Crosman Challenger - Good or bad?

[Trooperjake]

Can some of our experts give me an expert commentary on the Crosman Challenger Sporter Air Rifle?

I am not wild about the Air Tube, not being replaceable.

What do you think of the AdJustments, Accuracy, repair record, Sights, etc.

Is there another Rifle that a shooter can start with and transfer to Precision at a later time?

Can a Anschutz Club Air Rifle be used for Sporter?

Thank you in advance....

[rtucker6508]

Best Sporter rifle... hands down.

[dschaller]

If you have any shooters with small hands, the stock sucks (to be kind). Whoever designed a stock for younger shooters with the trigger so far away from where your hand is should be fired. It would have been so easy to have designed a stock with a hand location like on a Walther LG300 Junior rifle that actually fit small hands, and it would not have cost any more. Instead they have a hunting rifle stock. Other than that I agree it is a good Sporter action and sights.

[jhmartin]

Best sporter rifle... hands down.

Let me correct the above statement:
Best low-cost precision rifle .... the CMP only pushes it as a sporter!

CMP allows all the adjustments that you can do in precision ... and Crosman has played the game putting adjustments on the rifle and then lobbying CMP to allow those adjustments during a match.
1) buttplate
2) cheekpiece
3) precision quality sights (that CMP will not allow on other guns)
4) trigger that can be easily adjusted below the minimum ... and it's a very nice trigger too!

The only downside of the Challenger is the smallish capacity of it's air reservoir. If a shooter shoots lots of sighters, they may have to fill in the middle of a match ... but CMP has also built in time for that during a match too.

If you are looking to get the gun that will allow your sporter shooters the most leeway and adaptability in a match, it's the Challenger, hands-down.

[rtucker6508]

Completely agree ^^^

[TenMetrePeter]

The British made Air Arms S400 MPR Sporter is making great inroads into teenage sporter and "sprint" shooting in UK. Based on the rugged S400 engine modified to 6 ft lbs with rmovable cylinder it is a great option. Add 30mm butt spacers and it is full adult size.
(I only assume it complies with US sporter rules however).

https://www.air-arms.co.uk/uncategorize ... bby-warren

https://www.targetsprint.com

[jhmartin]

We've been talking about CMP 3-P Air Sporter rifles.
The MPRs are not legal for that event.

The S200 Sporters are legal and I have a few of those and some of the older XSV-40's (same basis).
They are fine guns, but again CMP discriminates against the more modern MPRs because of cost.
The S200 guns are fine CMP sporters, but the are kinda light and you have to add weight. We use them almost exclusively for our younger shooters.

Crosman is able to keep the gun cost down due to the volume of guns they make and sell them as loss leaders to the JROTC cadet commands in the thousands. Without those sales, they would be far out of the Sporter $525 limit. Retail of the Challenger is about $650 with sights. The games Crosman is able to get away with ......

[TenMetrePeter]

Right! I found thr CMP rules now. You dont get much for 600 bucks! Quite close to the 3.4kg limit too.

[Trooperjake]

List price for the Challenger is now $650.00 on the Pryamid web site.
Creedmore Sports sells it for $549.00

[jhmartin]

Right! I found thr CMP rules now. You dont get much for 600 bucks! Quite close to the 3.4kg limit too.

Actually you get a damn good CMP 3-PAR sporter rifle ... and one that you can easily begin transitioning those sporter shooters quite economically. No longer do you have to shell out +$2K for an Olympic style rifle to see if they like the "pressure" of the big boy/big girl matches.

I do like the rifle ... I just don't like the way CMP has massaged the rules to give it such a distinct advantage.
You cannot fault their marketing team for being the defacto supplier of JROTC programs. That fact has allowed them to produce a gun in quantities to keep if from being a $900+ rifle.

[GaryN]

I wonder if the AF Edge will have an improved 2nd version like the Challenger 2009?
There is potential in the Edge, and it's pistol grip looks much better for smaller hands.

[jhmartin]

I never saw the Edge as anything more than an "8-ring" air rifle.
And a way too expensive one at that. SRP is over $100 more than allowed.
Never liked the front sight system which I think contributes to it's poor accuracy

Due to the weight & size it may be a good starter for the smaller kids, but we've been able to do the same thing with the XSV-40s and the T200s. Plus the CZs are pretty rugged which is a plus for a 4-H club such as ours.

[GaryN]

I never saw the Edge as anything more than an "8-ring" air rifle.
And a way too expensive one at that. SRP is over $100 more than allowed.
Never liked the front sight system which I think contributes to it's poor accuracy

Due to the weight & size it may be a good starter for the smaller kids, but we've been able to do the same thing with the XSV-40s and the T200s. Plus the CZs are pretty rugged which is a plus for a 4-H club such as ours.

That is kinda what I meant.
The 1st version of the Challenger was a bust, so Crosman came out with the Challenger 2009, which was/is a hit.
If AF can fix the accuracy problem in a 2nd version, then maybe ...
But given how dominant the Challenger 2009 is, an Edge v2 would have a difficult uphill battle. I think the window of opportunity for the Edge v2 has past.

So will it be a Challenger 2009 or a T200 as my casual target rifle, when I don't want to pull out the precision stuff.
Boy and their toys :-)