I purchased a used trail NP. I have learned about the NP XL and the NP2, so i am sure it is the first trail NP. I was interested in replacing the stock as i’m not much a fan of the thumbhole. I also was interested in upgrading the trigger. Since the gun is so old, i got to thinking if it was even worth upgrading, or if I should just buy a new gun. I just want a decent shooting and reliable .22 air rifle. So i’m just wondering if the quality and performance of this rifle has stood the test of time, or if most modern air rifles will be superior. Looking forward to hearing any thoughts.
Benjamin Original trail NP - still good?
- Thread starter JTV
- Start date
JTV,
Welcome to the forum, glad you've joined. Second "adult" airgun was a 2018 Benjamin Trail NP XL .22. Bought from neighbor for $25, not bad since he'd paid $250 a year earlier. He hated it, too heavy, hard to cock, terrible trigger and no accuracy, was planning to trash. After good barrel cleaning, learning "artillery hold," finding preferred pellet, and a Crosman trigger modification, I've a fairly decent 25-yard shooter. Have taken raccoon, crows and armadillos all body shots under 20 yards. General feedback from forum tends to go along with my assessment but some feel just like my neighbor. Search "Crosman trigger modification," on YouTube, inexpensive repair for dramatic improvement, if you're handy. Start with JSB 18.13 grain pellets and research "artillery hold." Hold off on major investments until you determine if this gun will be a good fit for you. Best of Luck, WM
Welcome to the forum, glad you've joined. Second "adult" airgun was a 2018 Benjamin Trail NP XL .22. Bought from neighbor for $25, not bad since he'd paid $250 a year earlier. He hated it, too heavy, hard to cock, terrible trigger and no accuracy, was planning to trash. After good barrel cleaning, learning "artillery hold," finding preferred pellet, and a Crosman trigger modification, I've a fairly decent 25-yard shooter. Have taken raccoon, crows and armadillos all body shots under 20 yards. General feedback from forum tends to go along with my assessment but some feel just like my neighbor. Search "Crosman trigger modification," on YouTube, inexpensive repair for dramatic improvement, if you're handy. Start with JSB 18.13 grain pellets and research "artillery hold." Hold off on major investments until you determine if this gun will be a good fit for you. Best of Luck, WM
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Here's a group from last week, 22 yards, JSB 18.13 grain, Exact Jumbo Heavies. My XL is a higher-powered version of the Benjamin Trail NP platform, so a heavier pellet does best, yours might do better with lighter 
pellets. WM
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Nothing wrong with the original Benjamin Trail. The Trail XL has a 29mm piston and longer stroke. The NP2 and NP Elite guns have a 29mm piston and similar stroke to the original, which has a 25mm piston. Although it doesn't make the power, often it's easier to shoot accurately in comparison to it's bigger siblings and generally you really don't need the extra power the NP2 or XL offer.
Not as many rifle stock options available now as there was five to ten years ago, but maybe Crosman still has some different older stocks available. Any standard NP rifle stock will fit the Trail action. Today there's the Fire/F4, Optimus/Vantage, Prowler and Shockwave to name a few NP rifles still in production that I know one could get stock for, all fitting the Trail.
There are ways to make the trigger better, or get an aftermarket CDT trigger. Usually the OEM trigger will wear in pretty good after several thousands of shots but will never be a match trigger. Other than that, keep the barrel pivot bolt and stock screws tight and you'll have a decent shooter, given you find it's favorite pellet. Eventually the barrel pivot washers will wear down, it's no big deal and nothing to concern yourself over, they're cheap and easy to replace (it'll take a long while, talking years of use). Some have fitted brass or steel pivot washers, but not worth the effort in most cases. I've found with good pellets and technique NP rifles can shoot fairly well for most tasks. If you really want a target gun most likely go to something higher end (or pcp).
I went through many Crosman/Benjamin guns, then Hatsan, Diana clones and a few others. My eyes were opened to what air rifles could really do once I gave in to buying a Diana 460. Several Diana and Weihrauch rifles later I was and still am amazed. Don't get me wrong, Crosman, Gamo, Hatsan and others can potentially shoot very well, but when you get into higher end it's easier to shoot well, consistently. Also keep in mind a cheap airgun shooting good pellets will often perform as well or better than a high end gun shooting cheap pellets. The way things are now, the few extra dollars for a tin of H&N FTT's really is worth it, plus you can buy different head sizes (4.51mm,4.52mm or 5.51mm, 5.53mm, etc.), but Crosman Premier HP's often do well enough too. JSB/Air Arms pellets are getting pricy, but some barrels prefer them...
