Resurrecting this thread only because I received a Benjamin Summit as a swap-out for a defective Hatsan from MidwayUSA about a week ago.
The Summit fills the NP2 spot on my springer roster, beside two NP rifles. The synthetic Monte Carlo stock of the Summit, though hollow through the butt and cheek riser, feels very good in the hands. The cheek riser is just about perfect for me and puts my eye in line with the scope sight line without the need to wiggle my head or cock my neck in any way. The pistol grip has a very steep angle, which I like, placing the trigger finger easily within the trigger guard. The safety is a smaller, secondary trigger blade within the guard but, unlike the safeties on the Trail NP, Titan NP, and other Gen 1 nitro piston guns, is curved toward the barrel so that it does not lie up against the main trigger when in safe. The Summit's safety instead curves away from the trigger blade and gives plenty of room for the fingertip to work the safety blade without digging into the soft flesh under the nail. I like this a great deal since the NP safeties are a bit harder to take off safe and can be tough on the finger tip after a long session of shooting.
Although hollow, the stock does not produce an overwhelming noise when the gun fires, instead giving off a gentle "chthunk" sound. Think of an arrow hitting a solid piece of pine, only with a lisp. Sort of. You'll understand if you've shot an NP2 with full barrel shrouding. That sound is heard exclusively by the shooter with almost no mechanical or shot-induced sound radiating to your surroundings. This is far and away the most backyard friendly airgun I have used, quieter than the Benjamin 392 pumper or even the Crosman 1377 I used in years past. Of course I've only traded shooting issues; now I have to account for the much greater power of the Summit in setting up my targets instead of obsessing over how much noise my shooting is causing. The claims regarding the reduced cocking effort, noise generation, and shot cycle vibration in the NP2 system, along with the increased power and resulting increase in accuracy beyond 30-40 yards, have all been confirmed in my experience.
The savings in weight from the hollow rear stock is welcome since the very easy and smooth cocking and shooting cycle of the gun will have you wanting to keep shooting for extended periods. Though I'm not a hunter, I imagine the weight savings are also appreciated by anyone lugging the gun around on a squirrel hunt, pesting duty, or even out for possum and raccoon. As it happens, I am an avid plinker and target-shooter so the weight savings is welcome. One of the key features of the Summit that had me choose this gun in my swap is the included Picatinny rail. Although the scope bundled with my particular rifle was very low quality, that Picatinny rail is a rock-solid mount for the Mantis 3-9x32 scope I have mounted on the gun. With the improved optic on the gun I am now consistently shooting within a 3" target zone at 50 yards; I intend to whittle that down by at least an inch this Summer with practice and a better shooting set-up.
The Summit has not been pellet fussy so far, shooting a variety of pellets (.22) with aplomb. I've used pellets from the 14.3 gr CPHPs up to the Gamo TS-22s and JSB Diabolo Heavys at around 18 gr. In between have come Gamo 15.xx Wadcutter Match and JSB Field Target Trophy pellets. All have shot well enough to satisfy my needs. I have settled on the CPHPs as my pellet of choice since they are inexpensive and plentiful here in the States and do not seem to thwart my accuracy aspirations so far.
All in all the Summit is my go-to gun for just about any situation. I'll keep my Benji Titan because I love the beautiful wood thumb-hole stock and because it is a sweet shooter in its own right. My Crosman Fire NP is also a keeper, being my only .177 rifle and having proved itself a tack-driver to boot. But when I get home at the end of the day, or roll out of bed on a Saturday with some free time ahead of me, it's the Summit to which my mind first turns. Very glad to have added it to my small family of gas springers!
