The Crosman Vapor Max is an affordable multi-pump pneumatic .177-caliber airgun featuring a 10-shot magazine, open sights, and velocities over 1000 FPS with alloy pellets. We guess it’s marketed to the youth market based on its look, price point, and feature set. But to our surprise, the Crosman Vapor Max offers much more than we expected.
Aesthetics and Features
The first thing we noticed when unpacking our sample of the Vapor Max was its density. We’ve shot a lot of affordable, multi-pump airguns over the years, and they’ve all basically had one thing in common. They felt more plastic and hollow than we’d like. The Vapor Max feels substantial in the hand. Not overly heavy by any means, but also not hollow either. There’s a lot going on under the hood that immediately instilled confidence in the engineering and raised our expectations.
The Crosman Vapor Max’s receiver features a synthetic shell covering metal internals. The ambidextrous synthetic stock is lightweight and has a reasonable length of pull, suitable for younger shooters, but not so short as to be uncomfortable for adults. Additionally, as mentioned above, it does not sound hollow. It feels like a decent synthetic stock, not a plastic toy.
On the left side of the receiver is the 10-shot .177 magazine well. The Vapor Max ships with two in the box. Many old-timers will remember the fun we all had manually loading single pellets into our multi-pumps back in the day. A 10-shot magazine is a very welcome change.
On the right side of the receiver is the cocking bolt. The rifle must be cocked before pumping. Pushing the bolt forward pushes a pellet into the breech.
The trigger was another unexpected bright point. It’s good. Not match-grade and not adjustable, but it breaks at under two pounds and is very smooth. Next to the trigger is the manual cross-bolt safety.
On top of the receiver, you’ll find an 11mm dovetail molded into the synthetic shell. The gun does not ship with a scope, which is preferable to bundling a lackluster optic that’s often included, but it’s nice to know you can add one if you like. In front of the receiver is the “adjustable” rear sight. It’s a welded blade with a clickable ramp for elevation and a movable notch plate for windage. We really wish Crosman had done more for the rear sight. It limits the gun’s out-of-the-box potential, in our opinion. But it is functional and adjustable, albeit with significant effort and trial and error. The front sight uses a fiber optic filament. Once adjusted, the sights are adequate and deliver good accuracy in our tests.
The cocking handle, located under the forearm, consists of a synthetic grip attached to a metal cocking arm. There’s a pleasant rigidity when operating the pumping mechanism.
Operation
Before you start preparing to shoot, be sure to engage the manual safety located next to the trigger. Now it’s time to load your magazine. Insert your first pellet, nose first, until the rubber o-ring grabs the waist of the pellet. Be sure to seat the pellet properly, or you may experience jamming when cocking.
Once you’ve inserted the first pellet, rotate the cylinder in the magazine until there’s an empty slot for the next pellet. Insert your next pellet and continue the process until the magazine is full.
To install the magazine, pull back on the bolt, leaving it open, and insert the magazine until you hear a “click.” Then push the bolt forward. The gun is now loaded and ready for the next step.
As a pump pneumatic airgun, the Vapor Max needs to be pumped up before each shot. According to the manual, it requires at least 2 pumps and can use up to 10. Exceeding 10 pumps won’t yield better results and will most likely prematurely wear out or damage your rifle.
After you’ve pumped the rifle to the desired number of pumps, you are ready to fire. Aim at your target, release the safety, and gently squeeze the trigger.
To fire again, engage the safety, cock the bolt, and return it forward. The magazine will automatically rotate to the next pellet. Pump the gun the desired number of times, acquire your target, release the safety, and gently squeeze the trigger. Repeat the process until the magazine is empty. You can always check how many shots you have by looking at the side of the magazine.
Performance
On the box, Crosman promotes a maximum velocity of 1100 FPS with alloy pellets. Initially, we figured this was purely marketing hype and approached it with appropriate skepticism. But we quickly changed our opinion after consistently achieving over 1000 FPS with the 5.1-grain Gamo PBA Platinum pellets. While this is not 1100 FPS, we are shooting at an elevation of 4500 feet, where atmospheric density is about 13% lower than at sea level. In talking with the Crosman engineers, they confirm that 10 pumps at 4500 feet will not yield the same results as at sea level. So, 1100 FPS is very achievable with the right pellet and elevation.
We tested both lead and lead-free pellets at 2 pump increments and achieved the following results.
Gamo PBA Platinum 5.1 grain pellets:
2 pumps – 582 FPS / 3.84 FPE
4 pumps – 762 FPS / 6.58 FPE
6 pumps – 864 FPS / 8.46 FPE
8 pumps – 937 FPS / 9.95 FPE
10 pumps – 1006 FPS / 11.46
Crosman Premier HP 7.9 grain pellets:
2 pumps – 466 FPS / 3.81 FPE
4 pumps – 625 FPS / 6.85 FPE
6 pumps – 720 FPS / 9.1 FPE
8 pumps – 783 FPS / 10.76 FPE
10 pumps – 852 FPS / 12.74 FPE
The spread was minimal, averaging around 10 to 15 FPS. You milage may vary based on pellet choice, but we were pleased with our shot to shot consistencey across the entire range.
As a side note, the cocking effort is quite easy until you get past 6 strokes. Once you get past 6 strokes, the effort becomes more noticeable, and if you are trying to shoot groups at maximum power, you’ll certainly get a workout by the end of the day.
Accuracy
The Crosman Vapor Max features a rifled steel barrel, which delivers very good accuracy. We tested our sample rifle using 7.9-grain Crosman Premier Hollow Points at 15 yards with open sights. We used 8 pumps per shot vs 10 as the FPS delta between the two is not a significant factor at 15 yards, but the effort to go from 8 to 10 pumps each time is a real workout.
We shot several 5-shot groups and were very pleased with the results, as nearly all of our test groups could easily be covered with a quarter. Considering we are shooting with open sights, those are really good results.
Final Thoughts
We were very pleasantly surprised by the Crosman Vapor Max. As a youth airgun capable of generating up to 13 or 14 foot-pounds with lead pellets, it is a great top-tier airgun for younger shooters looking to get in some trigger time in the backyard or go small-game hunting with family and friends. For older shooters, the Vapor Max offers target shooting and pesting utility, through accuracy and performance, that rivals entry-level PCP airguns.
If you would like to learn more about the Crosman Vapor Max or purchase one of your own, please visit their website here: https://www.crosman.com/product/vapor-max/
Written by Rick Eustler – AirgunWeb
