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Accessories Benjamin Trail NP pistol: Part 3

Benjamin Trail NP pistol: Part 3

by Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Benjamin Trail NP pistol
Benjamin’s new Trail NP breakbarrel pellet pistol, with cocking aid removed.

Accuracy day has arrived. And this is going to be a report that’s different than the ones I normally write because I decided to do things differently with the Benjamin Trail NP pistol. First of all, there’s some interest in the gun. Readers have said they’re watching the reports because this gun seems to deliver a lot of performance for a very reasonable price.

Next, I’ve read some owner reviews that talk about the gun hitting low. I wanted to test that for you. Owners also say the pistol shoots to two different impact points, depending on whether or not the cocking aid is attached.

Finally, I received a call from Crosman’s head engineer, Ed Schultz, who noticed I was testing the pistol now. Ed confirmed that the pistol does indeed shoot to two different points of impact, depending on whether or not the cocking aid is attached. He was also intrigued by how much I seem to like the air pistol, so we chatted about that for awhile.

How this test will be different
I decided to “play” with this pistol today instead of plowing through a formatted test with X number of pellet types. What that means is that I decided to let the pistol lead me through the test, and to look at those things that were interesting — even if they didn’t conform to my normal test format. I think the test went well, but it lead me in directions I might never have taken otherwise.

It shoots low
The first pellet up was the RWS Hobby. The first shot wasn’t even on the paper, so I elevated the rear sight as high as it would go, then I held up the front post above the rear notch in a style that was popularized by Elmer Keith. That got me on paper, and I put 10 shots through the gun. They landed in a group that measured 1.155 inches between centers. This turned out to be the best group of the test, and I think it shows the accuracy potential of the pistol quite well. You see, I was estimating how much front post to hold up above the rear notch while I shot this group, so my aim point was only an estimate.

Benjamin Trail NP pistol Hobby group
Ten RWS Hobby pellets made this 1.155-inch group at 10 meters. This was with a Keith holdover sight picture, as described in the text.

Open sights Benjamin Trail NP air pistol
When Elmer Keith wanted to shoot handguns farther than their sights would allow, he used this holdover sight picture. Keith inlaid gold lines on his front sights, but I am simply estimating the height from shot to shot.

Even when I held over a lot, the pellets landed below the aim point. So, I used another trick by drawing a secondary aim point above the main bull and using the holdover sight picture on it (at 6 o’clock). My sight picture now looked like the drawing above.

Powershot Penetrators
Next, I tried the lead-free Crosman Powershot Penetrators. Using the higher aim point, I put 10 of them into a group that measured 2.527 inches between centers. Obviously, they’re not right for this pistol.

Different impact point?
I told you I was playing with the pistol, so next I tried an experiment to see the difference in point of impact when the cocking aid was left on the gun or removed during firing. And there was a difference! For this test, I used JSB Exact RS domes.

I used the same high aim point, and the pellets landed about 2 inches lower when the cocking aid was left on the barrel during firing. I’ll show both groups on the same target, so you can see what that looks like.

The group fired with the cocking aid installed was slightly tighter than the one with it removed. The one with the cocking aid measures 1.369 inches between centers, while the other group measures 1.636 inches.

Benjamin Trail NP pistol JSB Exact RS groups
Here are two groups of JSB Exact RS pellets. One was fired with the cocking aid installed, and the other with it removed. Notice the difference in the point of impact.

Cocking effort
I reported that the cocking effort is low for this pistol. Well, that’s fortunate; because when I shot it without the cocking aid, I also cocked it that way. The effort required with the aid installed still measures 25 lbs., and with the aid removed it increases to 35 lbs.

Noise
This time, I shot the pistol indoors, and I still must say that it’s very quiet for the power. I think some new owners may have had a few detonations when their guns were new and thought their pistol was going to always be that loud, but I doubt that many will fault it for the sound after it calms down.

Trigger
The trigger-pull isn’t so much heavy as it is long. It does take some concentration and even discipline to shoot the pistol at its best. But there’s no creep in the second stage.

Crosman Premier heavies and JSB Exact 10.34-grain heavies
I had thought that heavier pellets might do best, so I tried both Crosman Premier heavies and JSB Exact heavies. Since I was just playing with the gun instead of conducting a formatted test, I decided that if either pellet didn’t show any promise by 5 shots, I wouldn’t complete the group. Well, neither one did, so I ended each group at just 5 shots. Both would have been over 2 inches for 10 shots.

