BenjaminBenjamin Armada

I bought this as a tool to give me trigger time and save on ammunition cost. I only shoot 10 meters, indoors, and it will allow me to concentrate on form without worry about wind and light play. These are the first 2 groups after dialing in the scope. The target squares are 1" outer dimension. 5 shot groups were shot prone. The 1st was off of bipod only, the second with a rear bag added. Accuracy will not be the issue. As to the rifle itself. I have both AR styled and conventional precision rifles. I chose this over the Marauder because the package seemed a better deal. The forend, grip, and scope rail all seem to be very good quality. The trigger is excellent. The adjustable buttstock is cheap. In fact the adjustment lever fell off during the first group. It appears to be a standard buffer tube so I can find the pieces to fix the problem. Others have have had issues with leaking. I filled to 3000 psi and left it for 2 weeks and it was still at 3000 psi when I started shooting. 25 shots dropped me to 2000. The scope is adequate for my needs. Once set, I have no need to dial any adjustments and the reticle is familar, similar to my Leupold MK4's. The baffles in the suppressor stack are simple plastic cones. Perfectly adequate given there are no hot gases. I may try some different baffle designs that I can create with my 3d printer. I will probably run down a Marauder stock so I can have both formats, and I will see if I can modify the trigger to eliminate the first "stage" which is really just a lot of travel. Bottom line, Would buy again in a heartbeat, excellent value for money. But that horrible floppy, chintzy buttstock...........

My neighborhood has several ranches and barnyards where Muscovy ducks and Egyptian geese tend to breed uncontrolled, and they like to jump the fence and take over my pond. I have a number of outdoor pets, and after hearing that a neighbor’s pet pig died of botulism near an equally overwhelmed pond, I decided to do something. I bought this rifle. Now three months later, on a given day, I don’t even see a nuisance goose or duck. Downside is, I don’t get to use the rifle as much. Let's just call it a good problem. I can consistently make clean headshots on mid-sized waterfowl at 60 yards. Possibly further, but I only have so much yard. On practice targets I easily get 2 inch groups at the same distance, with enough power to penetrate 1/2” plywood and then some. Have also used it to take out raccoons. My previous air rifle was a Benjamin Trail NP - a breakbarrel. There is no comparison. That is a musket, this is a DMR. The Armada is better than I ever expected from an air rifle. My setup includes: UTG 4x16x44 30mm Scope 1” riser (I find that the rifle’s scope-mount profile is rather low, so this literally saves my neck) Angled iron-sights TipTop Bipod Foregrip (might seem silly, but it actually has its uses for this particular rifle – read on) JSB Exact King Diabolo Domed Pellets (have also tried Polymag Predators, which perform about the same for me, but the JSBs are much cheaper) The bolt action is a bit stiff, but I suppose this is to be expected since operating the bolt not only chambers the next pellet, it pressurizes the chamber. I originally got a foregrip simply to assist with handling and carrying, but it turns out the foregrip also provides some extra leverage when operating the bolt in a standing position, as the position of the bolt and buttstock can make it awkward otherwise. The rifle does have a tendency to misfire if you don't engage the bolt with enough force (it will short-change the amount of air pressure introduced into the shot), so just make sure you get the bolt ALL the way back between each shot. Oh, and noise. What noise? It was key going into this that I don’t tip off my more sensitive neighbors - the ones that don't mind their swing-sets being covered in goose dung - so I needed something quiet, and this rifle certainly doesn’t disappoint. It’s so quiet, the sound of the pellet hitting plywood or a tree is substantially louder than the actual report. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s about as loud as my toaster springing up toast. Still not exaggerating when I say that even the geese don't know what to make of it.

