Page 19 - Benjamin Trail NP XL Reviews

Everything from my previous review.

This is a follow-up review for my previous review. I have done the accuracy testing right after I "broke" in the rifle. True break-in is acheved from, let's say, 2,000 pellets. However, I don't have all of that :). Dieseled for the first 40 shots, had 4-inch groups at first. Settling into the 100 shots, the groups started to shrink down to 1- 1 1/2-inch groups. I haven't shot any of my break barrels in months, so I need a little practice before I get some better accuracy. On the side, I was also firing my G1 Extreme. Had erratic groups for the first 20 shots at 2-inches, but shrank down to 1/2-inch groups in just 50 shots. Now, back to the Trail! I used Crosman Field Points .22 cal. and had the groups I mentioned previously. I was firing at the Big Darby Creek Shooting Range in West Jefferson, Ohio and had a good time. My dad said that he could see the pellets kick up the dirt a lot back on the dirt mound. With more practice, I will be able to bring those groups down to a 1/2-inch and have more fun when I can hit something accurately.

rifle arrived 1 day early, the look, feel and heft are awesome, comes up to my shoulder like my 7mag.lol and is a bit heavier. everything is what I expected.

The front swivel for the sling looks/feels a little weak, I will not be toting with the sling.

only popped a few rounds through this so far, did not notice any "kick" but feels really good. Also, I was expecting to have a hard time cocking this weapon but it is a breeze with the Nitro piston.Needs broken in and looking forward to it this a weekend as initial grouping is not very good, I have a variety of different pellets to try out so i can find "the one"

this gun has plenty of power for hunting. It will drive a 22 pellet thru 3/4 plywood at 20 yards. this gun is also heavy clocking in at around 9 pounds and takes about 40 pounds to cock. It is also almost 48" long. the integrated weaver mounts are a great touch. the stock is comfortable but the finish is just ok as you can see the brush marks in the stain.

MADE IN CHINA. my first gun came defective as it would not cock. the second gun they sent me the bushing that holds the cocking arm inside the stock fell out on the first shot. go over this gun with a screw driver when you get it and check it periodically as the screws will vibrate loose. the scope that comes with the gun is hit and miss. i could not keep mine zeroed but others have had better luck. also run a few patches thru the barrel before the first shot to remove all the factory grease or the gun will detonate.

this is a 332 dollar gun as the stock trigger absolutely sucks. by a GRT 3 trigger from charliedatuna.com and you will be much happier. this is a very quiet gun compared to a springer. this is a good hunting rifle but i would not recommend it as a plinker.

Overall Build quality seems very good ~ excellent...this gun just plain looks good. Mounting of the scope was easy enough, and zeroing was a snap...just follow the directions. Accuracy after an initial few shots is astounding with run of the mill pellets, (I did buy and tried some very heavy pellets 20 & 22 gr, but accuracy suffered, and I went back to lighter versions 14.5 ~ 18 gr). The first shot from this HEAVY pellet rifle sounded like a 22 Stinger from a 4 inch revolver...LOUD ! (It burned off the oil from manufacture I suppose). The next few shots, progressively got quieter, and by shot 8 or so, this became virtually unheard from 20 ~ 30 feet. The use of alloy pellets will launch those light guys super sonic, so expect a louder report with them. Anywhere from 10 yards to 50 yards, this gun will connect with small matchbox size targets each and every time, if I do my part. Cocking effort is as advertised (30~35 lbs). The scope provided is Crystal clear and crisp once dialed in. Trigger pull is a little creepy but consistent & predictable (I haven't tried to adjust it yet, but it's obviously something to do once your used to the feel of this very solid feeling rifle. When the trigger is squeezed, you should expect somewhat of a jump, not exactly recoil...because the whole gun just 'jumps' in reaction to the rapidly moving gas piston...but it doesn't seem to hurt the accuracy once you become familiar with that feel.

Maybe I would like to see the manufacturer adjust the trigger for less creep, otherwise, I wouldn't change anything else.

Unless you've owned a truly magnum type air rifle before, I doubt that you could appreciate just how heavy this air rifle actually is, especially after carrying it for an hour while walking around the farm. It's a really good thing that they include a well made padded sling for this rifle....you'll definitely want to use it! THIS IS THE QUIET PELLET RIFLE YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED!

Good fit and feel, After break in it is very very Accurate, I am getting 1 inch groups at 58 yards using 14.3 C P. My target is 1/2 ply wood with 3/12 inches of stuffing of old clothes with a 1/2 inch plywood back. at 58 yards it dimpples the back side of the backing almost going through.

