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Crosman Optimus Air Rifle Review

To get on with some serious shooting, the Crosman Optimus seems to be the weapon of choice. It is powerful with supersonic muzzle velocity and looks like a serious shooter with the hardwood ambidextrous stock. Tactical Airsoft Magazine’s Steave Keary explores this rifle in this review of the Crosman Optimus Break Barrel Air Rifle.

  • CALIBER: .177, .22
  • POWERPLANT: Spring
  • ACTION: Break Barrel
  • BARREL TYPE: Rifled
  • COCKING EFFORT: 35 lbs.
  • FRONT SIGHT: Fiber Optic
  • REAR SIGHT: Adjustable
  • MATERIAL: Hardwood
  • MOUNTING RAIL: Dovetail
  • TRIGGER: Two Stage
  • STOCK MATERIAL: Hardwood
  • SAFETY: Lever

Appearance and Design of the Crosman Optimus Air Rifle

crosman-optimus-rifle-stockThe Rifle is a breeze to handle and fun to shoot, as it requires very light cocking effort (35 lbs.). The rifle features an ergonomic and ambidextrous design for easy carrying, holding and shooting by both left handed and right handed persons. The hardwood finish makes it a bit more elegant, and the ambidextrous design with comfortable butt pad feels just right when shooting.

The barrel of the gun is rifled and accommodates micro-adjustable rear sight, fiber optic front sight. A CenterPoint 4 x 32 mm precision scope comes bundled with the rifle and offers flexible range to the gun with the same precision and accuracy.

The air rifle is a spring-powered air gun with coiled spring and a piston inside the chamber. The mechanism is simple; whenever the gun is cocked, the spring gets compressed and a small hook at the end of piston engages into the sear. The hook is released as soon as you release the trigger and it propels the piston forward. And of course all this happens in a fraction of second.

scope-crosman-optimus-mod-upgradeKnown for their consistency, high power and impressive accuracy; spring powered air guns are the best in terms of durability and longevity. In addition, the rifled barrel with grooves inside adds spin to the bullet, before it leaves the barrel. The spin of the bullet makes the bullet more stable, improves accuracy and enhances the range too.

The single-shot, break barrel air gun lets you shoot only one bullet at a time and needs to be cocked each time. The rifle comes in .177 caliber and .22 caliber, which means the internal diameter of the barrel is .177 inches, .22 inches respectively. The two-stage adjustable trigger and the raised cheekpiece on the stock help take a better aim and improve the accuracy.

Operation: Putting the gun into action

Letting down on expectations, the rifle needed a little bit of prep work before shooting it.

trigger-crosman-optimus-rifleSteps of operation:

  1. Clean the barrel
  2. Break open the barrel
  3. Load the pellet
  4. Close the barrel
  5. Take aim and start shooting

It is recommended to shoot a few hundred rounds, in order to sight in the scope, and get the hang of the operation. The accuracy is incorporated in its design with a rifled barrel, the two-stage adjustable trigger, and a raised cheekpiece. The two-stage adjustable trigger is crisp, functional, and lets you take aim and fire with still hands. The cocking effort is low too, making the overall operation of the rifle pleasant, since you have to break and cock the rifle for every shot.

Accuracy: Hitting the Target with the Optimus

Accuracy groups using Crosman Premier Pellets

A gun with power is of no use without accuracy and consistency so how accurate is the Crosman Optimus .177 caliber rifle? Well, it scores well on accuracy, and helps you hit target with a CenterPoint 4×32 mm scope. The rifle comes with a scope included but it is recommended to get mods such as a red dot sight or a better scope that fits on a 3/8″ Dovetail rail. Through our testing we found the RWS 8.3 grain superdomes and the Crosman Premier 10.5 grain pellets performed the best with this gun.

Final Verdict

The Optimus is an unusually powerful rifle, which comes with a decent scope and great fixed sites. The rifle has a sturdy look and feel and the price tag is pretty decent. The rifle is great for small game hunting, pest control, and is a fun gun for plinking around, target practice. For those who are serious about getting into small game hunting for sport or survival preparedness – the Crosman Optimus rifle is a great choice. And the good news is – you will still have money left in your pocket to buy high quality ammo, additional parts/mods, or an upgraded scope.