Anyways, I've given about all I know on the Trail NP. They're truly a great general purpose airgun that need essentially no maintenance and will hold up to hard use if need be. Replacement parts are readily available if ever needed, but often cheapest if ordered directly from Crosman. I truly hope you enjoy the new to you Trail, they're solid rifles.
Not as many rifle stock options available now as there was five to ten years ago, but maybe Crosman still has some different older stocks available. Any standard NP rifle stock will fit the Trail action. Today there's the Fire/F4, Optimus/Vantage, Prowler and Shockwave to name a few NP rifles still in production that I know one could get stock for, all fitting the Trail.
There are ways to make the trigger better, or get an aftermarket CDT trigger. Usually the OEM trigger will wear in pretty good after several thousands of shots but will never be a match trigger. Other than that, keep the barrel pivot bolt and stock screws tight and you'll have a decent shooter, given you find it's favorite pellet. Eventually the barrel pivot washers will wear down, it's no big deal and nothing to concern yourself over, they're cheap and easy to replace (it'll take a long while, talking years of use). Some have fitted brass or steel pivot washers, but not worth the effort in most cases. I've found with good pellets and technique NP rifles can shoot fairly well for most tasks. If you really want a target gun most likely go to something higher end (or pcp).
I went through many Crosman/Benjamin guns, then Hatsan, Diana clones and a few others. My eyes were opened to what air rifles could really do once I gave in to buying a Diana 460. Several Diana and Weihrauch rifles later I was and still am amazed. Don't get me wrong, Crosman, Gamo, Hatsan and others can potentially shoot very well, but when you get into higher end it's easier to shoot well, consistently. Also keep in mind a cheap airgun shooting good pellets will often perform as well or better than a high end gun shooting cheap pellets. The way things are now, the few extra dollars for a tin of H&N FTT's really is worth it, plus you can buy different head sizes (4.51mm,4.52mm or 5.51mm, 5.53mm, etc.), but Crosman Premier HP's often do well enough too. JSB/Air Arms pellets are getting pricy, but some barrels prefer them...
Anyways, I've given about all I know on the Trail NP. They're truly a great general purpose airgun that need essentially no maintenance and will hold up to hard use if need be. Replacement parts are readily available if ever needed, but often cheapest if ordered directly from Crosman. I truly hope you enjoy the new to you Trail, they're solid rifles.
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Been debating upgrading my trusty 2004 Crosman 760 to rifled barrel when determined a trip to Walmart, for a Crosman F4, was a better bet. An armadillo's arrival and subsequent tearing up of the lawn caused me to re-think the .177 program, so headed to neighbor's house for advice. After relating my dilemma, John pulled box from top of garage refrigerator and said, "Here, you can have this, can't stand it." I'd helped him out from time to time but offered $25, he said, "OK, if it makes you feel better, but gun was headed to town dump." WM
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i have the np cocking is rough, cant get a reasonable shot group getting ready to replace scope that came with it to see if it helps, And it's heavy. Compared to gamo wildcat whisper which has better trigger, still using junk gamo scope that came with it and it works, lighter better for carrying in field, shooting great compared to NP. Tin can of premiers were ok but JSB diablo match seems better in both, Considering I paid double for the Np over the gamo I'm a little let down.
I should say that I havn't shot NP much to many fliers to even try finding the best pellet. But I think that is more about the packaged cp scope.
I should say that I havn't shot NP much to many fliers to even try finding the best pellet. But I think that is more about the packaged cp scope.
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This came out longer than expected, lots of general ramblings, sorry. Not exactly specific to one person... But could help. Some of it is known to many, some might be unknown to new comers and some folks might disagree with what's said. They can correct me if they wish, good and/or better knowledge is better than ramblings from myself, Lol.
If the cocking cycle is rough, your gun could probably use some lube. Don't put anything into the transfer port, that is unless you like changing piston seals (there's only one instance I'll recommend a drop or two of pure silicon oil, but it's a lazy fix and will detonate). Usually it's the rear/top of the piston skirt dragging/galling against the compression tube causing a rough cocking stroke in NP guns. Best thing to do is take the gun down, degrease and relube with quality lubes. You will need a spring compressor.
