Benjamin Titan XS - Set Up & Break In Advice Requested

[mlochala]

I've taken the plunge on a Benjamin Titan XS.  I've been pretty excited by the reviews of this gun and can't wait to get it in my hands.

The only experience I've had with a break barrel airgun is a Gamo Hornet that I recently purchased for my son.  Though it is a nice gun, I had fits getting it sighted in and shooting satisfactorily.  I had no clue that springers required such a lengthy break in period or constant maintenance to keep the scope zeroed.  After approx 200 shots AND a different scope, it has finally settled down as a fun and fairly accurate shooter.

As far as this Titan XS is concerned, what is recommended as far as taking it out of the box and making it ready to shoot?  Is it worth it to take it apart to inspect seals, bolts, screws and such or should that be reserved for only if obvious problems are discovered?  Of course, the Titan XS is a nitrogen piston powered gun.  Anything extraordinary that must be considered for this type of gun?  Also, how should this Titan XS compare to the Gamo Hornet (or anything similar) in terms of accuracy and durability?

I spoke with a Crosman representative whose only real advice was to not even worry with attempting to sight it in until I've fired around 100 or so shots through it to break it in.  He had high praise for the gun (which I expected) and said it should be a dependable, accurate and trouble free gun.

My intentions is to use this gun in place of my various .22LR rifles for small game hunting as well as off season target practice, varmint and pest control.  I realize it wouldn't be realistic to expect the same level of accuracy as I would get from my Ruger MKII .22LR, but I would like it to be fairly accurate and consistent at least out to about 35 yards.  Is this realistic?

I am open and appreciative of any advice you can offer.

[mlochala]

Also, if you any experience with this gun, I'd like to hear about your experience and get your recommendations as well.

Thanks again!

[Roadworthy]

When you get the new gun, clean the barrel with Goo Gone or something similar - no powder gun solvents.  A bit of moly in the cocking slot is a good idea, as well as a bit of oil at the pivot in the cocking linkage.  (You will need to remove the stock for both of these.)  A new trigger from charliedatuna.com is probably the biggest single improvement you can make to the gun.  You're good to go.

As far as expectations, it won't shoot like your .22 rimfire.  There is a technique involved.  You can attain accuracy but it takes practice and getting familiar with the gun.  You may find issues with the included scope or it may serve you well for a couple of years.  Time will tell.  Enjoy.

[Native Son]

mlochala, congrats on your titan. I own the plain version in 22cal. I would advise you to clean the bore with goo gone or simple green if you have not done so already. I removed and cleaned with alcohol all the action mounting bolts and the scope hardware before using blue locktite on them. Shoot a couple hundred cheap pellets through before you start looking for the right pellet for accuracy. I have found the barracuda hunters in the 18 grain range to be the ones my gun likes. With that pellet shooting from a rest if I do my part it will shoot a penny sized group at 20 yards. The titan's suffer from a couple weak areas. The first is the factory trigger which is bad and the second is the plastic washers used on the barrel pivot joint. Both of these issues can be fixed with a small amount of effort if you wish. The trigger can be improved by you as shown on youtube or can be replaced with a very nice aftermarket unit for about 30 bucks. The plastic washers can be replaced with brass ones from your local hardware store if you modify them to fit. I replaced the stock scope and scope mounts and used a rws one piece mount and a 3x9 AO scope. I also removed the muzzle break and prefer the cleaner look this way. As far as tearing it down I would advise you to shoot it first and if you are happy with the way it shoots save the teardown until later. If you need parts crosman sell them very cheap. I bought the ARH aftermarket piston seal for mine as I use these on all my air rifles. They cost a little more but they are a much better quality IMO. When you decide to tear into your rifle watch a few of the many videos on it on youtube. Another resource for you is the library on this great site. If you do tear it down I suggest you use a spring compressor even though it is a gas piston rifle. I made mine and you can finds lots of tips on building one in the library as well. Mine shoots the CHP 14.3 grain pellets at 753 average which is about 18 foot pounds of energy. For the price I think the titan is a nice air rifle which can be modified to become a very nice air rifle with a small amount of tinkering on your part. Good luck.

[mlochala]

Thank you for the replies and advice so far!

I guess I failed to mention mine will be a .177 caliber.  I'm sort of partial to .177 caliber when it comes to airguns.