Crosman Premier lites
The last pellet I tested was the 7.9-grain Crosman Premier lite, figuring that if the heavy didn’t group, the lite might. And that was correct. The lites gave me a 1.775-inch group, which doesn’t sound good. But 9 of those pellets are in 1.314 inches, which is a lot better.

Benjamin Trail NP pistol Crosman Premier lite group
Crosman Premier lites showed some promise in the Trail NP pistol, grouping 10 in 1.775 inches, with 9 in 1.314 inches.

What’s the verdict?
The verdict is — it’s too soon to tell. I still have some things to test with this pistol. For starters, the sights that are on the gun are so problematic that I want to try it with a good quality dot sight and see what I can do. If I can adjust the sight so I’m able to aim at what I’m hitting, and if I use the 3 pellets that worked well in this test — RWS Hobbys, JSB Exact RS and Crosman Premier lites — then we might just see a more accurate gun.

I also want to test pellets that are seated deep in the breech to see if there’s any difference. There are the two lead-free pellets that Crosman sent, but I didn’t get around to testing this time. I’d also like to run a velocity test after all of that because, by then, I think the gun should be broken in.

More than ever, I think Crosman should build this gun as a carbine, using exactly what they have here but with an extended barrel shroud and a rifle stock. As easy as it is to cock as a pistol, I can see it losing another 10 lbs. of effort as a carbine. What a wonderful little plinker it would make!

author avatar
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)
Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on behalf of Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.

124 thoughts on “Benjamin Trail NP pistol: Part 3”

  1. From the (CG) side view, the front sight looks very high in relation to the rear sight. I’m sure they had to make the front sight taller to clear the cocking aid. Is there a way to replace the elevation screw with a longer one?

      • No, a longer screw will not snap off the spring steel blade that carries the rear sight V assembly – at least as long as one doesn’t get completely outrageous. I added a 5mm machine screw that is a good 1/4″ longer than stock as well as a spring UNDER the sight blade (to increase tension on the machine screw under head taper). The thing is just fine, but, admittedly, near the end of its travel.

        The bugbear in the pistol is the ludicrously tall front sight. Even given the cocking aid, the sight did not have to be as tall as manufactured. One gets the impression that stylin’ was more important than shootin’. I’m thinking of seeing if a tool and die maker friend could cut down the front sight and also shape and drill for a new location for the fiber optic tube. If not, the Dremel Tool will probably be put to work and the front sight will become an unenlightened black post sight.

    • I fixed the shooting low problem I used a dremel. First cut the front site off but left enough to be able to glue it back on. Then I ground down the rest of the site about .15 inches. Then reattached the piece that I removed with some super glue. In all the front site is now .25″ lower than it was and I have a working rear site no more shooting low. I also polished all the trigger sears and put in the longer adjustment screw on the trigger. If you want you can add 6 oz. of weight to the hollow area in the grip for better balance.
      Hope this is of some use to someone.

  2. Technically, that is the “snowman on a post” sight picture :)! Will the sights adjust correctly if you aim for center, esp. w/o cocking aid? Given the pistol’s power/usage, it might be OK to dispense with the 6 o’clock hold.

      • BB,
        This is a mystifying shortcoming, then! I would cut/grind off the FO bit and make it a post sight, if TT’s (superior) suggestion doesn’t work out somehow. Either way, it isn’t something we should accept on a factory (or any) gun — even my clunks have had well-suited sights with more than adequate range of adjustability. Crosman needs to fix it and ideally send a fix to current owners!

    • I agree. Why would they? Can’t speak for anyone else, But modifying a factory gun for improved performance is one thing . I don’t want to have to repair one so it shoots accurately. Maybe the folks at Crosman think because it is a first of its kind, the hype will sell them. For the money I’d go with a 2240 and make a few mods.

      • B.B.,

        My thoughts are that a gun like this might show better accuracy at 10 meters with a better pellet. After all, this pistol seemed to perform decently with the Hobby’s.

        Victor

          • B.B.,

            I appreciate that. I think that Crosman is on to something with this gun, if only they’d address the low-shooting sights. At this point they are pretty much useless.

            Victor

          • B.B.,

            If you happen to have a tin on hand, I’d also be curious to see how the Crosman Destroyers do with this gun. I’ve gotten some surprisingly good results with those. They aren’t the best on any particular gun, but they may be the most consistent across guns.

