By Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
The Benjamin Maximus.
This report covers:
- First the pump
- Left eye today
- Premier 7.9-grain pellets
- Crosman Premier Copper Magnum
- JSB Exact Heavy
- H&N Baracuda Match 4.53mm heads
- Air Arms Falcon
- Trigger pull
- What’s next?
Today I start looking at the accuracy of the Benjamin Maximus. I have decided to run this test differently than my normal tests. Today I will shoot 5-shot groups at 10 meters off a rest. I will use the open sights that come on the rifle. I want to test those sights anyway, and this gives me a chance to do that. plus I start getting familiar with this rifle.
I also used the Benjamin Hand Pump to fill the rifle today, so I will report on that. I still cannot get the female quick disconnect Foster fitting on the Air Venturi G6 pump to fit the male fill nipple on this rifle, but the Benjamin pump fitting worked fine.
First the pump
I filled the rifle very quickly and the effort was minimal. After firing 20 shots I noted that the rifle’s pressure had dropped to about 1000 psi. As I filled it again with the hand pump I could hear a click when the reservoir valve opened. That allowed me to make a very accurate count of the pump strokes needed to bring the pressure back up to 2000 psi. It took just 30 strokes to do that. Since I am getting 20 good shots per fill, the Maximus takes 1-1/2 pump strokes per shot. That’s exactly what a Benjamin Discovery takes, so no surprises there. If you are getting into precharged guns for the first time and decide on either the Maximus or the Discovery — get a pump!
Left eye today
I noticed that the open sights were not clear for me with my right eye that had the detached retina, so today I switched sides and shot from the left. The sight picture was crystal clear and the way I had the target lit, the front sight appeared as a sharp black rectangle in the rear notch.
Unfortunately, the Maximus rear sight does not adjust up high enough to hit the bullseye at 10 meters when a 6-o’clock hold is used. Being fiberoptic, this sight is made to align the green dot of the front sight between the two red dots of the rear sight, and to center the green dot on the target. Then the elevation would be fine, but that lacks precision for what I’m doing today. So my groups all landed low on the paper.
Premier 7.9-grain pellets
First I thought I would try the 7.9-grain Crosman Premier. It’s accurate in the Discovery and I thought it would be good in the Maximus, as well. Five Premier lites went into 0.316-inches at 10 meters. That’s not bad, but I hoped to do better. You spring gun guys can just eat your hearts out, though.
The Maximus put 5 Premier 7.9-grain pellets into 0.316-inches at 10 meters.
Crosman Premier Copper Magnum
Next, I tried the Crosman Premier Copper Magnum pellets Crosman sent with the rifle. The card that comes with the tin says they are 20 percent more accurate at 50 yards than the 7.9-grain Premiers. At 10 meters I was able to put 5 into 0.371-inches. So they aren’t quite as tight as the 7.9-grainers this time, but this was with open sights. I will wait until I get to the 50-yard range to really test these two!
The Maximus put 5 Premier Copper Magnum pellets into 0.371-inches at 10 meters.
JSB Exact Heavy
Next up were JSB Exact Heavy domes. Five went into 0.353-inches at 10 meters.
The Maximus put 5 10.34-grain JSB Exact Heavy pellets into 0.353-inches at 10 meters.
I thought I was seeing a pattern at this point. All groups were just over three-tenths of an inch. Was this as good as I could shoot with my left eye? Was I handicapping the Maximus by shooting with my left eye? The groups were good — just not hood enough to make me smile. Then, it happened.
H&N Baracuda Match 4.53mm heads
Next up were H&N Baracuda Match pellets with 4.53mm heads. Would they be better? I linked to the pellets with 4.52mm heads because Pyramyd AIR seems to be out of the 4.53mm heads at this time.
Five pellets went into a very round group that measures 0.234-inches between centers. Finally! This group proves that the Maximus can shoot and also that I can shoot left-handed. I can’t wait to try this pellet at 50 yards!
The Baracuda Match with the 4.53mm head seems to be good in the Maximus. At 10 meters 5 went into this round group that measures 0.234-inches between centers. That is a group!
