Benjamin Trail NP

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Gene93

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Jan 2, 2016
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Yellow Beach
Hello, guys,
I am thinking of buying a new Benjamin Trail NP (not the XL version), but I'd like to see what the more experienced shooters think. I am by no means an expert. I like the nice wooden stock, the barrel, the weaver rail, the Centerpoint scope seems to be decent too. Not the best, but okay-ish. The trigger, however, is horrible, but I will buy a replacement as soon as I can. The recoil is pretty harsh and I assume that I will have a really hard time getting it to group nicely. That could be challenging, but I think that everything will fall into place with practice. Like everything else. I was thinking of buying a Hatsan 125 Sniper, but I am not in the USA. The quality of most Hatsan rifles in my corner of the world is rather poor. That's why I think that the Benjamin Trail could be the lesser evil. 

Thank you for your consideration, guys. I look forward to reading your comments.
Have a lovely weekend.
 
I have the 1500xl and like the way it shoots. You might want to pick up something that weighs around nine pounds and hold it as steady as you can at arms length. That will tell you alot if you are planning on shooting it freehand.
Accuracy is a relative term in my book. I shoot it mainly from a benchrest. Remember you are shooting a $300 gun vs. a $1900 Daystate or something. Don't expect dime sized hole pattern at 45 yds or greater.
Definitely replace the trigger. 

Just my 2 pennies worth.
 
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Where you are: can you expect good customer service (either from the seller, or Crosman themselves)? I have two NP rifles, both in .177. Both needed work to be the fairly smooth shooters they are now (one actually took a LOT of work), but over all I find them to be worth the money. I also own two .22 barrels, purchased after the fact to convert one of the .177s. BOTH .22 BARRELS ARE GARBAGE. both needed the breech face re profiled, and the crown redone, and neither barrel will group as the bores are bad. I've seen a lot of others complain regarding accuracy with these guns. With some I'm certain that it's operator error, but others are experienced, and had to send the guns back. I guess my point is: IF you get a "bad one," will you have any recourse to get warranty service? If so, I say go for it.
 
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I just sold a trail NP for 100 bucks with a tuna trigger on it I hated it so much. The Tuna trigger was great. The only way I could make it shoot was to mount a laser straight to the barrel. The gun shot where the laser was pointed and I would adjust the scope to the laser and every time I cocked the gun the scope was off from the laser. Went through a number of scopes and guns. I never got one to shoot right. That's when I switched to PCP. I would look for a used one before buying new if you are going to get one.
 
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NPs are good power plants, I have a Benjamin Varmint .22 NP plenty of power. The Issue I'm Having is finding rounds that have large enough head that they actually make contact with the rifling. I spent 14 yrs in the Army have shoot every thing from M16A2 to 50 Cal and each have the unique why they like to be shot. Most of My M16 like to be held tight to the shoulder while the 50 cal preferred the artillery hold. Air rifles no different. My Ruger Blackhawk elite .17 likes the Artillery hold while My .22 likes to be held like a M16 tight to the body. its just trial and error.
 
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I like my NP. It shoots fairly well and gives good power to boot. I would recommend this gun, I've put over 1,000 pellets through it no problem. It used to shoot lousy but my recommendation is this. Just shoot for fun at close range the first few hundred pellets. Don't even invest a whole lot of time trying to sight the scope in. Then clean it after 200-500 pellets at which point it will be broken in. Then shoot it a few dozen times to foul the bore, then sight it in.

At this point while I claim to be no expert but using a combination of artillery hold and shooting bench, or should I say "backyard deck fence artillery hold" off my wrist of forearm plus or minus the standard artillery hold shooting prone, I can hit soda water cans with it at 20-30 yards and stack pellets or hit keyboard keys with my 22 at 10-20 yards. At least 50% of the time I can hit empty upright shotgun shells at 30-35 yards, I can still hit cans at 40-50 yards most of the time, after that I cannot hit much of anything. FYI my abilities as a shooter are slightly beginner intermediate, say 4-5/10, not awesome, but I can mostly hold my own. I can outshoot most people who say they shoot, but I cannot outshoot any real regular, well practiced shooters.

It takes a bit of practice to use this airgun but if you don't want to blow the kind of money that PCP requires or live near a scuba shop, this can be a neat target plus pest control plus small game gun that is quiet and backyard, neighbor friendly that can outshoot a fair number of shooters if you know how.

Just my experience, YMMV.
 
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I started a thread on my Crosman Nitro Venom, I think its the same rifle in different clothes.. If I had paid any more than the $110 for my Crosman Nitro venom I would have been highly dissapointed. From my research the Nitro Venom is the same rifle, and it so far has been kinda inconsistent. if you are considering that Benji, mine as well save yourself the dough and get the Venom. I am working on mine, and will report back my findings once I get the new JSB pellets a try. It hates the Crosman Hollow Points and Pirahnas so far.

Check my thread I started a few days ago. It may help you. Others with more knowledge may confirm if I am correct in thinking these are the same or very similar.
 
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I have an XL1100. Aside from the well known problems with the trigger, it seemed to be well made. But it grouped like a shotgun.

The shroud is retained by a cap threaded onto the end of the barrel. I removed that cap and found the threads to be severely damaged, maybe cross-threaded. Metal shavings were getting into the bore, and the cap may have been cockeyed enough to cause pellets to clip. With the shroud removed, suddenly it's shooting reasonably well.

From what I've read, these kinds of quality control issues are common with Crosman and Benjamin guns. They're probably a good deal if you're willing to risk the hassle of warranty service.
 
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