I'm looking for a bullpup .177 airgun to target shoot and some light pest control. Does anyone have experience with the Benjamin Akela?
Thanks
Thanks
Benjamin Akela
- Thread starter Orchidman
- Start date
They are worth it for $350 Thanks giving sale time straight from Crosman.
Bought one for more $ awhile back in 22 $499 new. It was okay pretty accurate I'm not a guy to tinker and the trigger was the only thing I didn't like.
Doing a trigger job would have voided the 5 year warranty. I decided to trade it.
Traded it then my friend let me try his trigger tune and it was night and day better.
He chose to void the warranty for a superior trigger feel and he simply loves to tinker and void warranties.
If you can't buy the Akela for $350 then the Kral Puncher Breaker is probably the better choice based on current prices for what you get.
It has been out alot longer and the bugs had already been worked out.
Typically sells for cheaper too in a similar platform likely coming from the same manufacturer from Turkey though the magazine's aren't interchangeable.
I would get the 177 silver and black Kral Puncher Breaker Silent from Air Gun Depot for $499 minus 11% sale and free shipping $445. Or from Pyramid Air with the discount code.
It's shorter lighter and has a shroud you could DIY or add after market baffles to make it quieter with out the need to add on a silencer.
Also has an extra magazine storage compartment up front.
With the Akela you have to buy the $40 adapter in order to thread a silencer on that will make it significantly longer than the Kral.
Sort of defeats the purpose of a short bullpup.
The Akela gets less than advertised out of the box consistant shots.
Bought one for more $ awhile back in 22 $499 new. It was okay pretty accurate I'm not a guy to tinker and the trigger was the only thing I didn't like.
Doing a trigger job would have voided the 5 year warranty. I decided to trade it.
Traded it then my friend let me try his trigger tune and it was night and day better.
He chose to void the warranty for a superior trigger feel and he simply loves to tinker and void warranties.
If you can't buy the Akela for $350 then the Kral Puncher Breaker is probably the better choice based on current prices for what you get.
It has been out alot longer and the bugs had already been worked out.
Typically sells for cheaper too in a similar platform likely coming from the same manufacturer from Turkey though the magazine's aren't interchangeable.
I would get the 177 silver and black Kral Puncher Breaker Silent from Air Gun Depot for $499 minus 11% sale and free shipping $445. Or from Pyramid Air with the discount code.
It's shorter lighter and has a shroud you could DIY or add after market baffles to make it quieter with out the need to add on a silencer.
Also has an extra magazine storage compartment up front.
With the Akela you have to buy the $40 adapter in order to thread a silencer on that will make it significantly longer than the Kral.
Sort of defeats the purpose of a short bullpup.
The Akela gets less than advertised out of the box consistant shots.
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On my mine the trigger was fine.It is just about as good as on my Daystate.It’s got decent accuracy.And mine Couldn’t be too much quieter. So I have no reason to put a moderator on it. Airgun detectives has a video on how to adjust the trigger without having to take the trigger Mechanism apart. You would have to take the stock off and that is it. It wouldn’t void your warranty.They wouldn’t void your warranty for adjusting a screw. Especially when they add 2 Allen wrenches in the box. One for the stock and one for the trigger adjustment.You get a five year warranty. Does Kral Do that? I’m not sure.
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My Akela trigger is great and I've done nothing to it, other than adjust it a little. I did add a Huma Air Regulator and shortened the hammer spring by ⅜" and it shoot really well. Just shot my first rat with it yesterday, it was quite the sight! I got it during the Thanksgiving sale also, and so far I'm quite happy with it.
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I bought mine not long after they first came out. The price during the Thanksgiving sale couldn’t be beat.I don’t know how many times I have bought air guns only to find out later that they were on sale.I think that’s a lot of rifle for that price.My trigger was good out of the box too but watching that video shows how simple it is to adjust.
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Also have a look at the Air Venturi Avenger bullpup. I have one in .25 cal and it is really good. $399
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I have the Akela in .177. I shorted the 3.5” hammer spring to 2.57”. I went from 25 usable shots on a declining shot string to 95 consistent shots at 870-890fps with JSB 10.13g. The .177 is pretty quiet with the factory shroud and no moderator. I actually had a moderator on it and have now switched back to no moderator (I like the shorter look). I did take 3 baffles out of the stock shroud and replaced them with a hair curler wrapped in felt - shoots with the same accuracy and seems even quieter. I did adjust the trigger down to 11 ounces - and I didn’t even open it up and polish like in the Airgun Detectives YT video. Finally, I must have won the barrel lottery because my .177 is accurate! I have multiple $1,000 rifles as a comparison point. I shot 20 consecutive 5 shot groups that were under 1/2 inch at 38 yards - not even trying hard while chronoing a shot string. I also have a Cayden .22 that I have done the AG Detectives trigger mods to - it breaks at 10 ounces. The Cayden .22 also shoots just as accurately at 40 yards as my Daystate Huntsman and HW110. So, the barrels in these Turkish guns seem to be very good pellet barrels for the money. I bought the Akela for $380 and the Cayden for $450 during Crosman sales - if you are patient, wait for a sale.
