Crosman 338 Review

Overall Rating

Powerful, realistic feel

internal mag jammed up with every few shots, BB's fall out of the barrel, awful trigger pull & bad build quality

At first, I thought this Crosman 338 air pistol was great with an all metal construction and powerful feel on pulling the trigger. I soon found out that it was a bit cheap with a dodgy barrel than moved slightly when you twiddled it between your thumb and forefinger. After filling the internal magazine and putting a few shots through it, it completely jammed up and would not fire at all. It took me about 10 mins to 'unblock' the mag and it kept doing this after every few shots. Also, every now and then, a BB would just drop out of the mag for no particular reason. I found the trigger pull to be extremely heavy and rather dangerous as the shot would fire whenever it felt like it whilst you were pulling the trigger and not necessarily when the trigger was all the way back.

I wouldn't advise anyone to buy this gun because it's dangerous, jams constantly, drops BB's out of the barrel and is cheaply made.

Members' Comments onkakozord's Review

• Bertie on 14th Jan 2004

  kakozord.....you obviously have a faulty 338. Crossman gives a 1-year warranty and I hope you take advantage of it. Good luck mate.

• krazor on 17th May 2005

  bbs dropping out of the barrel B/S
  take the gun apart and have a look at the mechanism the bbz are fed using a small bar with a hole in feeding ONE bb at a time to the barrel then engaging the valve letting out co2 its INPOSSIBLE for bbs to just drop out as theyd have to pass throug this bar

• Bertie on 18th May 2005

  krazor.......I think kakozord must have been muzzle-loading the BBs. Come on, kakozord - own up !

• Sum Gai on 27th Aug 2007

  My 338 also has bb's falling out occasionally, they come out the loading port on top because the sliding cover moves back at times.
  
  It is more likely to happen when shaking the gun to load after a 'missed' round, which mine does regularly i.e. the bb does not properly enter the chamber - this happens to me usually when rapid-firing, and happens less if i slow down to shooting about every half to two-thirds of a second
  
  Although i just got my 338 a few days ago, i has only had two powerlets put through it, then stored since 1991 approx., and has zero marks or defects on it; i have put about 100 rounds though it so far.
  
  I'm not thrilled with accuracy, or the above mentioned misfires, but it was cheap compared to other mfrs that seem similar in performance and quality for two or five times the price
  
  I bought this primarily because of the advertised 20 shot capacity and the DA capability, and the fact that this one was effectively 'new', and to a lesser degree the fun aspect, and wouldn't spend too much on one like this since i already have other airguns for power/accuracy if thats what i needed
  
  These review sites are useful if we share info and experiences; and when you guys start shooting your mouths off before getting info from the poster about his experience it shows how closed minded you are, and causes potential posters to decline posting since they arent interested in defending what is fact to (people like you).

• krazor on 10th Sep 2007

  Quote BB's fall out of the barrel,
  
  We did get the info which was a load of b/s. As i said before its not possible for the balls to just fall out of the barrel because of how the gun works. Try stripping your gun and have a look...
  
  Now if he said they fall out the top when the loading hopper is open when you shake the gun then fair enough as on occasion they do. But hey thats obviously gonna happen its not rocket science.
  
  And the miss firing is caused by the gun being tilted backwards as the bbs do not fall into the loading bar (it does say in the manual if you take the time to read it)
  
  
  So when you say these review sites are useful if we share info and experiences
  
  Yes they are but when someone gives a false account of what is happening and gives it a bad review it puts off potential buyers because of something which is not true.
  
  Maybe you should try to read the review and then the comments properly before commenting yourself???

• Sum Gai on 11th Sep 2007

  quote: " ... a BB would just drop out of the mag for no particular reason."
  
  does it read that way to you?
  
  and... yes he does say "barrel" later (did he say "barrel" in haste since mag is located at
  
  the rear of the barrel?? who knows? - perhaps a better plinker than journalist but ask him
  
  not me)
  
  the BBs do fall out from the mag, and, at least on mine, it seems related to the noticeable
  
  "crack", or recoil, possibly causing the loading door to slide open during a shot, and soon
  
  after reloading as the BBs would be closer to the door, fresh CO2 powerlet of course will
  
  increase the likelihood even further
  
  seems to me that the the manufacturer is counting on 98% luck, 1% gravity, and 1% human
  
  factor on luck to keep the door closed
  
  BBs falling out will happen when shaking the gun after a misfire (not "miss fire") if the
  
  door is open, and if one does not check the door first - so as far as "thats obviously gonna
  
  happen its not rocket science"; mine is new, and and new to me - why would anyone expect to
  
  have to check this but mine definitely does release a BB from the door during a shot, i don't
  
  know how that should be obvious if one has closed the door already, shaking or not
  
  both his gun and mine are effectively "new", possibly why such recoil is presented
  
  i have never had a BB drop "out of the barrel" or any jams/blockages, i haven't stripped
  
  this one down, so i'll take your word for it "krazor" as far as the theory of the loading
  
  mechanism
  
  some BBs measure different diameters, intentionally or not, i am using the Crosman
  
  Copperhead Premium BBs. (177, copper coated type model #0737 )
  
  possibly the misfires are from icing up during rapid-fire? or an oversight in design? i
  
  don't know
  
  i have read the operating manual, but thanks, don't have a service manual yet
  
  i would agree with "kakozord" regarding the trigger as mine is also unpredictable; it
  
  intermittently will not fire until the trigger has traveled almost it's entire lenght of
  
  travel distance - i haven't had it long enough to become interested in stripping it down,
  
  but am guessing it's still "breaking in" or burnishing mating parts, and that the
  
  Pellgunoil has not "crept" to the needed areas yet
  
  feel free "kakozord" to step up and elaborate anytime
  
  i would recommend this airgun, and as usual buyers should not expect miracles for low money
  
  respectfully "krazor" my point is you seem to have a chip on your shoulder when you use
  
  phrases such as "someone gives a false account " and "something which is not true" ...as if
  
  someone has maliciously wronged you, and as if you are the holder of 'the scrolls of truth'
  
  regarding all matters pertaining to this gun and the forum post
  
  i am suggesting it serves all well if you give the guy a little wiggle room as far as his
  
  description, or ask first for clarification, because bear in mind that your own posts are
  
  full in misspelt words and slang and we are apparently supposed to go with it
  
  his opinion is his own, gee somewhere recently i saw the phrase "have your say" as well as "Do not criticize other reviewers or their reviews."... where was that?
  
  Anyway, on a forum having anything to do with guns of any type, you will make people
  
  justifiably wary if you persist in 'shooting first' and 'making sure of your target' later