For those who want a great looking air rifle that looks like the mean machine known as the M16’s little brother, wow, have your friends at Crosman got a treat for you.
This multi pump pneumatic air rifle is actually roughly the same size and weight as a real M4 at 34 inches and a bit under 4lbs, so it really is a bit like holding the real thing in your hands.
The exceptions are, of course, with its .177 pellets it is a vastly safer option for amateur, non-military shooters and is much cheaper than the real M4.
Crosman is a solid company that produces good quality air rifles that will seldom win any awards but will always reward shooters with a good experience.
The M4-177 is no slouch, and packs decent foot-per-second numbers at around 600, along with having multiple.
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Picatinny style accessory mounting areas that make it very customizable. If that’s not enough, the rear and front sights are removable and so is the stock. It doesn’t cost very much and overall it is pretty accurate at up to 10 yards.
It packs decent punch but obviously this depends on how many times you pump it, being a multi pump.
It is the same as being at the range with a military assault weapon? No, but it looks like one and it fires a projectile, who could complain?
Looking Mean: The Crosman M4-177
Crosman has built a very solid little airgun with the M4-177. It looks good, feels almost like the real thing (minus recoil) and fires accurately.
This air rifle is not an overall award winner. Other rifles will shoot farther and more accurately but it’s an excellent value pick and looks absolutely awesome in a shooter’s hand.
With that said, however, it is not without its minor hiccups, such as a pump that is sometimes difficult to handle and some quality control issues that have caused its good name to be slightly tarnished.
Accuracy
The M4-177 is a solid rifle in terms of accuracy as long as you are within 10 yards of your target. The accuracy also depends on how many pumps you decide to administer before you unload.
Few pumps will produce a shot with less velocity, but Crosman argues that dime sized groupings are not uncommon for users who take their time and pump between five and ten times before lining up the sights.
Beyond 10 yards the gun can be a tad unpredictable, but with 650 feet per second for a rifle that has been pumped about five times, it is a respectable shooter.
Unfortunately, the main quality control issue reported by users has been the sights, which Crosman has admitted, were faulty for some of the rifles.
The good news is, when these faulty items are mailed in, the good people at Crosman are happy to send a new set, and users report much better shooting after the installation.
Accuracy for the M4-177 is a bit low because while it is a good bet from 10 yards, there are many rifles which fire much more accurately, at longer ranges.
Power
The M4-177 is not by any means a powerhouse and can’t be used to hunt anything more than small pests.
The rifle will obviously kill a rat or destroy a tin can it 10 yards but if you are looking to control any pests larger than that, it may be a good idea to look for something with either a calibre higher than the .177 or possibly a .177 that boasts a higher projectile flight speed.
With that said, the fact that this is a pneumatic multi pump allows the user to decide how much power will go into each shot.
The maximum for this air rifle is approximately 700 fps which is respectable, but by no means anywhere close to the best that one can find.
Power is graded low for this rifle, because it will get the projectile where it needs to go but as a varmint hunter or recreational shooter hoping for more than 10 yards of effectiveness, it falls short.
Reliability
As it stands, the M4-177 is a reliable weapon in terms of “will it shoot every time?” because it is a multi-pump pneumatic and as long as the working parts are not damaged and the pellet or BB’s are installed correctly, there is no potential for a misfire. Its accuracy however, it wherein lies the unreliability.
As previously stated, there have been reports of the sights that come with this airgun being occasionally flawed. In this way, one of the unreliability issues has to do with the manufacturing process, but the problem still exists.
One minor reliability issue has to do with user friendliness. This air rifle costs approximately $80 USD, and given that it has limited power, decent accuracy, a small price tag, and looks like a military weapon, some may think it is a good trainer for a young beginner shooter.
The one major difficulty in this, however, is that the pump is slightly difficult to operate and is almost impossible for a young person (10 to 14) to pump multiple times, repeatedly, without significant fatigue that may affect steadiness while aiming down the sights.
For reliability, the M4-177 gets average rating, because it has quality control issues and is not user friendly for people who lack significant strength.
Value
It may seem that we have been unkind to this rifle, calling it less-than-powerful, inaccurate over 10 yards and not user-friendly, but in truth the M4-177 is a great choice in terms of value.
This is especially true if the sights that it came with are reliable, and the user is strong enough to work the pump with some regularity, it is a great backyard companion.
Overall
Power and accuracy are not prize winners, and neither is its reliability, but this air rifle looks fantastic and as long as you don’t want to use it for hunting or anything well over 10 yards, it is a great piece that any target shooter would enjoy firing.