            Victor

              • I have been pleasantly surprised with the performance of Crosman Destroyers. I bought them because I was attracted by their novel design. These things literally tear themselves apart inside a target, better than any other pellet I’ve tested, including hollow points or composite designs like GAMO Rockets.

                They also seem to be as accurate at 25 yards as most wadcutters.

                That being said, I got four tins of RWS R10 8.2gr. wadcutters for the kids’ airgun school. One tin of 500 for each kid shooting PCP’s in school, one tin for their practice this summer, and one for me to play with. Pyramyd AIR “4 for 3” deal.

                Les

              • B.B.,

                Great! These pellets are turning out to be a real value. Again, they aren’t the best in any particular rifle, but they are never bad. I’ve tried them on about 5 different springer’s, and thus far they’ve always grouped decently. The best thing about them is the price. I now buy about 7 tins each time I go shopping (sometimes buying everything on the shelf). They are a great alternative to Premiers for shooting in my back yard. I haven’t tried them out in the field yet, but I will soon enough.

                Victor

  3. BB,

    Heavier pellets will bring the poi up (but you knew that…). All of the rest of the behaviors sound like we’re talking about another normal springer. The 2 impact points in relation to whether or not the cocking aid is left on would also be normal for any springer due to harmonics and firing cycle.

    Nice little gun and a good value!

    /Dave

  4. X2 on the small carbine!
    I’m still liking this pistol, even if it shoots low at 10 meters.

    Do you know if Crosman has the intention of making a .22 caliber one? It would shoot a bit slower and be legal to own without license here 😀 (even if the one you’re testing would technicaly BE legal here).

    J-F

      • Ideally I think a small take down carbine in .22 (kinda like the 2289 in the bugout kit).
        It could even be put in another version of the bugout kit? and like the new 2289 with the now shorter barrel, you have one version that can be sold everywhere.

        J-F

  5. Just received my Benjamin Trail yesterday. RWS Diabolo’s grouped the best, dime groups at 6 meters seated with pellet pen (longest range in my reloading room).

    I have the sight all the way up still shoots 1 1/2″ low. Thinking a red dot is in my future.

    Only shot about 50 rounds and it’s still smoking like a Mountain Dew pop gun I had in the 60’s. I plan on doing some chrono work after I have a few more rounds.

    I adjusted the trigger for the shortest pull, still seems a bit long. I averaged 7 pounds on my gauge.

    The gun seems to be a quality piece for the price range. Only real downer I have is it shoots low.

  6. B.B.,

    Shooting standing braced against something or seated with your arm resting on a stable base?

    Like you, I hope the red dot takes care of everything. Just the same, it is fun to speculate with other potential solutions.

    Still, I’m thinking like DryCreekRob and Twotalon– an extra few millimeters at the rear sight by using a longer screw plus Twotalon’s front sight gringind mod would maybe do the trick.

    My goodness, the front sight looks like Mt. Rainier! Could Crosman have made it any TALLER? I understand that it must interact with the cocking aid, but I have to wonder if owners of this might decide to mod it by replacing the whole front unit/cocking aid with something just as effective for cocking but with a simple, SHORT post as the front sight.

    Or, grind the front sight down to the level where it serves only as it must to mate with the cocking aid, and then add a short post to the end of the cocking aid, and epoxy the cocking aid in place.

    Nah, that wouldn’t work. We airgunners are notoriously reluctant to alter our guns from stock configurations, LOL!

    Good luck with the red dot,

    Michael

      • B.B.

        How about a pair of BKL riser blocks under the back sight ?
        Or sticking a square shaped tab cut from an aluminum beer can and painted black or covered with black electrical tape on the back side of the rear sight with double sided tape for the test ?
        Kinda redneck, but you ARE in Texas.

        twotalon

          • B.B.,

            I’ve pulled back many a beer can tab, and I’ve used a lot of duct tape in my days, but the riser blocks idea sounds interesting if the red dot doesn’t have enough elevation. That said, red dots, riser blocks, this easily has the potential to become a four pound pistol. (All the more motivation to make it into a carbine.)

            Unlike your experience in shooting the pistol with the cocking aid on, most owners report that the aid opens up groups for them.

            I hope Crosman is paying attention to how much interest there is in this pistol, and decides to add a carbine version that simply has a barrel five – six inches longer and no cocking aid.

            I’d buy one of those in a New York minute, slap a small scope on it and waaaaay cool.

