The Benjamin Varmint .22 air rifle has the word “varmint” in its name,
Implying that the manufacturer’s vision was to bring back peace into your invaded property
By making a gun that could eliminate those pesky and sneaky critters with ease.
But is it a great gun for the job?
Read more to find out.
Benjamin Varmint Powerpack – Guntype
This airgun is powered by nitro piston technology.
A nitro piston gun (or gas piston gun) works the same as the spring gun but it has a nitrogen-filled cylinder instead of a coiled spring.
If you like smoother-shooting guns that don’t have spring fatigue because you left the gun cocked
While waiting for the next critter to cross your path, then a nitro piston rifle is your gun of choice.
The barrel has a caliber (the diameter of the bore, measured in inches) of .177 (4.5 millimeters).
It has helical grooves inside the bore to make the bullet spin.
Spin stabilizes pellets, improving accuracy and enhancing shooting range.
(For more on things you should know about air rifle barrels before buying, see this post.)
This gun is a single shot, break barrel air rifle so you can only shoot one shot at a time.
It gives you control over your ammunition, and you can find out what pellet works best with your gun in the shortest amount of time.
The barrel is a shrouded bull barrel, which means that it has a jacket enclosing the barrel
And containing the violent release of compressed air from the muzzle.
It lets the pellet escape but forces the air to use up as much of its energy before it leaves the shroud, thus reducing the noise.
For more on how to choose the right air gun caliber for your game, see this post.
Stock
The stock is synthetic.
The synthetic stock is best for hunters hunting in the field with different kinds of weather.
For more on the in-depth comparison between synthetic and wood stock, see this post.
This stock has comfortable dual-raised cheekpieces on both the left and right sides of the gun.
Raised cheek pieces are designed to provide you with firm control during the shot cycle.
Moreover, this pellet gun has a rubber buttpad that helps reduce recoil.
Also, it has a textured grip and forearm that adds friction to your hands when shooting, prevents slippage from the shooter’s sweat, and increases stability in aiming.
Ammo
The Benjamin Varmint .22 Powerpack uses .22 pellets as its only source of ammunition.
For more on the differences between .177 & .22 and which jobs they do best, see this post.
Cocking and loading
Cocking the gun:
First, put the gun ON SAFE, hold the gun by your side, then firmly tap the muzzle end to expose the breach.
Let the gun rest on your upper thigh and grasp the muzzle end.
Continue to pull the barrel down to its limitation to perform cocking action.
Loading the pellet:
With the breech opened after cocking, put the pellet (with the pellet’s nose lying forward) into the breech.
Then pull the barrel up to its original position until it locks and you are ready to fire.
As you can see, the operation of this break barrel rifle is easy and straightforward.
So you will learn how to handle this gun in just a few hours.
Velocity, accuracy and power
The 1200 FPS Amazon description is a misprint;
This pellet gun actually produces up to 950 FPS with alloy pellets, a high velocity compared to other .22 on the market.
The high speed combined with a large .22 caliber makes lethal killing power, so a successful day of pest control is within your reach.
(For more on the best air rifle for rabbits, see this post)
For Crosman Varmint .22, various shooting tests have been conducted by different shooters with positive results.
The common shooting groups are:
- 1/4” at 20 yards,
- 1” at 30 meters,
- 1 1/2″ at 30 meters,
- 1/4″ at 15 yards,
- 1.5” at 40 yards,
- 1/4″ 25 yards,
- dime size at 30 yards
- and dime sized at 70 yards.
This is an extremely accurate gun up to 70 yards .
The accuracy is great, but how about power?
Let’s take a closer look: at 33 yards, this gun can shoot through 7/16” plywood; it also damages a patio block at 10 yards.
And with 13.12 gr Hatsan Vortex pellet, it shoots right through a deer skull at 35 yards.
What a powerhouse gun – something you can trust in your quest to bring peace and beauty back to your backyards.
Sight
This gun doesn’t have a traditional iron sight: no front sight, no rear sight.
But this gun does come with 3-9×32 scop.
As if the variable scope is not enough for a successful shooting day, Crosman has installed a lot of optics including a Red Class III fast acquisition laser
With a push on/off or remote tape switch, 90-lumen flashlight, and mounts (the flashlight has a red flip-up filter).
This optic combo lets you hunt anytime, anywhere, from day to night with great visibility.
The rail is manufactured in the Picatinny style.
This type of rail gives you lots of benefits:
You have more mounting options and you can swap the scope from one gun to another and use the different scope in one air rifle as well.
And yes, no more worrying about tube length, eye relief, etc since you can place the scope ring at any point you want.
Shooting Ability
The effective shooting range of this gun is up to 70 yards.
You can use it for plinking, target shooting, small game hunting, and pest control.
Specifications
- Caliber: 0.22”
- Velocity: 950 FPS with alloy
- Loudness: 3- Medium
- Overall Length: 44.5”
- Shot Capacity: 1
- Barrel: Rifled
- Front Sight: None
- Rear Sight: None
- Scopeable: Weaver mounts
- Trigger: Two-stage adjustable
- Buttplate: Rubber
- Suggested for : target shooting/small game hunting/ pest control
- Action: Break barrel
- Safety: Manual
- Powerplant: Gas-piston
- Function: Single-shot
- Body Type: Rifle
- Weight: 7.38 lbs
- Optics: Scope, Class III laser, 90-lumen flashlight and mounts.
Pros and Cons
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Price
The Crosman Varmint .22 Powerpack is 180 dollars.
It’s a reasonable price in my opinion when you consider the great build, quality craftsmanship, modern technology, fantastic power and pinpoint accuracy .
Conclusion
So far, the Benjamin Varmint .22 has proved that it deserves its name as the pest exterminator.
This air rifle will perform reliably and hit hard, and do so quieter than what you’d expect from a similar magnum spring gun.
It’s the perfect gun for shooters who are busy all day and only have free time at night to take care of annoying varmints in their property.
