Page 18 - Benjamin Trail NP XL Reviews

The POWER of the .22 cal Benjamin Trail NP XL 1100 is exceptional. That said, this gun bucks when fired and demands the "Artillery Hold" to insure consistency. It's an adult-size rifle at over 48" long and has the trigger-pull length of a full-sized modern firearm, similar to my Remington 700 7mm Mag.. To contrast, I also have the Crosman Titan GP. Its stock is almost too short for me. The Trail XL1100's stock size and proportions are just right for me. It likes heavy pellets. I've tried several, but the H&N Baracuda Match 21.14 grains, seem the most consistent so far. With only about 100 rounds through the gun, I'm getting nickel-sized groups at 25 yards with the H&Ns. The Predator Big Boys and JSB Match Diabolo Exact Jumbo Monsters aren't holding as tight for me. Seventeen to twenty-two grains seems a good choice. I have other pellets to try, so will report if anything else works better than the H&Ns. This gun is deadly for small pests. I cleared my cousin's barn of feral pigeons which were "bombing" all his farm equipment with poop. Every bird was one-shot kill. (Squab pie anyone?? Yum...) I've had no problems with the scope, although you could spend a lot more on an even better one, should your wallet and mind decided that is the right thing to do. The Weaver Scope Rail is a plus! I rate the accuracy as exceptional for the high power and price.

I recommend Crosman/Benjamin bite the bullet (pellet) and included GRT-III triggers standard equipment. Too be fair, I expected the stock trigger to be very bad, based on reviews and my previous experience with my Crosman Titan GP. I was surprised that my particular Trail XP trigger was very good. The triggers on the Chinese-made Crosmans &/ Benjamin rifles are rumored to all be the same. Since I'd had a very bad experience with the stock trigger on my Crosman Titan GP, I ordered a GRT-III the same day as I ordered the Trail XP. I changed it out after testing the stock trigger. When I was installing the GRT-III I noticed although the parts seemed to be the same as on the Titan GP, the ones in the Trail XP were much more refined looking, with a MUCH smoother and consistant finish. I suspect this is why the stock trigger felt "OK". Still the adjustment in my Crosman & Benjamin Chinese-made guns have been a joke. The flip-side is the GRT-III doesn't seem to need ANY adjustment, period. Bottom line however: The GRT-III is VERY good, but the stock trigger on MY Trail XP was adequate. Unfortunately, I expect experiences will vary widely. I'd plan on replacing the trigger. It could use an upgraded scope as std equipment.

With less than a 100 rounds through the gun, it still is exceptionally hard to cock. Even in my 60's, I'm a still big (6' 250 lbs) strong guy, yet it's tiring for me after 25 or 30 shots. Unless it loosens up Trail XP is NOT going to be a pleasant gun for casual plinking. Cocking it is just too exhausting. You don't need aerobic exercise immediately before firing. This is NOT the biathlon! For plinking my .22 cal Crosman Titan GP is much more pleasant, just from a cocking-effort standpoint.

With the triggers replaced in both guns, they seem to have very similar constancy and accuracy in their respective groupings, both guns favoring the heavier ammo types. The difference is the POWER!

The Trail XP might be too large a rifle for a smaller shooter. The Titan GP or Remington Nitro Piston Short Stroke might be a better fit for a smaller person or youth.

I have the 177cal and it has the power and very accuary.Love the bull barrel and best thing is you can leavr it cock back . I shot squirrel at 40 yards thats a head shot every time.looking to get the xl725 next.

nothing

this gun is very accuary

Workmanship is good for the price. Acceptable noise level. Cocking effort is demanding but improves some with use. The gun is heavy as claimed.

The trigger needs improvement. For right handed person like me, pulling the trigger tends to cause a deflection to the right side of the target (about 2 ins @ 25 yd).

Replace with a better scope may help.

Crazy powerful. Very accurate for a magnum. 1/2 in groupings at 40 yards. Will blow a hole through 3/4 in, 13 layer, baltic birch plywood at 11 yards (this is not an exageration). There is nothing cheap about this gun. Nice, comfortable, stock, quality sling, built in weaver rail is sweet. Quite for the power, smooth piston release. I love this gun! Gerat value for the money in my opinion.

The comments in the other reviews regarding the trigger are a bit overblown, although a better quality trigger would be a plus. Granted, the stock trigger does not compare to a GRT, but with some adjustment, and practice it is more than usable. I do not plan on upgrading the trigger in the foreseeable future. Cocking effort is a little on the heavy side. This is not a gun for pre-teens, small teens, or small women but for the power, cocking effort is more than acceptable for extended plinking, time on the range, or a day in the field.