Make trigger as good as the rest of the gun.

Be paitent break in with one kind of pellet, O also clean the barrel very very very well before shooting. Buy lots of pellets you will want shoot and shoot.

Rifle is built well. Center Point scope is appropriate for range this rifle is capable of. Great knockdown power...you can really tell the difference from .177 to .22. Very accurate. Alot less recoil then my Gamo Socom II. Finish on rifle is top notch...maybe not durable...but damn its pretty. Rifle is very rugged. You will NOT feel anything shake when you are just walkin down range or stalkin squirrels. Very very quiet compared to my previous .22 break barrels.

The advertised rating. its 950 fps for standard 14.3 gr pellet. It is still pretty fast...but that 1100 fps on the site made me press the go to cart button prematurely. Although i would still buy this rifle. An Illuminated crosshair would be nice. the biggest thing for me was the trigger...that thing had like 7 accidental stages. And you could never predict where the trigger would break for shot. Just pick up a GRT-III from charliedatuna

Gun goes great with the JSB Polymag and 15.8 Exact (JSB) BUY GRT-III TRIGGER Replace all the oil with the good stuff...very easy and will save you money, and your rifle in the end. Make sure you tighten the two screws in the forward of the stock...and in the buttbad. Tightening the trigger guard won't hut anything either.

Decent looks, Power & Accuracy.. My particular rifle averages 800 FPS with 18.1 gr JSB pellet and the accuracy makes hitting targets to 50 yrds almost effortless after you learn to shoot the beast that is!

Sell the rifle without the scope! Throw in a tube of the recommended lubricant for the rifle + a couple tins of pellets to sweeten the deal.. IMO, the trigger is to heavy & so is the rifle! Also, the scope is not capable of taking the abuse the trail dishes out & mine wont stay zeroed for more than 20 shots.. However, the scope works fine on my Beeman 1073.. Another problem I encountered was the barrel shroud was obviously out of align with the bore & the pellets was clipping & causing accuracy problems.. Since you dont think alot about inaccuracy dureing break in, these problems can waste alot of pellets/$$ for ya before you suspect anything is wrong..

The scope is not a hunting scope! or atleast not IMO.. Even if it would stay zeroed, it has exposed windage & elevation adjustments & no way to lock your settings other than removing the adjustment knobs.

This is a daddy of pellet guns. I got the .22. because of the varmits. With a heavier pellet 14-17 it has grrreat accuracy and nock down. It's got weight. In this case weight for great quality. Very quiet. No spring vibration after firing. Just a nice kick. It sounds like someone hitting the ground with a wiffle ball. Very quiet. After about 100 shots fired. It even sounded different. It seemed to smooth out. Starting to hit patterns almost one behind another. Scope seems as good as any riffle scope I've used.

Definately put the aftermarket trig on it. I couldn't get used to the long mechanical trigger through

Make it free like it shoots!

Great feel, comes to shoulder and posistions quickly, Accuracy is great ,I am putting pellets on top of each other at 35 and 75 feet, at 35 yards the groups are less than 1 inch. at 55 yards it is spot on with groups at just over 1 inch.. I am sighted in at 55 yards and at 35 yards it is 1 inch high.Break in period was about 125 to 150 shots. After that you will not believe how smooth and quite it is. You will see smoke during break in dont worry just keep shooting.

include a scope with locking adjustments, The scope that it came with gathers good light and is adjustable,but it cant handle the break in period. Maybe after 1000 shots then re mount it and try again. Make the latching means lock better for the barrel,

Be prepared for some kick during the break in period, and make sure you are ready to cock ,,,it does take some effort.. Pyrimid Air did a great job packing and sending. Buy 14.3 CP and some JSb"s I have read somewhere in this sight do not shoot anything heavier than i8 grain??? warranty issue???? O yea Get plenty of pellets when you start grouping good you will want to shot alot and see how good it will do.

I like the weight and feel of this rifle It is very quiet when you use pellet that are above 9 grain and it gets more accurate with the heavier pellets. Great price I bought both the .177 & 22 cal

If the triger was the same as the maurader it would be just as accurate

Use the 10.5 CP in the .177 and always use a good quality pellet to keep your accuracy. PS These rifles have a lot of weight and kick to them

Powerful and quiet! Love the scope and the scope rail.

The trigger! It's horrible. I just installed a GRTIII, made an incredible difference! I have seen a lot of complaints about the trigger on all of the comments. You guys need to order this trigger from charliedatuna.com. $32, shipping included. Money well spent. Also, they need to offer a composite/synthetic stock in the XL series.