            Michael

        • I think it needs more lift than a beer can shim — looks like at least 1/8″ or more! I’m thinking a section of black ABS pipe that fits the tube curvature would be my first try and wouldn’t hurt the finish. It might require a trip to ACE for longer mounting screws, though. Worth a try, BB?

          • BG-F

            Not talking about a shim. I am talking about cutting a strip of beer can and sticking it on the back of the sight to make it taller. Just cut a little notch at the top….

            twotalon

            • Sorry, apparently my ADD kicked in :)! That would work, but a little flimsy. What do you think about the black pipe shim? I suspect Crosman could fix the problem with a small plastic (“synthetic”, engineering resin, etc. :)) piece that did the same thing.

              • /Dave…

                That stuff is getting hard to find. Wire coathangers too. Too much plastic twine and hangers in use nowdays.
                TSC has plenty of electric fence wire and some rolls of heavier wire for fence repair and such. Takes a pretty good set of pliers to work with it.

                Wire….when Duck Tape just won’t do.

                twotalon

                • TT
                  The old heavy wire coathangers are excellent soft steel — I use a stash from my past (they are rare these days) for all sorts of things, particularly rivets in mild steel (before brazing or welding) — peen them into countersinks and file them off and they disappear; the ones I have are just a touch shy of 3/32″.

                  The Electric fence wire at TSC is pretty high carbon, (almost?) like a spring steel. I sand or burn off the coating (very quick) then file or hammer to very thin; harden and temper and it makes the best vent pick ever; I just twist a loop at top, but you can put a horn or wood handle on it also. That idea might work for /Dave, too, as he is working on a flintlock. I ran out of the heavier stuff, but I also think it might make a spring for an air rifle (not an HW or even a Diana of course :)) in a pinch.

                    • That’ll work. Don’t forget the wires from 4th of July sparklers — I keep them in my shooting box for nipple picks. The world is full of stuff looking for a (re)purpose if you are a redneck!

              • /Dave…

                We can’t forget epoxy (fast and slow set), JB Weld, Devcon, Dremel tools and many bits, soldering/brazing/welding equipment and supplies.
                A well prepared redneck is prepared for almost anything. A good supply of beer is necessary for the required inspiration for doing the job.

                twotalon

                  • /Dave….

                    I have heard of guys trying to use Devcon (the metal flavor) for Bondo filler on their car. When that stuff sets up, it will tear the sanding disk right off the grinder. Tough stuff.

                    So many good things to use, as long as you know what you can do with them.

                    twotalon

                    • Thanks the stuff! Devcon. I have a stick of it in my basement shop. At work, we also use a product made by Belzona, that sets up hard enough so that you need carbide abrasive or tools to cut it. It’s mostly a wear coating, but it’s also pretty strong, not brittle.

                  • Reminds me that I need to see if I can find a supplier of Milliput again… My last box aged to a rock decades ago, and the comic/hobby shop I found it in disappeared two decades ago…

        • TT,

          Now you are on to something. Why bother stacking mounts? I was thinking a couple extra cinder blocks under the shooter’s end of the trailer. If nothing else it would make holes in the sofa look like a misdemeanor.

          • Spritz…

            I thought that having holes in things was part of the redneck way of life in the first place. The inside of the trailer or house should not clash too much with the looks of the beater pickup truck parked outside…. or the other vehicles parked out front on cement blocks.

            twotalon

  7. David H.

    Thanks for your reply to my post last night, and to the link you provided. I am still trying to digest all this information, and convert it to a form usable with air guns. It did answer my question about subtension.

    From what I have read in that link, and other places, it appears that one minute of angle at 100 yards equals one inch. How to use that knowledge is something I am still working on. Is MOA a concept that can be applied to our airgunning? Or is it just an easy way to describe what is happening?

    Les

  8. B.B.,
    Been a long time, but I’m still here, sporadically. Off topic question, if I may, and maybe better directed to Edith!
    Do you recommend the titanium striker and plunger for a Glock, or the factory original steel? And, do you like the captured or uncaptured guide rod?
    Thanks!
    AlanL

    • AlanL,

      We haven’t shot the Glock enough to make any judgements. We do have the captured guid rod and it seems to be reliable, but I don’t think we have a titanium striker.

      We upgraded the recoil spring to a Wolff, and the barrel to one that can use reloads without the explosion, and that is working out fine.

      B.B..

