Buying a Benjamin Marauder in 2022?

[mobilemail]

Best deal you can find is a used marauder at a good price that somebody shot a few times and ignored, so still stock. Very few dollars and a little research will produce a great shooter you won’t be ashamed of. A guy can shoot airguns on a beer budget, even if you can’t or choose not to afford a Daystate, FX or whatever.

 

[rwsmike]

I still have to ques why crosman didnt stay with the green mountain 25 barrels which were very nice . I do miss my two mrod gen 1 at time but my current guns are way more advanced .

 

[TheCurtster]

So I’m brand new to PCP rifles, and bought a synthetic Marauder .22 from Amazon, based on watching a bunch of YouTube videos. Guys hitting ends of shotgun shells at 40 yards, etc. got me excited to try this out. My wants are:
Accurate
Quiet
Reasonable $

So far, I’m super disappointed in the accuracy. From a bench at about 20 yards, I’m lucky to get under 3” groups. I’ve tried 3 different pellet weights from 13-19gr. Definitely not what I was expecting. Now that I’ve found this forum, I see that one can spend a bunch of time tweaking their rifle for better accuracy, but I guess I was hoping for better “out of the box” results. Is my experience normal for an utter noob? Should this thing go back to Amazon?
Thanks!

 

[Sanctify7]

So I’m brand new to PCP rifles, and bought a synthetic Marauder .22 from Amazon, based on watching a bunch of YouTube videos. Guys hitting ends of shotgun shells at 40 yards, etc. got me excited to try this out. My wants are:
Accurate
Quiet
Reasonable $

So far, I’m super disappointed in the accuracy. From a bench at about 20 yards, I’m lucky to get under 3” groups. I’ve tried 3 different pellet weights from 13-19gr. Definitely not what I was expecting. Now that I’ve found this forum, I see that one can spend a bunch of time tweaking their rifle for better accuracy, but I guess I was hoping for better “out of the box” results. Is my experience normal for an utter noob? Should this thing go back to Amazon?
Thanks!

Curtster,

That kind of accuracy--or the lack thereof--is not typical of the BM 22.
I will say four or five things:

One, there were some bad Crosman barrels in .22 years ago, but that is a thing of the past. Unless your gun somehow has one of those older barrels, then this is not the reason for the poor accuracy. But three-inch groups at 20 yards still sounds too poor to me, even for a bad barrel. But perhaps this could be so.
Two, many BM's achieve better accuracy from about 2600 psi down. Pyramyd Air notes this in their BM advertisements. One of mine is like this, and will shoot accurately from 2600 or so down to around 1200 psi or so. But your groups still sound way too big. My .22 SynRod is only a bit less accurate at 3000 psi.
Three, perhaps the scope was not mounted correctly? Or, you could be canting the rifle (tilting it) on and off.

There are many knowledgeable people here on AGN, much more than I am. Some of them will most likely chime in.
I am curious to see how this turns out for you. Do know that a factory BM has much better accuracy than you are experiencing, and that without any tuning.
I would not give up the Marauder due to your experience, but whether this one needs to go back to Amazon remains to be seen.

S7
Edit: I edited this post (one word) already, but it did not stick. I meant to say, "I would not give up on the Marauder," but I cannot vouch for that particular one beyond what I wrote.

 

[rcarlisle]

So I’m brand new to PCP rifles, and bought a synthetic Marauder .22 from Amazon, based on watching a bunch of YouTube videos. Guys hitting ends of shotgun shells at 40 yards, etc. got me excited to try this out. My wants are:
Accurate
Quiet
Reasonable $

So far, I’m super disappointed in the accuracy. From a bench at about 20 yards, I’m lucky to get under 3” groups. I’ve tried 3 different pellet weights from 13-19gr. Definitely not what I was expecting. Now that I’ve found this forum, I see that one can spend a bunch of time tweaking their rifle for better accuracy, but I guess I was hoping for better “out of the box” results. Is my experience normal for an utter noob? Should this thing go back to Amazon?
Thanks!

Personally, I would send it back for a refund and then use that money to buy it from Pyramyd Air or the like, who have a good rep for selling airguns and accessories. And don't check out without a chronograph.

