GTA
Airguns by Make and Model => Benjamin Airguns => Topic started by: atvkilla1 on March 04, 2012, 10:19:01 PM
-
So, after asking around and getting much good advice, I decided to replace my 2 failed Crosman Phantom's with a Benjamin Trail NP .22. It was kind've hard going from paying $59 for the Phantoms all the way up to $218 for the Trail, but I was hoping for better results. I also will be using this for chipmunk control and want to be as quiet as possible in my suburban neighborhood.
First impressions of this rifle was that it seemed like a well made piece and everything looked straight and well fitted. The breech seal seemed a little questionable to me and looks like it doesn't protrude enough, but it appears to be doing it's job.
I now have 500 CPHP pellets through it and this thing still doesn't have me convinced. It's very frustrating to have 1/2" groups one hour then the next they are flying all over a 2" group. I did find that the barrel pivot was loose and tightened it up. After that, it was nice again. That is, until the next day, when groups started opening up again. Everything else is lock-tightened and the horrible trigger doesn't help, but I'm really not in love with this thing.
It does seem to like a clean barrel, as everytime accuracy goes south, I put a patch or two with goo gone down the barrel and then several more to dry, it then starts grouping again. I've also noticed a continuous trigger pull without any stops seems to help too. Not sure if I'm going to keep this thing or not. Maybe try another few hundred pellets of a different brand/style. I do like the feel of it and the noise level is very nice.
-
A tune and a cdt trigger is all you need and it will shoot sweet after. i did that i have never had a problem. (2000 shots no problem so far)
-
I know I need that GRTIII. I had previously bought the CBR trigger for the Phantom which made it great, but I sent the rifle back. Now I have a CBR collecting dust so I am just a little trigger shy on getting, well, a new trigger. :D
Wanted to be sure this thing absolutely has potential before sinking in any more $. I think it does.
-
Love my Benji Trail. Sweet shooting. Love popping beer cans at 75 yards consistently. I did have to put a gold trigger on it.
-
I have a Trail NP and the CDT trigger at it helps with accuracy greatly.I have made 50 yard shots with mine
-
A CDT trigger is in order and like I was told to help the barrel for tightness do the brass washer mod on it.
-
My trail acted the same way yours is...had to clean the barrel every 15 to 20 shots. Was shooting CPHP's and it would group great for the first ten shots after cleaning and then all over the place. I even had the gold trigger and did everything short of tearing it apart. After I used up my two tins of CPHP's I got some H&N FTT's and all I can say is...I'm a believer. End of fliers...period! So don't give up till you have tried some different pellets.
Jim
-
I'd do the GRTIII and get a GRS kit with the brass bushings for the barrel. That should keep the lockup nice, tight, and consistent
-
Those H&N FTT pellets shot the very best in my Trail.
Ernesto
-
Okay, I am sending for the GRTIII today and I'll try the H&N's too. I was getting the CPHP from walmart out of convenience and price, but it's good to hear that the H&N's seem to work well in this.
Does anyone have a link on the brass washers and how to do that? I'm new to doing any airgun work but am not a total mechanical idiot and have some basic firearm gunsmithing knowledge.
-
Okay, I am sending for the GRTIII today and I'll try the H&N's too. I was getting the CPHP from walmart out of convenience and price, but it's good to hear that the H&N's seem to work well in this.
Does anyone have a link on the brass washers and how to do that? I'm new to doing any airgun work but am not a total mechanical idiot and have some basic firearm gunsmithing knowledge.
I'm like you are;new to this airgun stuff.I did the barrel breech washers yesterday and it was quite easy.First,take the action out of the stock.Once you have that done,brake open your barrel and you will see a flat head screw.Just remove the screw and you will see two nylon washers recessed into both sides of the barrel.Pop out the nylon ones and replace them with the brass washers.I also got the plastic bushings,but have no clue as to where they go or how to do it.I'm waiting on an answer.You can get the washers and bushing from http://www.airguntoys.com/ (http://www.airguntoys.com/)
-
the plastic bushing slips over the front end of the nitro piston (the end that is inside the steel piston when cocked). protects the nitro piston from wear and also keeps it centered in the actual piston
edit- btw, what was wrong with your phantoms?
-
FTT's and go GOLD!
-
BTW, those of you who shoot the H&N FTT's...are those the 5.53mm diameter?
-
the 5.53mm heads shoot better in mine than the 5.54. The 5.54 have about 30fps less than the 5.53mm.
-
edit- btw, what was wrong with your phantoms?
