Benjamin Akela Reviews

This rifle does seem to have decent accuracy, certainly enough for pest control but maybe not for target shooting. It has a nice, light trigger pull (when the trigger works works).

The pressure gauge is incorrect. It reads 3000 psi (full) when my known good pump gauge reads about 2500 psi. The trigger would cease to function after several shots. It had a "nylock" nut on the trigger transfer bar, but it was working loose. I had to use threadlocker to get it to stay in place. The picatinny rail slots are too narrow (I had to file my scope riser, which fits on my other rifles with a picatinny rail, to get it to secure to the rail on the Akela) The wood is really ugly on the replacement. It has little or no wood stain. The color is more like beech wood rather than Turkish walnut. Because of the light coloration, there are burn marks from the router bit that are visible. It requires a very tall scope mount. I had to use a fairly tall riser block to mount the UTG Bugbuster scope. Tall rings alone would not have positioned it high enough for comfortable shooting.

The first rifle was beautiful, but it was a "lemon". The pressure gauge would jump (up or down) with each shot. The trigger stopped working. It was hard to chamber pellets. It leaked air from the chamber with each shot. Both magazines were cracked and had dimpled exit holes. The only good thing was the nicely finished walnut stock. I returned it to Pyramyd and Pyramyd quickly replaced it. However, the replacement is only a little better than the original. The pressure gauge does not jump, but it shows incorrect pressure. Both magazines were cracked (again). The trigger would stop working after about 50 shots. The stock, though solid and functional, seems to be unstained. It is very lightly colored with a couple of large, router burn marks clearly visible on the wood. Of the many wood-stocked rifles that I own, this is the ugliest. Overall, I am very disappointed with this purchase.

This rifle is simply amazing, weight, accuracy and is backyard friendly.

Would be perfect if it had a better magazine and was regulated.

Buck-rail makes a lot of upgrades for this rifle.

Great looking and easy to operate. Many shots per tank.

Mention in manual which scope and rings give enough height to see through scope comfortably as there are no iron sights.

Good looking rifle

Under stock picatinny rail should be made of aluminum and have two points screws for installation. One rail which came with this rifle is a very poor quality and can’t be secured properly on the stock. For the amount you are charging for this rifle it’s should be equipped properly. Also, the studs for rifle sling are not installed properly. All loose and need to get installed with epoxy or other adhesive.

Nice rifle but need to be improved

Excellent rifle, my brother and I have unanimously voted this gun #2 behind the .30 cal Evanix (super awesome). Excellent Accuracy!!! My brother is a better shot than me with a rifle. 5 shots through 1 hole at 25 yards. Many others have same results at 50 yards and further. Very happy with the quality and lever action is smooth. Charging is straightforward and guards work well. Trigger is a bit hair trigger, but I like it. Very Accurate. Excellent power.

Lets face it, the adjustable cheek plate sucks. I have removed it and replaced it with a double back tape and nice fabric. It works for me. It does well with a 3x9 or 4x16, I usually don't use much magnification.

If you plan to use a scope and keep everything stock, consider tall scope mounts. I love this rifle.

I got the .177. Has a really nice wood stock, especially for the money.

Magazine issues. If not every magazine, then every other magazine, sometimes several times per mag, a pellet gets stuck in the transfer port. When I cycle the rifle, the pellet probe, pulls the pellet out the rear of the mag, causing it jam the rifle. There is no power curve. It starts hi, and every shot after will be slower. Point of impact keeps changing. You could get 8 great shots, 2 bad, 4 more good shots, followed by 3 or 4 inaccurate shots. Doesn't matter where in the power linear decent you are. To much choke on the barrel. Impossible to get most cleaning tips, past the choke. Tried 19 different pellets.

Going to install a regulator, polish the barrel and single load it. Something to tinker with. If you are wanting a out the box shooter, I would look elsewhere. I own several marauders and they all shoot great. The power adjustment, if you set the rifle at say 14 foot pound, by the fifth or six shot, you will be down to 13 foot pound, another five or six shots and you will be down to 12.