      • Can you shoot lead only through the updated barrel? As far as I know you should only shoot jacketed rounds through the stock barrels and any reloading keep the middle ranges for powder and a little light in the bullets. (Note: reloads will void your warranty)

        Glocks had some rare spring problems a few years ago, but mainly if you can shoot a 100 rounds without failure, then your should be good to go.

        From what I heard on the range, “Glock keep it stock,” but some competitors have changed barrels (sometimes springs depending on the loads ), done some slight trigger work and used different sights.

  9. I like the grip, and the weight. Makes for a good training gun. I also think that the group with the Hobby’s was pretty good, but more than anything, they give us a hint as to how well this pistol might be able to shoot. Something tells me that this pistol can shoot much better at 10 meters with a better selected pellet.

    This isn’t a gun that I would expect to perform beyond 15 yards, so I’d just keep it down to 10 meters, and use it for target practice. That’s why a lighter, higher quality pellet would be of interest to me. At this price, and with the apparent accuracy potential, this would be a great target practice gun, I think.

    However, I can’t get over the fact that it shoots so low. That to me seems like a manufacturer defect. Because of it’s heavy weight, I wouldn’t think of adding any more weight to it, including a dot sight. But that’s just me.

    Bottom line, except for the defective sighting system (it really is), I think that this pistol could have offered the kind of real value that I’ve suggested in the past. Crosman almost got it right this time.

    Victor

  10. B.B.,

    For what it’s worth I am getting the same results with mine as you and everyone else. The barrel droop on mine is glaringly obvious.

    It’s a shame that the factory sights can’t put pellets on target. An additional sight (dot sight) should not be necessary. When I combine this flaw with the heavy trigger I am left disappointed. I intend to return mine. You are giving it more chances than I will.

    Also thought I would mention how much this pistol reminds me of my Springfield Armory XDm. Much bigger of course but the pattern is similar.
    http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g424/MarkinJHawkland/From%20Phone/2013-04-23194520_zpsda33ccbf.jpg

    Mark N

    • If the pellets had been only a half inch or so low, I’d consider they might be on the “up-hill” part of the trajectory…

      But at pistol velocity, and hitting that low, they are definitely going “downhill all the way”.

      So… Either a really tall rear sight, or somehow shorten the front sight (without affecting the cocking aid)… Or thinning the seal to allow the barrel lock-up to move closer/upward…

  11. B.B., Edith or anyone,

    I see on PA’s site that AA Falcon RS pellets are on closeout. The JSB version Exact RS seem to be only occasionally available. The Falcons are a favorite of mine. Are thy going away for good??

    Thanks for any info,
    Mark N

    • Mark N,

      I asked Pyramyd Air’s purchasing department, and this is what they said when I asked if the Falcons are going away forever:

      “Yes, they are. These are JSB pellets, just branded Falcon. We will not be bringing Falcon-branded pellets into the US anymore.”

      Edith

  12. This pistol has a lot of potential. But, for Crosman to ship them with sites that can’t be adjusted to a correct POI with normal pellets in inexcusable. What were they thinking? Perhaps it is too much of a dropper. If they want a winner, this will need to be corrected.

    Mike

    • Mike, I agree. I don’t care if the pistol is $100 or $25. If they are going to take the time and money to put sights on the gun, they should work. I have a Benjamin EB 22 that has sights that are useless. I even sent it back to crosman. They sent me another and the same problem. I also have a 2260 that has useless sights. A rear notch that is so close to the eye, it can’t be used. So I “flip” it around to a cheesy peep. Better, but not much. Sad for a guy who prefers open sights.

  13. BB and 2T,

    This is an OLD Talon SS frame with only one set screw per bushing. I was using the 26″ .177 HW barrel with suppressor. There is a hammer weight.

    Right now I have it taken apart and am customizing it. The trigger is pretty good now and I think I can make it a little sweeter. It will likely end up with a regulator and maybe a 22CI tank.

    I plan on using the 12″ .22 Eun Jin barrel for a bit, but I am seriously thinking of getting an 18″ .22 LW barrel for it. We’ll see how the Eun Jin does.

    I am also going to overhaul the valve and likely put Tony’s new valve stem in it.

    • RR,

      Whatever you do, stay away from the trigger! It has been lubed for life at the factory and anything you try to do will screw it up. Despite what you may have heard, no one has been able to improve on it successfully. I used to fix guns whose owners worked on the trigger and I am speaking from a lot of experience here. Even attempting to disassemble the trigger without the disassembly jig can mess it up.

      B.B.