Air Arms Falcon
And, it just gets better! Five Air Arms Falcon pellets made a group measuring 0.215-inches between centers at 10 meters. That is the smallest group of the session, from the lightest pellet I tested.
Five Falcon pellets went into 0.215-inches between centers at 10 meters. The best group of the day!
Trigger pull
I discovered today that, though the trigger pull is heavy, it’s very crisp and caused no problems with accuracy — obviously! I wish the sights were not fiberoptic, but they are what they are.
I also discovered that I can shoot left-handed. No apologies are required today, which is a good thing.
What’s next?
Can the Maximus shoot? I guess so! My next test will be at 25 yards with a scope.
Welcome to the ambidextrous world..
Using the other side of the stock.
Life is better here..
45Bravo,
I should have mentioned that it is MUCH easier to shoot this rifle left-handed because the loading is on the right. Everything is in the right place! 😉
B.B.
Hello,
I’m sorry if I’m interrupting your conversation. I’m a total newbie and have been trying to figure out how to ask a question. I can’t find anywhere how to start a new subject, so in desperation I’m butting in here. If I’m in the wrong place &/or intruding, please tell me to bug off, but also please guide me to where I should be.
OK, having said all that, here’s my question:
I’ve recently acquired an old airgun which I’ve figured out must be either a Quackenbush or a Haviland & Gunn. I can add a picture if you’ll kindly tell me how. The airgun has a wire stock & the only writing on it anywhere is a patent date of May 28, 1878. The barrel is 18″ long & brass lined. Caliber is just a touch under .22. It appears to take a little more than a .177 BB. Barrel is nice inside & there’s a large bead on the breech end of the barrel that locks the barrel to the breech. Overall, the gun is 35 1/2″ long (breech section alone is 21 1/2″). I’m trying to ID the gun & find out some kind of range of value. Thanks in advance for any assistance any of you can give me, and sincere apologies if I’m where I’m not s’posed to be!
LibertyJoe,
Welcome to the blog. We can’t post photos here, so people upload them to Photobucket (free) and share the lionk here.
Your description sounds like a Quackenbush. They were 21.5 caliber, so that fits, too.
Here is a picture:
/blog/2010/05/vintage-quackenbush-airguns/
B.B.
Thanks much – I’ll add some pics. I’ve seen the pics you posted, but this one is quite different. It has a wire stock. Thanks again for helping a newbie!!
Liberty Joe,
Yes,.. welcome and (please come back). If you have read past blogs/comments,… you will see that people chime in, often off topic. That feature is nice in that allows people to seek info. on things that are of particular interest to them,… just as you did.
Very nice on your “find”. That would be a 10 of 10 stars on the lucky finds in my view.
So,… do you have a collection?,… just getting started?,…. an “old timer”? Would love to hear more.
Chris
I guess you’d say I’m an old timer just getting started… I’ve hunted & fished all my life (almost 80 now) and so has my wife. And I’ve bought & sold guns & stuff too over the years, but have never come across a critter quite like this before. As for collecting, I’ve collected old tackle more than guns, but that’s dried up quite a bit these days, so I’m not actively collecting anything but dust at the present. I’m getting some pics ready to post so that maybe somebody can help me find out whether it’s a Quackenbush or a Haviland & Gunn.and what its value range is. So do you think I should switch over to the part of the blog where the article was on vintage Quackenbush airguns, or stay here & post the info & pics? That has not been posted on since 2010. Does that matter?
LibertyJoe,
Post the link here or on the current day’s page. Please don’t go back to an older post and nobody sees those but me and those who search for them.
B.B.
OK – will do!
So, I’m trying for the first time to post a link to the image of the gun on photo bucket…. here goes:
Did it work??
post as a direct link, it seems that you tried to embed it in the blog, that does not work, here is the direct link, this should work;
http://s592.photobucket.com/user/Niki2Roo/media/Quack%201.jpg.html
Ah yes, thanks Mike! So here is that direct link plus a couple more:
http://s592.photobucket.com/user/Niki2Roo/media/Quack%201.jpg.html
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Niki2Roo/Quack%203.jpg
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Niki2Roo/Quack%204.jpg
http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt9/Niki2Roo/Quack%209.jpg
There! Many thanks for all your help! And thanks in advance for any help you collectors can give me!
