Benjamin NP All weather

I've done some mods (adjustments?) to mine (i have the .22) and have cycled near 500-600 rounds thru it and I'm still having mixed results with accuracy. but...I'm also finding that this rifle is VERY hold sensitive; mostly, IMO, due to the lack of weight towards the muzzle...perhaps it's like other rifles that do not 'break in' until 1000 or more rounds?

i machined bushings to install in the forend so as to be able to crank down of the mounting screws as i found they shook loose after about 10 rounds and would not stay tight.

i had to loc-tite blue the threaded end of the barrel pivot as it continuously worked loose. i also notched the stock at the pivot bolt screw head in order to tighten it without removing it from the stock.

i had to bevel the chamber as it was so sharp it impeded pellet insertion. (i also re-crowned the muzzle)

now...i have five different pellets I'm trying and I'm finding it seems to prefer heavier pellets (especially at longer ranges) it does NOT lack in power/FPE!

oh, and yes, i did replace the trigger blade with an aftermarket replacement...(makes a marked difference, too)

have i missed anything?

I think you listed everything BUT the pellets your are shooting out of it and the pressures you engauge the shots.

First, sorry I didn't see this post earlier. I don't know how it got by me: If no one answers, I will at least give it a shot even if I think you really do know more than me.

But the thing is, I have had some major problems with accuracy in several air rifles and have over come them. It's more of a question with me of what NOT to do since that is how I learned; by trial and error.

Why don't you list the pellets and the pressures and the chrony results? I know you've got to have one doing all that magic to an air gun that you posted. This would be a big help for me to look at your situation and see if I can add to something you could at least disqualify as a problem set.

Who knows? I might even get lucky and come up with a solution!

Give us a bit more?

right now I'm finding that the Beeman Silver Arrow, Beeman Crow-Magnum and RWS Superdomes are the top performers; they all seem to be very accurate with the Crow-Magnums having a slight edge over the other two. i've also tried the Crosman Premier, hunting, hollow points and Benjamin Domes and found them to be fairly accurate but they're on the lighter side and my preferences lie with heavier projectiles when and where practical.

i have JSB's, Jumbo, heavies, on order to try.

i haven't chroned as of yet.

the NP, as far as i know, is not pressure adjustable.

I'm finding the Crow-Magnums tend to be the most accurate at looooooong range...(so far, out to 65 yards and i have made farther shots with a great degree of accuracy, but not in numbers to say with certainty, that they are consistently accurate at those ranges.) and, they are by far the heaviest weighing in at 18.0 grains. (The same weight as the Jumbo, Heavy, JSB's i have on order.)

I'm finding that, even with blue loc-tite on the threaded end, the barrel pivot must be monitored with vigilance, as it DOES work loose from the recoil. the forward mounts don't seem to be as susceptible once tightened in place with metal bushings installed.

the scope and it's mounts and mounting system seem to be very secure in that I've not experienced any scope movement once i secured it on the weaver/picatinny...i did NOT lap the rings...yet; i think the four-point securing system for the clamps does add a great deal to the security. I'd like to see a way to use 'iron' sights with it, but, the barrel shroud is not very adaptable...

insofar as installing a 'brake' on it...I'd not thought about it. it would take special machining that i'm not equipped with. is there a current system available for it?

update:

the Benjamin NP is breaking in quite nicely and is proving to be quite accurate at longer ranges with the correct pellet.

as i stated above the Beeman Crow-Magnums and Beeman Silver Arrows are proving to be the most accurate. i have the JSB's now but haven't taken the time to test them yet.

this rifle does NOT lack in "power". at 24 yards, it took a med sized rabbit completely off its feet, killing it instantly. the impact was quite audible and the wound was very impressive. it produced a good sized exit wound (slightly smaller than the size of a dime)

thanks for the offer Neil; i may contact you about it. although...I'd hate to give up the "shrouded" affect if you know what i mean...

i have read of accuracy problems with the NP Trail on another forum.

it seems that the recoil is a 'scope breaker' (at least this one instance) and the owner has installed open sights on it. (an interesting combination of an A2 carry handle and a front sight i could not ID.) says it seems to have eliminated the accuracy problem.

I'm finding that the pivot bolt is the largest problem in my particular case; it needs re-tightening after about 50 shots; and i have applied locktite blue to the threaded end of the pivot bolt.

once i re-tighten it, the POI has shifted.

grrrrrrrrr...back to the drawing board....

not a lot of progress on this rifle right now...

i'm still in the process of selecting the best pellet(s)...lotsa issues have arisen since my last post.

i have not looked closely at the np trail, but, if blue locktite isn't working try red locktite. if that doesn't work, try " pinning " the bolt. what i'm talking about is once you have the pivot bolt tightened down and locktited, take a center punch and where the threads come through the opposite side "pin " the exposed threads by placing the punch in the groove between the bolt and nut and give it a whack. that will lock the threads together and should keep the bolt from backing out. ( you will still be able to remove the bolt if necessary ).

have you tried replacing the pivot bolt washers? usually they are nylon or some synthetic. try switching over to brass or some other metal. my son has a b18 that a carbinized for him that had that same problem with the bolt coming loose often. i ground some brass washers to fit, then polished and molyed them. then i blue loctited the bolt in and it han't come loose in the 4+ years he's been shooting it. i think the plastic washers "give" too much, especially when cocking the gun in strange position, like when hunting and you are crouched and get anything but a straight pull on the barrel and it puts side play in the breech block, causing poi shift. if thats the case it's an easy fix. hope you get it fixed

who in their right mind would put nylon washers on a pressure point, like a pivot bolt? that would seem counterproductive, to my mind.

yep, but as foolhardy as it is, some do it, also seen sheet metal washers that were so thin that they did nothing to help side play, which may be the case in the trail( i don't own one) but the washers are a good place to start looking when the stringing is horizontal. for vertical the barrel lock, if it's chisel detent style can benefit from a stronger spring or the shimming of the factory spring.i had a winchester 800x that i actually had to fab a whole new chisel for, the original was machined to short.

wonder who got the bonehead of the year award for that one.

would hard brass washers be a good idea? i would think they would be a good substitute. they'd be sacrificial, but, wouldn't wear on the machined surfaces like steel would. just a thought.