As I mentioned before, my only experience with a break barrel so far is with the Gamo Hornet I purchased for my son.  When we took his out of the box, I immediately put the scope on it and began sighting it in.  I had it zeroed in the first five or six shots, or so I thought.  Two shots later and it was way off again.  And then we went into a vicious cycle of chasing the zero, not a fun game.

I've had a Benjamin 397 for almost 20 years, and a Benjamin 347 for six or seven years before that.  I've been relatively spoiled by its accuracy, smoothness (no recoil!) and power.  With the break barrel, I was hoping for more power, more accuracy and a lot less cocking.  The Gamo impressed me with its power, but I was somewhat surprised by the recoil and the loud "Thoink!!!" when it fires, not to mention how difficult it was to zero.

I guess you could say I fell for the "Nitro Piston hype" as I have seen and heard it is referred regarding the Crosman and Benjamin NP guns.  The Titan XS seemed to be, at least from what I could understand, a decent bridge from the entry level guns to the higher quality ones.

I guess my concerns lie mostly with accuracy and durability.  I hope this gun will be able to at least produce quarter sized groups at 25-35 yards (my .22 rifles are one hole guns) and last for at least a few good years.  I am very capable of working on my own equipment (I'm a maintenance technician and fabricator, by trade) and am used to tearing down and tuning my own bows and so forth.

Should I stock up on some spare cylinders or seals?

[Native Son]

Your Titan should be a very reliable air rifle for you. I have shot mine at least 2000+ shots without any issues. When you decide to tinker a bit you will be able to buy anything for it from Crosman but better quality seals are available from ARH and others. I would shoot it for a time and see how it preforms before tearing it down  as when you do it voids the factory warranty. You did not mention where you bought it from but if on the rare chance you got a real lemon most vendors will allow you a 30 day return period if it's not been modified. If its shooting good leave it alone until the 30 day grace period is over than think about tuning/improving it would be my suggestion.

[longhunter]

good advice, so far. one other little tidbit I'd like to pass along. don't mount the scope, until you've put at least a tin through it. the gun has to settle in, initially. until it does, it's pretty harsh. that kills scopes, even the " magnum springer rated "  ones. you won't be chasing poi, either. my airhawk is one of those guns that hit where I point it, first time, every time. I attribute a lot of that to not mounting the scope, until the gun had broken in.
just my 2 cents.

[mlochala]

Wow, great advice everyone!  Thank you!

Just curious, but how does that nitro piston compare to a springer in terms of recoil and noise?

[Jimbo45]

I just prurchased a Titan XS, and am a little disappointed so far.  Right out of the gate, that trigger was awful, so I did the RC bearing mod, and it is now a very decent trigger.  I am not ready to dump it yet, as I have read it needs a lengthy break in period.  I have only fired about 50-75 pellets through it so far, so I am hoping it improves.  It is still dieseling pretty bad.  It smells of burnt kerosene still, and after every shot, the bore is filled with smoke/vapor enough that I can not see through the bore, without blowing the smoke out.  On the chronograph, it is shooting Crosman Premier 7.9 gr. hollowpoints at about 975 fps, and JSB Express domed 7.9 gr. at about 920 fps.

The POI shifts dramatically at only 10 yards, each session that I fire it, leading me to wonder if the included 4-12 power (I think it is) scope is bad.  One day, shooting 15-20 pellets, I will zero it, then the next day, the POI will be a couple inches off (with the same pellet type), and then re zero, then the third day, it will be off again.  It also doesn't group well.....like 1.5" at only 10 yards from a lead sled (for comparison, my old, worn out jumky powerline 880 will do less than 1/2" at 20 yards!).

Can someone explain to me the method of using and modifying brass washers to replace the pivot washers, that was suggested earlier in this thread?

Also, can someone recommend a decent, durable airgun scope for this gun, that won't break the bank?  I am interested in trying a new scope, once I get about 500 shots through this Titan XS.

[longhunter]

Your gun is still breaking in. You're gonna get poi shift until it settles down. Shooting from the lead sled isn't helping.
As far as the brass washers, take the plastic one to the hardware store and match them up .take them home and put a bolt and nut on them, using the plastic one as a guide,  chuck them up in a drill press,  or a hand drill and file down the outer diameter to match the plastic washer. Easy peasy.

[Jimbo45]

Your gun is still breaking in. You're gonna get poi shift until it settles down. Shooting from the lead sled isn't helping.
As far as the brass washers, take the plastic one to the hardware store and match them up .take them home and put a bolt and nut on them, using the plastic one as a guide,  chuck them up in a drill press,  or a hand drill and file down the outer diameter to match the plastic washer. Easy peasy.