LibertyJoe,
It’s a Haviland & Gunn Parlor model, page 480 in the Blue Book.
B.B.
I don’t think it worked, because I tried to post it in my own comment. So I’ll try it here…
Thanks very much – that helps quite a bit! Now I have one favor to ask: assuming that the gun is complete, which it is, & appears to be in good operating condition, and that the barrel is in very nice, excellent condition inside, which it is, and going by the visual condition in my pics, would you be willing to give it a condition grade according to the standards in the Blue Book? I have very limited experience in grading, so would appreciate an objective ball-park opinion from you, and/or from other collectors who have much more experience & knowledge of these than myself. Thanks in advance, and thank you very much for taking the time to help me.
LibertyJoe,
I would call it very good, with 40-50 percent original finish. Blue Book doesn’t grade vintage airguns very well, so I am grading it like a firearm — a Quackenbush bicycle rifle.
A Blue Book valuation would be just at or slightly under $2,000, but when talking about airguns like this it gets very loose and hard to pin down. It’s much easier to value a Sheridan model A, for example.
B.B.
Well, that’s much more help than I was hoping for, and I can’t thank you enough, BB. This is a great “place” in the cyber world and I’m very happy to have stumbled upon it!
I haven’t dared to pull back the cocking mechanism to test fire it. I don’t know if you could hang onto it while you pulled the trigger & let it down easy or not. I know there’s quite a bit of tension, but haven’t pulled it back all the way yet. I wouldn’t want to fire it without a projectile in it for fear of harming it.
Liberty Joe,
(B.B. said it all). Sorry on the late reply as I work days, early to bed, early to rise,.. sort of thing.
Looking forward to hearing from you in the future. A lot has changed in the last 80 years with airguns,.. but I can only tell you about the last 55’ish. 😉 Take care,…
Chris
Pellet head size properly fitting the barrel seems to be key to accuracy.
Your shooting with your left eye reminds me of the fencing scene in “The Princess Bride” where Inigo Montoya is smiling while wielding the sword with his left hand.
Siraniko,
“Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!” 😉
B.B.
Ha–bonus points for working in a movie quote! Also, accuracy is not bad at all here at 10m though I’m sure 10-shot groups would have opened things up a bit more. This gun is quite the value for only $200. I see a Crosman top seller in the cards!
Siraniko,
I am left handed, and years ago I took a fencing class. I found even though I had no idea what I was doing, I regularly beat the intermediate students because they had never faced a lefty before.
Michael
Southpaw strikes again. You’re lucky to take a fencing class which I’ve always wanted to do. The style distills the swordfighting tradition of the West which is considerable.
Matt61
Matt61,
It was a lot of fun and an INCREDIBLE cardio workout, believe it or not. The class was an adult class with both beginners and intermediates in foil and epee. At the same hour there was also a children’s class (it was all in a large community center gymnasium) in SABRE! (Sabre is absolutely nuts in terms of its degree of contact, with jabs and slashes at a very broad target area.) The children’s sabre class was taught by an Eastern European fellow who was a former Olympian in Sabre before moving to the U.S.
With Foil the ballistic jacket was enough protection so that touches did not hurt, but whenever I got really nailed with an epee, I knew I would have a tiny bruise the next morning. It was comparable to wearing a thick sweater and getting hit in the chest or belly with a BB from a Red Ryder shot from perhaps 12-15 yards.
Around the same time I also briefly studied Kendo (samurai sword), also an amazing cardio workout. What I really wanted to try, but nobody in the U.S. practices it that I know of, was Singlestick/Cudgels.
Ah, good times.
