Benjamin Armada

[AirgunSniper2022]

So I am getting ready to possibly shell out the bucks next month to order a Benjamin Armada from Pyramid Air. It is going to come with bi-pod and scope, I'll be getting a hand pump and degasser for it as well. Are there any other things I need to have for a pcp? First time with a pcp coming off of springers and my current nitro piston.

 

[Dan25]

You might consider putting together a carbon fiber fill station based on a fire department scba tank with a year or two left on the hydro tag if money is an issue. Many fire depts will fill your tank for free. You might need an adapter, I did. Pumping will get old and FD air is as good as it gets. I prefer to pick my scope and accessories. I strongly suggest a scope that has an adjustable objective and a reticle with dots for holdovers. I just got an Athlon Talos 4x14 FFP, 30mm, from Midway on close out w free shipping. $200 but a lot of scope for the money. Carefully consider your intended use when selecting caliber. I love .25 as hunting and pesting large, tough, Fox squirrels is a primary use. Down side is ammo cost and air use. I have to order ammo for the .25s. .22 is nice as you can get Crosman pellets at Walmart for $7/500 ct out the door. I don’t have much use for 177 cal. Carefully study guns available in that price range as there are many to choose from. The Marauder platform is getting long in the tooth. As far as noise goes PCPs without a sound moderator are loud and not backyard friendly. No matter what gun you choose made careful notes of the factory settings so you have the option to return to them. You will need a chronograph if you plan on tuning. PA is a great place to order pellets as they properly pack them to avoid damage. Take advantage of their buy 3 get one, the cheapest, free. If you go with .25 stock up and I strongly suggest JSB Kings for Marauders. BTW my first PCP was a Gen 1 Marauder in .25. Best tip is spend time here reading before you buy.

 

[AirgunSniper2022]

Dan25- Thank you for all that information. I have done my research on the rifle itself, that's why I settled on the Benjamin Armada. I'll be going the 4.5mm caliber, as I can buy those pellets easy while I am in town and I haven't yet had the need to go up to something bigger. I've taken down crows, rabbits, snakes, even a coyote once. The Coyote was raiding the neighbors chicken pin, so he asked me to come over one night. Took one shot at 30 yards to do the job, I took a followup to be certain though. I did that with a 4.5mm Gamo Whisper Fusion Mach 1, so I'll stay with that for now.

The scope included in the package is a 4-16x50AO scope with mil dots and parralex from 10 yards and on out. Depending on how I like it, I have a spare 3-9x40 that I am already used to using.

The bi-pod is the other accessory it comes with and is adjustable 6"-9" although I personally have never had a bipod, I look forward to the added stability.

As far as the pump vs. tanks vs. compressor deal. I can't use a compressor in the field so tank or pump are my options. I will buy the hand pump regardless, just cause that's how I am plus I don't mind the extra work. There is a fire house about 2 miles from me, so I'll go talk to them to find out about getting old tanks from them and filling them at the fire house.

I have heard PCP's like heavy pellets, I currently shot 7.4 - 8 grain pellets. I have some 10's but my Mach 1 hates them and never shoots them consistently. I learned long ago though, that different air rifles and pistols like different pellets. Any advice as to pellet weight would be greatly appreciated.

I don't plan on tuning as I have no knowledge or experience in that area, I prefer to shoot stock and practice and just zero my scope based on how my rifle shoots.

 

[Bigragu]

Aside from a chrony, plan on having on hand an o ring kit and some 100% pure silicone oil or grease for the time when an o ring decides to fail. For your application I would just suggest the captain o ring marauder kit from amazon, and while on amazon pick up either a small jar of the Trident Divers silicone grease or treadmill mat oil which is a 4oz container of pure silicone oil(heavy oil, not thin).

There’s nothing like enjoying a day of shooting then all of a sudden an o ring fails. Good to be prepared

Lastly do a search on weed eater pull thru cleaning systems, for cleaning your barrel. You’ll need caliber specific patches and for the cleaning solution use Balistol or FP10(also on Amazon).
If you’ve got Goo Gone that works also. Just make sure and do the barrel cleaning with the trigger guard facing up so the cleaning solution doesn’t drip into the transfer port then into your valve

 

[kkd1982]

I just purchased a new Armada from Benjamin direct. I received the rifle added new scope and rings and the rifle is shooting 18” low at 10yds. I have adjusted the scope and don’t have enough elevation. Benjamin told me a few things, tried them with no luck. I purchased two other scopes and two other sets of rings and that didn’t fix it. Here’s the odd thing. I mounted the scope forward of the receiver, on the “hand guard” rail and everything worked perfectly. Obviously I can’t leave it there due to eye relief. Ideas? P.S. I shimmed the rear ring and that brought it up 1”.

 

[kkd1982]

So I am getting ready to possibly shell out the bucks next month to order a Benjamin Armada from Pyramid Air. It is going to come with bi-pod and scope, I'll be getting a hand pump and degasser for it as well. Are there any other things I need to have for a pcp? First time with a pcp coming off of springers and my current nitro piston.

I just received mine and am having a serious hassle with it and so far I’m not happy with the service from crosman. I didn’t but a $800 airgun to still be trying to get it to work two weeks later.

 

[pnwairgunner]

So I am getting ready to possibly shell out the bucks next month to order a Benjamin Armada from Pyramid Air. It is going to come with bi-pod and scope, I'll be getting a hand pump and degasser for it as well. Are there any other things I need to have for a pcp? First time with a pcp coming off of springers and my current nitro piston.

