My 10 yr old son has a .22 for plinking and small game hunting. I was wanting to get something he could wander off from camp with and plink with that has much less chance of carrying like a .22lr. I have a pump .22 Benjamin from back in the 70's that still works but with reduced power from back then. However wanted to get one for his own. Looking at the Benjamin Nitro Piston 2's but how hard are they to load/cock? Anyone hear have one? How hard are they to load and cock strength wise?

quote:

---

My 10 yr old son has a .22 for plinking and small game hunting. I was wanting to get something he could wander off from camp with and plink with that has much less chance of carrying like a .22lr. I have a pump .22 Benjamin from back in the 70's that still works but with reduced power from back then. However wanted to get one for his own. Looking at the Benjamin Nitro Piston 2's but how hard are they to load/cock? Anyone hear have one? How hard are they to load and cock strength wise?

---

IMO a really strong 10 y.o. might be able to cock an NP, but only for a few shots. This is an adult air rifle, and therefore not really designed for children. Given that there are other spring-piston rifles that are more suited to children, an NP is not a good choice. They are also very heavy too. It just doesn't make sense to saddle a child with that much weight when there are other safer and easier alternatives out there.

Another reason why I would not recommend one is that the pistons are known to lose pressure. Yes, a spring gun's spring can break too, but overall a good spring gun is more reliable over the long term.

A third reason why I would not recommend one for children is that a break-barrel rifle can be extremely dangerous if used incorrectly. If one is triggered off when the barrel is broken, the piston slams the barrel shut, and can trap a fingertip that is in the way when loading. People have lost fingertips and have had facial bones broken with these things. One *really* needs to know how to properly use a break-barrel airgun, and I can tell you that 10 y.o. children do not always follow proper procedures such an adult would do.

To add to my first post -- piston guns are not easy to shoot accurately because of the great forward recoil of the piston, which moves the rifle. A non-recoiling airgun will be more accurate in the hands of most, and more accuracy means more fun, and more fun means your child is more likely to make great use of one.