I am considering a Benjamin Armada for target shooting and pest removal (mostly rats and rabbits). I chose the Armada because I want to be able to mount lasers for active Night Vision use and also mount a scope for passive Night Vision use.

I plan on mounting a Troy folding round front sight and a KAC 600m adjustable rear. I recognize there will be some work figuring adjustment translations for the 600m rear sight. This has been a good match for me on an SPR type rifle in 5.56mm.

I would prefer the 10 round capacity of the .22 cal over the 8 round capacity of the .25 cal but I have heard the .22 barrels have quality control issues.

Please, advise regarding everything I will need to get this running - pellets, air pump, degasser, etc.

I would also appreciate any feedback from those of you that think this is either a good or bad choice for my application.

Additionally, what are the pros and cons of .22 cal versus .25 cal?

The Armada is just a Marauder in a different stock, exact same ballistics, receiver and barrel.
Having said that, get an Airforce pump, it works as good as any unless you're really shooting enough to get a shoebox.
Degassers aren't a real issue unless you really need to purge your system for smithing work, you need one that bad and I'll send you one as both of mine came with them.
For pellets in the .22 (5.5) range, mine loves the Crossman Premier domes @ 14.3 grains, FWIW it hates heavier pellets.

Some of the earlier ones did, but mine is a true MOA rifle even by regular rifle standards.
It will consistently shoot at an inch or under at a 100 yards.

My .177 struggles at 100 and will print just under 2 inches on a good calm day.

I have not shot the .25 (6.35) but I have heard that at ranges inside of a 100 yards they will bring down larger game like Javelina, but I really wouldn't trust one for something that size for clean humane kills.

Biggest issue is getting a quality scope and rings, buy the best scope you can and it'll be a dream.

NOTE: I don't know about the Armada, but my Marauder needed specific air rifle rings for the base as it wouldn't work with Picatinny/Weaver bases!
Also, the rings needed to be tall to accommodate a larger objective scope.

@Gunslinger808

How much does yours hate the heavier pellets? I may have some closer engagements where accuracy may not be as critical but ft/lbs are.

Javelina with the .25? I need to look at the projected terminal ballistics for these. If I can get that kind of performance then I may go with the .25 cal.

Optics and sights are not an issue. The past few years have left me quite the spares pile.

The rails are all supposed to be 1913 compliant.

I'm sure at some point ArimoDave will post here, he has an Armada he converted to a space gun, pretty amazing.   There's a picture of it in the Airguns Picture thread.

Armada's are great, as noted already, really just a restocked Marauder.   There were issues with the 22 barrels early on, but lately the Marauders I've shot have shot well.   I still believe the .25 Marauders are the most accurate of these, due to their Green Mountain barrels that are stock.  If your stock barrel isn't doing the job for you, get a barrel for it from Marmot Militia, those .22 barrels are amazing.

My Marauder hated heavier pellets enough that 2-3 inch groups (if you could call them that) at 50 yards was the norm.
I tried several with the same outcome, the JSB Diablos in 18.13, H&N 21.14 and Gamo 22 grain all shot terrible.
It could just be my rifle that dislikes them, regardless you'll probably need to try several pellets/weights to see what your rifle prefers.

Kill shot at 1:50

I'm pretty set on the Armada at this point. Now it's just down to caliber.

What are the costs of running a .22 cal versus a .25 cal - pellet cost etc?

What do I need to get started besides:

1) Rifle
2) Air Pump
3) Pellets

Does anything need to get cleaned / lubricated on a regular basis.

I have experience with spring guns - this will be my first PCP.

At this point I am leaning towards the .25 cal. What is the approximate killing power of a .22 cal versus the .25 cal?

Does the lethality of the pellet tend to follow the increasing mass or do lighter pellets perform well also because they can be launched faster?

.25 pellets usually run about twice the price of .22 pellets, the tins are priced the same but you only get like 200-300 in a tin of .25, while .22 are generally sold in 500 round tins.
Also it depends a lot on what brand/pellet design they are, match pellets from JSB will be double what Crossman plinking pellets are.