Wood stock exceptional ,accuracy spot on

Nothing

Pick up extra ammunition and magazines, its fun to shoot

I left a 5 star review in December 2021, Almost a year later and my opinion hasn't changed. This is definitely one of my favorites. I discovered it loves h&n hornets and consistently shoots 3/4" groups at 35 yards

It would be fantastic if they started offering 25 and possibly 30 caliber

It's worth every penny.

Compact, very accurate, weight is towards the back.

Iron sights would be nice and a barrel band.

Amazing rifle. You might want to consider a suppressor.

Accuracy. Shots per fill. Its a beautiful gun.

Its heavy. Wish they had a lightweight option. I would be willing to pay for a carbon fiber tank and barrel shroud. And maybe remove some of the wood from the stocks interior.

It is a very good looking rifle. Very accurate. I drew half a dozen chipmunk sized heads on a box, placed that in front of a 3/4 inch thick piece of plywood, and had a 1/2 inch thick chipboard behind it. After zeroing the scope, I made 30 consecutive head shots at 20 yards. But be careful. On full power, I got through 3 magazines with no change in accuracy. But some of the pellets were penetrating through all of my layers when laying shots on top of each other. Overall, this is a fantastic rifle at any price point. I highly recommend it.

great look and feel, fun airgun to shoot

improve accuracy, my other Benjamin and Kral airguns are much more accurate, very disappointed was expecting the same with the Akela

I don't recommend this airgun if accuracy is main concern

Gorgeous Turkish walnut stock, shoulders well, trigger is light and crisp. Adjustable, but perfect out-of-the-box, IMHO. Love the floating barrel. Accuracy is very good. Tight groups out to 60 yards. Sidelever is easy to operate, and manageable in its rearward position. Shoots JSB Heavies very well. Same for Monsters. Does not need a barrel band or regulator with this kind of out-of-box accuracy.

You will want high mounts to get a good sight line on your scope. Hammer spring was too strong; clipped it to get a flat shot string vs. a falling string. The stock is dry, in need of some boiled linseed oil. The action has a lot of lubricant in it, and needed a good wiping. A taller scope rail or lower cheekrest would be good. Moving the side lever up to the trigger area would be awesome.

I use a floor pump, and refilling from 2000 back to 3000 psi is manageable. Other than the issue with the hammer spring, performance is exceptional. First gun had a leak, and Crosman replaced the gun in a timely manner. Excellent customer service. This is my first PCP and my first bullpup. Very pleased with it.

Everything. Accurate. Quiet. Looks Great. Nice weight. Easy to shoulder. Decent shot count. Great chrono numbers for an unregulated rifle.

I think a barrel band is needed for support.

You have to get one to believe how good this rifle is. I am able to shoot a 5 shot group at 50yds that you can cover with a nickel consistently. I can get 32 to 34 shots that range from 914 fps to 896 fps on a fill from ~3100 to ~2400. Not bad for an unregulated PCP. You could go to around 2000 but that is below where I like my fps for JSB 18 grainers. I don't know if all Akelas shoot this well or if I actually got a rarity. My numbers: 905.3 Average FPS 5.82 S/D 20 E/S 914 Highest FPS 2% % E/S

The look and feel of this rifle, the accuracy, the weight. This is a great rifle for the price.

I don't know if it will be an issue but I think a barrel band needs to be added. Maybe add a section to the top rail that extends to, and attaches to the tube for support.

I don't know if this is normal or not but my Akela delivers a great shot count. I get about 32 shots on a 3000 psi fill before I start to see a noticeable fps shift. For the 32 shots my fps ranges from 896 to 914 shooting JSB 18 gr pellets. Results below. No kidding 905.366 Average FPS 5.827 S/D 20 E/S 914 Highest FPS 2% % E/S

Nice crisp trigger, safety easy to put on and off. I'm a southpaw so the cocking lever is a bit awkward, but easily accommodated. Fantastic rail. I opted for a red dot, but might later change my mind and put a 2-7 variable scope on it.

The stock shape makes the rail seem low, I had to use an extender to put a red dot up more at eye level, but then it was fine. Took me a few tries to finally be able to insert the magazine in the gun, they come out SO easy, but don't go in as easily.

