Gun test: Crosman Phantom II kit

The editor looks at the latest version of Crosman’s popular break-barrel

Many people coming into the grand sport of airgunning need a rifle that’s good and solid, yet simple to own and operate. Shop owners have told me that £200 is the magic number that people often set as a budget, and the manufacturers know it. Lots of them have a ‘bundle’ that includes the rifle, scope and mounts that retail exactly at that price and it’s become very competitive between them, which is good for us. Crosman has exactly that and it seems they’ve added some high-quality extras to make their offering that much more appealing. The Phantom II is a classic break-barrel springer at its heart. It wears an ambidextrous synthetic stock that is tough and unaffected by moisture or mud, and its long, sporting lines are enhanced by a full-length barrel shroud/silencer, adding to the good looks and cutting muzzle noise somewhat.

The scope they chose for the outfit is their own brand, Center Point 3-9 x 40, that has a mil-dot-style reticle, which is a nice touch. Windage and elevation adjusters are the exposed kind that are easy to turn, even with gloved hands, although it must be noted that they have no locking mechanism. What separates this scope from many in this class is an objective-mounted parallax adjuster, which is superb. Most scopes in this class do not feature this vital facility, and it makes a huge difference to the clarity of your view and the elimination of parallax error, a major source of inaccuracy. Crosman really deserves all the praise it gets for offering such a scope at this price. Another excellent feature is that it sits in a one-piece mount that’s stronger and more reliable than two-piece mounts, on a recoiling gun. Again, credit is due.

The firing cycle is impressive, being smooth and quiet, telling us that the spring guides are doing their job well, as is the silencer. Over the chronograph, the Phantom delivered a healthy 11.3ft.lbs. with the Air Arms Field Diablo, my standard test pellet, which also displayed good accuracy. At 25 yards, I was getting 1” groups, only spoilt now and then by the odd flyer taking it out to an inch and a half now and then. This level of accuracy is right at the top for guns like this, showing that Crosman knew what they were doing when they built this package. The Phantom feels good and solid in your hands, has a very high specification, and the performance to back that up, so in my eyes it’s one of the best rifles in this class.

Specification

Manufacturer: Crosman

Importer: www.a-s-i.co.uk

Tel: 01728 688555

Model: Phantom II kit

Type: Spring-piston

Action: Break-barrel

Trigger: Two-stage

Length: 44” (112cm)

Weight: 8.4lbs (3.8kg)

RRP: £199.99