Not for kids. This is a heavy gun that is hard to cock. I like the weight, seems to help me steady the shot.

Good quality rifle and scope for the money. Decent wood stock, solid barrel, nice sling. Accuracy improved after approximately 250 fires. Consistently hitting a 2" metal disc at 50 yards with significant power and velocity. Cocking the barrel is not as difficult as many claim and this rifle is equally a target and hunting weapon. Quite impressive overall. The Center Point 3X9X40 scope is quality with a very nice rectile that allows for sighting in at 50 yards with markings to allow shooting at closer and longer distances. This is a complete package for the price and I recommend this package for target and hunting.

The trigger is not wonderful and has a great deal of travel even at the best adjustment. This could be improved significantly and is the reason for the 4 star rating overall. . The finish on the stock had one flawed area, but overall was good, but not 5 star.

This is a big, beefy rifle. Not a toy. I am convinced that the accuracy, velocity and energy will allow shots out to 75 or even 100 yards, but I have not tested this yet. At 50 yards and under, it is proven to be absolutely accurate and powerful with a good steady hold and trigger squeeze.

Stock is nice and very comfortable, metal and bluing are good and overall quality of build very nice. Scope mounting rail system is fantastic, no worries about scope movement here. Scope is very nice with clear optics, AO settings are accurate and after several hundred pellets scope is keeping it's zero. Cocking cycle is very smooth, barrel lock up very tight, firing cycle is very nice and free of any torque or vibration, just a very quick solid pulse when fired. The rifle is definitely very solidly built and while it is a heavy rifle it's well balanced and feels really nice. The free sling, besides being really nice, is nice to have on long trips afield while hunting. Chronograph testing after break in period showed CPL's averaging 900 FPS, CPHP's averaging 920 FPS, JSB Exact Express averaging 857 FPS and Predators averaging 860 FPS. My rifle is currently sighted in at 30 yards for the CPL's, CPHP's and JSB Exact Express, which all have same POI for me, and I'm getting dime sized groups with all 3 pellets. This accuracy was achieved after installing a GRT III replacement trigger blade. Cocking effort on this rifle is significant but it is smooth to cock. This rifle is not for target shooting it's for hunting. If you're looking for a paper puncher then go with the standard "NP" rifle which has a much lighter cocking effort. I am very satisfied with my rifle, it's a great hunting air rifle easily capable of taking small and medium sized game at considerable distance.

The staining job on the stock is poor at best. It's not terrible but it does have a milky, washed out appearance to it and it looks like they applied it with a poor quality brush, leaving streaks and over laps. I also have a couple spots of "filler" peeking through the stain. The rifle shoots so well though that I wasn't about to send it back, I can always refinish the stock if I choose to. The stock trigger on the rifle was without a doubt one of the worst triggers I have ever had to deal with. Trigger was heavy and gritty to pull, with no detectable first stage at all and no way to anticipate when the trigger would finally break and fire. I did achieve good accuracy with the stock trigger but to do so required so much trigger concentration that it took all the fun out of shooting the rifle. The first thing I did was remove the stock trigger blade and replace it with a GRT III replacement trigger blade. The new trigger turned the rifle into a tack driver that was fun to shoot. Crosman really needs to change the design of that horrible trigger. Crosman should cut back on the practice of soaking the rifle in that black, gritty oil that they are using. The rifle was had a film of this oil on the outer metal part, which is fine as it wiped off easily, but the "innards" of the rifle was dripping large amount of this funky oil so much so that it pooled up inside the stock. When you receive the rifle a very good cleaning is needed to remove all this oil.

I know I complained about the staining job and the trigger but I still gave the rifle a good rating because it performed so well for me. Besides, the trigger is easy to replace and the stock easy to re stain if I choose to. Overall the rifle is well built and of good quality and I am thrilled with the performance, accuracy and power of the rifle. It's a great addition to my hunting arsenal. If you're looking for a great .22 cal hunting rifle I would definitely recommend this rifle. Just make sure you clean all the funky oil out of the rifle and replace the stock trigger.

The over all look,and feel of the rifle is is very nice. I ordered the .22 for hunting, and I really like the knock down power that the NP XL brings to the plate. The integrated weaver scope rail makes a rock solid platform. The barrel seems to be made very well, and so far I have not had any lead build up, like most will do.

For the NP XL to be made in the U.S.A. , I was very disappointed to see "made in china" on the receiver. This is why I gave this three stars out of five on the Value for money, and that being nice.

Before you do and thing with this rifle, take a few seconds to tighten every thing up. I didn't, and the rifle just about came apart on me. I had to replace the butt stock pad screws with longer ones, the short ones about ruined the stock. that little black pad at the bottom of the grip came off. Super glue, and lock tight is needed for this rifle. I also recommend that you stick with one type of pellet, or you will not get any accuracy what so ever. My rifle just had to have expensive taste, so I have to use Predator Polymags, but they work great. One more thing, don't let that scope wow you, get another one Center Point never stay zeroed.

came with a sling, scope is great, weaver rail instead of dove tail, noise level is so minimal you probably couldn't hear this if you were 20 yards away, gun feels like a deer rifle. to break the barrel you actually have to give it a little slap, you can push on it all day long and it won't break unless you actually hit it

how long it took me to order, and my basement ceiling. i sit on a bar stool and lean across the "bar" as my bench but the ceiling is too low to cock it normally.

got this in .22 and i couldn't be happier. had it for 3 days and took it out to the range today and was getting a little over 1" groups at 20 yards with the benjamin discoveries, but it was a bit breezy. if you hold it tight to your shoulder you'll notice this gun KICKS! the trigger is a bit gritty but it's working in nicely and i prolly don't even have more than 100 shots through it. i adjusted the screw behind the trigger pretty much all the way out and the pull length is still a bit long but it breaks much lighter now. the scope is awesome for something that's included with a gun, the adjustment knobs click very crisply. the woodwork is amazing, the only blemish on my stock is next to unnoticeable. the wood on mine is darker than in the pic though, the pic looks almost like maple but mine is like stained oak or something. i couldn't be happier with this gun. unless you'll have trouble with the 40 pounds of cocking effort i'd recommend this gun to anyone looking for a nice gun to hunt with

It also must be stated that the rifle comes as a complete package, with a decent scope, good sling and sling swivels; ready to go once you mount the scope, install the sling, complete the break in period and sight it in. This is a nice feature that must not be excluded from reviews.

Weaver rail scope mount is smart, the whole airgun industry needs to go that way. Shrouded barrel makes the gun very quiet. Thumbhole stock helps the ergonomics. And finally, the power...its got a lot for a springer, and that's easy to like, but its nowhere near the advertized power ratings...see "change" section.

Clearly #1 is the trigger...its horrible. Trigger pull is very gritty, it breaks unpredictably and therefore makes the gun less safe. The poor trigger behavior also hinders accuracy. The #2 change needs to be offering the gun in .20 caliber. Fit and finish is a bit weak at this price point, examples - the plastic trigger guard is too cheap for this gun, and the ebony cap on the pistol grip is finished very poorly. Crosman also needs to get responsible and start rating and advertizing power accurately. I've tested it with a Chrony, and this gun should be rated at 24.5 ft/lbs or 870 FPS with intermediate weight domes like Crosman Premiers or H&N Field Target Trophy. My gun is .22 caliber by the way. Also, the length of reach in your hand to the trigger blade is a bit long, and that's from the perspective of a full grown adult.

This is an adult sized gun by every measure. It is very hard to cock, heavy to hold, and jumps when you pull the trigger. It takes pracitce to develop a cocking technique that won't kill your shoulder, and to hold it properly during the firing cycle. You absolutely need to be a strong, grown, healthy adult to work this gun, or you'll be dissatisfied with it. Also, be aware its made in China.

Nice rifle for the small hunting game !

I would put a sight on the barrel

Beautiful gun ,I Realy liked the thumbhole stock and it came with a sling and scope with weaver scope rails built on the rifle.

Put open sights on it!

So far I have shot about 100 pellets through it and at 120 feet it shoots all over the place ,2-3 " Groups! or greater! I'm buying heavier pellets to see if it helps.The CP 14.3 grains I'm useing now may be tumbleing on it's way to the target at 1100 fps. I will try the H & N Baracuda match ,21.14 grains and get back to you on the results. My RWS 52 ,22 Shoots dead on at this range and I hope I can get the Benjamine to do the same.

Accurate, very quiet, seems to be well made. well balanced, powerful, scope is ok

too heavy, stock could be nicer, trigger sucks even when adjusted

Great knockdown power. Very accurate with crossman pointed hunting pellets and super h pointed pellets both around 14.5 grains. I can hit pennys at 25 yards consistantly. at 75-80 yards groups are still 1.5 inches. good small game gun. not really a plinker. this rifle requires some effort to cock and hold for long periods of time. I have the .22 and its about broken in now and has gotten a little easier to cock. The trigger pull could be smoother it just feels a little stiff even after break in. overall I like it and it is well worth the money. As for anything new to the market we will see how she holds up.