I don't recall if you can easily lube through the cocking slot or not on the NP guns, but worth a try if not willing to take the gun completely down. You'll have to pull the action from the stock, it's recommended to use a little bit of high moly (60% or better) grease, but honestly you can get away with cheap synthetic grease "with moly" (...inexpensive airgun stuff, don't roast me, Lol). Just know the pricier stuff costs more for a reason, but the cheap stuff will work to at least smooth things out. The less you use the better, too much will make the gun temp sensitive and off-gassing of the grease may lead to a shorter piston seal life/more dieseling/smoke (not detonation). Just a quarter to maybe half pea size dab of grease is all you really need if you can apply to the chamber wall behind piston skirt, through the slot located on the underside of the action (probably it's too much, but applying through the slot is tricky vs taking the gun down). Alternatively you may still be able to find RWS chamber lube or Tune in a tube, but they're pricey for what they are. There is an alternative to tune in a tube, but forget what it's called. Since NP guns don't have spring vibrations you need very little grease, you're just lubing the chamber wall/piston skirt, not dampening a spring. For a grease syringe idea that's potentially free, pharmacy's usually give out little plastic measuring syringes for children's medicine, I have not tested these out but thought of this when seeing them. Otherwise find a thin applicator of sorts. I found high content moly Loctite anti-seize paste cheap, which I have used before... Just not in NP guns. After lubing, the gun will smooth out after some shooting, this will spread around whatever lubes chosen. Oh, while the gun is out of the action, snug up the pivot bolt, not super tight just ensure it's snug "enough". Some have different views as to how tight is too tight, but generally just snug enough to hold the barrel in place/up (not latched) after cocking is acceptable, while others say to have the barrel "just fall" after cocking... Test and do as you please, but don't cock the gun out of the stock.
One thing about pellet testing, especially after shooting Crosman pellets... Clean the bore really well. They're so hard that after they season the bore, other "softer" pellets (JSB or even H&N) just can't get a good seasoning for hundreds and hundreds of shots, especially if one hasn't gone through the lengths of bore polishing. Some might feel this is speculation, but my experience has been otherwise. It won't reduce fliers so much as you'll find generally better groupings. Also, after bore cleaning it may take up to 50 or even 75 shots to fully season a bore and realize a pellets full potential. At least give it 30 shots after cleaning when testing various pellets. If all accuracy goes away after cleaning don't fret, just shoot more. As for actual barrel cleaning, there are many suggestions that come up. Everyone has their own recommendations/methods and supplies they prefer. You can get away with weed-eater line, cotton patches and solvent/lubes of choice. I generally just use Ballistol, but have used Hoppes, Remoil and etc...
Lastly, some guns have inconsistent barrels and just will never shoot well. You might get away with polishing out tight spots, barrel crowning or even barrel chopping to fix accuracy woes. I've encountered three Crosman/Benjamin break barrels with plain bad barrels, but I've had many examples.
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. If you have better advice please share, I'm no pro. Take care and shoot safe.
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thx for info. ill look at finding instructions on taking down and lubing. I was hoping it would break in. The worst part is initial break so that sounds like maybe pivot bolt to tight if I read your info correctly.
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Break barrels all go through a break-in process, none should feel rough/gritty when cocking and regards to pivot bolts I'm not truly sure what the correct tightness should be (generally speaking). For example, I have an HW95 that when new it wasn't as accurate as most folks claimed. So I just shot it open sights, a lot. Didn't notice excessive tightness in the pivot bolt, and I periodically checked the stock screws, ensuring they were tight. One day, about three pellet tins later I noticed accuracy was fantastic with open sights, scoped it and it really improved. People more knowledgeable than myself said it sounded like the pivot bolt was initially too tight and washers/tube forks all had to wear in. On contrast, I had a Crosman Shockwave NP (same action as Trail NP) that only shot ok. I tightened up the pivot bolt some and immediately saw improvement in grouping. Best advice I have is try different tensions and see what works best. When you find the best tension for your gun, use a thread locker to keep that tension on the pivot bolt. Some like to use Vibra-tite as you can adjust it after applied/cured to bolts or screws (... I've heard of folks also trying liquid electric tape, never tried personally).
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Does anyone know if the replacement trigger from Charlie is still available (his website is looking pretty dated.
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Yes Vibra-tite VC3 is the best threadlocker I've tried. I've tried every threadlocker I could get my hands on. VC3 is the best imo. I prefer to buy several of the little squeeze tubes at a time rather than the glass jar with applicator. The whole jar tends to cure before you use it all. So, with cheap little squeeze tubes, if an opened squeeze tube cures before you use it all you're just out one tube and a couple dollars.
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