Benjamin Airbow M600 | In a Class of Its Own
on May 29, 2024The Benjamin M600 Airbow combines the fun, simple shooting experience of an air rifle with one of humanity’s oldest projectiles — the arrow. Arrows fired from the M600 can reach speeds of up to 600 feet-per-second, making them faster than any current crossbow bolt and the fastest arrows on Earth.
The unique shooting characteristics of the Benjamin M600 makes for fun target shooting and a new method of hunting big game, from feral hogs that can weigh well over 200 pounds up to whitetail deer or even plains game species found on hunting ranches.
HOW DOES AN AIRBOW WORK?
The airbow is a PCP air rifle that runs off a cylinder of compressed air built into its chassis. The special hollow-core carbon fiber arrow slides over a narrow metal tube called the arrow rest and then the shooter cocks the airbow. When the shooter pulls the trigger, a carefully metered blast of compressed air launches the arrow at great speed.
A maximum charge of compressed air gives very consistent shots for the first several arrows. As the compressed air is depleted, the velocity on subsequent shots begins to drop off, but the cylinder can be quickly refilled back to a maximum charge.
The airbow is easy and safe to use because the shooter waits to cock it until after the arrow is slid into position. It’s almost the opposite of a crossbow, which requires the shooter to draw the string all the way back before loading a bolt. With the airbow, shooters can slide the arrow into position, and then wait to cock it whenever they choose.
An airbow is also much easier to decock and unload than a crossbow. No decocking bolt or crank mechanism is required. Once the airbow is decocked, the user simply slides the arrow off the arrow rest and places it safely back in the quiver.
The arrow is fired using a traditional trigger, as commonly found on air rifles or firearms. Shooters familiar with rifles likely already have the skills to make accurate, precise shots with an airbow. When firearm shooters switch over to traditional bows, there is often a steep archery learning curve that doesn’t exist with the airbow.
WHAT ARROWS DOES THE AIRBOW USE?
Airbows require specialized arrows. Benjamin includes a few arrows with each one and sells arrows separately to replace those lost or damaged. Airbow arrows are hollow and designed to slide onto the arrow rest tube. They lack traditional nocks to accept strings and are made of carbon fiber to be stiff but light for maximum velocity. Benjamin arrows weigh 360 grains and are 26 inches long. They also have a unique spine alignment to enhance accuracy and precision.
Like most other modern arrows, airbow arrows have replaceable tips or heads, making it easy to switch from the factory-original 100 grain field points for target practice to broadheads for hunting. Fixed blade broadheads are recommended for hunting.
When the airbow fires, the compressed air pulls the arrow downrange from the front, instead of pushing the arrow from behind with a string like a traditional bow or crossbow. Because the arrow is pulled from the front, it does not bend or flex on launch, and there is no archer’s paradox.
Archer’s paradox is when a string-launched arrow bends and flexes as it leaves the bow, causing the arrow to veer off its intended course. The lack of archer’s paradox means airbow arrows fly exactly where they are aimed and stay true in flight even if their fletching becomes damaged or is lost.
HOW DO YOU AIM AN AIRBOW?
The airbow works exactly like a rifle and has a stock, pistol grip and trigger system that will be very familiar for anyone with rifle shooting experience. The built-in Picatinny rail along the top of the Benjamin M600 makes it easy to mount modern scopes, red dot sights or other similar optical devices.
The M600 has a back-to-front layout like an AR-15 or other modern rifles, meaning the stock and the arrow launch point are on the same plane. This arrangement makes cantilever scope mounts designed for AR-15s or similar modern rifles ideal.
With a properly mounted scope or optic, shooting an airbow is much like shooting a bolt-action rifle or a big-bore air rifle. The shooter makes sure the cylinder of compressed air is fully charged and then loads an arrow.
When ready to fire, the shooter cocks the airbow with the easy-to-reach lever and then fires the shot exactly like a rifle. Once the arrow is fired, the shooter can quickly slide the next arrow into position, choose a target, cock the airbow and fire again.
Unlike a traditional bow, there is no draw before the shot and the shooter does not have to hold the arrow at full draw while waiting on the correct moment. It’s possible to spook game when drawing a traditional bow and the longer the archer holds a full draw, the more fatigue and shaking can set in. With an airbow, the shooter simply aims it just like a rifle and presses the trigger.
WHERE CAN YOU HUNT WITH AN AIRBOW?
Airbows are great for hunting and have plenty of power to take down large game because their arrows are faster than even the most powerful crossbows currently available. However, the regulations can be complicated because airbows are a relatively new technology and in a unique category by themselves.
Airbow hunters must research the laws before taking to the field. Some states have legalized airbows for deer hunting, but only during modern firearm seasons. Some states allow airbows for species like alligators or feral hogs or predators and varmints like coyotes or foxes.
However, in some states, the airbow is not yet legal for any sort of hunting, even in places where other air guns are already approved for hunting. In several states, there are efforts being made to legalize airbow hunting. Because of the rapidly changing laws and regulations, airbow hunters must research the latest laws and regulations wherever they intend to hunt.
WHY WOULD I WANT AN AIRBOW?
The Benjamin M600 is a unique combination of modern, old, or even ancient technologies. The arrow as a projectile is probably at least 71,000 years old, but airbow arrows are made with carbon fiber and high-tech manufacturing processes. The oldest working guns using compressed air to fire a projectile date back to the 1500s, but the airbow is made of modern materials and is set up to use the newest scopes and optics.
The Benjamin M600 gives a unique shooting experience easily accessible to anyone who has ever shot a pellet rifle, firearm, or BB-gun. While very safe and easy to cock and shoot, it delivers arrows at speeds never seen before, with a very high degree of precision.
Airbows also offer advantages to shooters who might struggle with traditional archery due to age, infirmity or disability. There is no high-tension string to pull back, and an airbow can be fired from a stable rest.
Once shooters locate a place to recharge the compressed air cylinder or buy their own air compressor capable of filling the cylinder, the airbow can provide hours of enjoyable, accurate shooting, and makes much less noise than traditional firearms.
For hunters or shooters looking for something different, the Benjamin M600 Airbow is a simple, plug-and-play answer to the question “What’s next?”