Tallbald
Member
I've loved air rifles since childhood. As an adult, I returned to air rifles out of a suburban need for pest control in our garden. A couple years ago, I bought the latest version of a classic, a .22 caliber Benjamin 392. I had read how "they aren't what they used to be" and "hope you get a good one", so I made my purchase from Walmart with the belief I could exchange or return it if absolutely necessary. The one I received isn't going anywhere. It will stay in my grubby hands until I can no longer pump or shoulder it.
This past week I've managed to miss and simply scare raiding birds and squirrels from our garden instead of permanently removing them from the gardening equation with my wonderful little rifle. Thinking back to last fall I believed that when I last shot it, seven pumps behind a 14.5 grain Superdome was the premier load in my 65 foot backyard range. Frustrated with my lack of success, last night I finally took a few minutes to see if maybe the aftermarket Williams peep sight had moved or I had just lost my edge.
From a rest I shot four strings of three pellets, carefully drawing down on stickers on a paper plate secured to 3/4 inch plywood. I varied the number of pumps for each string and here's what resulted.
The targets below served to remind me just how critical the number of pumps is with my rifle. Five pumps is, I now see, what I must use to connect. I'm sure happy with the fit, finish and performance of my 392. No, it's not as accurate or as "refined"as my beautiful RWS model 34 in .177 caliber (which will place five shots in a dime sized group at 65 feet with its Hawke AO 3-9 scope), but when its raining or horribly humid here in Southern Kentucky, I don't fret either with the Benji 392 and its brass barrel.
Don
This past week I've managed to miss and simply scare raiding birds and squirrels from our garden instead of permanently removing them from the gardening equation with my wonderful little rifle. Thinking back to last fall I believed that when I last shot it, seven pumps behind a 14.5 grain Superdome was the premier load in my 65 foot backyard range. Frustrated with my lack of success, last night I finally took a few minutes to see if maybe the aftermarket Williams peep sight had moved or I had just lost my edge.
From a rest I shot four strings of three pellets, carefully drawing down on stickers on a paper plate secured to 3/4 inch plywood. I varied the number of pumps for each string and here's what resulted.
The targets below served to remind me just how critical the number of pumps is with my rifle. Five pumps is, I now see, what I must use to connect. I'm sure happy with the fit, finish and performance of my 392. No, it's not as accurate or as "refined"as my beautiful RWS model 34 in .177 caliber (which will place five shots in a dime sized group at 65 feet with its Hawke AO 3-9 scope), but when its raining or horribly humid here in Southern Kentucky, I don't fret either with the Benji 392 and its brass barrel.
Don