 

[_CTAIRGUNNER_]

Personally, I would send it back for a refund and then use that money to buy it from Pyramyd Air or the like, who have a good rep for selling airguns and accessories. And don't check out without a chronograph.

+1

 

[Stubbers]

So I’m brand new to PCP rifles, and bought a synthetic Marauder .22 from Amazon, based on watching a bunch of YouTube videos. Guys hitting ends of shotgun shells at 40 yards, etc. got me excited to try this out. My wants are:
Accurate
Quiet
Reasonable $

So far, I’m super disappointed in the accuracy. From a bench at about 20 yards, I’m lucky to get under 3” groups. I’ve tried 3 different pellet weights from 13-19gr. Definitely not what I was expecting. Now that I’ve found this forum, I see that one can spend a bunch of time tweaking their rifle for better accuracy, but I guess I was hoping for better “out of the box” results. Is my experience normal for an utter noob? Should this thing go back to Amazon?
Thanks!

Make sure the breech o-ring is still present, and no puff of air is felt around the bolt with it locked in place. This itself can cause erratic fps and worsen accuracy.

Which brand pellets did you try out of curiosity?

 

[mobilemail]

Funny coincidence…I just bought a used synthetic .25 Marauder. First time I shot it my ears rang! I looked and sure enough the breech seal was missing completely. I dug around my parts box and about 15 minutes later it was fixed, simple O ring. The gun started shooting as quietly and accurately as Marauders are known for.

I have played around with TSS, HDD etc in the past to get more efficiency. This time I just ordered a drop-in performance kit from Tim Hill, should be here today. If it is it will be installed by bedtime. I’m not much of an airgunsmith, but Marauders are crazy easy to work on.

 

[Stubbers]

Funny coincidence…I just bought a used synthetic .25 Marauder. First time I shot it my ears rang! I looked and sure enough the breech seal was missing completely. I dug around my parts box and about 15 minutes later it was fixed, simple O ring. The gun started shooting as quietly and accurately as Marauders are known for.

I have played around with TSS, HDD etc in the past to get more efficiency. This time I just ordered a drop-in performance kit from Tim Hill, should be here today. If it is it will be installed by bedtime. I’m not much of an airgunsmith, but Marauders are crazy easy to work on.

Tis one reason I LOVE the ol' m-rod. Very few o-rings, all equal in size within the air tube. If they updated the m-rod 3rd gen with the valve design in my signature, aluminum air tube, regulated with a large plenum, and made their TP adjuster more of a wheel with repeatable adjustments, they would be right into the golden era of pcp's again. 4 Simple design changes and with the right word of mouth, they'd be right back in the game near the TOP, at 1/3-1/4 of the competitions price...

Just saying! @CrosmanEngineer !

-Matt

 

[CrosmanEngineer]

So I’m brand new to PCP rifles, and bought a synthetic Marauder .22 from Amazon, based on watching a bunch of YouTube videos. Guys hitting ends of shotgun shells at 40 yards, etc. got me excited to try this out. My wants are:
Accurate
Quiet
Reasonable $

So far, I’m super disappointed in the accuracy. From a bench at about 20 yards, I’m lucky to get under 3” groups. I’ve tried 3 different pellet weights from 13-19gr. Definitely not what I was expecting. Now that I’ve found this forum, I see that one can spend a bunch of time tweaking their rifle for better accuracy, but I guess I was hoping for better “out of the box” results. Is my experience normal for an utter noob? Should this thing go back to Amazon?
Thanks!

I am sorry to hear that your Mrod is not shooting well. I have a few suggestions for you.
1. Double check the scope. Make sure everything is snugged correctly.
2. Is the barrel band touching the barrel shroud? If it is adjust the barrel band so that it is not hitting the shroud at all.
3. Is your shroud snug? If the shroud is loose, you will have accuracy issues.
4. Test with some Crosman 14.3s and JSB 15.89s.
5. If all else fails, call customer service. They are usually very helpful.

We have put a ton of effort into making better barrels. Even though we shoot every rifle for accuracy before it ships, bad barrels can still sneak out. Making bad barrels is incredibly easy! It would only take a tiny burr in the chamber or crown to cause bad accuracy.