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My Akela is in .22 and it's a very nice piece. The walnut stock is worth half it's price IMHO. Trigger is excellent. As mentioned, it is adjustable without any fear of voiding warranty. The sales are great, but crosman won't ship to my state, so I had to pay a little more. Still very happy. It's superbly accurate.
EPG I'm gong to have to consider that hammer spring trick!
EPG I'm gong to have to consider that hammer spring trick!
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its a beast of a gun for home pest control lol .. if you got a big place its about perfect for that though .. targeting from a bench etc nah, a bullpup really isnt all that great in that role ... akela is a nice gun though .. id rather have an mrod .25 for an all purpose gun ...
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As your Akela is .22, I recommend shortening the stock 3.5” hammer spring to 2.9”. My Cayden .22 is currently 2.8”. The “magic” in shot string improvement seems to happen once you shorten the hammer springs below 3.0”. I tried 3.25” for example and still had a steadily declining shot string from full fill. These guns definitely seem “oversprung” from the factory. The other great thing about shortening the hammer spring is that now your hammer spring adjustment screw is usable to tune power. Basically everyone who has these Cayden Kratos Akela rifles has the hs adjuster backed all the way out - because the spring is too “strong” at stock 3.5” length. Once you shorten the spring, you can turn the hammer spring adjustment screw in to increase power, and still get a longer, flatter shot string. I think the way to set these guns up is to (1) have the power adjuster full open (2) pick the heaviest pellet you use - say 18.13g (3) use the hammer spring adjustment screw to get the pellet speed where you want it for best accuracy. Then when using lighter pellets, say 15.89 grain, you can simply turn the power adjuster knob down (using it as essentially a transfer port restrictor) to keep your pellet speed in the optimal accuracy range (typically somewhere between 820 and 900 fps). The shot string improvement in my .177 Akela was insane. My Cayden now gets 50-60 shots with a spread of less than 30fps - depending on pellet and power used. I had the Cayden .22 at 75 shots using a shorter 2.57” spring, but I then had to wind the hammer spring in close to max (before spring bind) to get 18 grain above 900fps. So, each gun will be different, but I think the optimal hammer spring for a .22 in these rifles is a length of between 2.5 and 3.0 inches - recommend you gradually snip it down until you get the shot string that you want.
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Just to show what is possible with an unregulated rifle, I took 100 shots with my .177 Akela with the 2.57” hammer spring the past two days (40 yesterday and 60 today). 95 shots are on the card - 40 yards (120.67 feet measured by laser) the last 5 shots I hit my 1.5 inch metal target on a tree at 37 yards, cause I like to hear the sound. ALL shots were 268 to 274 meters per second with FX 10.3g. Hammer spring adjuster is 2 .25 turns in. Temps were 34 yesterday (breezy) and 42 today (very mild breeze). I left the Akela outside for 15 minutes before shooting to get it and scope “adjusted” to the temps. My two 10-shot groups today measured.40 and .43” ctc (with one flyer in the .43” group). I wasn’t trying super hard, it just felt good to get outside and send some lead down range. My bag rest is not optimized for steadying a bullpup. The 100th shot chronoed 270 meters per second (886fps) - so she will definitely get OVER 100 good shots on a 3000psi fill - even in freezing temps. Starting psi was slightly under 3000psi, ending was 1750psi. No bs here - I’m showing you exactly what you can do with a .177 Akela with 2.57” hammer spring. 
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Another happy Akela owner here. I have also shortened the hammer spring and adjusted the trigger within the parameters of what the screws allow, and find the trigger acceptable but not great. I run the gun most of the time on 3/4 setting on the power wheel and it shoots everything I feed it well and almost to the same POI at 35 yards. It shoots JSBs very, very well, but more importantly loves CPHP and domes, which is a very nice capability in times like these. I do have a barrel band for it as well, and that really helped with consistency. The Akela is no Wildcat, but for the price, I think the gun is a great value, especially when the warranty backed by Crosman is considered. I have the .22 and if I open the power wheel to full, it even shoots the Nielsen 17.5s well. My only negative for the Akela is it's heavy for it's size, but perhaps if I didn't have a Wildcat, I wouldn't be so aware of how chunky the gun feels.
