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celine · New Member

I just started 2 weeks ago shooting with my 2289 Crosman. How long it might take to become good at shooting target or pests ?? Sometimes, I get a few good shot in a row and other times, I missed everything... I am a bit discouraged now ....Any advice will be welcome.
Thanks.

AirGunEric · Site Admin

There are a couple of things to consider in this situation- is it you, or the gun, or a combination of the two?

First- make sure your sites are positioned correctly- just because you haven't adjusted them since the box was opened doesn't mean they were set properly at the factory- check it. Here's a method: http://www.airgunhome.com/agforum/viewtopic.php?t=12

The Crosman 2289 is a MSP, or 'pumper' type gun- so always use the same number of pumps when shooting for practice- this allows for more consistency. For example if you only pumped the gun 4 times on one shot, then 6 on the next, the difference in propellant pressure may affect your accuracy depending on how far away the object you are shooting at sits.

Next, try practicing on something that isn't moving as you try to shoot- i.e. a can, a paper target, a barrel -whatever you find amusing (and that is safely set up). If you find shooting at a typical paper target to be a bit boring- then go with an aluminum can which you can watch bounce around and shred the more you hit it. If you're not entertained/amused somewhat by the shooting, you probably will grow tired or impatient with it quickly and stop maybe before you've gotten very good at it. Same thing for weather- if you hate rain or extreme heat- don't go shooting in the rain or extreme heat conditions- no need to be uncomfortable and not enjoying it.

Pull the trigger slowly and evenly- no yanking on it, or you will always pull the gun off the target as you shoot. Try using this as an indicator of what may be happening (print it out full-size on an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper and mount it): http://www.airgunhome.com/images/targets/correction.jpg

With practice, you should become a more accurate shooter. If you want a complete "guide" on shooting, look here: http://www.airgunhome.com/agforum/viewtopic.php?t=17

And, as a final note- if you are being consistent, but find that the gun seems to "change" where it aims on its own- it is possible the barrel crown isn't very good (Crosman, at times, seems to have bad batches of crowns) which will contribute to inaccurate groups of shots. This can be fixed rather easily- but should probably not be the first thing to verify.

These are things that have worked for me- but other people around here might have some ideas that would be helpful.

Good luck and let us know how you are making out!

leadman · Veteran Member

another thing with the 2289 along with pumping it the full number of times, you should make sure that you open the pump fully, wait a second close it fully for every pump.

JP07 · New Member

I'm new on the sport as well and got a cheap b8-2. I'm trying to make miracles with it Smile

or at least have some fun.

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

I used to have that same Crossman when I was a kid and got pretty good at shooting birds and rabbits with it. Pneumatics suck in general, but you can still get decent accuracy out of it. The best thing to do is practice shooting at the exact distance and angle that you are encountering your prey at. Set up targets in the shape of birds or mice or squirells and see if you can hit them. Also, try to always get as close as possible when shooting. This requires good stalking skills in addition to good marksmanship (i.e. sniper skills).

cw · Banned

One, if not the most important things is to shoot.
The more that you practice, the better you become.
Don't be discouraged by poor results at the begining.

Experiment with different pellets also, as almost all
airguns will have only a couple that will shoot well in
them.

CW

AirGunEric · Site Admin