John

 

[TheCurtster]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I’ll be playing with it this afternoon and I’ll report back. So far, I’m picking up:
Check scope attachment.
Try lower pressure
Check barrel shroud/band
Set up my old chronograph and take notes
The pellets I’ve been shooting are “excite plinking” 13 gr, crosman 14.3 hp, and H&N barracuda 18.5 gr.

As far as returning it and buying from PA or other like places, as much as I hate buying on Amazon, their price is almost $200 less ($379 vs $569), a month to return it and “here tomorrow” shipping. I wanna help the little guys but my budget is not unlimited.

I’ll report back!

Curt

 

[joelayfield]

a three in. group @ 20 yd ! its not going to be the scope , more the o ring , in the barrel , or loading issues , or barrel , make sure the barrel band isnt touching the barrel , lay a napkin over the breech and fire a shot , watch the napkin while you point in a safe direction , if it throws the napkin up you probably need to check the o ring , hand load each shot to eliminate magizne issues

 

[TheCurtster]

Ok…. I’m going to eat some crow. I had been shooting with the magnification cranked way up, in order to be “more accurate” with my shots. This made my head/eye placement much more critical than I realized. I backed the scope off, and made a huge improvement. This is actually 2 separate groups. The higher/righter group of 3 shots, a scope adjustment, then the rest. That’s half inch graph paper.

 

[TheCurtster]

Sorry, still trying to figure out how to work this forum…. I also busted out my old chronograph and got these results, starting with a full pressure of 2950, then groups as the pressure decreased. Seems like it was most consistent from 2500-2000 lbs, then it dropped off. The missing ones are my operator error.

 

[joelayfield]

so its just the shooter ?

 

[TheCurtster]

so its just the shooter ?

Looks like it…. Mmmm, gimme a nuther bite of that crow

 

[joelayfield]

Looks like it…. Mmmm, gimme a nuther bite of that crow

if your scope wont parallax @ twenty yards try watching the black ring keeping equal space all the way around as you bring your eye to center , maybe adjust your cheek pice to make it easier to line your eye up center , i have a few scopes that parallax starts at 50 yards and on out

 

[TheCurtster]

if your scope wont parallax @ twenty yards try watching the black ring keeping equal space all the way around as you bring your eye to center , maybe adjust your cheek pice to make it easier to line your eye up center , i have a few scopes that parallax starts at 50 yards and on out

Ok, I guess I’m going to have to study up on what exactly parallax looks like, and what to do about it. Noob

 

[Sanctify7]

Curtster,

That kind of accuracy--or the lack thereof--is not typical of the BM 22.
I will say four or five things:

One, there were some bad Crosman barrels in .22 years ago, but that is a thing of the past. Unless your gun somehow has one of those older barrels, then this is not the reason for the poor accuracy. But three-inch groups at 20 yards still sounds too poor to me, even for a bad barrel. But perhaps this could be so.
Two, many BM's achieve better accuracy from about 2600 psi down. Pyramyd Air notes this in their BM advertisements. One of mine is like this, and will shoot accurately from 2600 or so down to around 1200 psi or so. But your groups still sound way too big. My .22 SynRod is only a bit less accurate at 3000 psi.
Three, perhaps the scope was not mounted correctly? Or, you could be canting the rifle (tilting it) on and off.

There are many knowledgeable people here on AGN, much more than I am. Some of them will most likely chime in.
I am curious to see how this turns out for you. Do know that a factory BM has much better accuracy than you are experiencing, and that without any tuning.
I would not give up the Marauder due to your experience, but whether this one needs to go back to Amazon remains to be seen.

S7

Edit: I meant to say, "I would not give up on the Marauder. . . ."

 

[Sanctify7]

Ok…. I’m going to eat some crow. I had been shooting with the magnification cranked way up, in order to be “more accurate” with my shots. This made my head/eye placement much more critical than I realized. I backed the scope off, and made a huge improvement. This is actually 2 separate groups. The higher/righter group of 3 shots, a scope adjustment, then the rest. That’s half inch graph paper.View attachment 400544

That's more like it. Glad to hear it. S7