The Crosman 3622 PCP.
This report covers:
- Filled with the AirVenturi G9 hand pump
- The test
- JTS Dead Center 18.1-grain
- H&N Baracuda 15
- AEA Center Punch dome
- Tough judgement
- Crosman Premier
- What to do?
- Ten shot group
- Pellet picky
- Not finished
- Summary
Today we look at the accuracy of the Crosman 3622 precharged pneumatic (PCP) air rifle with a couple of the newer premium pellets that have come out, plus several old favorites we haven’t yet tried.
Filled with the AirVenturi G9 hand pump
Since the 3622 only fills to 2000 psi it’s easy to fill with a hand pump. And as I am testing the Air Venturi G9 hand pump, I used it — not once but twice. I can now confirm that you get one shot per pump stroke, which is a number hand-pump users are concerned with.
The test
I shot the rifle off a sandbag rest at 25 yards. It was scoped with a 3-12X32 Bug Buster scope for Part 4 back in May so there was no sight-in today. I started at 25 yards.
I shot 5-shot groups to be able to shoot more different pellets. And I used what I thought was the best pellet to shoot a 10-shot group at the end of the test. Let’s get started.
JTS Dead Center 18.1-grain
First up was the JTS Dead Center 18.1-grain dome. They all hit high on the target and five went into a 1.622-inch group at 25 yards. This is definitely not a pellet for this rifle!
The Crosman 3622 put five JTS 18.1-grain domes into 1.622-inches at 25 yards.
H&N Baracuda Match with 5.53mm head
The second pellet I tried was the H&N Baracuda Match with 5.53mm head. Five went into 0.673-inches at 25 yards. That’s slightly better than the best group made in the Part 4 test.
The 3622 put five H&N Baracuda Match with 5.53mm heads into a 0.673-inch group at 25 yards.
H&N Baracuda 15
The third pellet was the H&N Baracuda 15. Five went into 0.867-inches at 25 yards. These pellets hit the target very high, but notice that the Baracuda Match were in the center of the bull. I’ll say more about that at the end of this report.
The 3622 put five H&N Baracuda 15s into 1.007-inches at 25 yards.
AEA Center Punch dome
The fourth pellet tested was the Center Punch dome from AEA. You may remember that I told you that JTS pellets and AEA pellets are made by the same company. Do you therefore expect these to scatter like the JTS did? Before answering consider the Air Arms Falcon that sometimes does much differently than any of the JSB pellets, despite their being made in the same factory.
The 3622 put five AEA pellets into a 1.007-inch group at 25 yards. But the final four are in 0.409-inches. This lead me to wonder something. Does the 3622 want to be conditioned with a pellet before it will group? More on this in a bit.
Five AEA pellets made a 1.007-inch group at 25 yards, with the last four going into 0.409-inches.
Tough judgement
This is where it becomes hard to judge. Since the last four pellets went into a very small group I wanted to say the 3622 needs to be conditioned with pellets before it will group. Perhaps you do, too? Many shooters believe that and I’m not certain I’m not one of them. But just wait before you decide.
Crosman Premier
The Crosman Premier was the last pellet I tried, and I’m darned if it didn’t do exactly what the AEA pellet did. The first shot went high and the last four all went to the same place. Five are in 1.047-inches between centers with the last four in 0.344-inches. Golly — it sure looks like the barrel-conditioning theory is being proven!
Five Crosman Premier pellets went into 1.047-inches between centers with the last four in 0.344-inches.
What to do?
At this point I wondered what would be the right thing to do. I decided to shoot a ten-shot group with the pellet that looked to be the best, and since I didn’t go downrange and see the groups close up, I mistakenly chose the AEA group.
I figured the rifle barrel had to be conditioned with the AEA pellet before I shot the group. I also figured the rifle needed to be refilled so it was performing at its best. So I refilled the rifle with the G9 hand pump and it took exactly 25 pump strokes to get to full, once the rifle started accepting air. I could tell from the sound the rifle made when that happened. That is why I’m telling you 3622 users what the hand pump can do — one pump per shot.
Ten shot group
I first conditioned the barrel with three shots. Then I fired the group. Several of the first shots went wide and the final shots went to the same place. Ten shots are in 1.12-inches at 25 yards, with the final six in 0.459-inches. Arrgh!
Ten AEA pellets made a group that measures 1.12-inches between centers with the last six going into 0.459-inches.
Not finished
I had hoped to complete the test of the Crosman 3622 today, but I’m not leaving this hanging. I will ponder how best to proceed and I’m sure you will, as well.
Pellet picky
The 3622 rifle I’m testing seems to be very pellet picky. Points of impact change as the brand of pellets changes. I think I need to find one good pellet and stick with it.
Summary
I may have learned something today but it’s going to take another test to know for sure. I will say that I like the 3622 — especially how easy it is to fill.
“Ten AEA pellets made a group…with the last six going into 0.459-inches.”
Yeah, BB, it sure looks like she wants to shoot a good group.
