Tuning Benjamin Fortitude bolt loose?

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Is the bolt handle screwed in all the way tight into the probe? There's also the opposite of the breech the Allen hex screw is that tight too? Sounds like either or both aren't tight.

Correction that's a solid 1 piece bolt probe right? Then it's probably the Allen screw loose or out of round that screws onto the bolt that engages the hammer. I don't have a fortitude in front of me. If it has the locking Allen screw stop bolt handle stop like the Marauder rifle that moves when you lift the handle up and down that's probably loose or out of round too.
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So, I have to disassemble the rifle to see what you are talking about? Because there is no Allen screw visible from the outside.

I believe the Fortitude more closely resembles the Marauder pistol than the rifle at the breech/bolt block.
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Mr. Odoyle is right.

Just remove the top section so you can see underneath the breech.

There is a black allen cap bolt attached to the bolt itself (cannot be seen from the outside, obviously) that does the locking when you cock you gun.

Probably it is loose or the head is already rounded.

It locks by way of friction.
 
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Another idea I just realized is to run a bigger head bolt screw that will wedge better in the keeper that's obviously oversized. OR maybe put several spot braise/welds to add material to the Allen screw head.

Still the ball detent should work best.

In fact easiest to have the ball detent mounted from sticking down from top of receiver ball bearing facing down not go all the way through and drill a dimple on the bolt way more simpler. Adjust tension with Allen screw on top you threaded the ball goes in.
 
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My Maximus and fortitude are both like that. If you even watch YouTube videos of people shooting theirs,you will see the bolt jump up A little every time they take a shot.But it’s never been a problem for me.
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Thanks for the info. Seems that this is something I will have to live with. BTW, after about 500 or so pellets, the Fortitude settled down and I can get consistent 1/4 inch groups at 27 yards with CPUM 10.5 pellets. Makes my pesting relatively easy as long as I make sure that danged bolt handle is down and locked! (grin)

p.s.

My extreme range is only ~35 yards these days due to neighbor's privacy fencing. Before that I was able to get sub 1/2 inch groups out to 55-65 yards using the same pellet. The gun is probably better than that, but the shooter is the obstacle. (smile)
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I would be happy with those groups. Mine are almost that good. But I’ve only tried three different types of pellets.
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Initially, my .177 Fortitude did not like the CPUM 10.5 pellets, but I had nearly 20,000 of them because my Freedoms liked them so well. I think it takes longer for these harder lead Crosman pellets to get good in rifles and most people will not give them long enough to "season/lead in" the barrel where the softer lead pellet don't take nearly as long/many pellets.
 
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Does the Fortitude have an O-ring wound around the probe akin to the 22xx/13xx?

If it does, you can put an O-ring from a disposable lighter behind the existing one.

They are very small and thin but will make the bolt stay tight and in place

Another method is to put an O-ring around the collar/neck of your cocking bolt so that when you lock it it compresses against the back section of your breech.

Choose one that is of right thickness.

I put one on my PROD and it locks marvelously.

The photo should give an idea of the location, as it is intuitive.



https://airgunwire.com/a-look-at-the-benjamin-fortitude-air-rifle/
Click to expand...


The breech seal O-ring does not go on the probe, but inside the breech. Another O-ring on the probe would not help this situation, unfortunately.
 
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Whew! Stop with the drilling and such! LOL!

Here is what I have come up with temporarily... maybe permanently depending on how it holds up.

IMG_03331.1607403403.jpg
IMG_03351.1607403421.jpg


I may need to clean the back of the breech block a little better to get better adhesion, but this works like a charm! Just enough friction to keep the bolt from moving without interfering with operation in the least! Yeah, I could do a little better on cutting it to fit as well... (chuckle)
 
Upvote 0
Does the Fortitude have an O-ring wound around the probe akin to the 22xx/13xx?

If it does, you can put an O-ring from a disposable lighter behind the existing one.

They are very small and thin but will make the bolt stay tight and in place

Another method is to put an O-ring around the collar/neck of your cocking bolt so that when you lock it it compresses against the back section of your breech.

Choose one that is of right thickness.

I put one on my PROD and it locks marvelously.

The photo should give an idea of the location, as it is intuitive.



https://airgunwire.com/a-look-at-the-benjamin-fortitude-air-rifle/
Click to expand...


The breech seal O-ring does not go on the probe, but inside the breech. Another O-ring on the probe would not help this situation, unfortunately.
Click to expand...

I understand now that it is like the PROD's.

Go for the 2nd method then (O-ring around the cocking bolt) but you do have to remove the bolt to install one.

