Benjamin 392 on Steroids | SouthernPaddler.com

Benjamin 392 on Steroids

gbinga

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2008
736
2
Hoschton, GA
Anyone heard of this outfit?

http://www.mac1airgun.com/steriodags.html

They modify Benjamin and Sheridan rifles so that they can take up to fourteen pumps (as opposed to the normal eight) and get the velocity up approaching 900fps in a .22 caliber. They also reinforce the lever mechanism, and give the rifle a trigger job while they are at it.

I just ordered a 392 (the Benjamin in .22 cal) with the Williams peep sight. My tax refund, going to stimulate the economy :D

It'll probably be sometime next week when I get it - will post some pictures, targets, etc when I can.

George
 

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
Friend George,

Tom 'n I know Tim. I wont speak fer Tom, but I have ordered pellets frum him when he haz hiz spring "Whole Lotta Lead" sale. I bought a "drooper" mount which wuz some fine machined airgun mounts that overcome the barrel droop ya git with springers. I dont regret any bizness I done with him. I figger yer gwine ta like that gun. Order a pellet sampler frum Straight Shooters. http://www.straightshooters.com/straigh ... mpler.html

Like any rifle, pellet guns kin be finicky. They will like some pellets, hate others.

Buy a Patchworm. http://20-20.8m.com/ Git the kit with the 12 ga.-.177. I like their barrel-light too. I clean firearms with my kit. Eazy ta clean anythin' frum back ta front so ya dont git juice in the action.

I am skeptikle of 900 fps in .22.

regards
bearridge

Communist regimes were not some unfortunate aberration, some historical deviation from a socialist ideal. They were the ultimate expression, unconstrained by democratic and electoral pressures, of what socialism is all about. ... In short, the state [is] everything and the individual nothing. Margaret Thatcher
 

gbinga

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2008
736
2
Hoschton, GA
bearridge said:
I am skeptikle of 900 fps in .22.


You are correct, Bear. The web site says the .20 caliber will approach 900 fps, so I misspoke.

Digging around at what people have posted on the 'net, it looks like the .22 might go 750fps with a 15gr pellet, which is up near 20 pounds of energy. Heavier pellets yield slower velocities but get the energy up into the mid twenties.

In any case, it ought to be a good complement to my RWS model 36, which is a .177 springer that I've had for years.

George
 

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
Friend George,

That Diana iz a fine springer. I kinda wish I had one, but az Will Rogers sez "I never met a airgun I didnt like"....even tho a heap of 'em iz pure junk these days. I got a RWS 48 (.22) but it iz a booger ta shoot. It aint a good "town gun" anyway. A .20 oughta be a good critter gitter....keep the squirrels down.

Tom sez that Oraclizin' woman who lived somewhere out frum Delphi give it up cuz of all the folks askin' how ta shoot a good group with a springer. It drove her nuts. Some sez it wuz the dope, but that mite jest be talk.

regards
bearridge

Alas, I am dying beyond my means. Oscar Wilde
 

gbinga

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2008
736
2
Hoschton, GA
My rifle came yesterday and I played with it a bit last night in the basement.

The Williams peep sight was easy to zero in, and the rifle is easy to shoot. All I did was some five round groups from sitting position. I'll put it on bags later to sight it in more properly.

The stock looks much better than what I've seen at Wally World and Bass Pro. I almost wonder if they reserve the better wood for independent dealers. The Benjamins I've seen in stores all had cheap looking birch stocks with muddy looking brown finish. This one has nice wood, would pass for walnut.

The rifle seems nicely built, with very little plastic. Front sight, trigger, and trigger guard are all metal.

The trigger is very nice. Smooth, medium light.

Easy to pump at five strokes, not unreasonable at the factory recommended eight. The custom mods allow for fourteen strokes, but I can tell you that ain't for the faint of heart!! I'm 6'0, 190, and active, and pumping this sucker past ten strokes is a grunt!

All in all I'm very pleased. When I get a chance to shoot it a little off sandbags at a measured distance, I'll post some targets and a picture or two of the gun.

GAinGA
 

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
Friend George,

Know the "geezer pump"? Bend yer legs 'n kinda stoop/squat. Lay the gun cross yer thighs, then pump like yer at the well.

regards
bearridge

Taxation WITH representation isn't so hot, either.  Anonymous
 

Tom @ Buzzard Bluff

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
196
0
Ozarks of N. Central Arkansas
Dammit! I just hit something wrong on my keyboard and lost an entire lengthy reply! :evil: :? A shorter version follows.

<The Williams peep sight was easy to zero in, and the rifle is easy to shoot.>

Hands down the best sighting system at airgun ranges! A scope on a multi-pump pneumatic is a curse of the 1st order! Due to the realities of charging the gun plus the mechanical 'creep' created by high pressure in the reservoir a scope is a virtual textbook exercise in frustration. While still far from perfect the rear mounted peepsight reduces variables to the most manageable level.

