I kow know I shouldn't do). Could this have weakened it for this short of time?

3. Is this normal?

Thanks!

[Bgunit68]

I believe the Storm is 1000 FPS. What pellets are you using? If you are using the new alloy/coated pellets, which increase the velocity by about 20%, that break the sound barrier you might be getting a small sonic boom. The speed of sound is around 1120 fps. I have the Hunter Extreme. With lighter pellets it breaks the sound barrier. When I use those PBA pellets it makes a terrible crack. Also, when you break the barrier, the projectile becomes unstable (due to the sonic wave behind it). Those pellets tend to tumble under 35 yards. I use a heavy 10.6 gr pellet for around the house. It's still loud but it is tolerable. Gamo makes a pellet rifle with a noise dampener called the Whisper. They claim it reduces the noise by 52%. If you go online you can find them far a little over $200. If you are going to shoot a lot I found this site called Pyramyd Air. The prices for pellets are very good. But if you are buying 3 tins of ammo they give you a 4th free. I use the Beeman Kodiak Match Extra Heavy. They sell them for 11.99 per 500. If you buy 3 and get 1 free that’s $8.99 each. What I did was to order a bunch of different ammo to see which one I like best. Sorry for the long winded reply.

[gentleman4561]

That is normal. the manufacture puts a lot of grease on the gun when it isnt being used for a while. When you fire the gun for a split second the air in the chamber heats up to 200 degrees. If their is any grease and can cause it to basically blow up do not hurt your gun but is loud. Al0os it is possible that you are breaking the sound barrier if you are shooting pba ammo. good luck with the squirrels

[gryd]

Thanks for your quick responses. I thought it may be the grease but then yesterday (after about 50 more shots) it let out another loud blast. Is this also common? All the ammo I've been using has been crosman premier pellets. I'm glad it's quieter. I just hope I didn't damage the gun by leaving it cocked for an hour? Any thoughts?

[Cleankill47]

No, you haven't messed the gun up. Don't worry about it, you'll probably have it cocked for longer periods of time than that looking for a rabbit in the bush....

Your rifle let out another loud crack most likely because Crosman Premier pellets are very cheaply made, and if you load one with a dent in the skirt, air will rush past it, causing the snap. From my experience with those pellets, they will dent just from being in the tin...

I highly recommend Beeman Gold-Coated Hollowpoints. You won't get as many pellets for your money, sure, but you won't have to shoot as many, either. Plus, they're high-quality for the price, they're a little heavier (making for quieter shots), and they hit hard!

Oh, and the effect of the loud noises when first firing a new spring-piston air rifle is called Dieseling, basically the grease explodes from the pressure in the rifle. It only happens with spring-piston air rifles.

So there you go, dude...

[gryd]

You guys are great! Thanks for your responses. Now I just have to practice my aim so I can get some squirrels!

[Cleankill47]

You wil have to go through about a tin or two of ammo before you start seeing really tight groups, unless you find some ammo that your rifle just loves...

[tenbears]

Yea, I have the same thing happen, but it happens randomly. So each time I pull the trigger I pray that it doesn't do that. I mean the neighbors don't like it either.
I have the Remington Summit (100fps), thats a nice $200 gun, I shot a squirrel from about 40 yards away and 75 feet up in a tree in the neck and that sucker had a clean fall all the way down.

[Woogie_man]

It has nothing to do with how fast the rifle is shooting, or how long you keep the rifle cocked.....

What has happened is that some of the oil that they use has gotten into the spring chamber of the gun.. What is happening is something called "Diesling". It will most likey happen with a new air gun for the most part. But when you go to clean your barrel never NEVER put any kinda of lube into the spring chamber. If you do this to much it will destroy your rifle.

[gimmick]

You've had several answers above which are correct or partially correct. Here's a quick breakdown of the variables:

a) Speed of sound creates a "crack" and destabilizes the pellet as its not designed to go supersonic. How many firearm bullets are shaped like a pellet gun pellet?

b) A new spring gun has a lot of lube in the "compression chamber" where the air is compressed. This heats up and can diesel or experience combustion. Dieseling is the white smoke you see and combustion will leave you thinking you were in the civil war with a muzzle loader.

c) All spring guns need a minimum break-in of 100 to 250 rounds. The clean the barrel a push through rod and cotton patches. It should feel tight when you push through remove the crud. Do not use Hoppes or any other solvent as it will eat your rubber seals.

d) Light pellets go faster than heavy pellets. Light pellets loose velocity faster as they carry less energy. Heavy pellets benefit you by avoiding the trans-sonic and sonic barriers. I recommend 8/grain at 1000ft/s and 10/grain at 1200ft/s for 177 caliber. 22 is easier unless you have an ultra magnum.

e) Spring guns are hold sensitive, I had to remove my scope to realize the full potential of my gun because it shoulders the same way every time with open sights. Top tip if you're having problems with accuracy.

f) This isn't recommended by anyone but I've noticed a smoother shooting experience when I leave my gun cocked for 30 minutes a couple of time spread out over a few weeks when its new. Extended cocking of a spring gun will reduce its power and life. But I feel 30 minutes here and there shouldn't affect it negatively. Don't leave it cocked over night!

g) Never dry fire your spring gun, nor use super light pellets, as the spring isn't adequately cushioned by air resistance when it bottoms out.

There's a ton of advice for ya. Enjoy your gun. I've seen a recent blog that shows a quality springer can last nearly 200K shots and still keep going.

Remember to use the manufactures recommended lubricants at their suggested maintenance period (or a little longer) for the synthetic seals in your gun.

Have fun!

[blowgunner62]

The first couple times you heard it, it was probably dieseling. It could also be that the pellet was too loose in the barrel and fell out, causing a dry fire when you thought that you were shooting a pellet.

Old post, but good subject.

[Ambush Hunter]

Here is something else for you.

Heavy pellets help to speed up the healing process from dieseling.

Dieseling goes away on its own. Keep shooting.

Don't waste your time on suppressing the sound signature. Most of the noise on spring-piston airguns comes from internals. That so called noise dampener on Gamo Whisper DOES NOT work. It's a joke for us and a marketing strategy for Gamo people.

Buy some high quality German pellets and find the most accurate for YOUR rifle.