Page 8 - Benjamin 392 pump Reviews

EXCELLENT RIFLE! It could have been made better by taking a little extra time at the factory. I smoothed up the trigger added a Air Venturi mount with Leapers scope and it has proved to be a very accurate rifle. I clipped the two aeresol spray nozzles off two cans at 20 yds....first attempts.

Bring back the walnut stock they used to build these rifles on. Little better attention to detail. The gap between the stock and the forearm was very exaggerated...should have been tighter.

Accurate rifle. Fast becoming one of my favorites. Overall I highly recommend this rifle. The Williams peep sight is probably as accurate and would be faster with experience, but prefer optics.

All wood stock. Easy to pump up.Only need five pumps to dispatch small game at forty feet. Very accurate right out of the box using Beeman Crow Magnum Pellets.

Front sight hard to see. I put white lacquer on the front sight so I can sight it much better

wood stock, overal feel, weight, look

SIGHTS!!!!!!!!

shoots great, powerful, feels perfect when holding it, pain to sight in, dumb sighting device, should definitely get a scope even tho u have to get intermounts and stuff

Rugged, brass barrel and pump tube, good looks, light, short length, adjustable power

The trigger! It's a long, hard, rough pull to release the hammer--must have been designed by liability lawyers... It would be much better if it were an adjustable two stage trigger instead of the crude single stage it has now, so that you could lighten it to about two to three pounds. The rear sight are also rather crude. My one big wish is that it were made of bronze instead of brass.

Although the two most important (to me) aspects of the 392--the trigger and the rear sight--are crude, I still think it's an outstanding airgun for all its other attributes and versatility (plus, I've always wanted one since I was a kid, when I settled on the Crosman 760 instead for some forgotten reason). Both these weaknesses can be addressed with aftermarket parts (such as an improved sear and the Williams/Crosman 64 aperture sight). I didn't rate the accuracy because it's been shooting all over the place since I oiled the pump piston (it may be dieseling?), or I need to try different pellets (used Crosman Premier domed in the cardboard box). A few cosmetic blemishes (runs in the stain on the forestock) also disappoint slightly, but all in all I expect this to be a fun gun that should last a long, long time.

I'm glad so many shooters like this weapon. And why not? For the bang for the buck it cannot be beat. I've owned one for a decade, and when I want to hunt with an airgun, thie 392 is my choice. Sure, I've tried more powerful spring piston guns, but when it comes to accuracy this airgun can't be beat. I've taken out squirells and rabbits and even crows with this baby, and when they're dead they are really, truly, most sincerely dead. And without a scope. Yes, the gun requires a massive amount of energy to pump - about 200 lbs for 8 pumps. But you don't even NEED 8 pumps. According to Dr. Beeman, 6 pumps gives you 90% of the gun's energy (although I recommend 8 for crows!). The 392 is tough - really rugged. I've put mine through hell and it still performs the way it did when new. Why? Because it is made of metal and good wood and is one tough S.O.B. Now - don't get me wrong - this is NOT a plinker. If you want that, get the Benjamin .177. This is a HUNTER. The trigger is typical Benjamin - very smooth and with a clear break-point. And very good it is. In 10 years, I have never had a problem with this gun. Oil it; maintain it; shoot it; and love it. It truly is an all-American classic.

Nothing. Adding a scope to it (and I've used the B-Square mount) is an exersise in sado-masochism.

The "Silver Streak" (now in black) is a .20 caliber rifle and easier to pump. But it is nowhere near as poweful as the the .22 392. If you hunt, this is the gun for you.

the gun has a nice feel to it, vary accurate, hits hard, mine shoots great with every kind of pellet I have tried in it, crosman premier hollow point, Benjamin discovery hollow point and predator polymag, I killed a tree rat at 29 yards with the crosman premiers and open sights, I really like this gun!

a better rear sight would be nice, better packaging my rear sight was bent way to the right when I got it, no fault of pyramid, was crosmans packaging, I bent the sight back and it works good now

remember to order some crosman oil with your gun so you can keep it in good working order

liked the wood stock and the over all feel of the gun, the day I got it I sighted it in at 23 feet my buddy saw a tree rat out the garage window so I took the shot and killed it at 29 yards with open sights, wow ! first day and it already made it's first kill, I love this gun

the rear sight is a little hard to work with, but when you get it sighted in the gun shoots right where you aim it,

Nice wood stock, good trigger, accurate.

Would have gotten scoped model if I would have known how accurate it is.