I would definely recommend this gun for others to buy.

Everything but the trigger. That got switched out real fast. Included sling was nice since the gun weighs a solid ten pounds. It's not hold sensitive at all once you figure it out, I can hold the forearm to a tree with my supporting hand and still hit right where it should. Just don't put any pressure on the pistol grip and pull the trigger the right way, spot on every time

A better trigger would have been nice.

Getting this gun in .177 is a waste if you ask me. Any serious airgunner will tell you the best accuracy is obtained between 800-950 fps. Getting it in .25 just means more expensive pellets than .22 which has better fps. Mine chronies average of 915 with Crosman round nose and Benji Discos (both 14.3 grain) and at 30 yards holds ragged one holers no problem. Zeroed at 35 at 50 it only drops maybe 3 inches. This gun has come hunting with me a couple times and hasn't disappointed, it's longest reach so far has been a headshot on a squirrel at 40 yards. It didn't even hit anything vital, more under the brain and behind the mouth, and it still fell out of the tree and didn't go anywhere in the 5 minuts it took to find him in the brush. All in all an excelent hunter

Power is beyond expectations. After break in period, rifle is much more quiet than expected. Scope rail is great too. Trigger is acceptable once modified.

Scope sucks. Everyone who reads this should do themselves a favor and purchase a better scope right from the beginning. Nitro piston oil should be included. Trigger

Very long break in period.

I have been Target Shooting a 6.5 X 284 Norma for the last 5 years and wanted a small pellet rifle for plinking and pest control. I narrowed it down to the Walther Falcon Nitro .22 and the .22 Benjamin. I went with the Benjamin after carefully considering all the factors. Upon receipt, I replaced the scope with a BSA 3-12 X 44 AO and a 1 piece offset Accushot Rail Mount. The trigger will need some attention but will suffice for now. I normally like trigger pull in the 1.5 - 2.0 LBs range. After loading with some 16.0 Predator Polymags I started sighting in the Scope and ranging the rifle. I was pleasantly surprised with the power and accuracy of this rifle. I then switched to JSB 14.3 Diablo pellets and found similar 1" groups at 50 yds. I then scrubbed the barrel JB's Bore paste, followed with Hoppes No. 9 and finally a couple of pulls with a Boresnake. I then removed the barrel from the stock and reassembled with Loctite 242. It now shoots consistent groups under 1" at 50 yds. I held off purchasing an Air Rifle until the Nitro Piston became available. When you consider all the variables in Air Rifle accuracy and performance, this rifle is clearly at the top of an impressive list of candidates. I gave it 4 stars for accuracy only because I am used to putting 6 shots in a quarter size hole at 400 - 600 yds with my 6.5 Norma. Overall quality of this rifle is excellent and much better than the Walther Falcon Nitro which I have also shot.

I will probably change the trigger to a GRT-111 trigger. Trigger pull should be 1.5 - 2.5 lbs and should have a crisp release. I will try playing with this one to see if it's worth saving. Also, ditch the scope and mounts. They're junk. Get a good Leapers or BSA scope and a ONE PIECE Rail Mount. The one piece rail mount alone will improve your accuracy noticeably. Also, the Accushot Offset Rail Mount gives you much greater flexibility with Eye Relief.

I haven't tried any light pellets yet, but my experience with Target Rifles tells me that the heavier pellets will shoot better at longer ranges simply because they aren't affected by environmental factors as much. I'll probably stick with the 14.0 to 17.0 pellets for this .22. Muzzle velocity hasn't been measured but I would guess that if the manufacturer is claiming 1100 FPS you can probably reduce that by 10 - 15% and that will be much closer to what you are shooting. Still, all things considered, for an Air Rifle, that is not bad. To summarize, for the money you cannot beat this investment. The only candidate which comes close is the Walther Falcon Nitro and that gun is not as well made and is a bear to cock. Go with the Benjamin and make the changes I made and you will have a good shooting weapon.

Good Feeling Gun I am 6'5" by the way for other tall folks knowledge. I looked at some of the other Gamo's ect. and, they were just to short for me. Looks well made and should be for the bucks. Only shot mine about 75 rounds so far, and the wife likes it to by the way. My wife can cock it by herself with a great amount of difficulty. It does seem to be getting a little easier to cock now.

Trigger is really horrible worst of any gun I have ever owned. It was easy to fix though just do as most will tell you go get a GTR III from Chalie da Tuna. Now were talking a fine shooting rifle. The difference is really amazing. I wasted at least 3 hours trying to adjust the factory trigger to no avail.

