Crosman Prospect PCP - Outstanding Performance

News of a brand-new model from the American brand, Crosman, always gets me excited, and on the face of it, the new Crosman Prospect looks like an incredible deal.

Adults only
Inside the box, we get the usual Crosman instruction leaflet, a plastic rotary-style cassette magazine, a single-shot tray insert, Allen keys, and a Foster filling adaptor. At this stage, it makes sense to play it safe and give the instructions the once over, just in case there’s a unique feature hidden away, but in the case of this model, all seemed safe territory and fairly familiar.
At over 44” long, the Crosman Prospect is a full-length rifle, yet copious use of synthetics keeps the weight down to a highly manageable 8.25 lbs. The super long cylinder and action, and that sizeable stock, combine well to create a PCP with distinctive lines, but those proportions alone mean this stylish new entrant is aimed more at the adult market. ‘Bulbous’ and ‘elongated’ are both adjectives that come to mind, but when the impact of those powerful visuals subsides, it’s time to take stock of the spec sheet.
The long cylinder is actually slimline, so some weight is trimmed here. The whopping 21.5” barrel gets a full-length shroud, a removable bracket, and a threaded muzzle, neatly blanked off with a knurled collar. Fitting a ½” UNF compatible silencer is, therefore, possible, but the overall length would then make the Prospect a little ungainly, to say the least. You’d be more likely to trip a rabbit up than catch it unawares, shall we say!
A Foster filling valve, manometer, 2-stage trigger, manual in-guard safety catch, Picatinny rail mounting, and side-lever action, are all features that appeal. Add in a power adjuster and that super-stylish stock and we have ourselves an intriguing Prospect indeed! It doesn’t stop there though, as at this price point, I had to double-take when I saw that Crosman specifies this model as having a regulated action. Yes, really. So, on paper at least, we’re getting a lot for our money!

The cheek of it!
Ergonomics are at play with the synthetic stock, and the configuration just feels right in the aim. Admittedly, the separate upper moulded section that envelops the shroud is a little unnecessary, but it does help create that all-important original look. I love the thinned-out base and those finger grooves, whilst the deeper section just forward of the trigger makes for easier support for those pesky standing shots. Again, the well-shaped pistol grip is super thin, allowing for full control and feel in the aim. And that’s before we get to the adjustable cheekpiece! Slacken off the two large bolts, slide the cheek section up or down to suit and then nip up the bolts. Given that eye/scope alignment is crucial where repeatable, accurate shooting is concerned, having this feature built-in at the design stage mustn’t be underestimated, so full credit to Crosman here. A pleasantly concave rubber butt pad completes the stock specification, and overall, this setup is hard to fault.

Preparation
The magazine system adopted here is an all-plastic affair, but that said, it feels precisely made, and fit and function are hard to moan at. No pre-winding is necessary, just push a pellet straight into each chamber in turn, twisting the drum until all of them are full. My test model was .22 and offered a 10-shot capacity, while the .177 version gets 12 shots.
I’m always wary, and rightfully so, of PCPs, just so that I use the correct fill pressure to stay on the right side of safe. In the case of the Crosman Prospect, I was reassured by it having ‘3600 psi max pressure’ emblazoned right across the cylinder. However, the instruction leaflet mentions 2000 psi! Oh dear, not very encouraging, but hey. With the gun actually stamped, I stuck to the 3600 psi (roughly 240 bar) for the duration.
Charging is easy, as Crosman tends to stick to the Foster-style inlet valve, which is about the nearest we have to a standardised approach in the industry, although that’s more wishful thinking, as there’s a plethora of valve and adaptor designs out there! Back to the Prospect, and just pull away the plastic cover, snap on the airline, and charge the system. My bottle has a deliberately slow feed, which is actually a great feature, as this ensures a more thorough air fill. Either way, it pays not to be too hasty, hit the required fill pressure, bleed the line, and replace the push-fit plastic dust cover.

Power shift
Right, at this point, before I overlook it completely, I want to just mention the power adjuster knob, neatly sitting behind the magazine, on the left side of the action. It’s a simple design, and the silver knob is marked up with an arrow, indicating power up or down. It basically acts as a venturi valve, closing or opening the aperture to a greater or lesser degree to restrict airflow. I dialled it to the medium setting initially, and a rough guide here was energy around 9.9 ft/lbs. Dial right down to the minimum, and on test, my Prospect dropped power to just 1.6 ft/lbs. So, a handy feature that adds versatility to the equation. Stating the obvious but the shot count will increase dramatically when the airgun is set to low power.

What a performance
The trigger on this Crosman has all the hallmarks of a fairly basic unit, to be honest, but whilst it is a bit creepy in use, the fact that there is so little work for it to do, given the PCP configuration, the end result is actually not too bad. For the record, there’s a manual in-guard safety catch, and this is of the push/pull tab variety. It’s there if you feel you need it and something to easily ignore if you don’t.
Pulling back the neat little side-lever is a pleasant experience, being smooth and easy to operate, and on test, it didn’t foul up or jam in any way. Admittedly, while cocking and loading much faster over the chronograph session, I did manage to double load. Not a major negative since many PCPs on the market are still capable of such an indiscretion, and in the case of the Prospect, a more positive approach should prevent this from happening in the first place. It happened just once during the test, and as mentioned, while effectively speed shooting!

Figures on file
Accuracy-wise, over 30 yards initially, the Prospect proved just a little pellet fussy. Air Arms Diabolo Fields, my go-to pellet most of the time, produced 5/8” clusters c-t-c, which is pretty fair, I don’t deny. Next, Crosman’s Ultra Magnums opened out to just under 1”, but I had an inkling this PCP could do better. Switching to JTS Dead ‘Center’ ammo got me close to what I was hoping for, with groups well within a 5p piece. Time to push things just a little further by stretching the range to 40 yards, where I still had the Prospect landing all pellets within a ¾” group, making this a highly useful hunting machine in the right hands.
So, what of the firing cycle? Well, there’s that classic sound of hammer bounce that Crosman does so well, but whilst this may not be the most overly sophisticated PCP on the market, it has masses of appeal, and undoubtedly performs. As for consistency, the test session was to monitor velocity figures until the needle on the manometer dropped to the green area, usually signifying the point at which the user should seek an air refill. As previously highlighted, the Prospect is factory-fitted with a regulated action, which sounds ridiculous for the money, yet over the course of my test, was born out. Over the chronograph, the figures were quite astonishing, with a total velocity spread of just 13 fps over a full 100 shots. That’s about as good as it gets realistically, and whilst it says a lot for the JTS pellets used, it proves the Prospect is not just a curvaceous stock, but capable of amazing consistency.

Verdict
OK, there are more sophisticated PCPs out there, but the level of performance on offer from the Prospect is extremely good, and incredible, once you take into account the asking price, currently around the £425 mark. It has that classic Crosman feel, and the stock configuration and handling are difficult to fault.