Benjamin Cayden............

[TiredRooster]

I have read as much as I can about Benjamin's new line of Turkish made PCPs. So I understand the made in Turkey and not in America deal.....doesn't bother me really so long as the quality is there. But I would really like to hear from any members here that own one of them and their thoughts. I'm particularly interested if anyone has a Cayden. 

I appreciate your responses in advance......TR

 

[wethy]

I have the Akela and my neighbor has the Cayden. We switch off quite a bit. They're both well built guns, good looking and great shooting. We mostly shoot birds and pests, coons and such. They have great warranty and will shoot the cheap CHP 14.3 really well. For the price they're hard to beat. I think they're still on sale.

JPW

 

[Joekrooz]

I don’t think you would be disappointed with the Cayden, I really like mine. Nice shooter, seems well built, very accurate and looks good too with walnut stock. Extra magazines are not expensive, huge plus!
Really nice gun for $600. I picked mine up last year on sale at Midway for $390, couldn’t pass it up!

 

[pnwairgunner]

I have the Cayden and the Kratos, and absolutely love them both. Very accurate and super nice quality. The stocks are beautiful also. You can’t go wrong with the Cayden. Mine has gorgeous tiger striping in the stock that pictures don’t do justice. 18 and 15 gr JSB’s are great performers for mine at 50 yds.

 

[Harv24]

Love mine, Shoots the cheap Crossman 14.3gr pellets great. I've used it for Squirrel hunting and target shooting. Has an adjustable power dial so you can dial down and shoot in the basement on a cold winter Sat afternoon. Very smooth side cocking lever, excellent trigger, hand pump friendly. Magazines are low cost and work well.



Only down side is it's a bit heavy for carrying in the woods and the length with a Moderator adds to that issue. It is loud unless you add a moderator. With one, very quiet.

Having a 5-year warranty is a nice feature. it's well built and is an excellent choice for a first time PCP owner.

 

[wendell]

I like my Cayden but I use a moderator to keep peace with the neighbors. Got to love a gun that shoots Crosman ammo.

 

[napairgunner]

Cayden is a great rifle I was very lucky to get a very nice one. For the money you are not going to find a nicer PCP. It really has everything you would want/need in a PCP rifle it's well thought out for the American market in terms of features that make sense ie standard foster fill port with integrated cover, safety in good location, built in sling studs, lever action, adjust power, adjustable cheek piece, two (shot count numbered) magazines, picatinny scope rail, PSI marking on the gauge. Honestly it has it all. I agree with others the 15.89 and 18.1 shoot amazing. I would get one and not look back! 

 

[AZGman]

I echo all of the comments above. The only complaint I have is that it is a bit long to carry around. The Akela would solve that issue if you can live with a bullpup design. Benjamin just had the Akela at a fire sale price for Black Friday, and I kick myself for not buying one!

 

[RWSx3]

I'm also in agreement with the other Cayden owners... great rifle! Will accurately shoot all pellet ammo I've tried, 13gr through 18gr with air adjustment setting out to 50yds. Every bit as accurate as my FX Classic... but for woods-walking, the FX gets carried.

 

[TiredRooster]

Thank you guys very much for your responses. Thus far the feedback from your experiences have been overwhelmingly positive towards the Cayden. The only "complaint" seems to be maybe the length/weight as a woods walking rifle, and with the lack of a moderator being somewhat loud.The only PCP that I have to personally compare it to is the Marauder. Which the Cayden is in over all length shorter than and in over all weight lighter than the Marauder. Yet the Cayden actually has a longer barrel than. 

It seems to also be the consensus that it is well built...beautiful with the walnut....and a very accurate rifle. Sounds pretty good so far.

If any other's would like to chime in and offer an opinion it would be very much appreciated. Reading and watching reviews does not substitute for the real world experience of owners/users..........Thank you 

 

[ToddGeddes63]

I have had mine for a year now still makes me smile. It does have a bark to it, so if you are concerned about noise then a moderator is a must. It does make the rifle a bit long. I shoot XFT bucket & sticks on my range in the forest walking each lane, and I have had no problem with the weight or length. Pellet wise, for the reactive targets at the 10- 60 yards I shoot.

cphp 14.3 pellet good out to 60 yards in light wind group well -6o yards and cheap! BUT they don't like windy 

jsb 15.89gr pellet good in the wind and at 10- 60 yard distances groups well, my choice for breezy conditions

nsa 17.5gr slugs 10-60 yard accuracy great in the wind. my choice for windy conditions, 

jsb 18.1 pellet good in all distances, good in the wind. 2nd choice for breezy to windy conditions 

nsa 20.1 gr slug great in the wind group well 10-60 yards Just got these I haven't shot much. 

