Benjamin air rifle mod

[Martin trj]

So we all know the Benjamin trail and prowler have horrible triggers so when I got mine I ran to my local hobby store and got me the traxxas bearings and 8mm screw to “upgrade” both.  I am happy with the results actually but I read somewhere it’s a dangerous mod...have any of you had any bad experiences with it?
Thanks

[Roadworthy]

I've had no experience with it but it can be a dangerous mod because it is preventing the sear from fully latching.  That's how the trigger travel is reduced.  The trigger is essentially partially pulled with you cock the rifle.

[Rob M]

cock the gun.. point the muzzle torward the sky and slam the buttpad into the ground.. if the gun goes off , its a dangerous arrangement

[mikeyb]

I like that Crosman/Benjamin trigger group but it has a range of dimensional tolerances. It is a low cost trigger mass produced in China so no surprise there. Sometimes the popular bearing mod makes a great trigger. Sometimes it doesn't.

I tried the bearing mod on two Crosman rifles and it gave them both uncomfortable and very dangerous hair triggers. I ended up using all the factory bits except for a slightly longer adjustment screw. I carefully polished all critical sear surfaces and burnished those surfaces with a little high moly content lube. Those changes made both of my triggers surprisingly good AND SAFE! Both passed the "bump" test.

[ShakySarge]

     In my humble opinion, it is very dangerous. Before I learned about GTA and the CDT triggers, I used that mod on 4 different Benji spring guns, all of which resulted in the failure of the safety, two of which shot holes in my deck's tin roof when I closed the action. That being said, some folks have had reportedly good luck. That being said, heck no, just no. There are trigger upgrades such as the CDT and others that are proven safe, the bearing mod NOT being one of them.

Just my 35cents worth.

[ShakySarge]

I like that Crosman/Benjamin trigger group but it has a range of dimensional tolerances. It is a low cost trigger mass produced in China so no surprise there. Sometimes the popular bearing mod makes a great trigger. Sometimes it doesn't.

I tried the bearing mod on two Crosman rifles and it gave them both uncomfortable and very dangerous hair triggers. I ended up using all the factory bits except for a slightly longer adjustment screw. I carefully polished all critical sear surfaces and burnished those surfaces with a little high moly content lube. Those changes made both of my triggers surprisingly good AND SAFE! Both passed the "bump" test.

I agree, the best bet, other than an aftermarket trigger, is a careful polishing of all contact points. Makes a world of difference without any aftermarket mods.

[Martin trj]

cock the gun.. point the muzzle torward the sky and slam the buttpad into the ground.. if the gun goes off , its a dangerous arrangement

Will this happen even if the safety is engaged?  So the dangerous part is that it can go off if bumped? 
A friend of mine has a high end competition air pistol and it goes off if you look at it funny.  I guess you have to be extra careful if you do this mod.  I do really like the results and have not had any safety issues.   

[Rob M]

yea , it can still happen with the safety engaged as i recall.. Dont quote me on that , i had a titan set up like this but dont recall.

[lefteyeshot]

GRT triggers are the way to go with Crosman and Benjamins.

[DanD]

I prefer a longer screw to reduce sear engagement on the cheap. The screw gives you control as to how much engagement you eliminate, and it gives a fake two- stage feel, which I prefer over the single stage hair trigger that I experienced with the bearing mod.
The most cost effective way to get a quality two stage trigger is to retrofit an NP Elite trigger pack from Crosman.
Have fun!

[Martin trj]

yea , it can still happen with the safety engaged as i recall.. Dont quote me on that , i had a titan set up like this but dont recall.

I can live with it if it doesn’t happen with the safety engaged.  Anybody has experienced anything like that?   

I prefer a longer screw to reduce sear engagement on the cheap. The screw gives you control as to how much engagement you eliminate, and it gives a fake two- stage feel, which I prefer over the single stage hair trigger that I experienced with the bearing mod.
The most cost effective way to get a quality two stage trigger is to retrofit an NP Elite trigger pack from Crosman.
Have fun!

How long is the screw you used for your trigger? 

[DanD]

How long is the screw you used for your trigger?

I don't remember. Maybe 3 to 5mm longer than the OEM.
 

[Rob M]

yea , it can still happen with the safety engaged as i recall.. Dont quote me on that , i had a titan set up like this but dont recall.

I can live with it if it doesn’t happen with the safety engaged.  Anybody has experienced anything like that?   

I prefer a longer screw to reduce sear engagement on the cheap. The screw gives you control as to how much engagement you eliminate, and it gives a fake two- stage feel, which I prefer over the single stage hair trigger that I experienced with the bearing mod.
The most cost effective way to get a quality two stage trigger is to retrofit an NP Elite trigger pack from Crosman.
Have fun!

How long is the screw you used for your trigger? 

id test that idea unloaded facing the sky.. us discussing it wont prove it untrue or true because we dont know how far that sear is disengaged.

[Martin trj]

yea , it can still happen with the safety engaged as i recall.. Dont quote me on that , i had a titan set up like this but dont recall.

I can live with it if it doesn’t happen with the safety engaged.  Anybody has experienced anything like that?   

