We bought our son one of the new Remington Express air guns for Christmas. At first we were only getting 3" groups at the 13 yard length of our basement with Crosman wadcutter pellets. After cleaning the barrel and tightening the screws, it's now shooting around an inch. I had hoped for better at such a short distance. I'm new to this style of air guns. How much accuracy should I expect from a gun in this class?

It can be pretty good, it all depends on the pellet. You'll have to try several types to figure that out. The rifle will let you know, not what you'd like the gun to shoot.
My suggestion would be to try the dome type, stay away from hollow points and wad cutters. That alone should increase your accuracy.

Don't expect too much.

Despite the "Remington" name on the gun- it basically a Cheap Chinese made Air rifle. Pretty much the same quality as the "Ruger" airguns you see at Walmart ,just dolled up with a bit of Remington cosmetics and name..

So, it may never be capable of great accuracy- but after a tin or two of pellets( 500 to 1,000 shots- it should break in a stop deiseling.

Hihg powered Spring guns as a whole -even finely made European guns- are not the easiest to shoot well. You need to watch your shooting technique.. Do a Google search for "Artillery Hold for Airguns" -that should help you out a lot.

As to accuracy in guns of that class, if you get to the point you are getting 1/2" or less groups consistnetly with inexpensive pellets at 13 yards, that is about as much as a $100 Airgun (and that is what the rifle is really worth) can do. One hole groups at 13 yards would be stellar.

Bon Chance, Mon Ami..

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I got great accuracy from my cheap, old Crosman 760. But, it finally died and the new ones are awful! Obviously, the Remington name is just a marketing gimmick. But, it seems like a decent gun for $99. We'll definitely try the domes! I'm just wondering if different pellets can make that big a difference. Or, if I should upgrade before we use it too much to return. Do, $200 guns get significantly better accuracy?

Pneumatics can get phenomenal accuracy because they have no recoil issues

Springers "jump" before the pellet leaves the barrel, this is why they are hold sensitive.

The 760 was probably equal in power and lighter weight too.

For the short ranges you are looking at, the Daisy Avanti 853 is a very accurate air gun, it's just not very powerful. I bought one for my son when he was shooting air rifle in a middle school league. We used wad cutters in that and it shot them well. I have a Benjamin Marauder and it hates those wad cutters. I use a heavy magnum dome pellet in that. The Avanti may be more than you want to spend, but my son's is still shooting well 13 years later.

http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Daisy_Avanti_853/145

Going from 3 to 1 inch should encourage you. Get some different pellets, these guns can be picky. They, as has been said, are also finicky about the way they are held. Experiment but remember consistency, as always, is key.

The guys are steering you right.
Dome pellets and heavier pellets would be my first two things to try.
It's not uncommon for new rifles to need several hundred pellets run through them before they settle down though.
If it settles down and shoots pellets that you can buy locally, you're done.
If not, you may feel the need to try other pellets this may interest you, Sample Pack link
Good luck!

Evidence based advice. Enjoy and good luck!

I've shot some in mine that will will group less than an inch at 25 yds, while others won't "group" on a normal 9.5 X 11 sheet of paper

Check out some of the "sample packs" here:
http://www.pyramydair.com/pellets

Thanks to all for your suggestions and insights! Sorry not to have acknowledged them sooner. But, we've been gone hunting for a week and away from the computer. I'm tempted by the sample pack. But, we did get some different kinds of dome-shaped pellets that we are anxious to try first.

O.K. I think we're finally headed in the right direction with the new Remington Express. Thanks to everyone who contributed...

The group is .4" for 5 shots at 13 yards with RWS dome-shaped pellets.



Tightening the screws, cleaning the barrel, proper hold and different pellets all added up to a big difference from the 3" groups at the start.

The only issue remaining is that we still do notice accuracy dropping off when the screws loosen even slightly. They seem to do this often despite blue Loctite. I thought about trying different lock washers. I'm scared to use red Loctite. Any sugestions????

Take a look at Vibra Tite VC3 Link here

Paint it on both surfaces and let dry or nearly dry and assemble. The screws will turn in really slow and can be removed but turn out really slow too.
A buddy uses a lot of this stuff for rock crawler/off road stuff.
Good stuff for shock and vibration.