Crosman Challenger 2021 Air Rifle Review

VALUE FOR MONEY

For the HAM Review Team, the Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle is a very unusual airgun. This is because it is a “single use” model that’s designed solely to punch holes in paper very accurately at a range of 10 Meters. In addition, it has to fit into the extremely rigid specifications for Sporter-class 10 Meter 3P (Three Position) shooting by JROTC and similar clubs.

Those specs mean that the gun’s engineers cannot just do what they want with the design. That makes it very different from just about any other air rifle HAM has ever reviewed.

There’s other limitations too, including a maximum “approved club buy” price of $650.00 for the gun. (It’s $799 direct from Crosman for individual purchasers). Realistically, there’s nothing to touch the Challenger at either price.

And if you think that Sporter-class restrictions are tight, check-out those for Precision Class, there the rules go as far as to specify the types of shoes and underwear that are acceptable. Yes, it’s true!

For this review we’re looking at the Challenger primarily as an indoor “basement shooter” that can give quality trigger time for all of us in states where inclement Winter weather makes shooting outdoors either impossible or – at least – unpleasant.

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SPEED AND ACCURACY

Even in Sporter class, that is relatively unrestricted competition, 3P air rifles must have a limited Muzzle Velocity (maximum 600 FPS), weight, length and more. It’s .177 caliber only.

To keep safely within that 600 FPS Muzzle Velocity limit, Challengers are set to around 580 FPS. That means 5.9 Ft/Lbs maximum Muzzle Energy – assuming heavy 8.2 Grain wadcutter pellets. So that leads to unusual design features such as a 900 PSI regulator set pressure and a hammer that’s largely fabricated from high-tech polymer, rather than steel.

Here’s the Muzzle Velocity results for the Challenger tested by HAM.:

Note that the 7.0 Grain RWS Meisterkugeln Pistol pellets exceeded the 600 FPS maximum for 10 Meter competition. However there were no issues with the 8 Grain plus weight pellets that the Challenger is intended to shoot.

Of course the Challenger is entirely about accuracy!

So, every Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle is leak-tested and test-fired in the Bloomfield NY factory and supplied with a 10 Meter target as we see below. All 10 shots must go within the 10 ring to pass. I believe that testing is done with RWS R10 pellets…

Below we see the factory test target for the review gun. It was produced using the Megalink electronic scoring system and packed right in the box.

That Center-To-Center group diameter of 5.6 mm equals 0.220 Inch for 10 shots at 10 Meters.

So, how did Doug Rogers do in HAM testing?

Well, first we had to make a different target with a larger center dot so that Doug could see it when using the peep sights. His eyes are better than mine! Wearing trifocals, I couldn’t even see the target through the peep sights…

But – having done so – Doug’s best results also were obtained with R10 Match Plus pellets. As you can see below, the CTC (measured the old-fashioned manual way) was 0.010 x 0.043 Inches. Pretty good and very close to the factory test.

But – to be fair – Doug is not used to shooting with peep sights. So let’s see how he did with the same pellets after mounting his own Hawke Sidewinder 4.5 – 14 x 42 scope and shooting at 14 x magnification…

Now Doug’s 10 meter, 10-shot group was down to 0.10 x 0.10 Inch CTC. That’s better than the factory test target. But it gets better, actually much better!

For the following four targets and shooting with this scope, Doug achieved 10-shot, 10 Meter groups that had a ZERO MEASURED CTC. In other words, perfect accuracy. Great shooting, Doug!!!

Note that any marks on the target outside of a perfect .177-caliber hole are due to slight tearing of the card stock, not hits outside of that one hole.

So it’s interesting to see that the Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle tested by HAM gave perfect accuracy with a variety of pellets. This also included the HAM Gold Award-winning JSB Exact Premium Diabolos which, as Doug noted on the target, have a domed head and are not wadcutters.

After inspecting the inside of the barrel with his borescope, Doug’s opinion was that “This is one of the nicest-finished barrels I have ever seen.”