Took me two months to wait for weather suitable to take it out to a range and sight it in. DId that today, started at 10 yds, moved to 20 yards, then finally 25. Took about 17 shots altogether, but seems quite consistent. Probably more accurate than I am able to hold it. This was my first time using the pump too. THe 20 shots I took only reduced the pressure in the gun down to about 2400psi. Took me about 50 or so strokes on the pump to raise that back to 3000psi. But its definitely a workout. I can't imagine having to pump it back up from zero!

Purchase was made from Pyramid Air in 11/2021. I like: 1) overall design and design implementation, 2) quality and performance comparable to products costing considerably more, 3) superb accuracy (3-shot groups w/ 16-18 gr H&N pellets are 3 holes touching one another), 4) attractive and nicely inletted wood, 5) adjustable power, 6) smoothness and reliability of pellet feeding, 7) modest report w/ moderated barrel, 8) easily filled using Hill Mk4 air pump, 9) safety location (ahead of trigger), 10) air gage placement for easy viewing, and 11) modest air usage (drops about 300 psi per 12-shot magazine, @ mid-position of the power dial), despite impressive power. The Akela is an attractive and compact package for target use and, I expect, a suitable tool for harvesting a broad range of varmints and/or small game animals (if one doesn't mind taking such a pretty gun into the field!).

I would add a small semi-circular relief (i.e., a cut-out) on one end of the picatinny rail which attaches to the bottom of the forearm. Let this cut-out engage the sling swivel stud (or add a dedicated stud for this purpose); this feature would still allow the rail to be attached using a single screw but would positively keep the rail from rotating . . . which could easily happen when a bipod or other accessory is attached.

Holes in stud swivels are drilled slightly smaller than the corresponding pins on some slings; 'chasing' the holes with a #28 drill bit may be necessary to install a sling. Also understand that this rifle sports a real walnut stock; it is beautiful in appearance but is not light. The addition of a proper scope and sling may well put the 'carry-weight' of this gun between 8 and 9 pounds. I don't mind it but buyers expecting the lighter weight of a comparable synthetic-stocked rifle might find it heavy under some circumstances. Finally, the magazines are axially slim, as is the slot in the receiver which accommodates them. As such, don't count on being able to single-feed pellets or slugs (unless you have mighty slim finger tips). I've not yet tried to see if the mags will accept/feed 22 cal slugs. If so, great! If not, it does not diminish my satisfaction with this gun; I like it very much.

It is a beautiful gun - well balanced. Very accurate. Awesome trigger. Delightful to shoot! The detachable picatinny rail on the bottom of the forestock.

The wood stock on my Akela was unfinished. No biggie - numerous wipes with boiled linseed oil fixed that (and made the stock even more beautiful). The two magazines that came with the Akela were damaged: one had a crack in the clear plastic cover that soon broke, the other has a bad spring and won't advance the last four pellets (.177 cal). I purchased two new ones and they are working fine. I wish the sling attachments swiveled on the posts. I wish the air fill nozzle cap was easier to remove, and the QD fitting was easier to access (it is protected by raised wings that make it challenging for big fingers).

This is a beautiful air rifle that is accurate, powerful, and fun to shoot. You won't be disappointed!

I bought the .22 cal. At 45 yds it's a tack hammer, it loves AA diabolo field heavy 18 gr.

Nothing, beautiful out of the box,accurate and powerful

Buy it,you will not be disappointed, I purchased thru pyramid air and I couldn't be happier

Accurate and quiet.

The pic rail is useless and will never stay straight because it is attached by a single screw.

This rifle is not too difficult to fill with a hand pump.

Compact. Sturdy. Ease of use. Very accurate and super quiet. Just dialed in with a Hawke 3x9 scope and only have a slight problem with assuming proper eye relief due to the cheek piece.

the cheek piece is very uncomfortable and hard to use. A solid piece would make more sense. The power adjustment is extremely stiff and hard to adjust. Perhaps a push button system might be better.

Overall, I'm happy with this air rifle. It is a great addition to my collection and will see a lot of use because of it's accuracy and quiet function.