Moreover, you would be able to see if that allen cap bolt we were telling you about is still in good condition; i.e., not loose or head not buggered up.
 
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Your photo is what exactly I meant but an O-ring instead of that rubber pad.

You do need to address that allen cap bolt though, as it may bugger up the groove in your breech if it is loose.
Click to expand...

Does the Fortitude have an O-ring wound around the probe akin to the 22xx/13xx?

If it does, you can put an O-ring from a disposable lighter behind the existing one.

They are very small and thin but will make the bolt stay tight and in place

Another method is to put an O-ring around the collar/neck of your cocking bolt so that when you lock it it compresses against the back section of your breech.

Choose one that is of right thickness.

I put one on my PROD and it locks marvelously.

The photo should give an idea of the location, as it is intuitive.



https://airgunwire.com/a-look-at-the-benjamin-fortitude-air-rifle/
Click to expand...


The breech seal O-ring does not go on the probe, but inside the breech. Another O-ring on the probe would not help this situation, unfortunately.
Click to expand...

I understand now that it is like the PROD's.

Go for the 2nd method then (O-ring around the cocking bolt) but you do have to remove the bolt to install one.

Moreover, you would be able to see if that allen cap bolt we were telling you about is still in good condition; i.e., not loose or head not buggered up.
Click to expand...


Thanks, but for now, this will suffice. I hate to take a gun apart that is shooting as well as this one is now. The only other problem I have now is lack of pesting targets! LOL!
 
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Best way I have found to fix this is to drill and tap a hole in the top of the breech. Put a small piece of an o-ring in the hole and then a set screw. Screw the set screw down until the bolt behaves as you would like it to.
Click to expand...


Thanks, but I am not going to start drilling holes in the gun. I don't have the tools and am not proficient enough to believe that I won't ruin a working gun. My ONLY working PCP! LOL!



p.s.

For my backyard pesting purposes, this gun is near perfect. ~12-13fpe @ ~760fps using CPUM 10.5 pellets (cheap).

The main thing I would change (there are others, but this is the MAIN thing I would change) is that I would have a side lever instead of the bolt.

An adjustable regulator would be a plus, but so far, this one (after 500-750 CPUM pellets) is doing the job for me. I don't need more power in my situation.
 
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Whew! Stop with the drilling and such! LOL!

Here is what I have come up with temporarily... maybe permanently depending on how it holds up.

IMG_03331.1607403403.jpg
IMG_03351.1607403421.jpg


I may need to clean the back of the breech block a little better to get better adhesion, but this works like a charm! Just enough friction to keep the bolt from moving without interfering with operation in the least! Yeah, I could do a little better on cutting it to fit as well... (chuckle)
Click to expand...

I think that would work OK as long as Once you get it stuck on there good just try not to get any oil in that area and it should be OK for a while or maybe a long time who knows.I actually thought about putting a couple layers of the metal duct tape on mine.
 
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Whew! Stop with the drilling and such! LOL!

Here is what I have come up with temporarily... maybe permanently depending on how it holds up.

IMG_03331.1607403403.jpg
IMG_03351.1607403421.jpg


I may need to clean the back of the breech block a little better to get better adhesion, but this works like a charm! Just enough friction to keep the bolt from moving without interfering with operation in the least! Yeah, I could do a little better on cutting it to fit as well... (chuckle)
Click to expand...

I think that would work OK as long as Once you get it stuck on there good just try not to get any oil in that area and it should be OK for a while or maybe a long time who knows.I actually thought about putting a couple layers of the metal duct tape on mine.
Click to expand...


Yeah, the only problem I had getting this to stick was cleaning off the grease around the hole where the bolt/hole is in the rear. Even if it stops sticking, I think it will still keep the bolt from rotating as long as it doesn't drop off. I used what I had on hand while posting this message and answering the replies.

The O-ring fix will be done when I have to disassemble the gun for other reasons. No *good* reason to do that now.
 
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Backstop. I Just followed the advice of the boys on my 1720T. A 010 o ring stretched over everything without disassembling and works like a charm.
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If I had one about that size, that was what i was going to try first. Alas, I don't have any... (sigh) Well... I might have one close to that in the hand pump reseal kits that came with my hand pumps, but I am not going to cannibalize those for something that is a minor inconvenience...(smile)

So, I made do with what I had on hand. Thanks for verifying that I can do it with a 010 O-ring without taking the gun apart.

I was not sure if I could stretch one that far or not! (smile)
 
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Speaking of using what I have on hand. Anyone who owns a Fortitude knows that the cheek rest is really low for a gun that requires a scope.