Don't waste time with the stock gun go ahead and get a GTR III trigger. If you have any reasonable mechanical skills it will be in and done in 5 minutes or less. If you can't do go get a buddy who can just d/l and print the simple installation instructions. This rifle needs heavier than normal pellets as all magnums do for accuracy. Should not really bother with any accuracy test other than a basic rough sighting of the Scope until you run about 100 + rounds through your gun for break in.

An apparently well made air rifle. The heft is most impressive. The advertised power is comparable to a 22 short rimfire cartrige. Benjamin brand.

I have seen many complaints about the trigger, but reserving my judgment untill have more time to play with the adjustments. At some point I will break down and take the trigger apart to see what can be done easily. I would like to see an automatic safety.

This is not a 'bull barrel'. It is a narrow barrel inside of a larger diameter tube. The benifit is reducton in noise and give a larger surface to grab onto during cocking. A true bull barrel is just a thick walled barrel to reduce vibration in high powered rifles. I thought it would help me eliminate squirles, but have not found it accurate enough for effective shots. I have returned to my Beeman R7 and can more routinely place leathal shots.

Nice Stalk good finish, Weaver rails provide rock solid scope mounting.

Trigger is terrible i replaced witha grtIII before even trying to sight in. Included scope rings dont fit properly replaced with a good set. Centerpoint scope does not hold zere for more then 5 shots replaced with a leapers 6x24x50 now its a tack driver.

Rifle is worth the money just make sure to loctite everything including the barrel shroud mine was loose and after removing and loctiting in place my poi changed about 6 inches. Gun is very hold sensitive and likes a heavy pellet i purchased the 177 and am using HN barracuda match pellets and can stack them at 25yds and still shoots flat to 50yds. Toss the stock scope and replace with a good one and you wont be dissapointed. GrtIII trigger from charliedatuna is a must.

The power. This gun really has a punch. I have the 1500. The wood is plain but very nice, darker than the photo. Also very accurate for a magnum; I'm shooting dime size groups at 20 yards. Its a reasonably quiet gun. Free sling was a nice throw in.

This is a heavy gun it could be a little lighter. Perhaps a carbine model. Throw in a box of pellets. IRON SIGHTS! Lighter cocking effort.

Break in is short (about 150 shots for mine; Benjamin advertises 100 shots). The scope is o.k. and mine stays zeroed for hundreds of shots. Heavier pellets shoot better. I'm shooting H&N Match Barracuda's 10.65g and the barracuda hunters 10.34g and the barracuda powers 10.19g. All are holding super tight patterns. Hunters are the most accurate so far. Stay sub-sonic. I'm also using crow magnums 8.8g and I have fliers an the gun is louder. Even so, crow magnums shoot quarter size groups at 20 yards. Also 47lbs cocking effort is nothing to dismiss.

Fast...fast! Great weight, and a nice finish. Comfortable stock. Much better trigger than the standard Trail NP, that I also own.

Looooonnnnggg break-in period. The barrel needs a VERY thorough cleaning, right out of the box. Then do it again. And again. And just when you think it's dialed-in, wait some more. Clean it one. More. Time.

First of all, Pyramid's service was awesome. It showed up before expected, and even with a small issue, their customer service was on top of it. Still waiting for really good accuracy, but it shows promise. Brought it out to my dad's to present to him, and he and I could hit leaves at 100yds with relative consistency. (Then it needed to be cleaned/adjusted again)Trigger complaints are somewhat deserved, but this long-pull trigger has a silver lining--the pull is cumulative. If you pull partway and release, there is no re-pulling that distance already pulled--the heft picks back up at that point. Once you get used to it, you can us this to create a pseudo hair-trigger that is very good for a $300 gun. It's also adjustable, though I haven't fooled with it.

right out of the box the rifle felt tuned and ready to go. the wood finish is done very very nicely and it has a good solid feel to it. nothing feels cheaply made or attached. the accuracy is truly amazing 40 yard i was hittin half inch groups

Nothing!

about the trigger that other airgunners experienced, i mustve lucked out because mine didnt have a "150" stages. both first and second were very defined. no sudden stops. oh and this is a HUNTING gun! ive taken out coons and foxes with ease at 30 yards

Power, acurate, quiet and a really hard punch. Very big bang for the buck. Anyone that complains about scope not keeping center needs to know that until this rifle has been "broken in", you will get velocities that very up to 75fps. This will make your point of impact change. This sucker needs to weight 10lbs to handle the power. After about 400 shots the jolt turns into a nice rear kick similar to a .22 LR. and sound like a light thump. Very smooth.