I cleaned my PCPs when I first get them, after that they really don't require much maintenance.
PCP rifles don't really need lubrication, they like to run dry unlike springer rifles.

CAUTION!...
NEVER leave your PCP without a pressurized chamber, it can lead to intrusion of moisture and contaminants, in the 4 years I've had my .22 Marauder I've never let it go to Zero, always have at least 1000 psi in it.

I think you're good with the 3 items you listed to start, maybe down the road pick up a quality bipod if you don't already have one.

As for lethality, that's sort of subjective, much like the raging 9mm vs .45 debate.
I prefer a little more mass at the price of a little less velocity.

You want a good site/shop for comparing prices and features, go to Pyramyd Air, they have about the best on line selection of airguns, ammo, and accessories on the internet.

And hey, you ever get around Florence let me know, we'll go out and do some shooting with my .22 and .177 Marauders.

No one is talking me out of the Armada and it looks like the gun for me so that choice is made.

With the .25 cal pellets being twice the cost of .22 cal and the .25 cal gun costing significantly more, the die is cast. My choice is .22 cal.

I'll get some Crossman Premier domes @ 14.3 grains to start and the Airforce pump.

Do I need an adapter for the air pump or is it a direct fit.

Bipods, sights and optics all come off of the spares pile so I'm squared there - including a PVS-4 and an IR laser / PVS-14 combo.

The Air Force pump I use already had a Foster type fitting that works with the Marauder male connector.

And another CAUTION...
Never use petroleum based lubes around the high pressure connections, they can react violently with pressuried air!

Can I assume that these and other cautions are in the operators manual? If not then lay anything out for me that you can because I don't know anything about PCP guns except what translate from elsewhere.

Thanks for everything so far.

With the exceptions of the Two cautions I gave, it's all pretty much straight forward.

One thing though, you will get used to pumping, it's a pain especially if you let the pressure get to less than 1000.
I tend to pump it back up after a mag or Two as it saves a marathon session.

Other than that it's load it, shoot it, and enjoy.

They're accurate, hard hitting, and quiet.

What kind of Maximum Point Blank Zeroes are you guys using for hunting?

O.K.  Here is My experience with my Armada, it is in .25.

With the .25, and .177, I don't really feel there is a need for me to have a .22 air rifle.  For the roles the .177 cannot fill, the .25 does a better job.   (The only exception might be for 25 meter benchrest----but that is another ball game where a much better rifle is needed anyway.)

Being a Field target shooter, I don't generally use a conventional point blank range.  I do, however, make good note on the close and far distances where the trajectory does not have too much affect.  The wind can be more of a problem than the trajectory in many cases.  There is free pellet gun ballistics software from Hawke Optics called Chairgun Pro. Here  

Sight height has  much to do with the trajectories as does pellet choice and velocity that one cannot really give you good numbers until you specifiy all those parameters.  Play with Chairgun as much as you want.  It can help you make decisions on scope rings and other stuff.

The iron sight set-up is going to be a bit tricky to find the best combination of front and rear heights.  What works on your AR-15s may not be what works on an Armada.  Both my buddy and I (his is a .22) found with ours that the front sight needs to be quite a bit lower than the usual combinations.  We were sighting in to hit scaled targets at 50 yards with 6 o'clock holds.  I think this has to do with a combination of where the barrel is relative to the rail plane, and airgun trajectories.

The M-Lok system does allow you all the options that you might hang on an AR-15.  The Picatinny rail is just like any flat top, except it is one notch shorter toward the rear.  This means you cannot get the rear sight quite as far back.

Where the stock tube mounts is also a bit further back.  This means that your usual stock length may be a notch shorter for the Armada.

My personal rifle seems to like the JSB Exact Kings better than any other pellet I've tried.  