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Thank you SO MUCH for this tuning advice. I see reference to tuning all the time, but most of it just says "send it off to so and so"
I like to tweek things on my own. really looking forward to trying some of this out. I've got both Akela and Kratos, so this all applies. i suspect much of it will apply to my "real" Kral as well.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
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I watched some youtube videos today and the "sub 12 airgunners" channel. In a 177 limited to 12 fpe he got the shot count up to about 240 shots with a regulator. He also got it shooting pretty much 1 hole 50 yard 5 shot groups with some barrel polishing. I am not interested in the Akela due to the location of the cocking lever and my use of the left shoulder but I am interested in barrel polishing. His comments on the build quality are mostly positive. He shows how to disassemble, reassemble, and some trigger tuning information too.
Hard to say what would cause a manufacturer to refuse to honor their warranty obligation but legally they only loose responsibility if you caused the issue you are trying to make a claim about. I check to see if a new airgun leaks air or has other obvious issues and if not, I start tuning it up.
Hard to say what would cause a manufacturer to refuse to honor their warranty obligation but legally they only loose responsibility if you caused the issue you are trying to make a claim about. I check to see if a new airgun leaks air or has other obvious issues and if not, I start tuning it up.
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Folks, I purchased a Benjamin Akela .177 for my 84 year old friend to defend his bird feeders. He let the pressure in the gun get down below a 1000 psi and when he fired it he heard a pop and then all the air came out of the gun. My guess is that he damaged the “firing” valve when the hammer hit it and there wasn’t sufficient pressure to “support/balance” the valve. He tells me now that the cylinder will not hold air. Could the “firing” valve be open?
I’m in Arizona and the gun is in IL Any suggestions on a repair facility?
Thanks
I’m in Arizona and the gun is in IL Any suggestions on a repair facility?
Thanks
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Has your friend tried to refill it with air to see if it holds? Sounds like it may have been shot down to the point the hammer spring may have held the valve open till all the air blew by the valve.
id have him cock it to release the pressure off the valve stem and then have him fill it with an air tank so the initial blast of air is strong enough to seat the valve poppet and seal the air cylinder.
if that doesn’t fix it, I’d start looking at o-rings.
id have him cock it to release the pressure off the valve stem and then have him fill it with an air tank so the initial blast of air is strong enough to seat the valve poppet and seal the air cylinder.
if that doesn’t fix it, I’d start looking at o-rings.
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I too have an Akela in 177, and with mods and present experimenting with it I expect great results. Very good build quality and tuneability, appearance, and accuracy, I won’t part with mine but it’s only for bench use. But to address the question as to “should I buy this bullpup” for pest control or offhand shooting my feelings seem to depart from most others here. The best use I can find for a bullpup is combat or compact storeage, and while it’s nice to ad a suppressor and have a shorter rifle there are other choices to consider. Below I will only list what I don’t like about it.
1) too heavy
2) unbalanced
3) clumsy
4) still needs suppressor
5) the closest you can practically mount your scope over the ‘bore’ and scope tube centerline is 2.75”, very important failure on an airgun for accuracy
6) aftermarket cheekrest is needed or should be considered
7) rear mounted sidecocking lever is too far to the rear and clumsy to operate
8) freefloated bbl/shroud needs support more than others
9) trigger linkage makes it difficult to hone/adjust for fine crisp let off, just when you think you got it right it goes away
There’s more but that’s enough to miff those that prefer the bullpup design and I mean no offense, but for short to midrange rested and offhand pest control or hunting it’s hard to equal the control you get from the traditional rifle design, fit, and balance.
Just my two bits.
1) too heavy
2) unbalanced
3) clumsy
4) still needs suppressor
5) the closest you can practically mount your scope over the ‘bore’ and scope tube centerline is 2.75”, very important failure on an airgun for accuracy
6) aftermarket cheekrest is needed or should be considered
7) rear mounted sidecocking lever is too far to the rear and clumsy to operate
8) freefloated bbl/shroud needs support more than others
9) trigger linkage makes it difficult to hone/adjust for fine crisp let off, just when you think you got it right it goes away
There’s more but that’s enough to miff those that prefer the bullpup design and I mean no offense, but for short to midrange rested and offhand pest control or hunting it’s hard to equal the control you get from the traditional rifle design, fit, and balance.
Just my two bits.
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