Customer Reviews

Benjamin 397 air rifle

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bought this at a local hardware store. It seems to be a good value for the dollars with a firm but clean trigger, nice wooden stock and metal open sights. It is more accurate "out of the box" than other rifles I used lately. Good finish for the metal parts and wooden stock which is dark stained with an open grain style finish. Pumps from 1 to 8 and has very little recoil at 8. The bolt and breech is open and easy loading. The trigger had 6 pounds of clean pull on my Winchester spring pull. Plastic butt plate, needs rubber which should give better grip. Cleaned the barrel and fired about 20 rounds to get into the black. Pump effort goes up after three pumps and continues to increase to 8. Overall length is shorter than normal but stock to trigger distance is about the same. Good value, easy to learn and seems to be very reliable. No parts diagram or parts information provided. Has a "child safety lock" made of plastic that was difficult to remove and went from rifle to trash. Scope is more complex because of no "dovetail" and requires specific scope adapter from rifle manufacturer.

I have owned my Benjamin 397 for about 8 years which has proved to be about the right amount of time for me to really assess this gun. Overall, I love it. I use it to kill squirrels which have damaged my house in the past when they are not controlled.

Summary:

Durability - Okay - this is the biggest weak spot I have experienced. I recently sent the gun away to have it repaired after 8 years of semi-regular use. I estimate I have shot it about 600 times over the years (watching the pellets run down). The failure was the pump valve rails had come loose and you could no longer pump the lever. The repair was done through the mail and the total cost was about half of what replacement would have cost. It came back good as new. I'm a little disappointed with a gun that didn't shoot more rounds and is not the cheapest of air rifles (certainly not the most expensive either). Nevertheless, the overall gun is not built like a toy. It feels like a real rifle. The repairman told me the rail failure was a little unusual, so I hope for better now that it is professionally repaired. I also needed to call Crossman to get the recommended repairmen and they were extremely helpful, nice and fast on customer service.

Sound - The quietness is actually the main reason I stick with this gun. Since I am in wooded suburbia, I need a quiet gun that has some kill at ranges inside of 20 yards. This fits the bill. I know it is quiet. You can get more powerful air rifles, but at speeds approaching 1000fps you risk the projectile causing a sound barrier crack like a small rifle.

Kill power - yes it will kill the tough little brown squirrels that jump through the trees (and attics) of the Southeast. But you need to hit the animal in front of its thick hind legs which are pure muscle. Otherwise they will quickly limp away (bleeding). Mid-body/thorax or head hits will kill or paralyze immediately. I use Beeman Crow Magnum pellets for this and am thinking of switching to some of the fancier Gamo hunter pellets which I expect to be more effective. As part of the recent repair I mentioned before, the tech chronographed my gun at 797fps which is spec'd at 800 fps - pretty darn good. He said some of these guns can eke out a little more power if you pump them 10 times instead of the normal 8, but mine does not (varies by valve seal, etc.). Eight pumps will easily kill a mid-sized brown squirrel with a decent shot placement. I have not tried it on some of the larger grey squirrels that live further out in the woods, I expect it could kill them as well. I do not think it would be good for killing larger game like coons or oppossum; maybe rabbits. Could certainly use it to permanently drive off tough (feral) tom cats that could hurt your little family dogs; not that I would do that of course, but you could.

Accuracy - Not bad for what I do. I use a 4x BSA scope. I am not the best shot but can still get the overall job done. I recently set in my scope again and was shooting groups within a 2 inch diameter at about 20 yards. I think the gun is capable of somewhat better, but I am not.

When my gun breaks again (probably will after several years use), I may replace it with another Benjamin 397 simply because it is great on quietness and decent on other categories that matter to me.

I owned this pellet gun as a child. I learned to make my first shot count, since it was a single shot. As a boy of tweleve, this was my most prised possession. I am purchasing another, since I lost this one as a child.

I was an "Expert Marksman" in the Army Marksmanship course, and I owe this all to this gun.

First I want to mention the weight, it is one hefty piece. I love picking it up and feeling how solidly manufactured it is. It has a variable pump for target practicing, plinking, and for killing small varmints. I have killed some very nasty stray cats that have scratched and sprayed our house and garage. I use the iron sights because I was never good at using a scope. Let me tell you, once you have those sights lined up with what you want dead. The pellet will travel instantly into the exact spot you aimed. Amazing!

It is a single shot and requires you to pull the bolt back before the trigger engages. Each time you pull the bolt back it makes a very nice clicking sound. It uses .177 pellets and can shoot your standard .177 BB's as well, but make sure when you're shooting BB's you're aiming the gun at something in a higher position. Because the BB will roll right out the barrel if pointed towards the ground.

Very quiet as well, kill something in the morning without disturbing any late sleepers, or for killing multiple cats/varmints. What I mean by that, you can kill one cat without scaring the others away. Plus the pump is real nice, great variety. Resistance starts getting strong around the third or fourth pump up to eight pumps. Eight is guranteed to complete the job, but ten pumps is the strongest. Try not to pump over ten times as it may ruin the air compression. I recommend the eighth pump, and only using ten if absolutely needed.

Durability is great as well. I've had this gun for 18 years with nothing wrong with it. It's been dropped, scratched, and shot repeatedly with no signs of wear (except the scratches in the wood stock). Heck, even the sights have stayed perfectly aligned.

If you're looking for an efficient, quiet, accurate, reliable, affordable, and powerful pellet gun this one is for you.

I finally found an air rifle that is consistently accurate. Tried the Gamo, but best were 8" groups at 25 yards. The 397 has a hardwood stock, iron sites, and no spring to go "sprongggggg" when you shoot. Pumping it up is not for the faint of heart, but you do get used to it. Very happy overall.