New Acquisition: 1970 Benjamin Franklin Model 342 in .22 Caliber [Edited]

Well, it appears that what I first thought to be a 1950's era Benjamin is actually a Benjamin that was made in 1970 (According to the info posted on the Crosman website.) Nevertheless, it is still a wonderful piece, which I plan to restore to "like-new" condition, and probably pass on to my son, when he's a little older. (A multi-pumper like this takes a bit of arm strength, especially if you want to use it all day.) In the meantime, I will shoot it a bit, experiment with different pellet types, and take copious notes while doing so.

My newest acquisition: 1970 Benjamin Franklin model 342 in .22 caliber.

Caliber & model number as stamped on gun.

There seems to be a small metal plate missing.

Front of barrel.

Closeup of cocking lever.

Bolt and trigger closeup.

Closeup of stock.

Trigger guard.

Discoveries, Hobbies, and a 3-Inch Metal Post

Ok, this last Friday, I went back to the range; I went after work, so I was only able to catch about an hour and a half of the remaining daylight. But it proved to be sufficient.

I shot up a bunch of yellow targets that I won't bother to post here today; all I was doing with those is trying to fine-tune my shot placement, and also trying to test out my newly-arrived RWS Hobby 11.9 grain pellets. At first glance, using the bench rest, the Hobby pellets don't seem to strike as true as the Benjamin Discoveries; they're close, but I have noticed that I get more fliers with the Hobbies for some reason. I will have to experiment with them some more before I can realistically say that the Discoveries truly perform better; but that is what my gut is telling me that the probable outcome will be.

I did, however, get the chance to pass the Hobbies over the Chrony; they're averaging 520 fps, about 20 fps faster than the Discoveries. I expected a wider variance than that, considering that there is a 2.4 grain difference between the two pellets.

I also had the chance to do some free-handed shooting; at a distance of 10 meters, from a seated position, elbows OFF the table, holding the pistol like a carbine (right hand around the grip, left hand supporting the lower body of the gun) and close to my face and chest, with my shoulders "shrugged." Here are the results of that, which, if you compare them to the bench rest results of the previous posts, prove once and for all that the gun shoots better than I do.

10 of each; Discoveries on top, Hobbies on bottom.

Results with Benjamin Discoveries.

Results with RWS Hobbies.

As you can see, even with the one flier, the Discoveries resulted in a 3.5" group at 10 meters. Using the same hold, same position, etc., resulted in a 5" grouping with the Hobbies. Plus, the Hobbies seem to have a lower POI; I will gladly admit that some of that is possibly my fault, but these targets were shot one after the other, in the space of maybe 10 minutes max. I was not fatigued when I started, nor was I fatigued when I finished. There was plenty of daylight for both targets. And I had the benefit of the red dot on all 20 shots. I can't imagine that the inconsistency of the Hobbies is entirely my fault, when I did so well with the Discoveries. The only thing I can think of is this: If my shooting technique has some consistent fault to it, i.e., if there is something I do every time that affects the POI, then the Discoveries are less affected by it than are the Hobbies.

Another thing that I did while at the range was to re-visit my old friend, the metal post, which sits on the 100 yard line of the rifle range. The post is typically shot with .30-06s and .270s; as you can tell from the enormous holes that have been shot through it. If the post could talk, I am sure that it would have been happy that the only thing I shot it with was a few pellets. (That's airgun humor, in case you missed it.)

The post is actually only 3 inches wide, not 4 as previously reported.

During my session with the post, I never actually hit the cans on top; but I did manage to hit the post. The light faded before I could figure out how many "imaginary mil dots" to adjust upwards by.

The good news is that I videoed the session (or at least, most of it; my iPhone died before I could return to the Hobbies for a second chance) and that I have figured out how to embed videos into my blog, so you can see it instantly, without having to follow a link. Here is the video:

I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed creating it. Until next time, may all your pellets fly true and hit with authority!

Millet Time

Well, I made it out to the range again, and this time I decided to really take a hard look at the settings of my new Millet red dot scope.

Boy, I am so glad that I did!

After some extensive sighting-in work, I discovered that the Hatsan is indeed a straight-shooting, tac-driving, dead-on-accurate springer pistol.

I also discovered that I really, really, really like my Millet red dot. It has a HUGE range of adjustment settings!

Today, I shot three pellet types: Benjamin Discovery, Crosman Premier Hollowpoints, and Beeman Crow Magnums. You may remember that in a previous post, I was under the impression that the Hatsan liked the Beemans the best; upon further reflection, I have come to the conclusion that this previous impression was in error. It must have been my technique, and my own shortcomings, because all of the work I did today was careful, contemplative, slow shooting from a bench rest. And the Hatsan (as you will see) clearly performed worst with the Beeman pellets. The best performance came from the Discovery pellets, and a close second was the Premiers.

Target Overview; 10 meters, sunny, occasional strong breeze.

Benjamin Discovery (14.3 Grain) Grouping with 16 shots. (Some of which went through the same holes)

Crosman Premier Hollowpoints (14.3 Grain) Grouping with 16 shots. (Many of which went through the same holes.) Please note that the bottom three holes (in the 7 ring) are Beeman flyers from the target below; they are not from the Crosman Premier grouping.

Only 10 shots were fired with the Beeman Crow Magnums (18.21 Grain), because I quickly realized that these pellets were not shooting consistently. Three of the Beeman pellets actually hit the target above it. Some of this might have been my own error, perhaps even fatigue by this point, but even so, I can tell that even under the most ideal conditions, the Beemans probably won't group as well as the Premiers or the Discoveries. However, in the interests of being fair, I will try them again next time, when I am fresh and ready.

And lastly, here is a picture of the first shot of the day (on one of the brown-paper targets.) It was pure luck, but it made me happy anyway. There are no further pictures of this target, or of the others I shot today, because the groupings were all over the place, as I experimented first with different holds, then with adjusting the settings of the red dot. The yellow targets above represent the "real" shooting, which occurred after I was satisfied that the gun was indeed sighted in properly.

First shot of the day. BULLSEYE!

Well, until next time, may your pellets all fly true!