Benjamin Akela bullpup and Nomad compressor

[Cotis]

Finally got around to setting this rig up over the weekend. Had a few minor challenges. Overall I am impressed with the quality of the rifle, but two things slipped through QA. First - out of the box I noticed that the action would "rock" front to back within the stock. The action is held to the stock with a single hex bolt through the hand grip (much like an AR). Removed the action and noticed the wood where it mates to the action at the bolt was not perfectly flat. The sides were rounded preventing a "flat to flat" mating surface. A quick cleanup with a little dremel router bit and it was now solid as a rock. It comes with no air in the tank so I filled it up. Went to fire it and......nothing. Smacked the side of the stock and it went off. I noticed the transfer bar from the trigger to the sear (about 10" long) was loose. I tightened the rear nut on the bar about 3 turns and all was well.

I like the scope for what it is. I had to level it in the mount and put some oil on the illumination dial on the side as it was impossible to turn. Had no trouble walking the pellet into a nice zero and proceeded to stack half a dozen of them inside a dime. I am really liking this rig!

I need to get a good piece of metal pic rail for the bipod, the plastic one it ships with sucks and only attaches to the stock with a single center bolt - fail. And I need to get a new bipos, I am not keeping my $275 Atlas on this setup.

 

[Rollo]

So how's the Akela working out? Like to see a review if you have time.

 

[Grainger]

Finally got around to setting this rig up over the weekend. Had a few minor challenges. Overall I am impressed with the quality of the rifle, but two things slipped through QA. First - out of the box I noticed that the action would "rock" front to back within the stock. The action is held to the stock with a single hex bolt through the hand grip (much like an AR). Removed the action and noticed the wood where it mates to the action at the bolt was not perfectly flat. The sides were rounded preventing a "flat to flat" mating surface. A quick cleanup with a little dremel router bit and it was now solid as a rock. It comes with no air in the tank so I filled it up. Went to fire it and......nothing. Smacked the side of the stock and it went off. I noticed the transfer bar from the trigger to the sear (about 10" long) was loose. I tightened the rear nut on the bar about 3 turns and all was well.

I like the scope for what it is. I had to level it in the mount and put some oil on the illumination dial on the side as it was impossible to turn. Had no trouble walking the pellet into a nice zero and proceeded to stack half a dozen of them inside a dime. I am really liking this rig!

I need to get a good piece of metal pic rail for the bipod, the plastic one it ships with sucks and only attaches to the stock with a single center bolt - fail. And I need to get a new bipos, I am not keeping my $275 Atlas on this setup.

I take it the box that says "Nomad" is a compressor?

What kind of PSI does it operate at?

How many shots can you get for a charge?

What caliber?

Got a specific target in mind for it--say, the garden-munchin' Groundhog out back?

 

[Cotis]

The Akela is working out quite well. It is a .22 caliber. I really enjoy shooting it, and the compressor takes all the hard work out of it. I don't think I would enjoy nearly as much if I had to pump it up with a bicycle style pump. The scope is decent for what it is, I wish the crosshairs were thicker along the outer edges.

The rifle runs at 3,000 PSI, you can pump up t0 3,300 but it is not recommended and won't make it any "faster". I like to keep it between 3k and 2k. I get around 30 shots from it before I refill. I am sure I could stretch that further if I needed to.

With a heavier .22 cal pellet this rifle would have no problems with knocking down a groundhog. It hits with plenty of power within 50 yards. The 1st time I went to load it I accidently loaded two 14 grain pellets in the barrel (the trigger wasn't adjusted yet so I cocked it twice). Instead of futzing with it I just shot it at my fence and BOTH pellets went through the board about 1/4" from each other

 

[Rollo]

Cool! Glad to see Benjamin finally got into the bullpup game with this one. I've been a fan of the Marauder (had 2 at one time...) and considered one of these. How's the trigger?