Benjamin PBN17 Trail Mark II .177-Caliber NP Break Barrel Hunting Air Pistol

I was seconds away from returning this because I could not break the barrel even with the included assist. Finally, I put gun on my quad with barrel facing away from me and slapped top of the barrel firmly and it broke the barrel (able to load and cock). Now that I have the technique down I have no trouble at all. I'm not sure if a teenager would be able to break it or not, or if a teenager should even have hands on this thing, shoots great!

Except for the excessive (6.5 lbs.+) trigger pull, this pistol performed above my expectations; especially its smoothness of operation and accuracy. I found a YouTube video that demonstrated how to reduce the trigger pull down to a tolerable level (maybe 3 lbs.). Cocking action is very tight and stiff for a period of time until the gun is "broken in"This is a very economical choice, and I feel that I got more than my money's worth. This gun was "spot on" consistent at the bench with a scope. There isn't a scope stop depression on the rail, so the scope will migrate unless you make provisions to anchor the mounts against the strong action. Except for the velocity, I feel this model Benjamin is superior to the similar Hatsan 25.

Why did you pick this product vs others?:I wanted a powerful break-barrel pellet pistol at a reasonable price. I have owned Benjamin products before and I trust their quality. After unsuccessfully attempting to sight in the rear iron sights, which are worthless, I attached a C/P red dot scope that came with my Marauder and it is now a tack driver! The cocking effort takes some practice, but once you get into the rhythm it’s no problem. Design:I would like to see Benjamin put decent iron sights on this model, make the front sight removable so if you add a scope you will have an easier time cocking the pistol, and make it so it accommodates a carbine-rifle stock.

They need to look at the functional aspect of the barrel mine would not fire and when you think that you have fired at the object your shooting at there was no dent or a hole in the target there was no hole in the cardboard and target so thinking about maybe I didn’t put one in the barrel so I added another pellet and then tried to fire it again and no hole in the cardboard even at 4 feet ? So with the barrel pumped the barrel was dark and no sunlight thru the barrel so I got a bamboo stick and pushed it down the barrel 2 pellets fell out the barrel what a disaster and disappointed item to have bought it !! Amazon would not replace it but I called the seller and they agreed to give me a return label I sent it back for a refund.

I'll go over the bad things first- I'm not a big fan of the sights, and the pistol grip itself I think is much bigger than it needs to be. I do have smaller sized hands, but this feels similar to a Desert Eagle.However, the good things- it's extremely accurate. Freehand I can hit a 2 liter soda bottle sized object at 40yds consistently, which I am not able to do on any other handgun except a 5.7 (my problem of not practicing with them). The velocity is as good if not higher than what is advertised- I got about 570fps with 8gr H&N Hornets, and 720fps with 5gr Umarex HyperMax pellets.Additionally, unlike many other air rifles I have shot, it's not picky on ammo. It shot the H&N Hornets, Umarex Hypermax, and an assortment of Gamo .177 pellets all well enough that I was able to consistently hit that 2 liter bottle sized target at 40yds. I did have to noticeably adjust for pellet weight, however.I wish that they offered these in .22 as well.

It’s friggin huge

I've tried many types, brands, and weights of pellets in this gun ... It just ain't happnin.'The trigger pulls into tomorrow. (It's reeeeeeeeeally ..... uncomfortably long. And that hurts the accuracy, I'm sure.)There are prolly better, more accurate guns to spend your money on. I truly feel I wasted my money, not only on this gun, but on all the tins of pellets I had to buy to make sure this thing truly IS a waste of money. (Clear as mud?)I have several air guns ... They, as with any (firearm?) have certain preferences with regard ammunition (i.e. shape, grain, etc.) My other guns are incredibly accurate at long distances once the proper pellets were introduced. It's interesting ... While you're finding the right pellet, you hit the center of your target and get a few "flyers" ... until you land on the right pellet. Then you and shoot the pellet darn near though the same hole you made with the previous pellet ... time, after time, after time. No more "flyers", ever.This little joker is all over the place at even at 15 - 20 yards no matter what you put into it. You shoot nothing but "flyers", and once in a while, if you get lucky, a pellet finds its way to the center of your target!I've tried everything from 6.64 grain non-lead to 10.34 hollow-point Hunter Extremes (which ironically are the "most" accurate out of all of them) and can't get better than a 5-6" group. That's horrible! And to think that Benjamin use to be the gold standard ... back in the day.I mean ... it isn't like I haven't truly given this thing a chance. Honestly, I've had rubberband guns far more accurate than this gun. Less powerful? Yes, certainly, but far more accurate. (Cheaper, too!) <Big Grin>

Me pareció increíble, buena efectividad y precisión a demás tremenda potencia.