Use heavy pellets and get the scoped one. Very accurate gun for the money.

looks, power, price, wood stocks

make it easier to pump, the pumping got very difficult espially the last couple pumps........ have a better metal finish, mine was just black paint, some flaked off on the muzzle

A nice gun to have, especially since it's a .22 pump, there's not many places that make the .22 pumps anymore

First, I should note that I bought a remanufactured 392, so I would assume that this gun has been used, and perhaps broken in already. With that in mind, I have not found any of the common complaints associated with this gun. the trigger pull seems light and crisp, I havent had a chance to do a real good sight in yet, but the accuracy seems good so far. the power is awesome! Shot straight through a 5/8" piece of plywood at 20yds! I could still hear the pellet zinging out through the field after it passed through the board! Also, I love the size of this gun! It has a very nice draw, (I am 5'10", for reference). Also, It is a shorter gun, like a carbine, except that it has a 19.5" barrel, which is longer than most of my springers! the advantage is that the barrel starts back near the trigger, instead of halfway downthe gun, So you get the accuracy and power of a full length barrel, and the compact size of a carbine!

The pumping is kind of hard, especially the last dew pumps, but I cant complain too much, since this is here it gets its power from! The gun makes quite a racket every time you close the pump. So charge the gun before you go into the field hunting, and plan on one good shot! I imagine the sights probably would have a hard time adjusting low enough for a 10meter zero, but remember, this is a hunting/field target gun. There's no reason to sight it in at 10meters anyays!

flipping to bolt up (as if you were going to load), but leaving it forward locks the trigger, and seems much stiffer and safer than the manual safety. I would recommend using both when carrying the gun loaded. it's still very easy to flip it downard with your thumb when your ready to shoot. Plus, it's more visible from the firing position, making it less likely that you "forget the safety" when you get that perfect shot! Overall, It is a great gun! Lots of power for hunting, good accuracy, and I only paid $100 for it ( again, I got mine Remanufactured, but it does come with a warranty from Benjamin) I can already see this being my "go to" gun, as it is for so many others!

The stock and weight of the rifle are nice. Once you find the right .22 cal pellet., It's accuracy is great.

The trigger is mushy at best. takes a little time to get used to it. The iron sights are less then the norm for me. It's hard to pump. This has always been the case though. There is a mod for that. I am not going to change it.

You should place a scope or peep sight on top of this classic pump air rifle to really enjoy it's accuracy. I found that RWS 14.2 grain super H domes worked the best in this pellet rifle. Nailed a tree rat at forty yards with about three inches of hold over with a Bushnell 22 rim fire scope on top of the Benjamin392. Really was shocked to see a chunk of fur fly after the shot. Clean one shot kill. ( With the crow magnums I was getting about a 2 inch group a twenty five yards.) The lighter pellet RWS super H domes are doing a 1/2 inch group at the same distance. Guess it just a matter of finding what suits your needs. Paper punching or pest control this pellet rifle hit the spot for me. Suburban carbine at a reasonable price. Has been in production in the USA since 1938. Luckily Crossman has not changed the design. Smart move on there part. Buy one and get used to it. Once you learn how it shoots you will love it. Great tool to teach a youth proper shooting skills.

Wood Stock and lack of plastic parts! Rifle is accurate and powerful. It is similar to the Sheridan I shot growing up, but is in the more practical .22 caliber as opposed to .20. Much easier to find pellets for .22 than .20.

Nothing.

It is a hard gun to mount a scope to in a really solid fashion. I went with the Williams peep sight and am happy with the combo. If you are going to hunt small game (why else would you buy this particular rifle??) get it in .22.

Nice quality wooden stock, pump handle is comfortable and easy to grip while pumping the rifle. Power is above average and adequate for small game and plinking. The rear sight is rather difficult to adjust for windage but it can be done with a little effort. The trigger takes a fair amount of pressure to fire.

Crosman should put dove tails on top of the receiver, this would allow for easy scope installation. As it is now you must purchase a specialized mount that fits over the receiver or barrel. The rear sight should be easier to see, using a fiber optic sight like the Discovery model would be nice. The trigger pull should be better but it's acceptable.

The first time I tried to adjust the rear sight for windage I had to remove the two screws and use a center punch to loosen the rear sight. Once this was done I could then use the screws to adjust the windage. A scope is highly recommended since the iron sights are not that good.

it's like owning a piece of history.

Packaging, packaging packaging. It arrived damaged and had to send it back.... Purchased a MAC 1 steroid conversion 392 and it completely blows the stock one out of the water.

