Benjamin Trail Nitro Piston Elite

[Drew1]

Just received my order from Midway today. Got it for a hundred bucks. Not a bad deal but.. the rifle came, in my opinion, filthy with dirt and dust, and upon cleaning the barrel the patches came out light brown/tan using goo gone and a pull through cable. I'm going to assume that was rust but I am an amateur when it comes to air rifles I'll admit.
The box appeared to be unopened and arrived undamaged but the rifle seems used. The breech seal was covered with dirt and the butt of the rifle had literal dirt on it as well. I had called Midway beforehand and they assured me the rifle would be brand new but I'm skeptical at this point.
It shoots fine and is quiet for the velocity claims. The groupings are what I'd expect from a brand new air rifle but I'm wondering if the tan/light brown patches (which eventually pulled out clean) are an issue I should be worried about long term.
Thoughts?

[Roadworthy]

Was it used?  Perhaps.  Was it returned by someone who changed his mind?  Maybe.  Sometimes a new gun is black when you clean it while sometimes the residue is brown from whatever oil is used at the factory.  If you bought the gun as new and it is not factory reconditioned you have a one year (or more) factory warranty on the gun.  During that time you can return the gun to Crosman in exchange for a new gun of the same model.  If the gun shoots well and to your satisfaction you may wish to keep it.  There is no guarantee a replacement would shoot as well.  The decision is entirely yours.

[Drew1]

Wise observations, as always, from you Roadworthy.
I'll play around with it some more before I contact Crosman. I've shot about 100 pellets through it and it twangs on some of the shots instead of a nice thud.. could be why someone may have returned it, if indeed it is used. Might try to track down somewhere local with a Chrono to see if velocity is effected when it "twangs" instead of that nice solid thud I really love about it. Accuracy is not effected much, if at all, when it twangs. It could just be part of the break in process, I don't know. Also hearing some metallic vibration when firing sometimes. Don't know if that's normal or not.
It's definitely a hold sensitive gun and the artillery hold isn't the best just from messing around with it today. Seems the reverse mullet works better so far, still experimenting with the hold at this point though. I'm the determining factor of accuracy at this point.
I am upset that they would sell a gun that had dirt/sand that exposed itself upon the first break of the barrel but especially directly on the breech seal. I got it all off using a q tip with a drop of silicone oil on it and then wiped it with a paper towel so it wouldn't diesel on me.
Looking down the barrel from the breech with a flashlight at the muzzle shows good rifling and no obvious rust or baffles in the pellets direct path before I shot it so that made me happy for sure. Barrel turns in both directions with some force applied so I didn't mess with that at all after finding that out. Nothing in the manual about the purpose of that.
I might shoot it a thousand times or so and run some Ballistol through it to see if more of this brown &^^& comes out. That, to me, might mean rust and I will be seriously considering the exchange of the rifle or perhaps a total break down and relube with better stuff than whatever China used.
Was disappointed to see Made in China stamped on it as there's a list somewhere on this forum that said my specific model was made in the USA. Perhaps just assembled in the USA with outsourced parts.
The outside is flawless, I will mention, and there's not a speck of rust or damage to the synthetic finish or other metal pieces anywhere so other than the dirt or sand or whatever it was, I'm starting to think you're right about it just being manufacturers crud.
I am pleasantly surprised by the accuracy out of the box at 16 yards. Groups are inside of an inch, when held just right, without a single flyer so far and it took very little effort to sight in.
Scope stays in place and was very easy to mount correctly, but the quality is trash. At 9x the target is so blurry I can't tell what's what. It's more like a 3x to 6x scope before it blurs so badly I wouldn't risk shooting it.
Definitely packs a punch as my homemade backstop failed on me and the pellet lodged itself deep inside my wood fence. Recoil is pretty sharp but not all over the place like my Ruger springer.
Also I think the trigger is great on this Rifle. Very crisp and breaks cleanly. Has a good feel to it in my opinion. Won't mess with it unless something changes.
I am happy with it so far so time will tell.
Thing I'm most concerned with is being able to reliably take down those squirrels come spring time. That will be the deciding factor to me.
Thanks Roadworthy. Always a pleasure.

