Page 9 - Benjamin Trail NP XL Reviews

I honesty like the weight, because it feels like it has a kick to it. It definitely shocks and rocks my Iscope Iphone recordings. This is what air rifles should be: accurate, dependable and powerful. Mine is the 1500 model, which is the .177.

More power, less noise. More power so I can shoot those heavier pellets closer to the max subsonic velocity.

This thing seems to shoot past the speed of sound shooting standard grain pellets. My NP XL 1500, as of now, seems to shoot the H&N Baracuda Hunter (10.34 grain) best, which is nice. Very accurate, and well, you know it has power. This is a long range delight.

I purchased this rifle in .22 cal a few months ago after previously purchasing a Benjamin Trail NP .22cal synthetic stock. I had to return the first NP XL 1100 right after I received it because of the poor machining fit between the barrel and the compression tube assembly (the barrel had a severely noticeable droop that was so bad the scope ran out of adjustment before it would zero). Pyramyd was great about sending me a replacement in a few days. I have been quite pleased with the replacement.I do wish that Benjamin (Crosman) would also offer the Trail NP XL series rifles in synthetic stock. The wood stock does have some imperfections, but over all it is o.k. I did give it a good application of wax to bring out the finish. You will have to spend some time cleaning the barrel before you shoot it (both rifle bores were filthy upon arrival), but I would clean any rifle before shooting it. The trigger on the Trail NP XL wasn't as bad as the Trail NP, but after shooting it for a while I went ahead and replaced it with a Charlie DaTuna trigger. It was worth the investment on both rifles. Both are sensitive to what pellets you shoot. I have found H&N Baracuda Green alloy pellets work the best in both rifles. I am able to hold a 1/2" to 3/4" grouping at 20 yards. I would also recommend using a VERY light application of gun grease to portions of the bear trap lever, and trigger assembly (you will find that this definitely makes a difference with trigger performance.

The factory triggers are the only problem that I see with either of my rifles. This seems to be the biggest complaint from people who own these rifles. I don't know why Crosman doesn't improve the trigger performance--the only guess I have as to why they don't would be for insurance reasons, as increasing the sensitivity could possibly lead to an inexperienced shooter having an accident. To truly enjoy this rifle go ahead and purchase the aftermarket trigger I promise you that you won't regret it. My only other complaint is that these rifles are made in China. The machining and wood quality isn't as good as they could be, and I would gladly pay another $50 if it was made in the U.S.

This gun is a beast,love the way it feels.it is a bit heavy but very comfortable.this gun is not a toy.And I was very pleased at the noise level of this gun,not at all loud...

Nothing...This is a great shooting rifle.After the break in I am sure the group well shrink,not that they were bad.

I shot 2 kinds of Crossman pellets the gun really likes 1 better then the other.I ordered some more today.I have no negative feed back as of yet..

The accuracy, after some work, is outstanding for a springer gun. Yes I consider this a springer. Gas piston, spring, the principle is exactly the same. I am getting 1.25" at 50 yards using Crosman Premier Ultra Magnum 10.5 gr .177 pellets. Noise level, again with some work, is very quiet.

I would gladly pay $100 more for the barrel to be polished and the barrel shroud to be clean on the inside of oils. Installing a CharlieDaTuna trigger was also a huge improvement. These three issues were the problems I had to work through to get to where I'm at now.

Outa the box, it's a good looking gun. A bit heavy, but all magnum springer's are heavy. The cocking action was smooth, but not for the faint of heart. It takes some serious arm strength for an extended shooting secession. Accuracy was horrible. I read several blogs, emailed Benjamin and the consensus was I needed to put 200 to 300 pellets through the gun for the accuracy to settle in and the dieseling to subside. Well they are all wrong. Here's what it takes. 1st, but a good quality non embedding barrel polish. I used a bronze brush, dipped into the polishing paste and proceeded to do 20 strokes from the breech to the muzzle. When done, completely cleaned the barrel. I repeated this from the muzzle to the breach and thoroughly cleaned the bore again. Afterwards I disassembled the barrel shroud and cleaned the tube and the muzzle end with acetone. Take care not to get acetone on the o-rings. It will swell them and render them unusable. Acetone leaves NO residue, therefor no dieseling... Next I installed a CharlieDaTuna, GRT III trigger. This is a truly awesome trigger and is what this gun should come with from Benjamin. I have less than 75 pellets down range and haven't even done accuracy testing with the sample packs I purchased from Pyramyd Air. I can't wait to see what that reveals. Over all Very satisfied with the gun now. That's why it got 5's. If I had done this a month ago, it would have gotten 1's and been returned... Moral of the story, stick with it if it's not what

Very accurate & quiet rifle using Predator Polymag pellets. Groupings at 20 yards half the size of a dime. Very happy with the accuracy of the pellet rifle.