Maybe that excellent machining of the Lothar Walther barrel is the reason for the excellent accuracy with a wide range of pellets that was demonstrated by this Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle.

TRIGGER AND COCKING EFFORT

Some parts of the Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle are strongly reminiscent of the Benjamin Marauder. After all, it’s just good design practice to re-use design data, tooling and/or parts from previous models, as the same design team did with the new Crosman 3622.

So you’ll find the same diameter HPA tube and a very similar trigger assembly. The tube cap is exactly the same as for the Marauder air rifle, too.

Trigger pull weight for the test gun averaged 2 Lbs 6.8 Oz out of the box, somewhat heavier than the HAM testers had expected. We would prefer a lighter weight for target shooting. However the adjustable trigger shoe was very comfortable to use.

The two stage trigger has a long, light first stage. There’s no doubt that the second stage has been reached, but the release is somewhat uncertain and less crisp than the HAM Testers would have liked. Doug Rogers would definitely be adjusting this trigger for both pull weight and let-off if it was his own gun!

However – to be fair – new, young non-expert club shooters would probably be well-served by this trigger “as is”.

If you want to make adjustments to the trigger, Crosman describes how in the Owner’s Manual. There’s easy setscrew adjustment for trigger pull weight, trigger shoe position and changes to the first and second stages.

But as Crosman says, if you make changes to the trigger settings, go slowly and keep checking so that you understand the changes you’re making. And double-check to ensure that the trigger does not become unsafe and produce accidental discharges. That’s potentially very dangerous!

Doubtless such adjustments would be undertaken by the club armorer for those engaged in 3P team shooting using the Challenger.

The safety is conveniently positioned directly in front of the trigger. It engages positively and is both effective and easy to operate.

The sidelever cocking handle is easy to grasp and use. It can be moved from the right to left side of the breech if required.

The cocking action is – again – heavier than we had expected. However it is practical, works well and snaps back into the closed position very definitively. It’s also a HUGE improvement over the old “T handle” system of the previous Challenger 2009 model.

COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS

The most important claim made by the manufacturers of the Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle is that it meets the requirements of 10 Meter, Three Position, Sporter Competition. That’s clearly true!

This applies to both the gun and included open sights.

Crosman claims that the Challenger 2021 gives “200+ more” shots per fill than the previous (Challenger 2009) model, which was specified for around 100 shots per fill. The sample tested by Hard Air Magazine produced no less than 315 consistent shots per fill from one full charge of High Pressure Air at 3,000 PSI.

So the HAM test results exceed the somewhat curiously-worded claim for shot count made on the company’s website.

CONSISTENCY

As can be seen from the chart below, the Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle tested by HAM gave 315 shots per fill before the regulator set point kicked-in when the pressure had fallen to 900 PSI.

As is common with regulators, there was some degree of variation in Muzzle Velocity, particularly at higher fill pressures. With the high quality 8.18 Grain H&N Finale Match Heavy pellets used for this test, Muzzle Velocity settled-down to about 570 – 575 FPS after around shot 70.

Highly skilled and motivated 10 Meter 3P competitors may wish to run such a shootdown test for themselves, using their choice of favorite pellet. If competing with this particular air rifle and pellet combination, the HAM Team would probably fill only to 2,000 PSI so as to be on the flattest part of the curve for the greatest number of shots.

Taking the Standard Deviations across all the test targets shot by Doug Rogers for this review, the average came-out at the very low figure of 2.00 FPS. That’s an excellent figure!

If required, the Challenger can be tuned by adjusting the hammer spring preload and/or the transfer port opening. Basic instructions are included in the owners manual.

The trigger pull weight recorded during this HAM test varied from a maximum of 2 Lb 7.7 Oz to a minimum of 2 Lb 4.9 Oz. With an average of 2 Lb 6.8 Oz, the pull weight varied by only plus one to minus two Ounces either side. Again, very good consistency.

NOISE LEVEL

This one was a no brainer! With a maximum Muzzle Velocity in the 600 FPS range, there’s no way the Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle can be considered loud. That’s even without any built-in silencing equipment.