[profsrgary]

Glad you got your rifle Drew. You are right about the scope but that is true of most bundled scopes. Your scope however does not have an adjustable objective so 9 power can't be used at close range. How is 9X at 40 or 50 yards? If it is not clear at those ranges call crosman. When you upgrade your scope make sure you get one with A/O. If the one you have is defective you can ask Crosman is you can upgrade from this one to an A/O. It may cost you a few bucks but with no A/O shooting close range indoors requires turning the magnification down to 3 of 4 power.

[Roadworthy]

I am mostly bothered by the twang but also by the barrel movement.  Nitro Piston guns don't twang, that's a function of a coil spring powered gun.  Remove the stock (three screws) and look in the cocking slot.  If you see a coil spring in there someone has definitely had the gun apart.  That will void the warranty in a heartbeat.  Now reassemble the gun.  Cock it.  Have a seat.  Place the butt on the floor and the forearm between your knees.  Attempt to move the barrel from side to side while holding the forearm in place with your knees.  There should be no lateral movement.  Given the size of your groups I expect you'll have none.  Other than the twang you seem to have a really good gun.

[SteveP-52]

I've never had one in hand and could be very wrong here, but isn't that barrel sleeved?? If so, whatever is supposed to hold it is either not tight or failed with it turning the way it does.

[Roadworthy]

I believe Steve is correct - the barrel is sleeved.  There may be a suppressor at the end of the barrel.  It could have worked loose - they frequently do.  Caution - they can also be out of alignment and strike the pellet as it leaves the barrel giving erratic groups.

[Drew1]

It's more of a metal "poing" than a "twang". Sorry I can't really describe it without you hearing it yourself. Might actually just be me, the worry wart, hearing the backstop being hit and thinking it's the rifle. Thought about that today. Gun is so quiet that hitting the backstop is louder than the actual rifle. Will do some controlled tests next time and see if it is making any strange noises for sure (shoot into a nearby sand pile and soft bark tree and then target and backstop). The metallic vibration noise is gone. Disappeared overnight so I'm thinking it was probably just me and my anxiety.
The barrel is definitely tight as I did place it between my knees and it doesn't wobble at all.
I did find some obscure video where a younger guy was reviewing the rifle and noticed the ability of the entire shroud to twist both directions as well, sorry don't have a link. Even Tom Gaylord in his review noted it stating that if the shroud is turned enough in one direction or the other that the baffles will be in the direct path of the pellet if I remember correctly. I think he also said one direction or the other will remove the shroud eventually or overtighten it leading to cracked shroud and therefore broken rifle which I don't feel like doing either, given that it's firing fine and grouping great.
My brother stopped by today and noted that my groups are impressively tight with the rifle given my experience. He's a powder gun enthusiast so felt good to have him compliment me. Reverse mullet all the way with this rifle which is really convenient given the pistol style grip.
I bet if I call Crosman they'll have an answer about the shroud. I'm checking it every so often but it's been staying in place and to be sure I put some painters tape on the plastic cone to note any drastic movement and there's been none that I can see. No scope creep either thanks to the mounting job I made absolutely sure I did right. Painters tape on the scope tube, just to be sure on that as well.
And no, I have not tried looking at more distant objects at higher magnification.. duh should've thought of that. I'm usually over analyzing everything. Can't believe I didn't think of that. Thanks.
Sadly no AO knob but just wriggling my head around looking through the scope the reticle doesn't move at all at my normal distance so that's nice. Probably a lame set parallax distance that is way too close for this rifles potential. Definitely looking at Scopes but waiting till next month to get one.
Next time I shoot it I'll try to remember to get some pics to show how well it groups with the Crosman Destroyers at 16 yards.
I think this might be a keeper, very happy with it so far and I can't wait to start dispatching those annoying squirrels.

Question though, it says to oil the rifle every 100 shots in the manual. I have Crosman silicone oil. Should I put a drop or two directly in the chamber of the piston or just on the o rings at the breech and chamber? Can I use this same oil on the metal underneath the forearm or is that a big no no? Reading some mixed info and not sure whats right. Appreciate any input on that. I've shot over two hundred pellets so I think it's time to get into an oiling ritual.
Thanks for all the replies. Always leading me in the right direction. You guys are great.