Crosman P36 "Stinger" spring pistol

Ok, so spring pistols aren't really all that glorious or sexy, but they are cheap, easy to find and a lot of fun.

This is a quick review for the Crosman P36 Stinger spring powered pistol. It is readily available at many retailers that don't carry higher end AEG's and better quality spring rifles like Wal Mart, Target and others. For less than 20 bucks, you can get a serviceable spring pistol. Granted, it's clear plastic and only shoots about 145 fps with .20 gram bbs (a lot of low end springers are rated with .12 gram bbs, most intermediate and advanced airsoft players prefer higher quality .20 gram bbs as the quality control is much higher than any known .12 gram bb maker). Maximum range is probably less than 100 feet, but out to 50 feet it is decently accurate.

This is an ok springer to go out in the back yard with a few friends, chase each other around and have a blast. It works as a back up to a higher end AEG, just in case your battery runs out or you have to shoot someone close up and your AEG is shooting too hot for that range (you really shouldn't shoot someone close up with a 350+ fps airsoft replica). Someone who is really sneaky might be able to go out in a larger skirmish and be fairly effective, as this is pretty quiet on firing and very easy to move through brush with. The clip holds about 14 rounds, so you can get in, throw some plastic and get out to reload. If you had a couple extra mags and were sneaky, you might be able to be fairly effective, even against AEGs, but it will take a really effective player (check some of our "training" links to help out there!).

The big negative to this pistol, other than it being a springer, is the size of the grip. It is fairly thick and can be hard to hold for someone with smaller hands. The magazine release is also sensitive, and it is easy to dump (and loose) a magazine out in the field.

For those who may not know, a spring powered airsoft replica must be cocked by hand before each shot. In this pistol's case, you grab the top of the slide, pull it back and release it to cock the pistol. This pulls the spring back and loads a bb into the barrel. And yeah, it takes both hands, so dual wielding spring pistols only works for one shot each, then its reload time.

Overall:

Range - poor (typical for a spring pistol, about 50 feet for decent accuracy)
Cool Factor - poor (most of the body is clear plastic)

Pros - inexpensive (under 20 bucks), easy to find, will shoot cheaper, lower quality .12 gram ammo (though not as accurately as better quality .20 gram bbs).

Cons - clear plastic body (doesn't look all that real), short range, twitchy mag release, large pistol grip.


-1 for grip size
-1 for low power/short range
-.5 for being made of clear plastic (in some cases this is actually a plus though - clear plastic is much safer if you are in your back yard and someone sees you running around with a gun!)
-.5 for how easily the magazine will drop out

2 out of 5 (3 out of 5 if you need the clear plastic for safety)