I might suggest the Benjamin Kratos over the Armada, unless you want the Armada chassis for a project gun.
The Armada can be great with some extra dollars invested, but out of the box it isn’t spectacular in any way. I can just about promise you will find several issues you don’t like soon after buying. I have an Armada and have had Marauders since they were first released on the market. I used the Armada to house a bunch of the aftermarket and custom parts that I’d bought up over the years and it’s a pretty cool rifle, but it’s about double the cost of the factory rifle.
The Kratos on the other hand is pretty darn slick and needs no aftermarket voodoo to make it great. My Kratos in .22 shoots like a laser beam, has low effort and smooth cycling of the side lever and it is always a pleasure to shoot. I think if you had the opportunity to shoot them each before buying , most people would pick the Kratos hands down.

 

[pnwairgunner]

I just purchased a new Armada from Benjamin direct. I received the rifle added new scope and rings and the rifle is shooting 18” low at 10yds. I have adjusted the scope and don’t have enough elevation. Benjamin told me a few things, tried them with no luck. I purchased two other scopes and two other sets of rings and that didn’t fix it. Here’s the odd thing. I mounted the scope forward of the receiver, on the “hand guard” rail and everything worked perfectly. Obviously I can’t leave it there due to eye relief. Ideas? P.S. I shimmed the rear ring and that brought it up 1”. View attachment 279732View attachment 279732

Have you checked your shot strings with a chronograph? My initial thought would have been that you are having a scope issue but since your problem is evidently remaining consistent even with multiple scopes I would then think you are having power issues.
How are you filling the rifle with air? If you are going above 3000psi you are going to have valve lock, which is going to cause low power. One way that over-filling occurs is with a bad monometer…your air guage. Verify your psi using both the pump or air tank gauge and the on board gauge. If there’s a large discrepancy
then you know there’s a bad gauge on one of them.
Another power robbing issue would be a bad transfer port seal or breech seal. You’ll notice extra noise from the breech area in both of those cases and may feel a puff of air when you shoot.
Another cause of low impact could be related to pellet clipping in the shroud, or the tube and hammer need cleaned and lubricated to eliminate power-robbing friction in there.
There are a host of issues that could cause the problem, but you should be able to return your rifle to Benjamin for a replacement using your warranty if you cannot find a simple remedy for the problem.

 

[DJinAZ98]

Hello all, nice to find a bunch of Benjamin guys here. We are definitely the VW guys in a world of Cadillacs. I have had my Armada for just over one year. My $700.00 initial investment has easily exceeded $2000.00 by now. Since I like to work on the rifle as much as shooting it, I am fine with that. Compared to the Marauder, the Armada has a few more challenges. None of the power adjustments are accessible with bodywork installed. The adjustable butt stock is sloppy and will affect aiming because the stock will shift around on the bar. The lack of a barrel band also bothered me.
What changes have I made?
22 inch L\W barrel from Mountain air - (Roy)
Huma regulator set to 1800 psi. ( I prefer PSI over BAR)
Air valve spring change and drilled out transfer port bore.
Stock hammer with custom single spring. ( my own, no specs) has about same tension as original buy more coils per inch.
Added second gauge to read reg and tank pressure. Hit me up if anybody has any question. Ireally like beating the Caddys with my hopped up VW. Have a great day.

Meet Thelma, 19 FPE- 50+ shots, Louise, 27 FPE- 40 shots

 

[John "spysir" Blount]

I just purchased a new Armada from Benjamin direct. I received the rifle added new scope and rings and the rifle is shooting 18” low at 10yds. I have adjusted the scope and don’t have enough elevation. Benjamin told me a few things, tried them with no luck. I purchased two other scopes and two other sets of rings and that didn’t fix it. Here’s the odd thing. I mounted the scope forward of the receiver, on the “hand guard” rail and everything worked perfectly. Obviously I can’t leave it there due to eye relief. Ideas? P.S. I shimmed the rear ring and that brought it up 1”.

Just checking. Unscrew the shroud & put a straight edge on the receiver(if you can with front rail in way?) and check that way. While you should not have to, you did check all screws breech & barrel? Once in a while 1 had gotten through with breech misalignment. Check "air stripper" oring?
Mail that puppy back on your dime and enjoy the 5 year warranty?

But before any of that try stepping out to 20-25 yards.

Keep us posted.
John

 

[Larry1956]

So I am getting ready to possibly shell out the bucks next month to order a Benjamin Armada from Pyramid Air. It is going to come with bi-pod and scope, I'll be getting a hand pump and degasser for it as well. Are there any other things I need to have for a pcp? First time with a pcp coming off of springers and my current nitro piston.

I have one for sale, save you about $200 over the current price if interested let me know and we can hash over the details. Btw, checked out my old add on it. Comes with scope, bipod, sling and hardcase and I'll throw in a couple of tins of pellets.

 

[Larry1956]

So I am getting ready to possibly shell out the bucks next month to order a Benjamin Armada from Pyramid Air. It is going to come with bi-pod and scope, I'll be getting a hand pump and degasser for it as well. Are there any other things I need to have for a pcp? First time with a pcp coming off of springers and my current nitro piston.

Like I said in an earlier reply, I can save you about $200 over new. I have an Armada for sale check out the old ad. I will pm you my number, text me.