I can say that I have experience with an original Benjamin pump. Was given a Benjamin Model 347 in 1968 on my 11th birthday. Sent it back to the factory in about 1972 for a rehab. Had it gone through again as an adult in my 30s. Still have it and it still performs great.
The three main pump Benjamin models at that time were:
Model 310 - .177 caliber, smooth bore (could accept either lead pellets or steel BBs).
Model 317 - .177 caliber, rifled barrel for lead pellets.
Model 322 - .22 caliber, rifled barrel for lead pellets.
The rifled barrel models were the more accurate. I saw them all when I was a kid. A friend had a Model 310 which of course gave indifferent accuracy. My favorite huntin' and fishin' cousin had a Model 322. It too was accurate and the larger diameter pellets carried more weight. But, in my opinion the .177 bore was best. It shot flatter and offered a bit more velocity.
I once took it to the gun club range and shot it for group at 100 yards over the bench rest, giving it due consideration over the rifle rest and sand bags. With the maximum recommended 12 pumps and careful attention to hold, sight picture and trigger squeeze the rifle turned in a 6-inch 5-shot group at 100 yards with its original sights. I had stapled two targets up, one over the other. I aimed at the top target. The pellets grouped on the bottom target about three feet below my point-of-aim. The back board was of thin plywood. The pellets embedded themselves in the target and the plywood, their little skirts all sticking out, indicating they were still stable and flying true.
I have a chronograph here. I also once ran a series of tests with the Benjamin over the chronograph screens to see what sort of velocity it could produce. A 10-shot string yielded an average of 752 feet per second with the Benjamin .177 lead domed pellets. The extreme velocity spread for the 10 shots was 10 feet per second. I've never seen a metallic cartridge firearm give velocity differences that small, shot to shot. The factory literature advertised it to achieve up to 750 feet per second. I'd say that was truth in advertising.
The pellet rifle was probably 30 years old at the time I conducted the tests.
Only photo of the Benjamin that I have also has a marauding squirrel in it. We had a young peach tree which finally produced a nice crop of peaches. We kept trying to run him off, figuring on getting a few of the peaches. They dwinddled to seven peaches and then one day there were none. The squirrel was sitting in the tree munching the very last peach. With that last peach he got on my last nerve. When the Benjamin came out he ran from the peach to a tall pecan tree also in the back yard. Wasn't tall enough. He died happy though with the peach still in his mouth.
No squirrels were wasted in this photo for he went into a pot with some chicken and dumplings that Mrs. noelekal whipped up. I grew up taking small game for the table and squirrel is the best!
