Trail XL 725 opinions?

[Wolfer]

Keep going back and forth on getting a 725. I know there are some 725 lovers out there,please chime in on opinions good or bad. Also hunting experiences, pellets ,scopes. Thanks again for any advice.    Mike

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Hi Mike.

I did not have a 25 cal.Benjamin Trail NPXL 725 but I did have a 22 cal. Benjamin Trail NPXL 1100 for 3 1/2 years.

Mine was a lightly used gun, made in 2011, that I got on the GTA Classifieds. I got it Jan 2 2016 and sold it last year late June 2019

Mine had the notoriously bad Crosman trigger that was replaced with a CDT GRT-III trigger. ( don't know if Crosman has improved the triggers yet or not)

I added a Diana Bullseye ZR (zero recoil) scope mount because the guy that had it before me kept breaking high priced scopes. (three plus the original scope.) That was the reason that he sold it to me and got a PCP rifle.

As I understand it, Diana no longer makes a ZR scope mount that will fit a pictinny rail.

I sold my rifle to buddyb last year. The only reason that I sold it was I had an excess of Super Magnum rifles. The Benjamin Trail NPXL had a wood stock and I prefer a composite stock for hunting. Being that I had a 25 cal. Hatsan 125 and a 22 cal Walther Talon, both with composite stocks, the one to thin out was the Benjamin. (I went from 18 guns down to the six that you see in my signature. These were the guns that I hunted with the most. Of all the guns that I sold, the Benjamin Trail NPXL and a Vintage 1979 Sheridan Silver Streak were the hardest for me to part with.) My rifle had plenty of power, it shot great and I did a lot of backcountry Northwoods hunting with it in the years that I had it. The only down side to it was, I had to be very careful not to scratch or damage the gunstock while I out in the forest hunting. The areas that I hunt are rough country with plenty of briars and buckthorn.

So ...the Benjamin Trail weighs in at around 11.5 to 12 lbs with a scope mounted on it and takes around 48 to 50 lbs of cocking force to cock every time you load it. It takes a lot of practice to learn how to shoot it accurately.  When I sold the rifle, my shipping charges were around $48.
These type of rifles are big and have a long barrel. The other Hatsan and Walther rifles I have are the same way. All the Supper Magnum rifles are a lot harder to shoot accurately and require precise trigger control, good shooting form and honed springer shooting skills.

I am primarily a small game hunter and not much of a target shooter so I cannot speak to anything like bench shooting with this rifle.

The rifle held up to sever hunting conditions and sub-zero weather.  Any repair parts that you might need are readily available from Crosman at fair prices. Their customer support is great.

I hope this is some help to you sir.

Best Wishes - Tom


If you care to see them, here are some links, to some past hunting posts that I have, using the Benjamin Trail NPXL 1100 rifle that I owned.
Click the pictures to enlarge the image.



1. https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=135263.0

2. https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=134517.0

3. https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=148438.0

[Wolfer]

Thank you very much Tom for the info.Really enjoy the research that goes into the process of getting a new gun. Thanks again.    Mike

[Wolfer]

Tom can,t be the only one on this forum that has had any kind of experience with the 725. It's a great Sunday morning to have a cup of coffee and give the dummy from the central valley of California a year full.   Mike