Thanks Long hunter, I may head to the hardware store today to find some washers!

[kahrguy]

Congrats on your new NP. Lots of good advice so far. Just thought I would add that how you hold it is critical. Been shooting for 60 years and have some springers that are dead accurate. Wanted to try an NP and found a whole new world. I cussed mine for all it was worth until I figured this out. Experimented for a while before I found the hold and pellets it liked. If I change anything the accuracy goes away. I did dismantle mine and clean the piston and tube. Found some kind of oily gunk in it that was making it diesel. Re lubed it with moly paste and problems went away. (It was bothering the accuracy.)

[Jimbo45]

I couldn't find any brass washers locally, at places that were open yesterday.  I will check one more place today.  I did take the pivot bolt out and cleaned up the plastic washers and put some moly lube on them and the cocking slot.  It seems slicker now, and it really doesn't seem to have any side to side wobble, so the lockup may be ok with the plastic washers.

I put about 200 pellets through it too.  It was shooting way high for this session at 15 yards, and I couldn't get enough scope adjustment, to zero it.  Diaiing it all the way down, and it still hits about an inch high.  Weird.

Kahrguy.....can you describe the "hold" that you are having success with?

[kahrguy]

After much experimenting I found if I hold my left hand as far forward as possible with a light snug hold, keep the gun snug against my shoulder and was very careful with trigger squeeze I could bull's eye 8 out of 10 shots at 25 yds. All in all a 2" pattern. If I vary in any way it goes off. A lot of folks recommend the "artillery hold" but had no luck with it. It seems the further back my left hand is, the worse it gets. I guess everyone is different but this works for me.  With my springer and NP I get the best results with Swiss Arms pellets. Not so my pump guns. They like Crosman HP's. Experiment a lot and when you find it, stick with it.

[longhunter]

  It was shooting way high for this session at 15 yards, and I couldn't get enough scope adjustment, to zero it.  Diaiing it all the way down, and it still hits about an inch high.  Weird.

don't adjust your scope all the way down, or up, or sideways. you'll ruin it. take your scope off and optically center the reticle. to optically center your scope, turn the magnification to it's highest setting. put the scope up against a mirror. you'll see two sets of cross hairs. adjust your windage and elevation until the two cross hairs become one.  then, SHIM the rear ring with a piece of plastic cut from a soda bottle. put the scope back in the rings and lock it down. check to see if you're closer to the bullseye. if you're still too high, try a thicker piece of plastic. keep shimming until you're within an inch, or less, at 15 yards, and fine tune your zero with the scope's adjustment.

[Ontarget58]

don't adjust your scope all the way down, or up, or sideways. you'll ruin it. take your scope off and optically center the reticle. to optically center your scope, turn the magnification to it's highest setting. put the scope up against a mirror. you'll see two sets of cross hairs. adjust your windage and elevation until the two cross hairs become one.  then, SHIM the rear ring with a piece of plastic cut from a soda bottle. put the scope back in the rings and lock it down. check to see if you're closer to the bullseye. if you're still too high, try a thicker piece of plastic. keep shimming until you're within an inch, or less, at 15 yards, and fine tune your zero with the scope's adjustment.

If POI is too high you would need to shim up in the FRONT ring.  And I have wrecked scopes with too much shimming, or by using windage adjustable bases because the resulting misalignment between the front and rear rings puts stress on the scope tube once you tighten the top srews.  Unfortunately, air rifles with their short sight in distance  make it really hard to get POA and POI to coincide without using a lot of turret adjustment so shimming is done a lot.  Keep your shims thin (I have used wall of soda can) to avoid damaging your scope.  Also be aware that socpes on magnum springers can move in the rings when shimmed.  While it is scary and perhaps even painful, bending the gun barrel may be a better choice than shimming the scope.  Best IMO would be a one piece scope mount that's elevation adjustable.  However, there's no such thing as far as I know for weaver rail.