Michael
Michael
Years ago there was a boxer named Chuck Davies. He won a lot of bouts fighting left handed. Finally he got a shot at the Champ, Kid Gavalan. In the title match, Gavalan, who was a rightie, fought left handed. To put it mildly Davies was not prepared. What goes around….
Also there’s some activity with quarterstaffs here, according to a friend i haven’t seen for a couple of years
Fido3030
I fenced in college. Mostly Foil and Sabre but I did a little with the Epee. It was great fun. Wish there was a club around here today.
Mike
The Falcons are a surprise sort of. Well for how light they are. But get some more distance on the target and let’s see what they will do.
And the trigger. That made me chuckle when I read that tonight. Got to love that trigger at 10 meters. Man just think. Maybe the Maximus might shoot those other pellets good if it had a better trigger.
And what happen to that 450 fps rule at 10 meters. How fast is the Maximus shooting those lightweight Falcons I forgot?
Ok enough of the critic stuff. Yes my Discovery’s I had were shooters. The trigger definitely is not the best but it is by far better than some of the cheapy break barrel triggers I have shot. Like most things if you spend time with it you will learn it.
From what I seen of the Discovery’s the Maximus should hold its own. But it does have a different barrel. And you know how barrels can affect a guns shooting. When the distance increases is when we will know more about the Maximus.
GF1,
.25 Grizzly’s on the way! 🙂 2 cans of 150. That should keep me busy for like 3 sessions. If they do really well,…. it may be 1 session. 😉
Chris USA
Good deal. Will you have them for the weekend?
GF1,
Should be all good. Sat. may be PM shooting. Sunday for sure,… weather cooperating of course. I will send a pic of the tail end.
Chris USA
And let me know how they fit the barrel when you load some.
Chris USA
Got a chance to look up the grizzlies. Pretty cool projectiles. Looking forward to see how they do. 🙂
Nice shooting and,.. left to boot! I tried switching once,…. felt like I had 6 left arms,… very awkward. Looking forward to the scoped 25 yard testing.
Godfather,
You continue to impress me! WOW.
How you get your left index finger to cooperate astounds me.
Right index finger=one million pulls
Left index finger=one hundred pulls
-Y
Yogi,
Maybe that is why I like the heavy trigger?
B.B.
BB,
You and Stephen Archer are making it very difficult for me not to get one of these. All I have heard about the Maximus is good. The only reason I have not bought a Discovery is I did not like the looks of the stock. I knew I was going to have to get another stock for it and then I would likely start down the road of changing this, that and the other thing.
With the Maximus, I do not see that happening. I like the looks of it and with a new sear, the performance of this air rifle will make it a superb light hunter and plinker. It will also be an excellent first PCP for my Grandson when he gets a little older. He may not get my Edge.
RR,
I was surprised by how today’s test turned out. Apparently Crosman still knows how to rifle a barrel!
Shooting this left-handed gave me an appreciation of just how nice this rifle is. It is so easy to shoot, and the results speak for themselves.
B.B.
Is Archer Airguns selling/modding these too? I had not seen it on their website. Looking at a custom QB78 in the near future…
HiveSeeker,
No they are not, at least not at this time. Stephen Archer runs Hard Air Magazine and he just did a three part review of the Maximus.
AOA sells an adjustable sear for the Discovery trigger. That is why I am seriously thinking about one of these. Now if I can fit some real open sights on it instead of those glowy thingy sights.
Well, I usually refrain from mentioning competitors on a site hosted by P.A., but MAC1 sells the Maximus for an extra $95 with a trigger job, power adjuster, longer bolt probe, hammer spring guide, and smoothed/polished crown.
If I get one, I might go for that but ask Tim for a reversible de-tuning of the hammer spring for lower velocity and more shots per fill.
Michael
Michael,
Thanks for that tidbit. I will have to look into that. Those are the mods I was thinking of doing myself.
Thanks for clarifying, RidgeRunner.
Good shooting young fella!
Full marks to Crosman, putting a nice stock on good shooter at price point that many of us can afford.
Resistance is futile!