Final Update 11/3/2021: Wanted to give one final update after a few months. After putting around 1200 rounds through this rifle, I still maintain the 5+ star rating. I attached a picture of a dime-sized group I shot just today 4 months after I got this rifle. The only adjustments to the scope have been 1-2 clicks here and there to correct for some very minor drift which is to be expected. All I've really done is put 2 drops of PWS silicone chamber oil in the pump port every 600 shots or so and I'll put a little gun oil on the bolt. Other than that it is pretty maintenance free. Use the right ammo and pressure and you won't be disappointed. UPDATE 7/15/2021: I would give this air rifle 6 stars if I could. I've put several hundred rounds through it now and it is very consistent and accurate. I have not had to adjust my scope once I dialed in the zero at 20 yds. I come from a firearms background and recently got back into air rifles, and where accuracy is concerned, the ammo matters just as much (sometimes more) than the rifle. For those that have grouping problems, try different pellets and pressure levels. TLDR: - This rifle groups very well. I've attached grouping shots with ranges, pellet brand/weights, and pressure levels - Light pellets seem to like lower pressure, ~1900-2000 PSI. I got the H&N 7.25 gr Terminators to group well at those pressures. - Heavier pellets do well at higher pressure, ~2500 PSI. - Faster is not necessarily better. While the rifle can go up to 3000 PSI, I have read that the grouping might not be as consistent at those higher pressures. - Use pellets that fit snugly in the chamber so that the skirts engage the rifling well. I had some cheaper pellets that were somewhat loose fitting and they wouldn't group consistently at any pressure. Details: I initially ran a test of several different pellets at 20 yds and 2500 PSI and found that the lighter 7.25 gr pellets would not group well. I then lowered the pressure to 2000 PSI for the lighter pellets and they started grouping pretty nicely. I then tried Beeman Crow Magnum 9gr and H&N 9.57 gr pellets at 2500 PSI and you can see the results in the 2nd photo. I have had good results with H&N pellets so far and will stick with those. ------------------------ I am new to PCP rifles and previously shot a spring piston air rifle. After shooting this, I am going to give away my spring piston rifle because the Armada beats it in every way possible. Attached is a 5 shot group at ~12 yds with the rifle pumped up to 2500 PSI. I shot those using the included bipod. All 5 are within the outline of a dime. I have never been able to get that kind of consistency with my spring piston rifle. So far, after shooting several different times, the point of impact has not changed substantially so it is pretty consistent from what I can tell so far. The trigger is nice. Two stage with a 1.5 lb second stage. Very easy to shoot, no recoil at all. On top of that, it is quiet. The sound of the pellet hitting the back of my steel bullet trap is louder than the report of the rifle, by a lot. When I fired my spring piston rifle, I could barely hear the pellet hit the trap over the SPRIONG of the rifle spring. Some have mentioned that the rifle is heavy, but I guess it's all relative. I'm used to carrying a .308 so to me, the Armada actually feels light by comparison even with the scope and bipod. I'd say it is about 8.5 pounds if you take the bipod off. If you have the bipod on, you're most likely shooting off a bench or other support and the weight doesn't really matter. The scope is reasonably good. It is 2nd FP, but is totally fine for backyard shooting. It has a side focus/parallax adjustment knob, elevation and windage knobs with distinct clicks, 4-16x mag and keeps its zero as far as I can tell so far after shooting it for a week. For the range that I'm shooting (~20 yds), I just keep it at 8x. I like that the grip and buttstock are milspec. I happen to have an extra AR-15 grip and Magpul buttstock and put those on for better comfort. That said, the included buttstock isn't horrible. I shot the attached 5 shot group with the included buttstock before I switched it out. Also, the handguard is MLOK compliant so if you want to attach any rails or other accessories, that is also easy to do. This rifle is a bit more expensive, but to me was totally worth it and is a good value. With the current prices of ammo, this gives me an opportunity to target shoot for cheap and I don't even have to drive to the range. I just shoot out my back window into my target holder/bullet trap and no one even knows. :-D

A few days after purchase......... Great gun for someone who wants a precision air rifle. For my setup I’ve been shooting jsb pellets and I have a Element Helix on it for a scope. A bipod is also mounted on the front most of the time. I’ve shot around 100 shots so far with it. 50 yards I could cover a group with a dime. 90 yards It shoots 8 shot 2 inch groups. The bolt functions alright. It’s a bit of a pull to get it all the way back. That may be adjustable also. I can get at least 16 shots before it needs refilled. I haven’t shot it enough to know for sure yet. I use the Benjamin air pump which takes around 70 pumps to get from 2000psi to 3000. It’s not “easy” to pump. I’m around 200 pounds and it’s a work out pumping the 70 pumps in a row. The clips are easy to fill once i figured out how to fill them. The gun itself is a lot of plastic but I’d say it’s still well made for being plastic. I’m very impressed with this gun so far! 6 months after purchase..... i still think all the plastic on it makes it feel a bit cheap but the Armada .25 is still shooting great with the JSB pellets. it shoots alright with Benjamin pellets but not great. H&N pellets are hardly worth shooting out of it. groups are bad with these. With the JSBs, I can fairly consistently pop water balloons at 100 yards. I set an ibuprofen at 30 yards and blew it off first shot. supper consistent with an occasional flyer. It's a great gun for taking care of small to medium sized rodents!

