Number Of US Crickets? Any Problems? Looking At A Std 25 BP
Can anyone conjure a guess as to how many Crickets have made it into the US so far?
My Cricket says #000461 so I guess it was the 461st built at the CZ plant? I know they started shipping the CZ manufacturered ones maybe last September to other countries first like NZ (glad I didn’t get one of the firsts 🙂 ). It sounds like mine was one of the first with the numbered pressure gauge. I am assuming the .22 standards are the most common being made but it seems as if there are a lot of airguns being produced.
I just passed the 400 shot mark on my std .22. Given the features (side lever, magazine, spectacular trigger and regulator, cheek rest, and accuracy) it is a very impressive BP indeed.
Anyone have any failures due to manufacturing? I am contemplating a std .25 bullpup now (before the prices get any higher and since it is bonus time of the year 😀 ) and am trying to get a feeling for both competitors. Also, 30 cals tend to be even louder and a little too powerful for backyard fun. My .25 Condor with the modded valve and Surefires is like shooting s 22 LR. Just too much.
By the performance of mine I would call the quality control outstanding but maybe it is the exception. Even my Daystate arrived with an issue.
Any input/overall experiences from Crickets owners is appreciated. There is tons of stuff in the archives on the Edguns so I have a knowledge base there.
Thanks,
Brant
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Here is overall of a 101 shot string from my unregulated USFT, 1600psi to 1300psi.
hi: 908.78
lo: 876.78
32.37 spread
Best 80 consecutive shots from same string.
hi: 908.78
lo: 883.57
25.21 spread
That’s unregulated. 😉
My ex-bird (Condor) may eat the bug (Cricket), but the bug will sing happily inside it! 😉
By the way, I also ordered an aluminum hammerspring knob to take the place of the stock one from Steve at TAG. The aluminum one has a spring guide. Let’s see if this one – with its spring guide – will make the consistency even better. 😛
Thanks Zocoloco! I wondered what that screw was for.
If that’s a longish hex screw, it is the one you use to align the barrel when inserted (if you ever take it out) and also to pull the reg out for inspection/adjustments if needed……. 😉
You won’t be disappointed in the Cricket. Having read most of the threads on here about the consistency and efficiency of the regulator of both the Cricket and Matador, the Cricket is superior. My gun’s extreme spread is magnificent over an 80-shot string! And that’s with unsorted and unweighed JSBs.:shock:
Here is the very first 14-shots of my Cricket out of the box with unsorted and unweighed JSB 16 grainers. One could only imagine what the variance/consistency is going to look like once it gets a proper settling-in:
It may be time to get a hold of a Cricket dealer to see if they can make a long version in 177…
I want to use the Cricket and EdGun for field target. 😈
Yes, you do. However, one of the spring ends is roughly cut. I think Kalibrgun thinks that US users won’t use it anyway, so they just put a crude weak spring in the gun as long as it registers as being low-powered.
So you get both with a new rifle?
That’s pretty sweet if you do. Can never have too many parts to change a rifle around with. 😀
I didn’t have issues with AOA, just read a lot of posts about it. I’m have issues with someone else in AZ. 😉
Sorry to hear of your issues with them. That is why I said in my post that I like to see the gun physically and examine all things on it and surrounding it.
Yes, the Cricket comes with the FAC spring in the box along with the fill probe, O-ring kit, two magazines, and some screw that I don’t know the use of it yet. The dealer gave me a copy of the manual also.
The guns shipped to the US (and perhaps others) have a low-powered spring installed. You could even ask Steve at TAG and he will tell you the same thing. He said this is to ensure that inspection isn’t too much of a hassle whatever country requires it. All you do is unscrew the two-holed screw on the back of the breech block, remove the low-powered spring, and install the one in the kit. Easy-peasy!
Would that custom AOA training explain why so many rifles are shipped without their mags? 😯 😉 I doubt there is much training if such simple things are issues. I’m joking but i’m not…
From the things I have heard about AOA i’d only buy if they were the ONLY people that sold what I wanted. I’ve seen incidents of high end rifles leaving there is not 100% condition (or with missing parts) and them refusing to accept a return for replacement. A few Daystates that had issues having to go back to Europe, a few new rifles that looked used and generally a REALLY slow turn around for new rifles with issues.
If I buy something for full retail and it has issues the turn around should be TOP PRIORITY, this appears to be lost on the MAJORITY of businesses. Sure they don’t get paid to make it right but if I just paid to receive it wrong I have to wait empty handed and they are paid in full. I’m going through that with someone who is not AOA but also carries Crickets. Once it is done I will not buy from them again. NOT COOL.