Pete
Pete,
“Resistance is futile”,….. that was one of Edith’s favorite lines to me as I was just getting started and “waffling” on this item,.. or that item. She was right!!!! 🙂
So, is it backyard friendly? How loud is it?
Fishmonger,
It’s a loud 4 on the PA scale.
B.B.
The Maximus is starting to be very interesting. I just reviewed the specs and it looks to be suitable for for younger shooters as well – would like to get a PCP for my granddaughter (she has coveted my HW100 and I would like it back LOL! ). I am a bit concerned over the trigger, would be nice if they were a bit lighter.
I am not keen on plastic stocks but this one has a nice traditional look to it. Manual safety – good; sling mounts – bonus. Think it would be a good idea if Crosman designed the stock with a three or four stacked 1/2″ spacers for adjusting the length of the trigger-pull.
QUESTION
B.B., how smooth/easy is to work the bolt? Do you think a 100 pound 10 year old would have any problem cocking the spring?
Hank
B.B.
I have a couple of questions.
I don’t see any wadcutter pellets included in this report. Did you try any wadcutter pellets at 10 meters and if so how did they do?
Recently a couple of other regular blog commenters recommended I try a peep sight. Can a peep sight be mounted on the Maximus instead of the fiber optics or a scope?
I don’t see why not since it uses the same breech as the Discovery as far as I can see. Either of these sights should fit the bill:
/product/williams-diopter-sight?a=2003
/product/air-venturi-williams-64-peep-sight?a=5
But I think the Willams would be better as that the operation of the bolt handle might be interfered with by the Air Venturi sight.
Charles,
I didn’t try wadcutters because I intend shooting the Maximus at 50 yards. It isn’t a 10-meter rifle.
A rear peep would be easy to install, but the front sight isn’t suited to a peep.
B.B.
B.B.,
I can’t find where you earlier explained why the female foster quick-release does not play nice with the Maximus. Why is it an issue?
BTW, kudos for shooting as a lefty. Try as I might, this southpaw can’t do it at all righty. Interestingly, I find it effortless to shoot handguns ambidextrously (single-handed, of course). One might say I am equally inept with either hand!
Michael
NIce shooting! Especially doing it left eyed and left handed. I have never tried shooting as a lefty. Sounds like a TKO muzzle brake would be in order for this air rifle. I sometimes go ratting at night, and though I have an acre of property, I like to keep things quiet, so as not to get on the bad side of my great neighbors.
BB
Can the Maximus, like the Discovery be bulked with CO2 ?
Redrafter,
It can, because the valve will support it. But no fill adaptors are sold by Crosman, so you have to find them.
B.B.
B.B. I’m still loving this gun so far. It’s reviewing well. That said, the other day I had asked about hand pumps and fill rates. I ran across a guy testing the very pump you used, the Benjamin, vs the Air Venturi G6 (again the pump you have). The G6 was not only faster, but easier too. I won’t put a link to the video/test/review because it is from a PA competitor. That said, the Benjamin seemed to do fine for you.
Doc.
Doc,
I agree the G6 is probably easier to use. It’s a shame this one doesn’t attach. I could fix that with a new fitting, I am sure.
B.B.
B.B.,
I can fill my Marauder with my Hill pump’s quick disconnect, which I assume is a Foster. Why isn’t it possible with the Maximus?
Michael
Michael,
The fat portion of the male nipple is made to spec. If it is made as long as the spec allows and if the female coupling is a tad too short, the two wil not connect.
B.B.
So, the pcp hangs onto accuracy despite cutting costs. I’m reminded that another source of accuracy with this powerplant must be the lack of recoil that you would get in a springer. Is the rifle a bolt-action? The handle seems to be at a strange angle for that.
This weekend I passed my Mensa test and managed to assemble my British pattern 1908 field gear and it is pretty cool! It is definitely value added to my Enfield rifle. The gear is also quite an education. Apparently, it was the first departure from leather gear and also modular which makes it the possible ancestor to today’s MOLLE gear. Between that and the detachable magazine that was pioneered with the Enfield rifles, you have to give credit to the British for their innovation. I also remember a comment that the British soldiers kept loose rounds in their equipment to top off their rifles. There’s certainly room to do that in the various bags. I also see that being a soldier in the field must be like running a mini-corporation where you have to keep track of logistical support as well as inventory (ammunition) and output (shooting). You want to be very alert to when you ammo is running dry.