      • I can’t do that dude. There is too much room for improvement there. My Edge trigger is greatly improved and I need to put these improvements into the TSS.

  14. I’m celebrating the release of Crosman’s Mk-177 tonight! That gun is one of the ones on my most wanted list. I was waiting for it in black with a dot sight but I’ll take what I can get. That should round out my collection of my A.I.R. 17, M-477, and now Mk-177. Now I just need to think if the M-14 would be worth adding to that collection or not. Jury has been out on that one for quite a long time now. I’m not quite sure if I want that in hollow light weight plastic from butt to muzzle. I’ve never said “Please! More Plastic! I just LOVE plastic!”

  15. Although I am a failed backwoodsman, I couldn’t help buying the March/April issue of the magazine. Julius Foster has a two page article titled “How to Feed Big Bore Airguns”. The context of the article is “subsistence hunting” (with a not to the Lewis and Clark Girandoni); the specifics are about obtaining the best bullets for his .25 Sumatra and how it has replaced the .22 LR for him.
    There is a fair amount of detail describing how Veral Smith (of LBT) built a bullet mould that allowed

    Foster to avoid altering his Sumatra and how he experimented with alloys to find the best ratio. He describes a 52 gr. bullet yielding 93+ fpe and 900+ fps from an unaltered Sumatra managing half inch groups at 50 yards. He mentions John Bowman shooting a .257 version of the LBT bullet from his Jack Hayley (B.B. wrote about John’s shooting at last year’s LASSO competition).

    Foster does say that the .25 is primarily for small game and varmints (although he notes that more big game is killed by .22LR than by all other rounds combined. For big game, Foster sports a .50 Dragon Claw. He does recommend purchasing the best hand pump you can afford.

    The other air driven shooter written about is this edition is the “blowpipe”

  16. If the front sight was cut/sawed off/or filed down just below the fiber optic, would this help enough to get the shots off. If a fellow did this, he might have to cut the back of the front sight down too so a “post” picture would be provided…..

  17. I found those powershot penetrators are trash. They don’t give you accuracy or knock down power. It’s bad enough they are making plastic guns but plastic ammo simply does not work. Those pellets are an idea that needs to be killed off fast. Stick with lead. You can’t go wrong with lead pellets.

  18. Anybody wondering if B.B. has fudged a real sight extender on this pistol, or if he has gone so far as to rig up Creedmoer sights ? Buffalo hunting with a Chinese pistol anyone ?

    twotalon

  19. I had the same annoying problem with this gun shooting low especially with the cocking assist connected. I almost gave up on it, but then I removed the rear sight and placed a BSA laser on the gun and it solved the problem. Very accurate gun after breaking it in (200+ pellets). I can now shoot from the hip using the laser and hit the bullseye. Pretty cool.

    An added benefit of using the laser is that I know when the laser is perfectly sighted in for 10 meters when it hits the top of the fiber optic front sight. It’s a perfect reference point for making sure the laser is on target and adds a “cool factor” to the gun because the fiber optic glows brightly.

    • Bob C.,

      When you say “very accurate gun after breaking it in…”, have you shot groups at a particular distance? If so, can you share numbers (group size and distance), please?

      After reading your comment, I get the impression that Crosman intended to sell a gun that required the use of the dove-tail rail (i.e., the rear sight is just a throw-away – they didn’t care, so they just threw something on there). Not a great way to do business, I think.

      Victor

      • Victor,

        I don’t have any hard data to support my claim that the gun is accurate with the BSA laser. I will do just that in the next few days when I get some time. I’ll use a bench rest and provide group sizes, shooting distance, pellet type, etc. Stay tuned!

  20. Sunday evening and we’re facing another 5 days of work. sigh. Last night, I was cajoled by the neighbors into seeing the movie, “MUD”. Two things I’m asking the blog people. First, the movie shows some old fella in Arkansas shooting a pump-up air rifle at cottonmouth snakes. That was easy enough to figure out – a Crosman model 3100 or 3120. However, Sam Shepard, who plays a retired marine, is using a sniper rifle with a truly unique scope on it. Anyone see this movie and able to identify his scope and or the rifle he was shooting? The rifle was bolt action, of course, and the scope was extremely long, thin and had relatively small objective lens from what was shown.

    I can’t say anything else as this would be a spoiler if you want to go see the movie. Drink a cup of coffee if you do go, first.