Pyramid Air did NOT inspect the gun prior to shipping. It was still in it's original (or lack of packaging)...many bolts were loose and the one holding the stock was completely stripped. of course they made good on it....but thats not the point. Still very poor business move on their part.

this rifle is awesome. it has great power ,i blew up an orange using half power. i can hit a bottle form 100 yards using stock sights

i would put dovetails on it , the sight requires a screwdriver to adjust. i think the Williams sight should be standard

the rifle is a little hard to pump

Accurate and powerful

Would like to see dovetails on the receiver

I chronied mine yesterday and it averages 675 FPS with RWS Superdomes. I can't complain about a gun that averages within 10 FPS of the mfr's claimed velocity. It does this with only a 10 FPS spread. Superdomes hit 500 FPS with only 4 pumps. Eun Jin 28.4 grain pellets hit 510 FPS with 8 pumps. Nearly double the weight with less than 200 FPS loss compared to the Superdomes. I have NO complaints. Buy one, you WILL like it. It has quickly become my favorite pumper.

Thirty years ago I used a Sheridan Blue Streak .20 caliber air rifle for small game hunting. What I liked most about it was its extreme accuracy, even with iron sights. The power out to 50 years was not bad either. Today the Benjamin 392 I ordered, with a peep sight, arrived. After mounting the peep sight, cleaning and putting a few pellets through it I settled down to sighting it in, standardizing on 5 pumps on a 10 meter range. With six sets of three shots I brought the grouping down to top dead center of a 1" bull. Two pellets were almost in the same hole, and the third was less than 1/8" away. This puppy shoots the way I remember the old Blue Streak did!

I haven't had the rifle long enough to tell if the plastic trigger housing will stand up or not. But, the 392 looks like the Blue Streak, and if it stands up the way the Blue Streak did, and it looks like it will, I will be using this puppy for years to come. The old Blue Streak had a smoother and lighter trigger pull. There is no staging on the 392. You keep pulling harder and harder until it releases. I would guess the pull is around 5-6 lbs. I would add a trigger adjustment to set the poundage on the pull. As it is I will probably order the charliedatuna replacement trigger and housing to make the trigger more sensitive.

I couldn't adjust the grouping to dead center on the bull if I wanted to because I had the vertical adjustment of the peep sight a low as it would go without filing a little off the bottom of the riser. If I took off, perhaps, 1/16th of an inch it would probably allow zeroing in at 10 meters. Others have reported this problem in the ratings and I knew about it before I bought the peep sight. It doesn't matter because I doubt I will be shooting much at 10 meters anyway.

Excellent power, pretty accurate. Punches through some .5 in cedar that stopped my Crossman storm cold at 20m. Shoots lots of pellets well.

Rear sight, I would love to get a little better windage adj. on it took a while to dial in. Please crossman put some dovetails on it!!!

Pretty easy to pump to 5 pumps, and plenty of power for squirrels to 15m. After 5 pumps you better dust off the guns. Stay away from the B-Square mount.

I'm 16 and have been shooting whatever random pellet and bb guns many dad has given me, many have not been very accurate or high quality. I made some money from working and decided I wanted to purchase a decent, affordable, accurate gun for shooting in the backyard and an occasional squirrel. Right out of the box it is fairly accurate, but the back sight isn't too good. I bought a crosman 64 peep sight, and the peep sight, at its lowest setting shoots a little too high. I filed down the peep sight, and now the gun is perfectly accurate. If your gonna buy this gun, definitely buy the Crosman 64 peep sight as well, as it makes the gun much more accurate and fun to shoot than it already is. I did not find it hard to pump at all, but I am a pretty strong 16 year old. My little brother who is 13 has trouble pumping it. I have had it for two weeks now and have not had any problems. 3 pumps for target shooting, and 6-8 for squirrels. It is a great gun for anyone who enjoys a powerful, accurate, and fun gun to plink or shoot varmints with.

Not a fan of the back sight, and no instructions on how to remove it. If you buy the Crosman 64 peep sight, put it at its lowest setting and file the bottom of it down a little, to make it go lower, because it shoots a little high. Youw ill also have trouble loading the flat head pellets in, stick to pointed or domed pellets.

Being pneumatic its a lot easier to shoot than a springer. Little more power than Daisy 22SG. Easy to load. Like safety which is button which I'm used to. Nice to hold, wood makes it seem like a "real" gun not a toy.

Rear notch sight is poor. Had to bend it to get it adjusted. The "windage" adjustments tilt rear notch sight. Very hard to pump compared to Daisy 22SG.

Front blade is rugged but hard to see in low light or against dark foreground. Short pellets tend to roll over in breech. Doesn't seem as loud as noted, but on 8 pumps is louder than Daisy 22SG. I'd rate it 3 not 4.