The trigger... however I backed the adjustment screw all the way back (just before falling out) then turning back in just about all the way in. This gave me 1/2 inch 1st stage and approx. 2.5 lb 2nd or release with no creep. Just play with it and you should be able to get "the creep out". I have a GRT-III trigger if it does not hold out well. My guess is it will be just fine.

Go through the gun with loctite (blue) on all screws. Run some cleaning patches with bore cleaner. This will shorten your wasted pellets that flash.

Very quiet after the first few shots. Seems very powerful for a pellet rifle, though this is my first pellet rifle and have no means of comparison except for a Daisy Red Rider that I had decades ago. I was, in any case, surprised when I compared it with my smallest firearm, a .22 Mosberg semi-automatic rifle.

Probably it is a little heavy, and cocking is probably out of the question for women or smaller people.

I am using it for pest ground hogs on my five acres after a neighbor's complaint about my .22.'s noise. I think it will shoot them dead at up 100 yards, just like the .22 with subsonics.

Everything about this gun is very well made - the gun stock is more than i would have thought to be on a rifle. This rifle looks like a 300 Mag.

I'm like some other people - trigger needs some work to make it smoother and yes this gun does have a screw for trigger adjustment, still not smooth. Trigger needs to match rest of gun

I've shot alot of pellet through this gun and have more on order. I have better grouping with H&N Matched 10.5 and Benjamin 10.65. I have same ones on order and also H&N Hollow Points 10.34Grains. Dont know which ones i will be stying with. Lighter pellets seems to tumble and not group. Target was at 40 yards. I have owen Benjamin pellet guns for 40 years.

Very powerful & quiet just as advertised, nice scope, sling is a nice bonus, looks and feels like a real gun.

So far nothing, only had for a month and put prob 100 rounds through it. It is not as accurate as I hoped, but I still got a few more shots before it is properly broken in. This is my first break barrel so I bet once I shoot it more the groups will get smaller. It seems to like predators.

Heavy gun, hard to cock, little bit of recoil, not the best for smaller people or kids.

nice scope, nice barrel, nice sling, and this thing is very powerfull and pretty accurate

put a gloss finish on from the factory

take a clay pigeon and set it out at 100 yds, aim with the 3rd milldot down on the scope, be very very steady, my gun does it and its a blast!

Accurate, powerful, fun and stylish. Another review put some things in perspective; for $300 I can satisfy my Crow Magnum lust that has existed since the mid 90s. Fantastic value package.

Something better for the forearm sling attachment, provisions for iron sights (at least suggestions) otherwise nothing.

Super fun, relatively quiet. It isn't as quite as a .22lr with Colibris. Very hold sensitive (for me at least). I use it for plinking and target practice...I wouldn't recommend it for that. Even though I've only gone through a couple thousand pellets I love this rifle.

Scope & mounts are nice, stock is very comfortable, very accurate, love the nitro piston, like the bull barrel. I ran out of characters in my main text, but I can't stress enough how good pyramyd air was to work with. I will buy everything from them.

Trigger's 2nd stage is way too long, go to charliedatuna.com and get the GRTIII trigger (only $32 and that includes shipping), that trigger really compliments everything else that is so great on this gun.

This gun is awesome! I have had my best success with two types of ammo, the first being JSB Diabolo (I think in 8.4 grain), and the second is predator polymag (8 grain). I still want to try the Beeman kodiak extra heavy's (just to check for accuracy) but I haven't yet. In .177 cal you don't really need to start using the mil dot's until about 60 yards when shooting the JSB's or the predator polymag's. The farthest that I have shot my gun at targets is 66 yards (I am a bowhunter and use my bushnell rangefinder which is +/- 2 yards) and even at 66 yards the groups that I can get are really good. My groups at 25 & 35 yards all touch each other (when shooting from my secured gun rest), from my shoulder I can group about 1 inch (I shake a little more than I used to though). At 50 yards my groups spread to about an inch and a half or so, and at 66 yards my groups have been about 2 inches. My longest kill so far was a squirrel that I shot at 62 yards (holding 1 mil with the predator polymag, I drilled it right in the head). The Gamo PBA's shoot really fast out of this gun (about 1400 fps) but they are so light that they are just not accurate, and have no consistency. The gun is well worth the money and you will not be disappointed, also the folks at pyramyd air have THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!!!!! I had a problem from the factory with my first gun and these guys resolved it so fast it amazed me, everybody on the phone was very nice and made me feel like a wanted customer.