My own personal recommendation on filling (if you do not want to invest in a tank at this time) is to get a Hill pump.  I think it is a bit better than the Airforce, FX, and a lot better than the Benjamin.    Tanks require you to have a place to fill it that is relatively convenient.  The good carbon fiber SCBA tanks are much more expensive than a standard SCUBA.  But they hold higher air pressures which allow you to fill all the way up several times.  The SCUBA tanks require you to tune the rifle down a bit.  By lowering the fill pressure of you rifle, the SCUBA tank can also give you quite a few fills.

In my area, there is no place that can fill to 4500 psi for the SCBA carbon fiber tanks, but our local dive shop fills for free if you buy the tank from them.  This has been the route our local club members have taken.  Our guns just shoot a little bit slower, for the most part.


Tuning the Armada, is a bit of a production.  In order to get to the adjusting screws you need to take it completely out of the stock.  This involves removing the front band, and hand guards first.  Once you tune it to velocity and shot string, etc.  Then you put it back into the stock to see if it improved your accuracy.  You can mount a scope and try to tune and sight in, but harmonics seem to change a bit from being out of the stock as opposed to being in.  

I am seriously considering getting another stock/receiver from Crosman so that I can drill out the back end and side (it will prevent the stock tube from being mounted, however) so that I can reach all those screws.

@ArimoDave

How much lower do the front sights normally need to be? I do have a Troy Micro front. If I need to go really low I might use that for the front.

@SOT_Solutions

I have AirForce target sights on mine at the moment mounted in two different height scope rings.  My 50 yard zero has about 4 to 5 mm ( about 5/32 to 3/16 inch) difference with the front sight being lower than the rear.  

The AirForce target sights are mounted all the way to the rear (which overhangs rearward) and at the last notch in the rail at the front. This gives a sight radius of about 23".

I opted for the .22cal since pretty much everyone says that it is quieter. We'll see how it does on critters. I can always get a .25 cal later but I need a super quiet gun for training. The gun is on its way.

I have the two different front sights so we'll see if either of those do the job. I have a TA31RCOM4 ACOG collecting dust if I cannot get the irons to work.

I am probably going with the Hill pump previously mentioned. The minor cost upgrade does not bother me.

Does the Armada include an M-Lock bipod adapter?

A standard sling swivel stud comes with the basic Armada.  As I understand it, there are bipods that attach to this kind of swivel stud.  

The Magpul licensed edition comes with a bipod.  I personally don't have a need or want for a bipod, as a good shooting sling seems to work better for me in prone.

The Armada arrived. I am generally happy with the initial inspection. All of the important parts seem to be of acceptable quality. The furniture seems pretty cheesy but I intend to upgrade all of that, anyways. The rail panels and MLOC hardware seem substandard also, so that was a disappointment.

The following items all installed without incident:

1) Troy folding front sight
2) KAC 600m rear sight
3) Harris S25 bipod

The sight combination looks like it will give me about 5mm offset in height like ArimoDave suggested, so it looks like the irons will be OK.

I am building a fully night vision compatible AR-15 top end concurrently with this project so I am moving in baby steps. Next is the Hill pump and an assortment of pellets to see what it likes to eat.

I have a few scopes laying around but I  think the ACOG is the best match after I get the irons sorted. After that comes the AN/PVS-4 which makes the bipod mandatory. If I cannot get the PVS-4 to zero then I will use a laser ICW the PVS-4 to give it an aiming reference.

Regarding the 4mm to 5mm sight delta: Is that to reach 100 yards? If I cannot reach the zero you guys use on the irons then I will live with what I can wring out of this system the way it is. Even 50 yards will be a huge jump for me.

Thank you to everyone that contributed so far.

The sight heights that my buddy and I found to work were for 50 to 75 yards.  At 100 yards you may need more drop in the front or elevation in the rear.  Also, you need to know that 100 yards for a .22 pellet rifle is really long range shooting.  Consider that at 50 yards or so, the wind drift is about equivalent 600 yards with many centerfire rifle bullets fired at 2700 ft/s.  Finding an exact match of pellet and velocity can be done to make this equivalent to a given highpower rifle round.  The trajectories will be at a different scale, however.  But, like shooting long ranges with firearms, you should keep a data/dope book handy for your particular choice of pellet and tune.

