Benjamin Scout Rifle

I hunt very little, but I do get called from time to time to do pest control “favors” for the neighbors. When that happens, my go-to airgun is usually a Benjamin 392 .22 caliber pump-up rifle.

There’s a lot to like about the humble 392: it’s easy to shoot well; it delivers enough power to terminate whatever you might reasonably want to shoot with an air rifle; the power can be readily varied; it doesn’t cost a ton of money, and it delivers good longevity and value for an air rifle in its price class. Mostly I like the 392 because it is light, easy to handle, and reasonably accurate.

But all is not 100 percent tickety-boo in 392-ville. The factor iron sights – particularly the rear sight – that come with the 392 are lackluster. Williams makes a peep sight especially designed for the Benjamin that works pretty well, with some caveats.

First, the Williams peep has no screw adjustment for windage.  As a result, to adjust windage, you must loosen both screws that prevent side-to-side movement of the peep.  Then you gently move the windage adjustment with your fingers.  At this point there is the very great risk that it will slip completely out of adjustment, forcing you to start from scratch.  Once you gingerly ease the windage into what you think is the proper position, you must then re-tighten the screws without jiggling the sight out of adjustment.  Elevation adjustment, however, is as simple as turning a screw.

Second, once the Williams peep sight is properly mounted on the Benjamin 392 and adjusted, there is the problem that, at various distances, the front sight blade appears to be wider than the thing that you are aiming at. This, of course, can be a problem with any rifle with a blade front sight.

Finally, at dawn or dusk or anytime the light doesn’t lend itself to high contrast, aiming with metallic sights can be challenging.  For all of these reasons, there are times when I yearn for a better sighting system for the 392.

Mounting a scope on a 392 is problematic. There are no dovetails on the receiver. Some tuners will cut dovetails into the receiver, but even if you mount a scope on the receiver, unless it is a very short scope, it raises the question of where do you put your hands while pumping? If you mount a normal-length scope, you are forced to pump with one hand on the 392’s pistol grip or use the scope itself as a handle for pumping.

But there is another alternative for solving the problem. Some years ago, Colonel Jeff Cooper touted the idea of the scout rifle – a rifle of no more than one meter long (39.4 inches), no more than 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds), with a forward-mounted low-power scope. The forward-mounted scope allows the shooter to keep both eyes open, to aim with precision and yet be aware of the surroundings at the same time. 

I was intrigued with the idea of the scout rifle, and, using intermounts clamped to the barrel of the 392, I built one with a forward mounted pistol scope.

Here's my first attempt at a scout rifle, with a forward-mounted pistol scope.

I liked it well enough, but recently I wanted a Benjamin scout rifle that offered better performance in low-light conditions. The good folks at Crosman were kind enough to send me the goodies to put such a scout rifle together.

They consist of a Benjamin 392, Benjamin B272 intermounts, 2-piece medium profile dovetail rings for 30mm scopes, and a CenterPoint Multi-TAC Quick Aim Sight, which is basically a green/red-dot sight with four reticles.

Putting it all together first requires clamping the intermounts to the barrel on either side of the rear sight. Next, loosen the weaver rings on the CenterPoint Multi-TAC Quick Aim Sight and slip them off. Slide the 30mm medium profile dovetail rings on where the weaver rings were and tighten them. Finally, attach the dovetail rings to the intermounts on either side of the rear sight.

Here's my newest version of a scout rifle, with a red/green dot sight.

Tah-dah! You’re done. The result is a fast-handling pest control gun that’s a lot of fun to shoot and easy to pump because there is plenty of room to grab the rifle just forward of the breech. I find my head position behind the dot sight is a bit higher than looking through a peep, but not so high that it bothers me. The CenterPoint sight displays either red or green dots (your choice), and a continuously variable rheostat in the sight makes it easy to set the degree of brightness that you like best for the shooting conditions. The sight allows the shooter to select one of four different reticles simply by rotating a knob: a single dot, three vertical dots, a dot with a dash on either side and the bottom, and a dot within a circle.

That knob on the left side of the sight allows the shooter to select among four different reticles. The big knob on top controls the color and the brightness.

In the end, I really like this Benjamin scout rifle. It’s light, easy to handle, and quick to aim and should make a dandy tool for doing those pest control favors for neighbors.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott