Many/most of you know that Tom Gaylord has written many articles and blogs under the pseudonym "B. B. Pelletier", dispensing great advice, deep wisdom, and some really oddball facts to the airgunning community over the course of decades. His reviews of the Crosman Titan GP, which is now the Benjamin Titan GP, were the foundation of my selection of a Titan off the shelves of the local sporting goods store when I returned a Hatsan Edge with horrible open sights. Tom gave the Titan high marks for ease of cocking, moderate power, accuracy, and overall shooting manners. For what it's worth, I can testify that once again Tom is/was right on the money in his testing and conclusions. In fact, his multiple examinations of Crosman/Benjamin Nitro Piston rifles built up a picture of well-mannered guns that are pleasures to shoot.
In Tom's review of the Benjamin Trail NP, based on the same power plant and a very similar stock configuration as my Titan GP, included this interesting tidbit: he found that unlike almost all spring rifles, including those using gas struts as springs, the Trail NP wanted a full grip around the fore stock with the forward hand, a light but firm hand on the trigger grip, and a firm placement of the butt against the shoulder. That is nothing like the usual artillery hold Tom advances to spring gun shooters, and he found it notable. That always stuck with me.
The Titan I shoot is just like that Trail that had Tom holding it much like a traditional PB rifle. In the group below, shot at 50 yards on a still evening, I was keeping all my shots on the 4" target but not getting the tighter group I believed I could achieve. That is, until I remembered what Tom had discovered about his Trail. I reasoned that the two rifles share the same power plant and general configuration; maybe they also share the same penchant for a more traditional rifle grip. Bingo. My last 5 shots are just under 1" centered around the bull. My next project is to winnow out the dross and get a solid sub-1" group to post. Still, a very good night with the Titan!
In Tom's review of the Benjamin Trail NP, based on the same power plant and a very similar stock configuration as my Titan GP, included this interesting tidbit: he found that unlike almost all spring rifles, including those using gas struts as springs, the Trail NP wanted a full grip around the fore stock with the forward hand, a light but firm hand on the trigger grip, and a firm placement of the butt against the shoulder. That is nothing like the usual artillery hold Tom advances to spring gun shooters, and he found it notable. That always stuck with me.
The Titan I shoot is just like that Trail that had Tom holding it much like a traditional PB rifle. In the group below, shot at 50 yards on a still evening, I was keeping all my shots on the 4" target but not getting the tighter group I believed I could achieve. That is, until I remembered what Tom had discovered about his Trail. I reasoned that the two rifles share the same power plant and general configuration; maybe they also share the same penchant for a more traditional rifle grip. Bingo. My last 5 shots are just under 1" centered around the bull. My next project is to winnow out the dross and get a solid sub-1" group to post. Still, a very good night with the Titan!
