Airguns are a wonderful hobby for sportsmen and tinkerers. They are usually easy to work on, easy to upgrade, and easy to fiddle with without taking a massive hit on the wallet like you may with other hobbies. So what are some of the most popular tinkering airguns, and what are some of the most popular upgrades? Let’s take a look.
The Crosman 2240
The original Cosman 2240 is a very affordable .22 caliber CO2-powered air pistol that was not only great right out of the blister pack but also provided the foundation for some amazing customizations down the road. One of the most popular upgrades is to convert the plastic breech to the steel breech. This process takes about 30 minutes and delivers a more rigid mounting for the barrel and an 11mm dovetail for an optic. There’s also a groove for a Williams Notch or peep sight.
For those who want a little more power, swapping the 7.5” barrel for a 10” or even 12” barrel is not a bad idea. You can even go all the way out to a 24” barrel and add in the skeleton stock to make an extraordinarily lightweight co2 rifle. Adding a rear power adjuster delivers granular control over the power output. Lastly, folks often upgrade the plastic grips for custom wood grips. The sky’s the limit when you are looking at custom 2240 builds.
Recently, Crosman introduced the 2240 XL, which is an upgraded version of the standard 2240. The XL features the steel breech as standard equipment, along with a threaded muzzle for a moderator. For those looking to get a head start on a custom 2240, the XL is the way to go.
The Modern Swiss Army Knife of Airguns
Moving away from old-school customizations where everything had to be sourced all over, and custom fit to work, let’s take a look at the Avenge-X and all the upgrade options it provides.
The Avenge-X is marketed as “Your Airgun, Your Way,” and that makes a lot of sense. Not only is every Avenge-X able to be custom-tuned for power, but it can literally transform between calibers and form factors. And shooters don’t have to scour the internet to find the parts. Everything is available right from AirgunDepot and fully supported by Air Venturi.
Shooters can start with the Avenge-X Classic in .177 and then later purchase the parts to convert it to a .25 cal bullpup with the carbon fiber tank. The action is the only part that really stays the same. The rest of the platform can be changed out for whatever is the current need. Being able to have an airgun platform with this kind of amazing upgradeability is a total game changer.
The Most Popular “Generic” Upgrade
So, we’ve looked at a couple of platform-specific upgrade and tinkering options, but what about a generic upgrade that works with all airguns? The most upgraded part of any airgun is probably the optic. Regardless of whether your airgun came bundled with a scope or you needed to get one right out of the gate, getting the right optic is going to be a journey and part of your overall airgun education.
While certain aspects of optics are universal, like glass quality and clarity, many of the other features are more subjective. Some folks prefer a reticle with tons of aim points, while other shooters may prefer the simplicity of a duplex reticle. Will you jump on the first focal plane bandwagon, or are you an old-school second focal plane shooter? You really won’t know what you like until you’ve spent time behind the trigger. So expect to grow a small collection of airgun scopes over time, and just as the Avenge-X can be built for the current task at hand, you’ll find the same with optics. One style will be ideal for target shooting, whereas another style will be better for hunting. And those styles may change with each shooter. Brands like Hawke Optics provide a very wide range of scope configurations and features. They have everything from red-dot reflex sights to high-end hunting scopes like the Frontier 34, and they provide some great info upfront about their reticles and features so that you can do your research before you spend the money.
What Else?
We’ve only scratched the surface on airgun upgrades today. What are some of your favorite airgun upgrades? Please let us know, as we’d love to hear from you about what scratches your airgun itch!