First Phantom looked like it had something wrong with it out of the box. When you looked down the barrel, the barrel was noticeably crooked to the left and I had a hard time sighting it in. Eventually, I got it sighted but accuracy was extremely poor, even after a lengthy breakin. The 2nd one I picked up at WM appeared to be better made with a straight barrel and nice fitting parts. It's accuracy was decent too. Then, after only 200 or so shots, I could not cock it. About halfway through the cycle, something was binding and couldn't complete the stroke. Instead of fooling around, I returned that one too.
-
My trail .22 wasn't shooting so hot until I had around 500 pellets through it. I clean my barrel every 250 shots or so, but I only use a brass brush and then a few dry patches. H&N FFTs are my next purchase. I'm still using the CPHPs from walmart. The trigger makes a huge difference. It's like another gun. I also completely disassembled the gun to clean up the stock and the burred metal the Chinese left behind. That made the gun cock much smoother and it sits a little tighter in the stock now.
-
If you have intermittent accuracy then pellets are likely to blame. Cphp are not a consistently made pellet, and WILL give you 3 good ones in every 5. I hate to say it but part of being an air gun owner is to have in your possession 10-15 types of pellets. Your trail is bound to like one of them. When you find it, you can expect sub .50 groups at 25 yards with that gun rested.
Check the obvious first... stock screws, scope, hold, pivot screw.
Good luck.
-
Mine likes RWS Superdomes and you can get them site to store at WW no S/H.
-
Check out this post on NP XL pellet accuracy. http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php/topic,25294.msg229543.html#msg229543 (http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php/topic,25294.msg229543.html#msg229543)
I just ordered some FTTs yesterday. If you must use CPs, go for the cardboard box, they are sorted and from the same die cast.
-
Check out this post on NP XL pellet accuracy. http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php/topic,25294.msg229543.html#msg229543 (http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php/topic,25294.msg229543.html#msg229543)
I just ordered some FTTs yesterday. If you must use CPs, go for the cardboard box, they are sorted and from the same die cast.
Lol, those are my paper target photographs in that thread. The Trail NP is one nice shooter.
-
Mine likes RWS Superdomes and you can get them site to store at WW no S/H.
Thanks for this tip. Just ordered some to try for around $7.
Its tough to pay around $15 plus another $8-10 for shipping the ftt's. I'll try them out next time i can batch other items with the order.
-
You have to buy three tins and get the forth one free from Pyramyd Air. It just pretty much covers the shipping.
My Trail NP has given me plenty of headaches but now I think it is finally starting to calm down. I have about 2000 rounds through it. I just shot a seven pellet group 3 3/4" big at 80 yards. Now I'm just waiting for a day that isn't too windy to try it again.
-
You have to buy three tins and get the forth one free from Pyramyd Air. It just pretty much covers the shipping.
My Trail NP has given me plenty of headaches but now I think it is finally starting to calm down. I have about 2000 rounds through it. I just shot a seven pellet group 3 3/4" big at 80 yards. Now I'm just waiting for a day that isn't too windy to try it again.
What can it do at more sub-insane distances that a mortal such as I would be shooting at, like say 20 & 30 yards?
-
Ha Ha. Thanks. But I'm not that great. I have only been shooting airguns for about three months or so. For a Trail NP I really thinks it comes down to:
GRT III trigger
finding the right ammo
find out how to hold your gun, artillery or otherwise.
Practice, practice, practice
Having a good gun, or the gun breaking in.
My gun is weird. I shoot about a 0.5" group at 15 yards right now. Then sometimes I'll get 5 pellets in one hole. I just looked through my old targets. My best group at 30 yards was about 2 inches. At 40 my best group was 1.5" and my best group at 50 yards was 1". Plus, I have plenty of groups that opened up to 4" at all distances. So it really doesn't tell you anything. I think that I'm getting better at shooting and the gun is breaking in. I'll tell you what though, all my groups were &^^& before I changed the trigger. And when I changed it, initially it was just a hair trigger, that didn't help my groups much either. I had to back out the first stage screw quite a bit and turn in the second stage screw a little so that I actually had a trigger pull. Now it's great.
Find out how your gun likes to be held too. There are a lot of proponents of the artillery hold for springers. But I tell you, for my gun, it does not work. My gun likes a tight pull into the should for tight groups. Print out sheets with 6 or 8 targets on them and try different holds at 10-15 yards to find what works.
By the way, the best grouping pellets in my gun are H&N FTT's and Beeman FTS's.
-
Ha Ha. Thanks. But I'm not that great. I have only been shooting airguns for about three months or so. For a Trail NP I really thinks it comes down to:
GRT III trigger
finding the right ammo
find out how to hold your gun, artillery or otherwise.
Practice, practice, practice
Having a good gun, or the gun breaking in.
