Hi. Mine is a .22 caliber. As an Old Fat Bald Man (proud of that self-titled label grin) with arthritic hands, the .22 is easier for me to load. My rifle has a very satisfying "pfft" sound too as it launches the .22 pellets downrange. This scope, at around $100 online, has a strong following as you likely already know. The adjustable objective is helpful to me. I've not had a use yet for the lighted reticle from which I can choose red or green illumination.
The bolt had to be modified a bit by me. I used a hardwood simple jig to isolate the movement of the handle as I used a small arbor press to increase the bolt handle bend a bit. I then carefully ground, smooth filed the bolt knob flats and polished them with 1500 grip sanding paper and water. Yes, the nickel plating got removed there at the flats but a touch of oil rubbed on the flats as I lube the bolt and rest of this beautiful gun should prevent any rust. Without the bolt bend increase, I'd have had to use very high scope rings to clear the scope, or machine the back of the bolt body after removing the handle, then thread the bolt end for a knurled knob.
Another trick on these guns I learned from other users is to use acetone to remove paint overspray inside the muzzle from the manufacturing process. Q-Tips dipped in acetone rubbed repeatedly in the bore at the muzzle an inch or so back into the barrel until the Q-Tips come out clean made a difference. Just had to be sure the muzzle pointed downward to prevent any acetone from running back into the action.
I bought this rifle direct from Crosman on a holiday sale for $150 including shipping to my door. The Baker mount was around $58 shipped. As said above, the scope was around $100.
I really like this gun as I can choose my power level for the application. Just three pumps for puttering around in my yard, or 8 pumps for serious business. I learned early too, that as with changing powder charges when reloading for cartridge firearms to find the sweet spot, the number of pumps on my multi-pump air guns has a profound impact on group size.
Thanks for the kind words folks.
Don