They have to install a FAC spring for Crickets once they get here?! 😕 Guess I may have missed that…
I got my Cricket from Airguns of Arizona. I drove there to purchase it as it’s only a half hour drive. The gentleman that assisted me was great. After installing the FAC spring, we gave it a test on their in-store chronograph to make sure the gun is working as it should, and I was very impressed with the consistency. He told me that they do service the Crickets should the need arise from the user.
Before I purchased the Cricket, I already knew that Topgun Airguns were selling them. Heck, they’re even a bit closer to me than AOA. However, I just didn’t like the idea that I could not visit them physically because they are “mail-order only.” I called TAG, but Bori told me that he didn’t like the idea of people going to his place. I can understand that, but for a gun with such a grand price tag, I want to be able to examine it in the metal, hold it, and test it out before laying down the cash.
I think I made the right decision to go with AOA. They had no problems letting me take the gun out of the counter to get an idea of holding it, dry-firing it, and generally looking at it for as long as I want. As long as it’s possible to make the drive, I like dealing business with a store that allows its customers to try out its products before hands are shaken and wallet weight loss occurs. 😆
Here are photos of the bad boy…I mean bug 🙄 :
I wonder if they meant they are the major player in the US airgun industry and I would have to agree (Pyramyd is huge too but they are only mail-order). As I have said before once AOA added KalibrGun to their supported product list the writing was on the wall with domination in the US bullpup market. I look forward to AOA’s review and testing of the Crickets which will follow shortly. When they add a new line they train up and test them and then publish the results. I got my Daystate Air Ranger from Kip at AOA. He knows the products inside out. I have no concerns at this point about part support and a knowledge base being available for the Crickets with AOA in the picture even though I got my Cricket at TGAG and during the sale. 🙂 (That helped pay for a new scope.)
After reading KalibrGuns dealer policy on the Russian web site I would not be surprised to see another US dealer pick up the line if the demand is there. It is written for ease of expansion and they have quite a worldwide network established. My guess is AOA waited to see how the new CZ factory did in terms of meeting volume and qualiity of shipments to the US for a few months before jumping in very recently. By everything I have gathered about KalibrGun, their guns, and their CZ manufacturing they are a force to be reckoned with ALREADY in the US market.
Seriously. They look serious as a heart attack, all dressed in black.
The reason I asked about Air Guns of Arizona being a distributer is a conversation I had with them a few weeks ago. I was ordering a Hawke scope and brought up the subject of the Kalibrguns. This was before I saw the Crickets advertised on their site. The gentleman I spoke with said they are “the” major distributer? I went back and checked their site again a few days later. Indeed the Kalibr guns where now on there. 😕
AGOA was the first place I went looking last year and I didn’t see any mention of Kalibr on their website. I can see them being a new onboard distributer, but as to being the major distributer? That statement surprised me. Just curious because Top Gun and Air Guns Arizona are close to each other. I’m also thinking parts and service down the road. They are a major player in the industry.
So far I have been very happy with Top Gun’s service and plan to stick with them until shown otherwise. I’m loyal that way.
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Spinj,
That is beautiful Cricket setup and I love the sunshade. Consistency and accuracy wise it out performs all of my other meager guns now although the Cricket, Air Ranger, and AA S510 are all very accurate compared to my other PCPs.
Synopsys,
Question for a Field Target guy. I couldn’t shoot my own gun today at the range because my FT buddy with the Steyr shot out all of my air. His Steyr isn’t quite as fun (although a bit more pricey 🙂 ). Anyways, he could not get over the little Cricket’s accuracy with JSB 18s out of the tin and he is speculating that the Cricket’s magazine was designed to swage the 15.9 and 18.13 JSB skirts/pellets for consistency size wise. I had never considered that. He said something about the magazine pellet diameter and barrel Leade diameter being tweaked for best performance. What do you think? Could it be that the magazine is a bigger advantage than we realize or is he blowing smoke? He is a top FT shooter and seemed serious. The FT guy wants a Cricket. 😮
I have had great luck with AOA and even had them select me a select grade stock with additional tiger stripping on my Air Ranger. (I probably caused them to go through the boxes). They did some additional testing I asked for but the gun still had a very slow leak (1000 psi over 3-4 months) they couldnt have known about. They fixed it right up. For the volume they do I am not surprised there are have been some problems. Pyramyd too.