@ArimoDave

I am ready to order my pump. It looks like the Hill Mk4 requires me to buy an adapter to fit the Armada.

It looks like the Airforce pump is ready to attach directly to the Armada.

Can you confirm this and advise which adapter I need for the hill pump, if any?

All you need is a standard 1/8 Foster female fitting that has a male 1/8" pipe thread (I'm not sure on whether it is a British or American thread size).  This is the standard on most air rifles now.  Check with Pyramid Air and they will get you the right part for it.  

I think the reason the Hill does not come with it is because of the odd ball fill  fittings of some English rifles.

The Hill Mk4 pump is on the way. I should be shooting by the weekend.



What is  the reasonable outside edge for the Armada BTAP22 in unmodified form? 25m - 75m? I understand I will not have the reach of your tuned guns.

I am going to be running the Crosman Premier 14.3 grain pellets.

I have about 2mm elevation zero adjustment in the front and 2mm elevation distance adjustment in the rear. I think what makes the most sense to me is to run the front sight down as far as it will go and see where my POI is. Then I can use the rear adjustment for correction over the further distances. Can anyone guess where my POI might be after a 2mm front sight drop? I am just trying to save some foot work.

Like with firearms, and maybe more so, each individual rifle is going to be different.  What you should do, is set up a target at about 10 meters first.  A zero on this target will get you close at 50 meters. The close range target will also allow you to see your shots with a modest scope and perhaps your mark one eyeball. Chairgun can then give you an idea of what sight settings may be needed for 75 yards.  A safe assumption for the factory tune is that the medium weight pellet (which is what you plan to use) will shoot between 800 and 900 ft/s.  By the way, the factory tune is pretty good for most shooters.

As I mentioned above, the actual sight height will play a significant role in the trajectory, and this is where Chairgun can help significantly.

I zeroed at 10m. The sight tool teeth were barely long enough to get the front sight post deep enough.

I shot at 20m. Due to sight height over bore I was high... so I ran the front sight back up plus a couple of notches.

After using my "zero" elevation adjustment in the front sight I still have about 2mm of "ranging distance" elevation adjustment in the rear turret.

I think I can still squeeze my baseline zero out to 25m. From there I need to see how far 2mm will let me go.

The guys at Pyramyd Air told me to use sealant tape on the fitting threads for the pump but the Hill instruction booklet said not to use any sealant tape. Opinions?

I have an M952V dual spectrum weaponlight and LaserMax Uni IR laser mounted so, once I get the laser zeroed tonight, I can shoot in the dark.

Use sealant tape or pipe dope if it is an American taper thread.  Do not use sealant tape if it is a BSP (British straight pipe) with an o-ring at the bottom and a receiving nub on the male fitting.


So, how do you like the way it shoots?  The 10 meter zero would be similar to 50 yards, however your 20 meter zero would be closer to the flat part of the trajectory.  With the 20 or 30 meter zero (I use 30 meter with my .177 field target rifle), you have a "don't worry about any hold over/under" zone between 15 and nearly 40 meters, depending a bit on the size of your target.

Overall, it's a dream with minor needed corrections. I also need to learn the ballistics better but time will fix that. I'm not sweating it.

Eye relief for the ACOG and PVS-4 is not optimum because the configuration of the receiver forces the stock too far rearward - this is further complicated by the Picatinny rail having breaks in it where I need to have rail. I am going to try to correct this by using a cantilever rail riser run backwards. This is all affecting accuracy, I'm sure. That having been said, accuracy is sufficient before corrections to allow shots on rat sized targets at 20m (which is the unofficial goal of this build).