    Fred DPRoNJ

  21. With so many other guns out there that have much better accuracy This is a gun I’m hoping goes away. A gun that you have to guess where to put a sight picture just doesn’t seem like a gun that should have been put on the market. It just sounds defective. I noticed try as you might you couldn’t hit that dime. Kind of reminds me of my Walther SG9000. Unless it has a laser on it you have a tough time hitting the wall of a barn while inside the barn.

  22. i have had my pistol since weds the 24th. i must have put about 200 rounds through it so i consider it almost ‘broken in’.
    the first 50 or so shots were fired with the cocking aid on, and it did shoot about 2 inches too low at 18-25 feet.
    after reading some reviews i tried it without the cocking assist on, and with some rear sight adjustment it is dead on target. i am shredding beer and soda cans, stacking pellets in the same spot until it is one large ragged hole.
    so lose the cocking aid entirely or do as one reviewer suggested and turn the assist around and use it like that.

  23. This should never have been released as is. A total waste of my money. If you move the sight forward 1″, it will finally zero, but will not stay there. The trigger is unbelievable as in BAD. They’ve lost a customer for life on this.

    • Don’T you think it’s a bit of an over reaction to ban a whole brand because of one pistol? I’m still waiting on more testing and maybe try it out before ruling this one out and if I did, I’d rule the pistol out not the whole brand!

      J-F

  24. No, I’ve been to several forums. Everyone is complaining. They all shoot low and can’t zero. Read the above review. Why sould I have to do Keith holdover to get on paper. That’s insane. Had they provided a way to stake the site and zero. As is, there is no way short of cutting down the front sight, which one guy is trying. This was a waste of money to me totally and if there is no warranty type solution, I’m done with them. I did email customer tech/service and got what I expected … “we haven’t received any reports of problems and we monitor forums “

  25. Received a Benjamin BBP77 26 April 2013.
    Couldn’t break open until held across my padded knee.
    Ckd opening force with sling hung at cocking-handle midpoint.
    Repeating with fine-wt adjustments found break-open force averaged 44-45 lbs.
    Penetration in elect/plumb putty similar to my Ruger Mark-1.
    Mfg pkg was obviously opened before I received.

  26. I received the Benjamin Trail NP Air Pistol back in April, I have run about 500 rounds thru this gun and I have to say I do enjoy shooting it. The trigger pull and travel was the biggest problem with this gun. I was able to replace the trigger travel adjustment screw with a longer one and that solved the travel problem and I also removed the second spring from the firing lever behind the trigger and that greatly reduced the heavy trigger pull, and removing the spring has not effected the gun as of yet.

    • SK, I believe you hit the nail on the head with the simple trigger improvements. Pretty much any Gamo or Crosman can become very shoot-able with just these improvements. A true trigger-job will get even better results, but for those that don’t want to tear down their gun, or just want 90% of the improvement, this is the way to go.

  27. I just got one of these today. After checking it out I determined that they are chinese trash. I didn’t even get a whole gun so I couldn’t even fire it. I had to go in and cobble the gun together enough using scraps from other guns in order to finish building this thing for Ying Wan factory in china so I could try and fire it. I found it to be very inaccurate. I even had to scrounge up a rear sight for it. Luckily I had one that fit. It’s clearly marked in Chinese. Too bad I don’t read chinese so I had to use trial and error to adjust the sights so it’s close to accurate.

    • John,

      Well, I just looked at the reviews for this pistol and discovered that a lot of people said the sights were bad. Since you didn’t get a rear sight, you’re probably better off with your replacement.

      Edith

      • Well, I really have to say that crosman has let me down with every gun they make to this point. That’s an all new low to spend $80 on a gun and not even get a whole functional gun for my money. I think that I’m going to have to invest my money a bit more carefully and avoid crosman. I do expect when I buy a gun that I buy a whole gun and not just parts of a gun.

  28. I bought one of these (as a refurb) a few months ago at a gun show. Same problem with the gun shooting low… how on earth a pistol goes through its entire design and production cycle without anyone catching this sort of flaw is beyond me.

    On mine I milled down the front sight, raising the POI and getting rid of the fiberoptic insert at the same time. This gives me a nice, square profile and brought the POI and the POA together. Much better overall.