My gun is weird. I shoot about a 0.5" group at 15 yards right now. Then sometimes I'll get 5 pellets in one hole. I just looked through my old targets. My best group at 30 yards was about 2 inches. At 40 my best group was 1.5" and my best group at 50 yards was 1". Plus, I have plenty of groups that opened up to 4" at all distances. So it really doesn't tell you anything. I think that I'm getting better at shooting and the gun is breaking in. I'll tell you what though, all my groups were &^^& before I changed the trigger. And when I changed it, initially it was just a hair trigger, that didn't help my groups much either. I had to back out the first stage screw quite a bit and turn in the second stage screw a little so that I actually had a trigger pull. Now it's great.
Find out how your gun likes to be held too. There are a lot of proponents of the artillery hold for springers. But I tell you, for my gun, it does not work. My gun likes a tight pull into the should for tight groups. Print out sheets with 6 or 8 targets on them and try different holds at 10-15 yards to find what works.
By the way, the best grouping pellets in my gun are H&N FTT's and Beeman FTS's.
I have found that the smaller the target, the better I shoot. You might just need a smaller dot up close to concentrate on.
-
All those Benjamin NP's have an heavy recoil for an air rifle.
Even with the CDT Trigger, any sideways pressure tends to throw your aim off as the rifle recoils. You have to be very aware that your finger pressure on the trigger is straight back. Use the pad of your first digit on the trigger finger.
Expect clover leaf one hole groups at 25 yds.
Jim
-
I have found that the smaller the target, the better I shoot. You might just need a smaller dot up close to concentrate on.
I do believe there is logic to this. I remember wondering why the farther out I was shooting, the groups were staying about the same and not opening up. I remember shooting the 50 yard group and saying to myself. "Well, I could have shot that group at 15 yards. Whats up with that?"
I'll try some smaller targets this weekend.
-
I have found that the smaller the target, the better I shoot. You might just need a smaller dot up close to concentrate on.
I do believe there is logic to this. I remember wondering why the farther out I was shooting, the groups were staying about the same and not opening up. I remember shooting the 50 yard group and saying to myself. "Well, I could have shot that group at 15 yards. Whats up with that?"
I'll try some smaller targets this weekend.
Just had this very same observation today. Maybe something about the human eye/brain interaction.
-
Mine likes FTT's as well. The cphp's get too many fliers. The FTT 14.66gr head size is .217......don't know the MM because my mic scale doesn't go "fine" enough.
PaperPunch1
-
You have to buy three tins and get the forth one free from Pyramyd Air. It just pretty mYou have to buy three tins and get the forth one free from Pyramyd Air. It just pretty much covers the shipping.
My Trail NP has given me plenty of headaches but now I think it is finally starting to calm down. I have about 2000 rounds through it. I just shot a seven pellet group 3 3/4" big at 80 yards. Now I'm just waiting for a day that isn't too windy to try it again.
What can it do at more sub-insane distances that a mortal such as I would be shooting at, like say 20 & 30 yards?
uch covers the shipping.
My Trail NP has given me plenty of headaches but now I think it is finally starting to calm down. I have about 2000 rounds through it. I just shot a seven pellet group 3 3/4" big at 80 yards. Now I'm just waiting for a day that isn't too windy to try it again.
What can it do at more sub-insane distances that a mortal such as I would be shooting at, like say 20 & 30 yards?
Sub .50" groups at 30 yards are what my Trail NP and NPSS shoot.
-
A quick question for you experienced NP/ springer owners: is it okay to put a bit of locktite on the barrel pivot screw? I tightened mine good about 2 weeks ago and today accuracy started declining. The pivot screw has loosened a bit. Is locktite good or bad here?
-
I always blue loctite the pivot screw. A good cleaning of both male & female threads with alcohol, and 24 hours to cure will.ensure it never loosens... even after 1000 shots or more.
-
install a grt III trigger clean the bore shoot it about 1000 rounds mabe install some brass washers at the hinge bolt locktite them and give it a chance mine took almost 2 tins before it was doin me right now its a hard hittin tack driver . since the starlings have showed uo its killed about 4-5 birds a night before they fly and im saying for the last 10-12 days . just give it a chance
-
On my last shooting session on Saturday, I was very pleased with the accuracy (no GRTIII yet, with about 700 CPHP pellets through so far.). I was hitting can-size targets 8/10 times at 55 yards. The furthest I can shoot at my local range is about 86 yards and I managed to hit soup cans about 5/10 times with a 5 or 6 mildot holdover. Accuracy started to head south and that's when I noticed the pivot screw was not in the same position; it had worked loose a tiny bit, like 1/8 turn.
When the GRT comes in later this week, I will operate a bit on everything, clean and loctite as recommended and try it out the next day.