[Jimbo45]

Thanks guys.  I shot the &^^& out of the gun today, and have about 450 pellets through it.  At 400 pellets, it was still dieseling bad, and I could blow the smoke out of the barrel after each shot.  I broke down and disassembled the whole gun (without a compressor, ugh), and cleaned all the chinese oil out of the compression tube and piston seal.  Lubed the piston seal with silicone, and the piston and tube with a thin layer of moly, and put is all back together (that was not easy without a press).  Dieseling is all but gone now, and then I re installed the scope using some ring mounts I had from an AR scope I hadn't been using.  It now hits POA at 16 yards, with a couple clicks left before bottoming out on elevation clicks.  Seems to be better in accuracy, too.   I did a ton of pellet speed tests with my chrony today, and will continue tomorrow, and do some group shooting.  I sure hope this gun turns out to be a shooter!

[longhunter]

don't adjust your scope all the way down, or up, or sideways. you'll ruin it. take your scope off and optically center the reticle. to optically center your scope, turn the magnification to it's highest setting. put the scope up against a mirror. you'll see two sets of cross hairs. adjust your windage and elevation until the two cross hairs become one.  then, SHIM the rear ring with a piece of plastic cut from a soda bottle. put the scope back in the rings and lock it down. check to see if you're closer to the bullseye. if you're still too high, try a thicker piece of plastic. keep shimming until you're within an inch, or less, at 15 yards, and fine tune your zero with the scope's adjustment.

If POI is too high you would need to shim up in the FRONT ring.  And I have wrecked scopes with too much shimming, or by using windage adjustable bases because the resulting misalignment between the front and rear rings puts stress on the scope tube once you tighten the top srews.  Unfortunately, air rifles with their short sight in distance  make it really hard to get POA and POI to coincide without using a lot of turret adjustment so shimming is done a lot.  Keep your shims thin (I have used wall of soda can) to avoid damaging your scope.  Also be aware that socpes on magnum springers can move in the rings when shimmed.  While it is scary and perhaps even painful, bending the gun barrel may be a better choice than shimming the scope.  Best IMO would be a one piece scope mount that's elevation adjustable.  However, there's no such thing as far as I know for weaver rail.

my bad. I don't know why I was thinking he should shim the rear ring, to lower poi. long friggin day.

[Jimbo45]

don't adjust your scope all the way down, or up, or sideways. you'll ruin it. take your scope off and optically center the reticle. to optically center your scope, turn the magnification to it's highest setting. put the scope up against a mirror. you'll see two sets of cross hairs. adjust your windage and elevation until the two cross hairs become one.  then, SHIM the rear ring with a piece of plastic cut from a soda bottle. put the scope back in the rings and lock it down. check to see if you're closer to the bullseye. if you're still too high, try a thicker piece of plastic. keep shimming until you're within an inch, or less, at 15 yards, and fine tune your zero with the scope's adjustment.

If POI is too high you would need to shim up in the FRONT ring.  And I have wrecked scopes with too much shimming, or by using windage adjustable bases because the resulting misalignment between the front and rear rings puts stress on the scope tube once you tighten the top srews.  Unfortunately, air rifles with their short sight in distance  make it really hard to get POA and POI to coincide without using a lot of turret adjustment so shimming is done a lot.  Keep your shims thin (I have used wall of soda can) to avoid damaging your scope.  Also be aware that socpes on magnum springers can move in the rings when shimmed.  While it is scary and perhaps even painful, bending the gun barrel may be a better choice than shimming the scope.  Best IMO would be a one piece scope mount that's elevation adjustable.  However, there's no such thing as far as I know for weaver rail.

A Larue LT112 20MOA AR mount would fill the bill, by mounting it backwards.  But, the mount costs $100 more than I paid for the gun and scope.  LOL.  Larue is awesome stuff and I have many of their mounts, but a bit over kill for a cheap airgun.

I have a centerpoint 4-16 scope that I think is rated for airguns in the closet....I may mount it up today, and see if I get more adjustment out of this scope, over the 3-9 that came with it.  Otherwise, I am probably going to have to live with it hitting a couple inches high at 20 yards.

[Ontarget58]

I always learn something new on GTA from members' posts.  The LaRue mount looks like a great solution for springers with barrel droop and weaver rail but at $264 it is more than almost anyone with a springer would want to spend for a scope mount.

Proper scope mounting on a break barrel rifle can be very challenging in my opinion, particularly when you have a magnum springer like the Benjamin Trail NP XL that has enough recoil to shift your scope in the rings unless it is mounted with perfection (rings perfectly aligned and lapped, no shims). I was glad to learn some important lessons using Vortex scopes that come with a near unconditional warranty. I had three repairs/replacements with Vortex that cost me no more than shipping of the damaged scope to Vortex.