  29. I admit the first Benjamin NP i purchased shot very low, but after looking at it I noticed that the pistol had a severe barrel droop. I returned it and got another and had no problems. It was actually shooting on the high side so I had plenty of room to make the adjustments. I was using the Crosman Destroyer EX, Crosman pointed, Gamo Magnum pointed (7.56gr), and even shot the Gamo High Velocity Match pellet. (Lead Free wadcutter) The Lead Free wadcutter by Gamo shot the best. The Crosman pointed shot well also. These were all shot indoors at about 18 feet in my hallway. I wasn’t at the best posture shooting cause I was sitting crosswise on my couch from the livingroom.

  30. I got one of these Benjamin Trail .177 Nitro Pistols (my first air gun) last weekend. I did not have any real issues with it.
    The trigger adjusting screw seems to have shortened up the trigger pull some. but not much.
    After putting 150 or so pellets through it, just plinking around, the cocking has become easier.
    The owners manual mentions a break in period of 250 pellets. should “become more accurate and less noisy”.
    Yesterday I tested it on (5) 3 1/2″ targets-on the same paper. Using Beeman Kodiak Match 10.65 Gr. and Gamo Redfire 7.8 Gr. shooting from a Caldwell rest at a distance a little over 10 yards or 10 meters.
    With the cocking assist attached the Kodiak grouped inside of 2″ on the center and lower right hand targets and 1 1/2″ on the upper left target. Interestingly the Kodiak shot about 1″ low on the two outside targets. The center target around the bullseye with 1 1/2″ furthest out.
    The Gamo Redfire grouped inside of 1″ on all targets. Center target on the bullseye, lower left hand target 1/2″ to the right and on the upper target just1/2″ above the bullseye.
    I ordered some Crosman Silver Eagle SSP 4 Gr. pellets and some Stoeger X-Speed 5.56 Gr. pellets from amazon. I saw one chrony test on Youtube the Crosman SSP got over 700 fps velocity.
    I look forward to finding just the right pellet(s) for this pistol.
    The Kodiak Match shot a little low on two of the targets, but nothing like what I read here, “Off the target”?
    Maybe I just got a good one. Except for that long trigger pull, I have no complaints.

    Click to open expanded view

  31. I got the Stoeger pellets today. First group in the middle target a little high. just above the bullseye. shot vertical group straight up (or down) all touching. After that I was all over the place. Upper right hand target all below the center line 1 1/2″ group. Lower left hand target 1 1/2″ group around the center, but nothing in the center.
    I shot the other two targets with the Gamo Redfire. Spread them out a little compared to the other day.
    Before I blame the gun or admit to a previous stroke of luck, I must say, getting the exact same point of aim, even from a rest, is a pretty neat trick with a break barrel pistol.
    Thank You for letting me share.

  32. The Crosman Silver Eagle SSP Suck in this pistol. one 8″ target I was all over the place at 10 yards from a rest.
    I shot better off hand with the Stoegers and the Gamo Redfire.

  33. I found that my particular pistol started to show a rising point of impact in relation to point of aim after about 500 pellets had gone down the tube. I dislike fiber optic sights on single-shot weapons where accuracy is paramount over speed, so I sawed off the fiber post and much of the ramp and then drilled a vertical hole in the ramp for a hex grub screw that I use as a front sight post. This allows me to raise or lower the front post, as well as the rear blade, to get the perfect sight picture. I also used flat black spray paint to cover up the fiber-optic elements on the rear blade. At 20 meters I can keep 10 cphp’s on my ~2.75″-wide steel nra chicken more often than not. Before doing a trigger job on the pistol (which I do on every firearm and airgun I own that isn’t a passed-down family heirloom), I know my groups were not nearly as tight are they are now. This gun also take a LOT of shots to break in. I personally wouldn’t do anything irreversible to the gun until at least 500 shots have been through it.

  34. Hello again! I posted earlier on the Ruger Mark 1 blog entry. I had a question about this benjamin NP pistol since it is the gun I decided to buy. I havent received it yet but I am curious about something. I bought a reticular sight for it and I know the back sights can be taken off to make room for this. Now my question would be for the front sight— what would be the easiest way to remove and or file it down? Using what? My question mainly is, I don’t need that front sight if i’m using a dot reticular sight right? Obviously I am a novice and am asking questions to gain knowledge. Really appreciate the replies as they are well informed and helpful. thanks!!

    • Jordan,

      I never said the front sight can be taken off the NP. It’s most likely epoxied on, so removal will be difficult, because it is plastic.

      These guns are not made to be modified in this way. They are built to a low price point to be used as they are.

      You probably need to call Crosman and talk to their customer service people about removing that sight.

      B.B.

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