Once you find the right pellet for her, I think she’ll shine. 🙂
Blessings to you,
dave
B.B.
How many licks to get to the center of a Tootsie-Pop, no how many pumps to fill the Crosman 3622 from empty with your hand pump?
Before you go chasing your tail trying to find a good pellet, how about giving the bore a good cleaning with a brass/bronze brush?
-Yogi
Yogi, you’re looking at 70 or so pumps from empty.
Imagine pumping this up with a hand pump?
https://newatlas.com/environment/pneumatic-drive-compressed-air-ferries/
Just goes to show that PCP’s are not just airguns!!
-Yogi
Yogi,
PCP Car anyone? I remember years ago a Russia PCP car. Not sure if it ever entered production.
https://zeropollutionmotors.us/
Doc
Yogi,
That’s a good idea, Yogi.
BB
BB
If you plan to clean the barrel as Yogi suggests will you use a cleaning rod guide to protect the crown? Or you may be able to use a pull through cord with embedded wire brush. Just wondering if newbies know about guides.
Deck
Next?
A Dragonfly Mk-22 PCP would be nice.
Tom,
At 1 stroke of the pump per shot that should be a dream gun for a lot of people thinking of a single stroke pneumatic with the power of a PCP. Sure the pump is separate but to really want your cake and eat it will make this light rifle heavier than one would need. 25 shots between refills (requiring only 25 strokes!) is a very good number of shots already. I can’t imagine anybody hunting all day requiring more than 25 shots unless they are on a rat hunt and the place is overrun already by those pests.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
Yes but does the pump have to be separate? We had some with built in pumps that showed promise,
American Tactical Nova / Seneca Aspen. Maybe advancements on making the built in pump gun lighter and tighter quality control?
Doc
BB,
I also am starting to like this little PCP. What I am really looking forward to is if/when TCFKAC comes out with the 3677, the .177 version of this air rifle. Now if TCFKAC does not do so in a short enough time, I may just go ahead and build my own. It will not be that hard. The parts are already there. TCFKAC could slap one together in a moment.
Hmmmm…
For this type of PCP, I’d expect 1.5 to 2.5 moa groups to be typical at this range.
The best pellet (Premiers) is shooting 1.3 moa core group with a 3.9 moa flier.
The other pellets are also shooting half decent core groups with some bad fliers.
If I had to guess, from reading these groups, I’d say that the airgun is shooting pretty good but the barrel is sensitive to pellet variations.
I’d clean and check the airgun (loose hardware and possible clipping) then try pellets that have been weight and head sized.
Sorting pellets is probably more bother than it’s worth for a short range plinking rifle where minute-of-a-tin-can accuracy is fine. Still, it would be nice to know what the 3622 is capable of given its best chances.
Just my 2 cents.
Hank
Thanks for circling back to this BB as I thought it may have been forgotten. I posted some conclusions back in one of your prior parts on this rifle and since that time have performed some more testing. What I have concluded are the following:
1.) Crosman appeared to have produced a “new run” of barrels sometime after the mid-summer 2024 time frame and the new barrels I received during this apparent run shot MUCH more precisely and were less pellet picky than the barrels they were shipping on the anniversary edition 362s which is highly unfortunate for owners of that gun. I don’t know if I got a “lucky batch”, if the barrels degrade over the production run, etc., etc. But for anyone that can’t seem to achieve at least a 3/4″ group of 10 shots with any of the commonly available pellets I would suggest a barrel swap as a potential remedy. Now the 362-based guns are rivaling and, in many cases, exceeding the precision of the Dragonfly MK2 I have which I raved about last time.
2.) The new barrels still pass pellets through with relatively little resistance proving this isn’t much of a factor, at least in my experiences.
As far as pellet “conditioning”, I have seen similar results but it is not always consistent as you’ve experienced as well.
One long-term question on pellet selection I’m wondering now, is if gun X shoots pellet Y great today, will it shoot pellet Y the same 10 years from now when the “run” of pellets at that time may be significantly different due to die changes or whatever magical equipment is used at the time?
One thing seems to be absolutely certain: precision, even at these ranges and group sizes, is extremely sensitive to the barrel and projectile which is no wonder why Pope put so much effort into matching them to achieve the precision he was able to.
My goal of consistently achieving 3/4″ groups at 25 yards has been met, and generally exceeded, by just acquiring a more recent run of barrels and testing them. I hope Crosman continues to supply barrels with this level of consistency moving forward.
You will probably have to contact Uncle Xi about the barrels and ask him.
Would say, for the money, this is a pretty decent minimum-drama performer and a good PCP for a beginner. Though this is not a strict apples-to-apples comparison, have found it takes about 80-85 pump strokes to fill the Maximus rifles to 2000 PSI when the gauge is in the C02-red zone. That is with the Hatsan pump Gunfun graciously donated to Casa FM.
Off subject. Just got my December copy of Firearms News. There is a well worth reading article on Umarex Komplete nitrogen powered PCP. This blog sponsor sells them at a competitive price.
Deck