Recoil is basically non-existent. The Harris 25S bipod lets me get shots on most target areas from the sitting position. I don't see anything on the market that lets me get the stock variability combined with a Picatinny rail. If someone needs the versatility of running lights, lasers and a variety of scopes that I do then this looks like the right gun.

The pellet impacts on the cardboard target are louder than the discharge from the rifle.

I don't have any trouble shooting from unorthodox positions like I did with a spring gun.

The iron sights are working well enough that I do not see a need to change them.

Pumping the PCP was not nearly the chore so many people said it would be. The Hill Mk4 functioned as advertised.

How high of pressure do I need to keep in the reservoir to keep from starving the gun for pressure, causing accuracy issues?

Can I outrun this gun? I had some low fliers that did not appear to be from marksmanship. I speculate that I ran the gun too fast and the pressure system did not keep up.

Unexpected flyers are usually due to pellet and bore mismatch, or deformed pellets.  This is why some folks go to great lengths to sort pellets.  

The Armada does not have a regulator, so there is no real lag to fill the plenum (space just in front of the valve) and valve.  Some regulators do require a bit of time to refill the plenum.

As far as minimum pressure to keep the velocity within reason will be something that you may want to test.  If you have a chronograph, it is fairly simple to keep track of velocity and shot number.  When plotted, the velocity to shot number will look like a bell curve.  When somewhat overfilled, the velocity will be a bit low.  The velocities will climb as you shoot more shots to some point where it will be nearly flat and very consistent, then they will decrease.  Keep note of the pressures, too with the shots.

What you want is to choose the velocity range that you like.  Note the higher pressure where the curve starts to reach your desired velocity range, and where the pressure where it drops to the bottom of your desired range. These become your fill to and shoot to pressure points.

You can do the same without a chronograph, but here you have to shoot at a bunch of dots on a target in sequence with one shot for each dot.   Note the point of impact changes as it should be a similar bell curve.  The small problem with this method is that barrel vibrations can come into play which frustrate the assumption that low velocity shoots low while high velocity shoots high.  The advantage of this, however, is that it shows you what the rifle really is doing at the target as the pressure changes, which is really more important.

Now if you want to change what fill pressures your rifle likes on the factory tune, and to change the velocity profiles, you can enter the dark side of tuning the thing.  The hammer adjustments primarily adjust the striking energy, which affect the fill pressures.  There is some affect on velocity, too, with changing hammer spring tension and stroke length.  The little metering screw just tunes the amount of air flow, and hence the velocity and number of shots.  When it is wide open, you can get more velocity on a shorter curve, but you also don't get a lot of shots on the fill.

Finding the best balance is for the tinker at heart.  If you are one who handloads your ammo and are always trying to find a better load, then taking the thing apart and twisting screw adjustments is for you.  If you just like shooting cheap factory ammo for the most part, the factory tune on the Armada should be good enough.

How much does position/grip/torque affect POI? I shoot some serious goofy positions to get shots at pests. I have seen some POI shift but I am unsure if this was due to a pressure change or torquing the system.

PS: I know not to touch the barrel.

In  order to tell if position and different forces on the stock, hand guard, etc. are affecting the point of impact, you need to shoot a lot of paper.  As the old adage states "paper doesn't lie."  Shoot groups (I recommend 10 shot groups) in each of several unorthodox positions that you might typically use.  If the group centers are in different locations relative to the aiming point, then this will show you what your position has to do with the point of impact.   This can be due to follow-through, or forces on the rifle. The pellets go through the bore at much slower speed than even high velocity rimfire bullets so follow through is very important.

If the point of impact is similar for all positions, but you still get some odd flyers that tend to group into a different zone (low left for example), then you may want to play with tweaking with the tune.  In this latter case, the flyers are due to barrel harmonics which are affected more with air pressure and flow along with hammer striking force.

If the flyers are a bit more random, then the problem is most certainly due to pellets or a bit of a mismatch between the barrel and pellets.

Yes, paper punching is boring for a lot of folks, but the information that you can glean from it can improve your ability to hit game, pests and other targets.