My Crosman TR77 NPS .177

[aom22]

I recently had the opportunity to buy a Crosman TR77 NP .177.
Since I already own a metallic-spring TR77 .177.
Rather, the Stealth version, I thought it would be a very-good direct comparison - metallic spring vs gas ram.

I purchased the NP for New England Airgun.
John Swenson is the owner ... a good-guy to do business with.
He even does lay-away purchases ... helpful to me.

For me, my springer TR77 has proved very accurate for my purposes.
I was very impressed with the performance of this less than $100 air rifle.
So much so, I purchased a second TR77 from New England Airgun along with the Nitro Piston model.

The TR77NP is accurate.
But, it takes a lot of effort to extract good performance from the NP.
First, it is harder to cock than the springer TR.
Exasperating the cocking effort ... the NP has a shorter-barrel that provides less-leverage for the cocking stroke.
This didn't make sense to me.

Standing Position, Off-Arm Supported on Window Sill
Off-Hand Lightly Braced Against Window Frame
3-Shots, 20-Yds
CPHP 7.9 grs

However, the first group I shot ... after a little warm-up ... proved to be promising.
The next day, I tried to sight-in the TR NP ... and, everything went to pot.
Nothing I was doing was producing any level of acceptable accuracy.

In frustration, I resorted to resting the TR NP on a padded surface.
As such, the TR NP was fully-rested on a soft-surface while my only contact was at the pistol-grip.
This holding technique resulted in a sub-dime, 5-shot group.

Standing Position, Only Trigger Hand Making Contact
Rifle Fully-Rested on Padded-Surface
5-Shots, 20-Yds
CPHP 7.9 grs

Right then and there, I knew my TR NP could shoot.
But, resting the TR NP on a well-padded surface in-the-field was out-of-the-question.

As such, I struggled all afternoon trying to find the proper hold for my TR NP.
So, I went back-to-basics ... isolating the rifle system from any supporting surface.
The only contact the rifle would have would be with the shooter - period.
It worked.

After taking a break, I anxious to see if I could repeat the process.
It was a great relief to see my TR NP sending pellets down-range ... accurately.

Standing Position, Off-Arm Lightly-Supported on Shooting Stand
Off-Hand Lightly Braced Against Shooting Stand
Light Hold on Forearm and Pistol-Grip
3-Shots, 20-Yds
CPHP 7.9 grs

But, the TR NP is not an easy rifle to shoot ... it demands much effort from the shooter to achieve serviceable results.
In this vain, the TR NP would not be a fun-gun to plink with.

This being the case, I do not see my TR77 NP as a go-to gun for casual shooting.
But, as a specialized shooting platform where the air rifle will need to remain cocked-and-loaded for an extended period-of-time.
Such as in rodent hunting, where sitting-still for a rat or squirrel to expose themselves for a shot would be a routine practice.

Otherwise, I don't think my TR77 NP is gonna see much use.
That is, in comparison to my springer TR77.

[aom22]

Standing Position, Only Off-Hand and Trigger-Hand Making Contact
Lower-Body of Shooter Braced Against Solid-Stand
Rifle Fully-Supported by Off-Hand and Trigger-Hand
Off-Hand and Trigger-Hand Totally Unsupported or Braced.
5-Shots, 20-Yds
CPHP 7.9 grs

I've made a few kills with my TR77NP ... but, I've had more misses than hits.
As I said earlier, the NP version of the TR77 is a real challenge to shoot accurately.
To say the TR77NP is "hold sensitive" would be putting-it mildly.
Any input ... however slight ... to the shooter's hold has an impact on POI.

For example, very-lightly touching the knuckles of the off-hand to a surface for steadiness,
will cause the POI to go opposite of the contact surface.
As such, allowing the knuckle/knuckles to gently touch the surface of a shooting rest will cause the POI to rise.

Standing upright and allowing the fingers of my left-hand (off-hand supporting the forearm) to touch
a window frame, will cause the POI to shift left.
Conversely, allowing the back of the thumb to touch a window frame will cause the POI to shift right.
As such, the only-way to get a consistent POI is to stand "bolt" upright and shoot entirely off-hand.

This being the case, as the shooting distance for a target ... such-as a Eurasian dove ... increases beyond 25- and out to 30-yards.
It becomes increasing difficult to connect with a mark on the first shot.
Although, it can be done, it ain't easy ... it takes a lot of effort and concentration .... to the point of being darn-near work.
However I've observed, the quietness of the TR77NP more-often-than-not allows for a quick follow-up shot.
There's no other explanation for the ability to make a second-shot at a missed designated target.
Other than, the discharge of the Nitro Piston is different ... less loud.

[aom22]

A couple of things I didn't mention about my TR77NP and TR77-springer obtained from New England Airgun..
The TR77NP was slightly used ... had been employed as a demo-gun by John Swenson in his indoor airgun range.
According to John, the NP had about a single-tin of pellets through the rifle - that was fine with me.
He also provided a test target fired at 50-feet that, for me, sealed-the-deal.

John and I had a discussion about installing an aftermarket trigger on my TR77 and TR77NP that I purchased from him.
Seems, John is not predicated to install aftermarket triggers if a trigger-tune would suffice.
To this end, I agreed to have John tune the triggers of both of my TR77s.
And after shooting both, I'm reasonably satisfied with the New England Airgun improved triggers.
Certainly, much better performance over the OEM trigger.

However, the triggers of my TRs will never be confused with a HW Rekord or Diana T6 trigger.
But, they do ... now ... provide a good hunter-grade release.
Although, nothing approaching an example of a "perfect trigger" ... but, undoubtedly serviceable single-stage triggers - indeed.

The only complaint I could register is a long trigger travel.
For those manufacturers that consider long trigger travel as a first-stage ... I don't - just needless distance the trigger lever traverses.
Nonetheless, I can live with this condition in-comparison to the very-heavy OEM-trigger that was/is limiting the accuracy potential
of my original Stealth Fury II - a TR77 by another name.