<Easy to pump at five strokes, not unreasonable at the factory recommended eight. The custom mods allow for fourteen strokes, but I can tell you that ain't for the faint of heart!! I'm 6'0, 190, and active, and pumping this sucker past ten strokes is a grunt!>

Yup. You just ran head-on into the basic fallacy of the 'Steroided' gun. Yes---you can extract a little more power from the system. BUT-----at the expense of putting a LOT more into it AND decreased life expectancy from overstressed components. After a LOT of 'foolin' around' with domestic multis for many years I finally had to admit that the designers pretty much 'got it right' with their initial efforts. I no longer try to modify for greater power. What I NOW do is blueprint to extract what was designed into the system before production realities and execution robbed the intent from the design engineers' original vision. That normally gives me both .22s & .20s that put out over 700 fps with 14.3 grain pellets with 8-10 pumps. Such velocities yield 14-20 FPE (ft. lbs. of energy) which is more than adequate for small game if the hunter does HIS job well. 12 FPE will knock a squirrel out of the tallest Hickory in the woods when applied PROPERLY! Greater power than that is far more reasonably achieved by rimfires. CCI CBs, long or short, will give you 29FPE with airgun type trajectories. Sub-sonic Long Rifle rounds from the better makers such as CCI & RWS approach 100FPE with far greater accuracy potential as well. And are actually quieter than some of the pre-charged pneumatics.
The old English phrase "Horses for courses" is inescapable!

<All in all I'm very pleased. When I get a chance to shoot it a little off sandbags at a measured distance, I'll post some targets and a picture or two of the gun.>

Please do!
 

gbinga

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2008
736
2
Hoschton, GA
Been too doggone busy at work to do any really serious target work. Just sneaking in some rounds in the evening when my wife doesn't have any assignments for me and I'm not to tired to pump and aim.

This gun is fun to shoot. The springer is obviously easier to cock and load, but the absolute lack of recoil on the pumper is really pleasant.

I'm hitting wine corks at 50ft with regularity, from sitting position, when I do my part and concentrate. With basement lighting and 45 year old eyes that have spent a lot of time squinting through windshields in the Georgia sun, that's a pretty reasonable target for me to practice on. I may have to start painting the darn things black so I can see them better. :?

Six pumps seems to be the accuracy sweet spot for this rifle. Shoots better at that level than less. I don't know that it wouldn't shoot just as well at eight or ten, but I'm not pumping that much just to kill corks.

GBinGA
 

Tom @ Buzzard Bluff

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
196
0
Ozarks of N. Central Arkansas
gbinga said:
Six pumps seems to be the accuracy sweet spot for this rifle. Shoots better at that level than less. I don't know that it wouldn't shoot just as well at eight or ten, but I'm not pumping that much just to kill corks.GBinGA

What you've discovered is an object lesson in accuracy of the waisted pellet. It is no accident that the most accurate Olympic level target airguns shoot between 450 & 700 fps. So I'd be willing to bet that if you run your gun across a chronograph that you'll find it's shooting inside that range at 6 pumps. It seems to be a norm for the classic domestic multi-pumpers IME.
Which illustrates the basic fallacy of the advertising hype concerning airgun velocities so prevalent in the current era. :wink: The velocity at which a pellet bypasses the target without hitting it makes it a highly moot point. :lol: The only saving grace in the situation is that the advertised velocities of spring-piston guns are achieved by using a super-light pellet---normally in a new, over-lubricated gun that is dieseling. When shot with hunting or target grade pellets the chrono will reveal the truth---particularly after break-in when the excess lubricant has been expelled and the dieseling is history. Then the chrono will reveal sub-sonic velocities that allow some level of the true accuracy of the barrel to be determined.
 

gbinga

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2008
736
2
Hoschton, GA
Right - I've read about that before. Diablo pellets aren't intended for trans-sonic stability. I remember when I was a kid I used to muzzle load pellets into a daisy bb gun. They really worked quite well with no rifling at all.

What you are talking about is part of the reason I went with a .22. Figure we'll make power with mass, rather than velocity.

gbinga
 

Tom @ Buzzard Bluff

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
196
0
Ozarks of N. Central Arkansas
<Right - I've read about that before. Diablo pellets aren't intended for trans-sonic stability. I remember when I was a kid I used to muzzle load pellets into a daisy bb gun. They really worked quite well with no rifling at all.>

Yup----I have a smooth-bore Benjamin, M-340 IIRC, that is very accurate with pellets out to between 10-15 yards. After that accuracy falls off quickly. Best pumper ever made for a kid IMO since BBs are so cheap that he can shoot as much as he's willing to do the pumping for without keeping Dad or Grandads' pocket bare. :wink: Gives him LOTS of trigger time on target and teaches him there's no substitute for getting close and picking your shots. There's too many adult airgunners who want to substitute trajectory for woodcraft already. :roll:

<What you are talking about is part of the reason I went with a .22. Figure we'll make power with mass, rather than velocity.>

Yup----you're working the 'smart' side of the equation! :D