Experience With Benjamin Trail NP

[Bill Linn]

The Trail NP was a big surprise (and I do mean BIG! ).   I opened the package last Wednesday morning and began to wonder if I'd made a mistake by ordering such a monster. I'm 225 lbs an 6 feet tall so I figured I should be able handle it OK .  (Forgetting that I'll be 77 years old in another month.)

The Centerpolnt scope seems acceptable and the scope mount is very rigid and substantial.  After adjusting the rings to allow the scope to slide to the rear for proper eye-relief, I was ready to start the break-in cycle. 

Not being able to find Crosman Premier 10.5 gr pellets, I settled on a couple of boxes of light pellets and a couple boxes of Gamo 10.5 for the break-in period.  With a 3 inch target set up at 15 yards, I finally discovered the poi and attempted to zero the group, but the poi was all over the place so I resolved to not worry about accuracy until I got act least 100 pellets through the monster.  At 150 shots, it was still all over the place,  with groups of 3" or worse at 15 yards. (My Sheridan BlueStreak does much better with open sights.)

This morning I decided to do the trigger modification using the washer method that essentially acts as a bushing to fill some of the gap between the seer and trigger.  Also, did a thorough Goo-Gone barrel cleaning.  So, after getting things back together, I shot another 15 or 20 rounds of light pellets and the pattern showed no improvement.  So I decided to shoot 10 shots of the Gamo 10.5 gr at a fresh target and call it a day.   All ten  shots were in the ten circle, eight of them could be covered with a 1 cent piece.

Now I see a glimmer of hope and a promise of better things to come.  However, this has been a frustrating experience and it really shouldn't have to be.  I,m sure that, given their years of experience, Crosman can and should do a better job with QC, and also do something with that atrocious trigger.

Hopefully, the Monster will still shoot tight tomorrow!

Bill - North Idaho

[Motorhead]

Sadly .... your not the first or be the last in having issues with this rifle shooting all over the place.
Nuff said ...

[GutPile]

I recently had the Benjamin Trail NP (like last week recently).  At first I loved the rifle, then within a week it was back on its way for a return.  I couldn't get any consistency out of it.  It was really frustrating.  Sorry to hear you may be having the same frustrations.

[ezman604]

Problem MAY not be the QC or the airgun. Problem very well could be the ammo. Too light of a pellet will tumble, go super sonic and shoot like a shotgun. Heavier pellets will slow the velocity down which will result in a more stable flight pattern as well as put more energy down range. Try some Crosman Premiere domed in 10.5gr weight. These are also called the Brown Box rounds. They come in a 1250 round box from Pyramd Air. Buy 3 get the 4th box free and use code nra-pyramyd for 10% off the entire order. I would suggest getting 2-3 different rounds over 9.5gr to experiment with. From your description though, the pellet weight makes a BIG difference.
SAFE & Happy Shooting!!!!
Dave
 

[Bill Linn]

Thank's for the remarks.  You are correct in assessing the main issue of accuracy being one of pellet weight.  I anticipated having to use a heavier pellet to avoid sound barrier turbulence. (I had to order the "brown box" as the local sources seem to be phasing out pellets in favor of Air Soft.)  Still waiting on the order.

The overall challenge of getting this thing to shoot will be worth the effort.  The "break In" period seems a necessary part of the experience.  The Gamo Domes at 10.5 gr would not group until after the Goo-Gone cleaning and trigger mod.  I must mention that, out of the box, barrel droop was very noticeable. Now, after the breach seal has flattened with use, it seems line up better.

Bill - North Idaho


[qwuote author=ezman604 link=topic=46393.msg435615#msg435615 date=1367154131]
Problem MAY not be the QC or the airgun. Problem very well could be the ammo. Too light of a pellet will tumble, go super sonic and shoot like a shotgun. Heavier pellets will slow the velocity down which will result in a more stable flight pattern as well as put more energy down range. Try some Crosman Premiere domed in 10.5gr weight. These are also called the Brown Box rounds. They come in a 1250 round box from Pyramd Air. Buy 3 get the 4th box free and use code nra-pyramyd for 10% off the entire order. I would suggest getting 2-3 different rounds over 9.5gr to experiment with. From your description though, the pellet weight makes a BIG difference.
SAFE & Happy Shooting!!!!
Dave
 
[/quote]