Here is my cheap fix. Duct tape and pipe insulation tubing. As the LOP is VERY short I also added a store bought butt pad to lengthen that a little over an inch, I think, but I wish it were a bit more for me. Not to mention that the original butt material was slippery and made it VERY hard to hold the gun steady to my shoulder, especially with the original low cheek weld. The slip on butt pad fixed the slipping and almost fixed the LOP. The cheek rest fix is perfect, if not pretty.

IMG_03371.1607407820.jpg
IMG_03381.1607407851.jpg


Not pretty, but it works well and has since I first owned the AG. (grin)

p.s.

Also did the duct tape fix for the barrel band shroud support. That one should not be necessary... but it is if I want consistent accurate/precise groups with the Fortitude.

Edit: I finally realized that the shroud/barrel assembly was touching the barrel band and that was causing the POI shifts as the pressure in the tube changed. Centering the shroud in the barrel band so that it was "free floating" fixed the problem. I do NOT recommend the "duct tape fix" and ONLY recommend centering the shroud/barrel in the barrel band.

This edit is a long time from the original post and I fixed the problem long ago, but only edited this upon perusal of my previous posts recently (08/06/2021).

Call it OCD, I guess... (chuckle)


 
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Best way I have found to fix this is to drill and tap a hole in the top of the breech. Put a small piece of an o-ring in the hole and then a set screw. Screw the set screw down until the bolt behaves as you would like it to.
Click to expand...


Thanks, but I am not going to start drilling holes in the gun. I don't have the tools and am not proficient enough to believe that I won't ruin a working gun. My ONLY working PCP! LOL!



p.s.

For my backyard pesting purposes, this gun is near perfect. ~12-13fpe @ ~760fps using CPUM 10.5 pellets (cheap).

The main thing I would change (there are others, but this is the MAIN thing I would change) is that I would have a side lever instead of the bolt.

An adjustable regulator would be a plus, but so far, this one (after 500-750 CPUM pellets) is doing the job for me. I don't need more power in my situation.
Click to expand...


I don't consider a gun mine until I have drilled at least couple of holes in it. ;^) I actually did a couple that way when I was putting sights on them. It just so happened that the bolt was loose so I put a piece of an o-ring in the hole I drilled for the sight and it werqed great.
 
Upvote 0
Best way I have found to fix this is to drill and tap a hole in the top of the breech. Put a small piece of an o-ring in the hole and then a set screw. Screw the set screw down until the bolt behaves as you would like it to.
Click to expand...


Thanks, but I am not going to start drilling holes in the gun. I don't have the tools and am not proficient enough to believe that I won't ruin a working gun. My ONLY working PCP! LOL!



p.s.

For my backyard pesting purposes, this gun is near perfect. ~12-13fpe @ ~760fps using CPUM 10.5 pellets (cheap).

The main thing I would change (there are others, but this is the MAIN thing I would change) is that I would have a side lever instead of the bolt.

An adjustable regulator would be a plus, but so far, this one (after 500-750 CPUM pellets) is doing the job for me. I don't need more power in my situation.
Click to expand...


I don't consider a gun mine until I have drilled at least couple of holes in it. ;^) I actually did a couple that way when I was putting sights on them. It just so happened that the bolt was loose so I put a piece of an o-ring in the hole I drilled for the sight and it werqed great.
Click to expand...


I understand! (smile)


 
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Best way I have found to fix this is to drill and tap a hole in the top of the breech. Put a small piece of an o-ring in the hole and then a set screw. Screw the set screw down until the bolt behaves as you would like it to.
Click to expand...

I would just drill that hole a little bigger not all the way through and tap it and run a ball bearing and spring chased with a grubscrew to adjust tension and drill a dimple in the correct timed bolt closed home and handle down position.

I would think the o-ring may get eaten-pulled out by the bolt after it wears and bind the bolt probe after it falls completely through.
 
Upvote 0
Best way I have found to fix this is to drill and tap a hole in the top of the breech. Put a small piece of an o-ring in the hole and then a set screw. Screw the set screw down until the bolt behaves as you would like it to.
Click to expand...

I would just drill that hole a little bigger not all the way through and tap it and run a ball bearing and spring chased with a grubscrew to adjust tension and drill a dimple in the correct timed bolt closed home and handle down position.

I would think the o-ring may get eaten-pulled out by the bolt after it wears and bind the bolt probe after it falls completely through.
Click to expand...


Wow! Y'all are making this WAY more complicated than necessary! LOL! I only paid ~$239 for the gun, tax, shipping and all!

Oh well, tinkerers will tinker... (grin)
 
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