As others have mentioned, the pellet cartridge is very badly designed. It has this bizarre setup where you have to fully rotate the cover, in order to wind the internal spring, only then can you begin to load it. Once wound, you then have to insert a pellet into the number 1 slot. This pellet jams the carriage in place so you may then back fill the other pellets. This is not clearly detailed in the instructions and is very confusing to someone new. However, this is all fine and good. The real problem is the spring itself. It is too weak and eventually FAILS to advance the pellets! Oh, it works the first few times, but then it will start to jam consistently after 4 shots. Refer to my included picture. Speaking of jamming!! There is NO retainer for the first pellet. With the weak spring, the first pellet keeps falling out when you try to load it. Oh, and then there is the bolt! Oh no! You can NOT just insert the cartridge and be done with it, because the bolt sticks out even when all the way back! This is how they hold the cartridge in place. This forces you to hold the bolt back while fumbling around trying to insert the new cartridge at the same time. VERY HARD TO DO AT NIGHT! Oh we are not done, there is more! Get this. There is NO prevention for double feed! It is very possible to double feed, which results in a jammed cartridge and a locked bolt! The bolt is locked, and you cannot remove the cartridge! The fix is, you then have to use a push stick inserted into the front of the barrel, in order to push the pellet back into the cartridge. Only then can you remove and unjam the cartrige. Over all, it's a good rifle, but the poor quality of the cartridge makes this a deal break. You buy this rifle, you WILL regret it! I certainly have!

I use this 10 shot bolt action pellet rifle on a small ranch for nuisance varmints. Once I got it sighted in, using the scope that was provided, this gun is dead accurate - even at some distance (50 - 75 yards). I do notice it is often necessary to fire a second shot to finish the animal off but I probably should adjust my aim. Another thing I really like is this pellet gun is really quiet compared to others I've used. Not silent by any means but no loud 'crack'. Also, I estimate I can shoot four or five, 10 round clips through the weapon before needing to refill the high pressure tank. A couple of additional notes/suggestions: -This weapon needs to be filled to 3000psi. I understand there are local places (like a scuba shop) that can do this. Being we are in a remote location I had to purchase a high pressure pump and smaller scuba-like tank. It was a significant expense but well worth it considering the amount I shoot it. -I've found some copper coated pellets that work great and don't impart lead into animals that may feed on a carcass. -After being so happy with the deadly accurate 10 shot Armada, I purchased an automatic Marauder - the Marauder was far more expensive and was TERRIBLE. Pellets would jam or not feed at all.

I bought the combo package. Gun is nice, fun, accurate and powerful. Scope is a piece of garbage. Now who in the marketing department thought it would be a good idea to charge an extra $100 for a $25 crap scope and mediocre bipod? Benjamin has a good name in the business -- why not partner with Nikon, Leupold, etc and charge $200 extra for the bundle? At least we would know we're getting quality all the way around. Someone at Benjamin needs to be fired.

Awesome gun I didn’t realize the air rifle had came this far it is a great gun very very accurate I’ve read where it was ok but you can literally shoot bumblebees with it at 15 to 20 yards give or take that’s with premier dome magnums 22. One one issue though I did have to take the fill port off before I could get it to hold air because the valve would seat but 30 mins later I was pumping my girl up and getting my workout and then I realized that the magazines suck there spring just don’t have the muscle to spin a full clip or maybe I got 2 bad ones idk but also took them apart and found stronger just alittle bit stiffer which was kinda hard to find but eventually I scrounged up something and it works so much I mean spectacular compared to what it did now it’s smooth no tapping it to free it up and no jams finally very pleased