These Crosman 160 clones are great. Who’da thunk it?!
Post by Ron Robinson:
Greetings fellow airgunners, and thank you Stephen for inviting me to participate in the Archer on Airguns blog. I appreciate the opportunity to share my opinions and experiences, and hope to contribute something(s) of value to the dialogue.
Long an aficionado of Crosman collectable airguns, I was both surprised and put-off that the Chinese would have the audacity to reproduce the highly-venerated, classic Crosman 160 and 167 models with the QB line of CO2 rifles. Such heresy! However, having failed to locate a .177 Crosman model 167, I soon had a QB77 Deluxe (clone) on order.
When the first three-shot group at fifty yards went into .30” center-to-center, I knew the QB was something special. The next two groups measured .40” and .50” center-to-center, converting me from disbeliever to QB devotee in less than ten shots!
Having proven my .22 Crosman 160 infatuation more than simply a nut-case obsession in silhouette competition, I felt the incredible accuracy displayed by my .177 QB had real potential for field-target competition… if not for its mediocre power and variable trajectory (with temperature fluctuation). When a few individuals began converting QBs to high-pressure air (HPA), I took immediate notice, and converted my own at the first opportunity.
The customized QB has well lived up to all expectations; most recently capturing a strong second place at the 2009 U.S. Field-Target National Championships in Hunter Class. That the first and third place Hunter rifles were the highest state-of-the art, competition-specific field-target rifles produced today, costing SIX TIMES that of my custom QB, vindicated my QB obsession as something more than just blind faith.
In reproducing the fine classic Crosman Model 160/167, Chinese industy has gifted American airgunners with not only an incredible (and incredible-shooting) bargain, but an awesome platform for customizations ranging from simple cosmetic make-over to world-class custom competition rifles. Who’da thunk it?!
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