# Crosman 392 vs Nitro Piston



## Silvercreek Farmer (Oct 13, 2005)

I'm looking for a .22 air rifle to go with my 1322. I've narrowed it down to a 392 or one of the assorted Crosman Nitro Piston rifles in the same price range. Either rifle will be outfitted with peep sights for offhand practice. The 392 has a pretty assured fit Williams model. A Nitro Piston would get a Williams WGRS-54 (unless someone has a better idea) which might take a little more work to fit properly. Both will likely need a bit of trigger work. Reviews on both models indicate there are a few that come of the line with serious QC problems so I'll just have to roll the dice and rely on return policies and the Crosman warranty in that department if need be.

My hesitancy with the Nitro Piston is based on the Gamo Shadow 1000 I have. I realize the Gamo is not a high end rifle, but the twangy, buzzy, vibration is not conducive to accurate offhand shooting (I am getting better though!) not to mention the crazy long (but remarkably light) trigger. The Nitro Piston is supposed to resolve much of the vibration issues (I have a hard time calling it recoil) but I do not want to get sucked into a bunch of marketing hype just to end up back where I am.

I prefer a .22 for no other reason than I like the wack the .22s put on steel targets and Crosman Premiers will be the primary feed for either rifle. 

I don't think I am interested in a PCP at the moment and the next step up in the single cock department is a RWS Diana 34 which gets good reviews but would be quite a bit more money.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

the 392 is a nice gun it is basically the old Sheridan/Benjamin that was out of Racine Wisconsin , my dad used to know some of the guy there and bought a few of them for other people , not sure why we never got one for us , my neighbor had one growing up , and he would sight in on a log on his wood pile from about 30-40 feet the same distance he shot ground squirrels at he would shoot then reload and shoot again and have pellets buried in the end of a log and touching each other 

I have a 4H shooter who has a the 392 and the only issue I see with it for target shooting is he gets tired of pumping it up so for practice his dad sits next to him and pumps for him 

I don't like the spring air guns because they teach a loose "artillery " hold letting the gun ride with the spring and reverse recoil rather than a good hold that transfers to a 22lr or other cartridge rifle 

the Benjamins are good critter guns and should still be rebuild able with new seals , you basically can't wear out the barrel on these air guns with the soft lead pellets so rebuild able with O rings and a valve assembly is good

my target only air gun of choice for the cost is the Daisy 853 but then again 4H shooter can get them used from the CMP for 125 dollars freshly rebuilt , and they cost me about 6-7 dollars to rebuild when the seals go

I feed the crossman wadcutter .177 competition pellets that come in the 1250 round milk carton


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## Silvercreek Farmer (Oct 13, 2005)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> the 392 is a nice gun it is basically the old Sheridan/Benjamin that was out of Racine Wisconsin , my dad used to know some of the guy there and bought a few of them for other people , not sure why we never got one for us , my neighbor had one growing up , and he would sight in on a log on his wood pile from about 30-40 feet the same distance he shot ground squirrels at he would shoot then reload and shoot again and have pellets buried in the end of a log and touching each other
> 
> I have a 4H shooter who has a the 392 and the only issue I see with it for target shooting is he gets tired of pumping it up so for practice his dad sits next to him and pumps for him
> 
> ...


Thanks Pete. I really wanted to like the 392 (and the peep made for it), but I think I have read too many negative reviews. Appears the quality has gone down quite a bit over the past few years. Just too many problems. I also cross posted on Cast Boolits and a fellow over there said that he had 2 with oversized bores. As boolit casters know, oversized bores are not very conducive to accuracy. Fat pellets will help, but the whole idea was to be able to feed it cheap premiers. 

I totally agree with the artillery hold. I practice with a pellet gun to get better with powder burners without the cost and noise. Using a special hold negates some of the value of the practice.

All said, I think I am going to give the Crosman Vantage .22 Nitro Piston a try. Lots of power and pretty good reviews. Although I might change my mind before I push the button. So many options in this price range!


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

thats a shame they have gone down in quality , the Sheridans were a nice gun in the 1980s when the were made in Racine Wis


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## Silvercreek Farmer (Oct 13, 2005)

Ended up going with a Crosman Shockwave .22. I liked the wood stock option on the Vantage, but the Shockwave include a cheap little scope I can throw on an old 760 I have and has $10 rebate offer so it won out. I'll be sure to report back after I get it broken in.


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## Silvercreek Farmer (Oct 13, 2005)

Turns out the Shockwave stock is designed to be used with a scope and was way too high to be used with the included open sights. Thought I might get charged a 20% restocking fee on the it, so I worked out a deal with my boss to buy from me for a little less than I had in it. Found a local retailer that carried 392s and had a good return policy so I picked one up. I like the way it shoots much better. The trigger is not target grade but is acceptable. The weren't joking about the difficulty of pumps 6,7, and 8 though! Only problem I have is that I had to drift the rear sight way left, even farther than the adjustment screws allow, to get it to shoot straight. But once adjusted, it seems to have adequate accuracy for our little backyard range with targets out to 40-50 yards or so. Not sure if the Williams Peep will be able to fix the windage problem or not. There is also paint present in the muzzle, perhaps cleaning it out will affect windage? I tried some of my wife's acetone based nail polish remover but it didn't seem to have an effect. Also noticed the wood stock is pretty soft, and had to remove my wedding ring to keep from marring it.


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