The cayden has been reliable, accurate, and consistent with zero issues, My only complaints are the accessory rail on the bottom, It's plastic and mounts with only one bolt and thus wants to move about. I mounted a bipod to the front swivel stud and called it good. There was not a supplied single shot tray I got a 3d printed one from ebay . the 5 year warranty is a plus, and crosman is good to deal with. I don't have a chrony to give you technical info, just what I have found to shoot accurate and consistent . The shot count is decent for a non regulated gun. The kratos will give more shots if that is an issue. I think for the money , the craftsman line from Benjamin are solid performers and offer different configurations to suit most shooters. 

 

[knothead]

I bought the Akela on the fire sale price and have ZERO regrets. .46 at 50 with a flier on 10.34 pellets, a dimmer at 75 with the 13g knockouts and real promise at 100.

 

[MileHighAirGunner]

No complaints with the two Akela’s I own. Love the Wildcat like stock. I got the .22 when it first came out and then they came out with a .177 earlier this summer so I got one of those as well. At the time i was still able to use the 25% discount so i picked mine up for under $500 which i fell is a good value at that price point. IMO the the Craftsman rifles are an upgrade to the Marauder. I own 3 Marauders in all three calibers and even though I still like them i think the Craftsman guns are put together a little better. Quiet shooting is one of the top reasons why I enjoy shooting air guns and if the Cayden would have been shrouded I might have given it more consideration but I’m just not a fan of the soup can on a stick look you get with a moderator screwed to the end of your barrel. Bottle guns don’t appeal to me either so I passed on the Kratos as well. Such are my first world issues. 

 

[FLgunner]

I have a Cayden in .22 and an Akela in .177. The Cayden shot struck is as flat as any regulated rifle I own, it's really amazing. The only real complaint I have with the Cayden is that it's not backyard friendly, but with the barrel already threaded for an LDC, that is easily remedied! Here's a 5 shot string from the Cayden shooting 15.89 grain JSB's:



The Akela is shooting very hot! `10+ grain pellets all exceed 1000 fps and it has a declining shot string. I have ordered a couple springs from Crosman to experiment with. By clipping a coil or two, I'm hoping to detune it to the point I'll be shooting the 10+ grain pellets at around 900 fps. I also have a regulator coming for it, to hopefully flatten the shot string and increase the shot count. Here is a 5 shot string from the Akela shooting 10.5 grain CPUD's.



Both a very accurate shooting on my backyard 40 yard range, but of the 2, I prefer the Cayden. This is mainly because I didn't do anything to it but add an LDC and adjust the trigger to my liking! I did get the Akela at that crazy good Black Friday deal direct from Crosman, so spending a little extra for some springs and a regulator will hopefully make it a great rifle as well and still be a really good deal!

 

[TMH]

...For the money you are not going to find a nicer PCP...

I totally agree with this statement. One thing which I haven't seen said (maybe I missed it?) is that the Cayden is just such a pleasure to shoot. Reasonable trigger (would be great if more externally adjustable, but won't happen at this price point), smooth shot cycle, accurate. Just always felt really nice in my hands/on the bench for such a reasonably priced gun. Makes your shooting sessions longer since you enjoy the handling so much.

I tested my Cayden directly against some other moderately priced guns. None of those were any more accurate (even though some were more adjustable) nor were as pleasurable to shoot. They felt cheap. The Cayden doesn't.

 

[knothead]

The Cayden has an adjustable trigger you just got to pop it out of the stock and have at it. I got a real nice trigger on my Akela with a little work.

 

[FLgunner]

The Cayden has an adjustable trigger you just got to pop it out of the stock and have at it. I got a real nice trigger on my Akela with a little work.

The trigger on the Cayden can be adjusted without removing the stock. There are only 2 adjustments, one is the position of the trigger shoe, the other is trigger travel, which is adjustable by accessing the grub screw located directly in front of the trigger guard.

The Akela needs the stock removed to adjust the trigger travel because of the trigger linkage.

 

[TiredRooster]

I want to thank every one of you that took a moment to offer your opinions and experiences with the Cayden. It's very much appreciated and was very helpful to me. That is one of the great things about this forum. It has always been a great place to share, to learn, and to just tap into the opinions and experiences of others which can be very helpful in a decision making process. 

Now....one of the bad things about this forum. I stayed away from AGN and all forums for quite a little while. I never stopped shooting or hunting with my air rifles. I just wasn't on the forum. During this period I was perfectly content with all the air rifles that I had. I just enjoyed them and never really thought about a new one. Then.......I get back on here and all that contentment goes right out the window! Thank you AGN!

I bought a new Benjamin Cayden last night. The tracking says that it should be here Wed. or Thursday. I'm pretty excited about it and really looking forward to it's arrival. I'm hoping that I'm lucky and get one with a really beautiful piece of wood.........I'm feeling like a kid at Christmas right now!!

Thanks you guys!

TR

 

[RWSx3]

Good luck with your new Cayden. Hoping to read of more favorable results, as those of us that responded have had with our rifles.

 

[pnwairgunner]

Congratulations on going ahead and buying one. Anticipating what the stock is going to look like when it arrives is pretty entertaining all in itself! Post some pics of your new Cayden when you get it in your hands. I love seeing people’s different stocks.