The Benjamin Fortitude regulated PCP air rifle was first announced at the 2018 SHOT Show. Now it’s shipping and HAM can give you first look at this exciting new air rifle.
Of course, the highlight is that the Fortitude is a regulated, shrouded air rifle at the critical $299 price point. From that perspective, it competes with the Umarex Gauntlet. However, Crosman – make that Velocity Outdoor – has taken a very different design approach from the “bottle gun” concept of the Gauntlet.
In fact, the Fortitude looks – conceptually – like a cross between a Benjamin Maximus and a Marauder air pistol, with a regulator built-in. You can see how it compares to the Maximus below. (Both air rifles are the same length, perspective makes that look less obvious).
To be clear, the HAM Team has NOT taken the new gun apart – yet! However, it looks as though the stock is very similar to the Maximus, the trigger looks to be the same too.
The breech looks very similar to that of the Marauder Air pistol. However, there’s clearly some differences as the Fortitude uses the 10-shot Marauder rifle magazine, rather than the 8-shot mag from the Marauder pistol.
Crosman has always had a core competency in re-using existing parts to build new products. Why design something new when there’s a perfectly satisfactory part already in existence? That’s very sensible engineering, so it would be no surprise to find that the new Fortitude uses many parts that have been proven in previous models. Doing so reduces development time and risk, while keeping costs down.
The Fortitude is also a much lighter, less bulky air rifle than the Marauder. It weighs about 2 Lbs less than the Marauder rifle and just 5 Ozs more than the single-shot, unregulated Maximus. This means that it feels light and handy to shoot.
Like the Marauder, there’s no iron sights on the new gun. So we mounted a Leapers UTG 3-9 x 40AO scope with high rings and will use this combination for our forthcoming comprehensive HAM test review.
As with all other Crosman and Benjamin PCPs, this new model is manufactured in the USA at the Velocity Outdoor headquarters in Bloomfield, New York. Every gun that’s assembled on the “PCP Line” there is tested for accuracy and Muzzle Velocity using a standard test fixture.
Here’s the test target for the example we have here. You can see the test group below with the tested Muzzle Velocity – 735 to 744 FPS written on the target.
Stay tuned for the full, comprehensive HAM Test Review. It’s coming soon!
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Benjamin Fortitude PCP Air Rifle, Regulated![]()
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Benjamin Fortitude Air Rifle
The post A First Look At The New Fortitude Regulated PCP Air Rifle appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.