So yes, this is definitely a “backyard friendly” airgun. In fact, it’s also a “basement friendly” gun from the noise level perspective. The HAM Team has tested that comprehensively!

SIGHTS AND SCOPE

Sighting for Three Position, 10 Meter competition is by peep sights only. So the Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle is bundled with a dedicated set of diopter rear and tunnel front sights.

The rear sight is click-adjustable for both windage and elevation adjustments. It has a rubber eye cup and is also supplied with a white plastic “blinder” for the “non aiming” eye.

The front tunnel sight allows for the installation of a choice of diopter front sight elements. No less than eight are supplied with the gun and they’re easy to interchange.

Those circular black parts you see in the photograph below are the interchangeable diopters. The long rectangular part is a stock extension. All are included with the Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle. It’s sold as a complete package.

Fortunately for those of us with older eyes, the Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle has standard airgun dovetails machined into the top of the breech. This means that a scope can be mounted instead.

Below we see Doug’s Hawke Sidewinder 4.5 – 14 x 42 scope mounted on the Challenger. As is proven from the test targets above, this provided another excellent combination!

So the Challenger is not just a “peep sights” air rifle. It can be used with a scope for target shooting, plinking, mini sniping and any other shooting discipline requiring precision at close range and within its power capacity.

That can make it a ton of fun for many home-based airgunners!

SHOOTABILITY

The Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle is light, easy to hold and shoot. Without a scope it weighs 7 Lbs 0 Oz. As set-up with the Hawke riflescope for this test review, the all-up weight was only 8 Lb 10 Oz.

The combination of adjustable buttplate, pull length and cheekpiece meant that the HAM testers were able to achieve a comfortable shooting position with both the peep sights and scope.

The buttplate is fitted with a grippy rubber puttpad, the assembly being able to be raised or lowered to accommodate the shooter’s physique.

The “hamster” under the forend slides longitudinally to choice in a rail in the base of the stock. It provides excellent support for the fore hand and is a great asset for freehand shooting.

This is a feature that is found primarily on target and high-end Field Target air rifles. It can be slid out of the way, or removed, for shooting from a bench.

All this versatility means that the Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle can be used as a platform for some interesting customized airguns. Indeed, most of the 2024 Benjamin Shooting Team were shooting Challengers that they had modified themselves with Marauder hammers and other parts to provide 20 Ft/Lb (in .177 caliber) Field Target rifles.

The cocking lever can be changed from right- to left-hand operation if desired. However instructions for doing so are not included in the owner’s manual.

APPEARANCE AND FINISH

As ever, appearance is in the eye of the beholder. My personal opinion is that the Challenger is not the most attractive air rifle I have ever seen. However, it is definitely functional and the looks probably fall under the old adage “handsome is as handsome does.”

The overall gray plastic stock with black highlights (pistol grip, hamster, cheekpiece) is again functional. However it lacks space to readily fit the stickers that many 10 Meter competitors like to attach to personalize their rifles.

Overall, the finish of the plastic moldings is very good. There’s minimal mold seam lines and the surface finish is very uniform.

Metal finish is also very good, with a minimum of tooling marks visible.

One thing the HAM testers did not like was the unfinished look of the buttstock. That hole in the top – see the photo below – is an ideal candidate for a aftermarket 3d-printed part to make the gun look “finished”.

BUYING AND OWNING

It’s important to note that Crosman became a key player in the 3P 10 Meter club and competition scene by surrounding the Crosman Challenger 2021 air rifle with a variety of services and support packages. So – for example – the company runs official armorer’s courses for the Challenger, helps clubs with extended payment terms and more.

Crosman provides a 12-month warranty and has a range of spare parts available if required, together with downloadable parts diagrams and post-warranty backup support from the nationwide network of Crosman Authorized Repair Centers.

This level of long-term support has long been a benchmark for the airgun industry. It is to be hoped that Crosman will continue to offer this level of support for the Challenger – and its other products – as it moves forward under new ownership.

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