That does raise an interesting question of ammo capacity. I see from the various pouches that the web gear could hold 150 rounds of .303 which I assume was the combat load of the soldier. The American 1936 cartridge belt could hold 96 rounds of 30-06 which could be supplemented with bandoleers, so probably something comparable. One of the rationales for the 5.56 round is that you can carry more rounds. So does anyone know the combat load of ammo the infantryman equipped with the M16? Figuring the difference in bullet size you should be able to carry double so 300-400 rounds? Perhaps it’s variable. I read somewhere that the French Foreign Legion carries an exceptionally heavy load of ammo of about 800 rounds per man.
Matt61
Matt61
Soldiers also often carried ammo for the machinegun and mortar etc.
I enjoy your posts. It really helps to understand history by using things the people of the time used. For instance in Cowboy Action shooting most people would agree that replicas of the Winchester 73 easily outshoot the 92. Until the CA though the opinions of the gun writers was just the reverse. They had never actually tried to run them fast.
Fido3030
I shoot Cowboy Action. The 1873 is faster for sure. But, my 92 is more accurate at 100 yds. So, I switch to which ever one is best for the Stage.
Mike
Big Iron
Interesting. I never shot my 92 at 100. Good to know.
Fido3030
Gunfun1 and Chris USA
Stumbled across a gadget u might be interested in. It seems to be a camera to be put in front of a target. The camera sends a signal directly to your laptop or phone. http://www.bullseyecamera.com
Fido3030
Fido3030,
There is a baby monitor camera that Wally’s sells that is independent of anything. It has it’s own camera and viewer. ‘Bout 100$. I may get that yet,… but the one you linked looks really cool. Thanks.
Chris USA
Please let me know which one you get and how it works for you. Thinking about one for targets and also home security. Thanks
Fido3030
Chris
The camera probably plugs in with a wall wart . The monitor probably does not run long on battery power . Don’t count on it working as far as they claim .
Would make a good critter camera system though , with a very short range at night .
Been there with surveillance systems . They also tend to have a very wide field of view .
twotalon
Fido3030
Yep pretty cool. Could get some long range target shots to go with the scope camera video’s.
Sounds like fun to me.
Gunfun1
Your scope camera could be revolutionary. When laser sights first came out Col. Jeff Cooper, a revolutionary gun thinker, found that since you didn’t need to look down the gun barrel he could get better accuracy by sitting crosslegged with the rifle across his thighs. You can do similar things with your camera, especially if you can use a separate camera and viewing screen connected by a cable or wireless. Are there eye-glass screens? Think about shooting from the hip with good accuracy. Think about what this could do for stock design which hasn’t changed much since 1500.
You might think about a patent. And when you’re rolling in dough remember your old pal
Fido3030
Fido3030
I wonder if there is a way to link those virtual glasses with Bluetooth to a scope camera. That could be interesting.
And watched a program on tv some years back on the Discovery channel I believe. They showed a gun with a video screen and the stock was hinged so you could position it at 90°. You could see and shoot around a corner.
Video vision is something I would like to get into more.
I would like to see some groups with no lead pellets in your various air gun accuracy test
mainly low velocity guns for indoor shooting at steel targets
Paw,
Huh???
B.B.
I’m very anxious to order the Maximus. I’ve gone through the checkout process several times but couldn’t pull the trigger ,pun intended. They’re trying to cut cost which is ok with me but I hope they didn’t do it with the different barrel from the disco. I hope this isn’t rude because I’m sure you’re busy but do you have any idea when part 4 will be done?
Aged,
Welcome to the blog.
Crosman DID change the barrel from the Discovery, but apparently for the better. They won’t tell me the secret, but they are very proud of the barrel that’s in the Maximus. And I’m testing it today for a report tomorrow.
B.B.