Crosman M3 review

[Saila Cilbup]

This is my first review, and first off I would like to address the fact that there are already a few reviews on UTG's version of this gun. As many will say that Crosman, UTG, TSD, and DE are all making identical clones to the TM M3, it may seem redundant to write this review. I hope to cover some aspects that may not have been covered in the UTG reviews, and provide a review on Crosman's version, even if they are all allegedly the same.

 

Note: I have had this gun for about a month. I've experimented with some cosmetic alterations such as shortening the outer barrel, removing the sights, and painting the barrel and receiver tan. I haven't altered the internals or funcionality of the weapon, so I hope there is no confusion; you can only find this gun in all black, with sights, and a longer barrel than what you will see.

 

First impressions

 

The weapon came snugly packed in a Styrofoam housing typical of most airsoft packaging. Included were two 30 round shells, a speed loader, a sling, and a bottle of 2000 .12 gram BBs with a folding spout, as well as a cleaning rod.

 

Each shell is good for 10 shots, as they hold 30 BB's, and the gun shoots 3 at a time. More on that later.

 

There's nothing special about the sling. It's obviously very cheap, and smells like the plastic hasn't cured completely. It's still functional though, the way I see it a sling is a sling.

 

The included ammo... throw it away immediately. Seriously, these are the crappiest BB's I have ever seen. They're .12 grams, so you'll get more FPS, but it's not worth it, they fly all over the place, and you can see bumps and seam lines on them. The bottle they come in is built better than the BBs themselves. (that's why I kept it when I threw out the BBs)

 

The gun: it felt light and plasticy, and yet sturdy for the price I payed. That's not a very helpful description. Okay, the plastic itself shows seam lines, and I was surprised at how light the gun felt. The only metal parts are the trigger, sling mounts, metal...door thingy that holds in the magazine, pushrods, and the tube-mag (non functional of course), as well as some internals like the springs themselves. I'd say, externally the gun is 85% plastic. Functionally, it felt sturdy, the pump requires more force than most people are used to, this being because the gun has three different barrels, each of which shoots at the same power (~275 .2g), with three separate pistons, all three of which powered by the same two springs - one smaller one inside a wider diameter spring, on the same guide rod. The pump and grip are ABS plastic with a rubberized coating.

 

Performance/Function

 

The gun shoots three BBs simultaneously out of three separate barrels. The magazine is actually an imitation shotgun shell which holds 30 BBs. The included speed-loader is vital for filling the magazine. One shell fits inside the receiver, behind a metal "door". Pushing back a switch next to the trigger guard will swing open the door and eject the shell.

With the .12 gram BBs the gun's performance was a joke. This may be in part due to the BBs poor build quality, I mean, they aren't even spherical! After ~70 feet the BBs will (or already have) dropped, or jumped up a few feet, the dropped, or became susceptible to light wind and went way off course. Velocity is ~320 with .12g BBs.

 

.20g BB's are a whole different story. I purchased a container of Crosman .2g "premium" airsoft BB's. In my opinion they are very nice, perfectly smooth and spherical, and I've never noticed any imperfections. The weapon is a lot more accurate with these. I could hit a human sized target at 100ft, with minimal spread (~1ft) and a little bit of lost altitude. The weapon is relatively low powered (~275fps .2g), and you can hit targets 100+ft away if you compensate for lost altitude by arcing it, but that's not very practical. It's a CQB weapon.

 

The top barrel has hop up. The lower two either don't, or have less hop-hop, perhaps for greater spread, pr simply out of cheapness.

 

I have read complaints about the UTG M3 stating that it is inconsistent at shooting 3 BBs/shot. It will "shoot 2, 3, or 4 depending on it's mood." I haven't ever had that issue. One pump, three shots, every time. You just need to be sure to pump all the way back until you hear a click - like any spring-gun.

 

The sights are useless in my opinion. This is because they are exactly level with, maybe even a little bit lower than the rear grip, which slides onto the receiver, and actually sticks up higher than the receiver. This means that you cannot use the sights properly, you have to look down at them at an angle to get the grip-cap thingy out of the way, which isn't proper. I ended up removing them.

 

The Crosman M3 has "slamfire" functionality. This means that you can hold down the trigger, and keep pumping, and at the end of each pump cycle it fires. Many people don't recommend slamfiring. The general concern being that slamfire causes more stress, and more rapid wear and tear. I personally don't understand how holding the trigger so that it will fire at the end of each pump cycle is any less healthy than pumping then pulling the trigger.