Trigger system needs to be fine tuned for a smoother trigger pull. Rifle is also heavy, but may contribute to it's accuracy.

Between my Gamo Bone Collector Bull Whisper and my Benjamin for hunting accuracy, Benjamin all the way!

very hard hitting, use for small game hunting

nothing

mine shoots a consistant 910fps with Crossman hollowpoints

I have had this rifle for about a week now and have taken 4 squirrels all 1 shot kills from about 40 yards. This is a great gun. Very good accuracy after the break in and scope really isnt bad. I would deffinatly buy again.

Trigger

The craftsmanship and quality of this rifle are remarkable. It is very powerful and accurate. The scope is a terrific addition, but necessary because there are no iron sights. It is fairly accurate straight out of the box. I was "on paper" at 50 yards with the first rounds.

The trigger takes some getting used to. There is quite a bit of uptake, then even more pull before the break to fire. I'd like a better trigger, but maybe after break-in that will be better. It feels like a 7-9lb pull after a long uptake, but I haven't actually measured it. That's just a "felt" comparison to my 4 lb AR triggers and my competition 2 lb Glock trigger.

Buy from these guys! Seriously. I meant to order a .22cal and ordered a .177 online by mistake. These people acted like it was no big deal, gave me an RMA and sent me the new .22cal - and they paid shipping. Great company! I'll be a repeat customer!

well just received my 1100 xl. overall nice no scratches or blemishes, the stain could be a bit darker but that's easy fix. not near the junk in the barrel that people have had but still cleaned itbefore shooting. I put 10 pellets through before mounting scope. it has a bit of ecoil but not what I was expecting from the other reviews. its heavy but I like the stability. not as loud as I thought again from reviews. put scope on tightened it up and first shot was left (at 45 feet) 2 small adjustments and 2 shots later the thing is dead nuts on at 45 feet. im not after a true zero yet but impressive for only having 60 shots through it. the last 20 all I did was lean on a towel on the hood of my truck and shot at and old piece of wood trim, and 19 of 20 could be covered by a quarter. blew a hole clean through. and this is with a 250 count 4.99 tin of Crossman domes for break in. cant wait to get it broken in and se what it can do. The penetration is outstanding, pests beware. ok now for the negative the trigger SUCKS big feels like a 6 inch pull need to get da tuna trigger. but for what it is the accuracy and power are excellent. the trigger is only reason for a 4 overall. once changed will go to 5 star.

right now not much but we will see as I proceed with the break in period.

It is heavy,but as I said I like the stability. not as loud as people make it sound. it may be difficult for some to cock, not to bad but im 6 1 200. if you uase good technique its not bad.

Great looking gun, for me it shoots very accurate considering I'm not the best shooter. Pyramyd is great to do business with also.

Nothing

Solid feel, thumb grip stock.

Better trigger. Pull is quite long and heavy.

Price for power in .25!!!!

Add open sights!

Quality of build is great. Trigger doesn't feel bad. I figure it is breaking in but even using baracuda pellets I can't tell shroud is really doing anything as it is loud, hopefully it will quiet down as it breaks in.Clean barrel! as it comes really dirty from factory.

Power. In .25 cal it has power in spades. For hunting small game it give excellent results. Also, quiet enough for plinking in your back yard (though I would not recommend it seeing that with JSB exacts it rips though fence post like paper at 20 yards).

1) Weight. The thing is a tank. Has attachments for a sling but does not come with sling. Should definitely fix that. 2) Packaged Scope. It comes off sight way to easily. About every 50 or so rounds needs to be rezeroed. after 400 rounds of doing this I mounted a after market scope.