I prefer a longer screw to reduce sear engagement on the cheap. The screw gives you control as to how much engagement you eliminate, and it gives a fake two- stage feel, which I prefer over the single stage hair trigger that I experienced with the bearing mod.
The most cost effective way to get a quality two stage trigger is to retrofit an NP Elite trigger pack from Crosman.
Have fun!

How long is the screw you used for your trigger? 

id test that idea unloaded facing the sky.. us discussing it wont prove it untrue or true because we dont know how far that sear is disengaged.

True, I’ll give it a test as soon as I get the chance.  Thanks

[Eddie_E]

On my Prowler it is 100% safe and easily passes the rubber mallet test. I think those who have had problems with the NP version 1 are the people who installed a longer screw or tightened the original screw and tried to use the bearing. When installing the 5x8 bearing, back off the screw to one turn less than OEM, then put the bearing in and do the rubber mallet test.
 I did have an older B18 Gamo that was NOT safe with the 8mm bearing. Luckily I found an SAE size bearing that was around 7mm and that worked, although I had to turn the pin down to 4.9mm on the lathe.

The the ideal screw length without the bearing would be 8mm long, which is hard to find. Most buy the 10mm length and leave it several threads out. Again, any time you adjust a trigger, do the mallet test.

[mikeyb]

Kenny Kormendy (RIP) made some good youtube videos describing how to work on the older crosman trigger.




I followed his recommendation and removed the trigger return spring, pin, AND the trigger adjusting screw to test the bearing fix. It didn't work for "my" specific rifles. Remember, springers are pellet picky, hold sensitive, and the triggers are not exactly alike. The problem is the tolerance stack-up in the Crosman trigger group. That's the reason for the adjustment screw in the first place.

The adjustment screw AND the bearing do EXACTLY the same thing! They preload the sear lever and reduce the sear overlap. The bearing preloads the sear lever right from the trigger blade giving the trigger a short single stage feel. The adjustment screw preloads the sear lever from a fixed point NOT in the trigger blade. This gives the trigger that 2-stage "feel", even though it's not a real 2-stage trigger.

If the preload is too much in either case, the sear overlap will be very small resulting in a hair trigger which can fire when bumped. Not good.

Some think the ball bearing MUST be better because its a BALL BEARING. It has to make the trigger smoother than any other fix. That is EXACTLY what I thought before I tried it! Not true. Polished sear levers, a rounded and polished adjustment screw, and a little moly paste can provide the same smooth trigger feel.

The factory adjustment screw is 5mm long and Crosman has designed it CONSERVATIVELY to avoid injury lawsuits. When fully tightened, the factory screw can never give you a hair trigger. It leaves a large (safe) amount of sear overlap which usually results in a long creepy trigger pull. That seems to be the primary complaint about this Crosman trigger.

I've had the best results on my rifles (YMMV) using an 8mm screw with a rounded & polished tip*. My goal is an adjustment screw that can be turned fully "IN" and still pass the bump test. The trigger may be little lighter than I like, but it is still safe. That way any future owner/shooter (including a forgetful current owner) can never make a stupid adjustment. I can always back it out a little to get my preferred trigger feel. I've used 10mm screws also, but ground them down and polished the tips so they were pretty close to 8mm.

There is no 1 guaranteed perfect fix for this trigger group. First reason is that the dimensional tolerances vary. The second reason is that everyone has different trigger preferences! I don't do competition bench rest shooting, but understand a 10 oz trigger might be good there. I DON'T WANT a 10 oz trigger on my hunting air rifles! I think a 2-3 lb trigger is ideal for most of my needs.

Each shooter will decide for themselves what trigger action feels best. Hopefully they will find something they like without collateral injury or damage.

Good luck & be safe!

*While I did round and polish this screw tip, it does not slide on the sear lever like other trigger adjustment screws and really does not require rounding and polishing.

[Martin trj]

On my Prowler it is 100% safe and easily passes the rubber mallet test. I think those who have had problems with the NP version 1 are the people who installed a longer screw or tightened the original screw and tried to use the bearing. When installing the 5x8 bearing, back off the screw to one turn less than OEM, then put the bearing in and do the rubber mallet test.
 I did have an older B18 Gamo that was NOT safe with the 8mm bearing. Luckily I found an SAE size bearing that was around 7mm and that worked, although I had to turn the pin down to 4.9mm on the lathe.

The the ideal screw length without the bearing would be 8mm long, which is hard to find. Most buy the 10mm length and leave it several threads out. Again, any time you adjust a trigger, do the mallet test.

So I did the 5x8x2.5 bearing mod plus the polished tip m3 x 8 mm screw, next time I shoot I will test how safe it is.  If it fails I might go back to the original setting and just keep the longer screw.  Thanks guys.

[Martin trj]

I finally had some time to shoot both Benjamin rifles and did the bump test.  I'm glad to report both rifles are safe, no accidental shots unless I have to bump it very hard with a baseball bat lol.  I'm also really happy with the trigger pull, very crisp and smooth.
Thanks everybody for your help.
Martin