 

Internals/Disassembly

 

I actually couldn't find any conclusive info on the disassembly/internals of this gun. Some said that disassembly is the same as a TM M3, after all it is a clone, some said it's cheaply glued together, and not meant to be taken apart. I wanted to paint parts of it, so I wanted to take it apart, and I did.

Confirmed: Crosman M3 disassembly is like TM M3 dissasembly. If the UTG/DE/TSD clones are really the same then you can take them apart too.

I found this guide on taking apart the TM M3, and it worked for taking apart my M3. It's very clear, with pictures of each step.

http://www.airsoftretreat.com/forums/index...53939.msg571728

Note: The link above leads to a guide which I did not write. I do not intend to take any credit for it, as it is not my own intellectual work, and I am by no means implying that it is.

 

Right now I wish I had took pictures of the internals when I took mine apart. With just a few slight geometric differences the insides are the same as the TM M3's. I didn't take apart the spring/piston assembly, but I peeked inside it a bit. Honestly it looks like a copy of the TM mechanism, and I've heard that parts are even interchangeable, with it being a clone.

 

Okay, the internals are compatible, but is it as good as a TM? In my honest opinion, probably not. I didn't have a TM with me for comparison, but for about 1/3'rd the price of a TM M3, I would assume that the parts are probably made of lower grade materials, and may not be precise. You get what you pay for though.

 

Possible anomalies, or performance hiccups

 

I must have fired at least 300 BBs through this thing, that's 100 trigger pulls, 10 full shells. At least. In about a month of owning this gun. There have been a few times where I pumped it back ~click~ pumped forward, and noticed that the pump felt loose, it had about a cm of free back and fourth movement, and it seemed to take a longer trigger pull to fire, one time it didn't fire, I had to pump it a few times until it felt right and would fire (resulting in shooting a bunch of BBs at once).

 

Is something wearing out? Is part of it not cycling smoothly? Is it just an anomaly? I don't know. It seemed to do this just after I lubed it with "HFC High Grade Silicon Lube of Maintenance." I got concerned, fired a few more magazines through it, and it hasn't happened again, if it becomes a problem again I might opt to do some "exploratory surgery" And see if I can find any internal defects that didn't catch my eye the first time I took it apart.

 

Usefulness

Yes, it's a clone of a gun made by a very well respected company, for a fraction of the price. Don't make the mistake of assuming that you'll be able to part with just $50, use this as your main, or only weapon, and be equally armed against your friends with their high grade AEG's. This is a spring weapon. It has low accuracy. It's harder to pump than most spring rifles, therefore more difficult to accurately fire rapidly. It has low range. Even in a CQB setting, don't be surprised if you get your *albatross* handed to you. Buying this won't make you a CQB master just because it am teh 5h4wtgunn.

 

That being said, I'm looking forward to having a lot of fun with this thing, experimenting with different tactics, and even challenging myself, using just this, while all my friends out gun me. Forcing myself to rely more on stealth and agility than rapid firepower, and honestly, probably being at a great disadvantage. I don't expect to get as many "kills" as every one else, but I don't mind, I love the feel and look of shotguns, and maybe I'll surprise myself and others. Sadly I haven't skirmished with it yet, none of my friends wanna play in the winter. But hell, it's gonna be fun, and why not, for $50?

Edited February 26, 2010 by Saila Cilbup

[Frontiers]

It goes like this, this is made by Double Eagle, UTG/TSD/Crossman rebrands them only, they dont all make this item only Double Eagle make it.

[Saila Cilbup]

I admit I have heard that before. I can't really find any real proof for or against that statement, and I'm just trying to be objective, I didn't think I should talk about it as if it were a fact without any real confirmation. Could you explain how you know this?

[Frontiers]

I admit I have heard that before. I can't really find any real proof for or against that statement, and I'm just trying to be objective, I didn't think I should talk about it as if it were a fact without any real confirmation. Could you explain how you know this?

Ive been in Double Eagle factory and there is packaging for the aforementioned companies, and I've verified it with the sales rep of DE and common sense should explain it to you mate there is 0 Airsoft industry manufacturing in USA.

[Saila Cilbup]

Ah splendid, so I have just wrote the third DE-M3 review on this forum.

 

Thanks for clarifying though. I wasn't trying to discredit you, I just like to be certain on the facts, and you gotta be skeptical on the internet. Wow, I wish I could get a tour of an airsoft factory.

[DISHDASH]

did you shorten the barrel because bbs were maby hitting eachother inside the larger when they left the three inner barrles? i have this problem on my DE version. sometimes one will go way over to the right.