Benjamin NPXL - Finally Grouping

[Nitrocrushr]

I have been working on tightening up the groups on my dad's NPXL .177.  A couple weeks ago I was lucky to hold a 1" group at 20 yards.  Very inconsistent and just all over the place.  So last weekend I cleaned the barrel with my crown saver and Goo Gone, followed by Ballistol and a bunch of dry patches after that.  That barrel was absolutely crummy!  I then tested it out at 20 yards again using his existing pellets (Meisterkugeln 8.2gr).  It was better, but only marginally.  I would say group size dropped to 3/4" and was now consistent.

So, I started researching the pellets folks are using in this rifle and came up with the JSB Match Exact Heavy Diabolo 10.34gr.  The pellets arrived this week and I gave them a try tonight.  What a difference!!!!!  I immediately knew this was a winning combination with the tight groups I was seeing while dialing it in.  I then shot a couple small spots back to back after it was dialed in and I was very impressed.  This rifle is now consistently drilling 5-shot groups of just under 1/4" c-t-c at 20 yards. This is with the rifle bench rested on a caldwell sandbag just in front of the trigger guard.  Front bag only, no bag in the rear. It is like night and day, and almost effortless, and this is with the super hard factory trigger pull.

Thanks to the great folks on this forum for the tips on pellets for this rifle.  Very satisfying way to end an afternoon of shooting

Next step is a new trigger for this beast.

[N6CRV]

Way to go Steve!

[Nitrocrushr]

Way to go Steve!

Thanks Don   I can't wait for my dad to give it a try now. I wish I would have taken pictures of the 20 yard groups over the last 2 weeks leading up to the end result today.  And when I say effortlessly, I mean super easy    After dialing it in, I shot three shots at this spot, then walked up to make sure I didn't have flyers that I wasn't seeing in the scope because I just couldn't believe it was shooting this well.  I then waked back, grabbed the rifle and shot two more into this group to make the 5-shot group pictured above.  Talk about a great feeling

[AK73]

I've found those pellets to be excellent out of my Benjamins. I've shot similar groups with my Titan. They're about all I shoot nowadays...