A few things: 1) Be very patient during the break in process be very patient. It took almost 200 rounds before I was getting consistent groups and FPS. 2) Watch for the head size of the pellets you buy. I tried a few different ones and some of the pellets heads were to small and did not allow for accurate groups. I found the JSB Diablo Match Exacts and now it shoots inch groups at 30 yards. 3) Don't expect PCP accuracy from this gun. It is still a break barrel. It is more than acceptable for hunting out to about 40ish yards.

The power. The looks. The thumbhole. Very hard hitting in .22. Hits with such authority; the flip up resettable targets often get knocked down when it hits a different swinging target.

The trigger; it's not horrible-but it could use some tuning. The breakbarrel gives one a workout. Benjamin should include the slings and a spare barrel seal.

While some say the artillery hold works better; it did not for me. I get better results from pulling the rifle into my shoulder, and holding the foregrip firmly supported. The Predator hunting rounds work very well in this gun.

I liked the cost and accurcy

Plastic end piece

Cost to accuracy makes this a top choice for anyone considering to purchase a mid priced tack driver.My 11 year old daughter can shoot dime groups at 50 yds! The .25 cal is absolutely awesome,wished id have bought it sooner.Shoots dang near as good as my RWS 460.

Excellent accuracy. VERY hard hitting.

A bit heavily barrel-weighted. Trigger could be better but is adjustable enough that it's not a problem, at least for me. The original scope was okay, but I replaced mine with a BSA Essential 3X12X44.

I've put more than 1000 round through this rifle now and I continue to be impressed with its power and accuracy. It take some getting used to and requires an artillery hold to get the most from it, but this gun will really "reach out and touch" your target with authority, even at ranges far exceeding 560 yards.

Weight, checkered stock, quiet and the stocks grip is easy to get used too. The power is unreal.

Um IDK, trigger needs a good polishing. For anyone who is either disabled or below average strength beware the cocking effort will be a strain for them. My small 13 yr son can do it but just barley and not very conventional in the way he does it, infact it pains me to see him struggling pushing down on the barrel with the guns butt on the ground. All in all I knew what I was getting and am happy. It is not a toy that's for sure.

Clean the barrel, lots of factory grease. The crossman premier domes work very well in my gun. JSB 15.89 grains aswell. Being a gas ram piston you can use just about any weight pellet safely.

Outstanding air rifle. It delivers a pellet with the power of a brick through a plate glass window! Also very accurate. An excellent plinking and hunting air gun. NOT for the kiddies, though because of its weight and size. I call my gun "The beast."

Make it a little lighter? A sling is a must for a long day's carry. The trigger isn't the best, either, but it is adjustable.

You can't go wrong with this one. The scope could be a little better (I upgraded to a BSA Essential 3X12X44.) Short of a PCP, this is one powerhouse of an air gun.

Almost everything. I'm not completely finished with the break-in, but it is showing potential to be a nice "tack-driver" using Crosman Premier 7.9g Dome pellets. I have others to try up into the 10's and also have some more pellets ordered through Pyramyd's Buy 4 Pay for 3 program. I set my targets at 10 meter intervals from 10m to 50m and find that the 10m zero is a dime, and I haven't quite found my second zero yet, but think it's in the 25-30 meter range. The C+P 3-9x40 AO scope is pretty good. I even like the "Buckskin" hardwood stock, though I may put a couple of coats of Tru-Oil on it to toughen up the finish a bit.

The only thing I would have changed, I did, and that is the trigger. I installed a GRT III "Charlie-da-Tuna" trigger blade which really improves my accuracy and comfort. Of course I saved all the OEM parts in case I need them. :o)

If you want a plinker, this isn't the rifle for you!!! With a 48 pound Cocking Effort, you'll strengthen your front arm [being right handed that's my left arm], or wear it out, but if you want a small game and varminter rifle, you can't do much better than this for around $300.

Machining of components and overall quality seems good. I have taken 11 rabbits so far with this rifle, all at over 20 yards. I have taken a rabbit down with one shot at 50 yards. It will put a pellet through a car fender. Power is not a problem!

I am on my second scope failure in under 500 rounds!! The first was covered by warranty with no questions, we will see what happens now that the warranty has expired.

This rifle is long and heavy!! Accuracy with lightweight pellets is terrible. The guys at Pyramyd set me up with some 10.34 g. JSB Match Diablo's and cured that problem. I am new to break barrel type air rifles and found it frustrating at first. Try one before you buy one!