Benjamin Trail NP All Weather - first month report

[RAV]

I've had my Benjamin Trail NP All Weather .22 for about a month now.  I read many posts before I purchased the unit and used loctite on the scope screws during initial installation.

I'm a firearms owner and shoot pistol and skeet as well as hunt.  I noticed that I needed to improve my shooting skills and body mechanics/trigger control - so I decided an air rifle was a good way to perfect my skills.

I've got a Crosman pump but it is more of a hobbyist toy.

I purchased and installed the GRT-III trigger in the first week.  My install was quick but setting up the trigger took some time.  I've run over 750 shots thru the rifle and about 250 thru the new trigger.  I finally was able to get a short first stage and a noticeable second stage out of the new trigger.

I'm shooting a variety of pellets at 50' and 50 yards.  Most of my shooting is at 50' now at our indoor range but my goal is to zero in at  50 yards and learn to use the mil dots properly on the Centerpoint scope.

Yesterday I think I finally am getting things in order.  As shown in the photo, I got a pretty good grouping at 50'.  I achieved a dime sized group (off the bench) in 7 of the 10 shots I put down the barrel using Benjamin 14.3gr hollow points.  I think the flyers were associated with varying size/weight in the pellets.  Sited in this way, I think I am on target at 50 yards - I'll confirm at a future date.

This is an enjoyable rifle.  I especially like the quiet shooting experience.  I can play some music and shoot at the range without the need for hearing protection.

I am interested in learning from others and particularly want to know the following:

• Pellet choices - which is your best for the BTNP?
  Lubrication - what are you doing on a regular basis?
  Cleaning - I'm occasionally running a bore snake thru my rifle - once per session at the most
  Pellet trajectory - I haven't checked yet (and I dont have a chronograph) but as sighted I am seeing about an inch above center at 50' and dead on at 50 yards.  What can I expect to see at the in between distances?
  Any other tips or tricks or tweaks that are recommended
  
  

Thanks for reading,

[ezman604]

RAV, welcome to GTA Forums. Glad to have you join us airgun addicts. Thanks for the review of the Trail All Weather. I've been shooting powder burners for MANY years and learning to shoot high powered air rifles has been a challenge. And it has really helped me become a better shot with my pb's.
I'll throw a few suggestions at ya and I'm sure others will chime in with more that may help. First off, installing the GRT-III trigger was probably the best improvement you could have made. It's quite awesome and will improve shot groups quite a bit. The Benjamin hollow points are probably the same rounds but all of my guns like the Crosman Premiere Hollow Points (CPHP) you can get at Wal-Mart super centers for $6.88 for 500. You can also go to Pyramyd Air and buy several types and weights of pellets to experiment with. They always run a special of buy 3 tins and get the 4th free. Also use code "pyramyd-air" for an additional 10% off the order.
As far as bore cleaning, an airgun needs an initial cleaning. Using a bore snake is a good thing. Just do not use a cleaning compound for powder burners, it can damage the seals and you have no deposits in the bore as in a pb bore. You should not have to clean it again unless the grouping starts to open up, maybe after 5-10,000 rounds. Then use a bore snake and Goo Gone to clean it. You need the bore of an airgun to get "leaded" in for better accuracy and repeated cleaning will remove the leading. Also do not use metal brushes or metal rods in the bore, it can damage the rifling since the metal of an airgun is not heat treated as a powder burner. Many of us use weedeater string and patches.
At some point, you could and should replace the breach pivot washers with brass in place of the weak plastic ones Crosman uses. There are posts about those on here. Lubricate the pivot washers with a tad bit of moly grease and tighten down. Make sure ALL screws have blue loctite and tightened well.
Sounds like you are off to a good start. Keep us informed and post often about your airgun adventures.
Again, welcome and....
Happy Shooting!!!!
Dave
 

[ASAirifle]

Great review RAV and good grouping.  I recently picked one of these up as well after returning my Titan GP.  Well, I get whiplash from this rifle too if I don't cant the rifle when I shoot it.  Anyway, it's not as bad as it was with the GP. 
I only have ~50 shots through it so it hasn't been cleaned or lubed but after sight in I managed to get a squirrel 52 paces from the backdoor!  It's capable of great accuracy and I love the adjustable objective scope.  Have only tried CPHP's so far.

[Rico14]

Welcome to the GTA. And congrats on getting the Trail NP. It's a fun AG to shoot. You didn't mention which pellet you're shooting but you are getting good groups. I shot 2 tins of CPHP's from Wally thru my NP when I first got it. The NP liked these pellets and I got good groups. I tried different pellets and now I shoot H&N FTT as they are a lot more accurate. My NP likes Predators also and they are my first choice when I hunt. Every AG has it's favorite pellet. Try a few different ones. If you find one you NP really likes, your groups will shrink.

[uncle paulie]

Welcome Rav, nice group you have there, seems to have settled in real well. Thanks for the report, let us know how she's doing on some other pellets when you get to it!

pv

[RAV]

Here are the pellets I am working with now and some info on them:

Benjamin Heavy Weight Hollow Point     .22 cal.  14.3 gr   Unit cost   $0.02
Crosman Hollow Point Hunting Pellet      .22 cal.  14.3 gr   Unit cost   $0.02
Crosman Pointed Pellet Field Hunting     .22 cal.  14.3 gr   Unit cost   $0.03
Gamo Rocket                                    .22 cal.  14.3 gr   Unit cost   $0.07
RWS  Super-H-Point                          .22 cal.  14.2 gr   Unit cost   $0.06
Gamo Hunter                                    .22 cal.  15.3 gr   Unit cost   $0.03
Gamo Master Point                            .22 cal.  16.2 gr   Unit cost   $0.03

I'll post some targets in the future.

RAV

[yote300wsm]

JSB 18.1 gr Jumbo Heavy. My Trail NP loves them. I have been noticing that a lot of the NP's like pellets in the 18 gr range. JSB's, Crow Mags etc...