Edgun Matador r3m worth a punt?

[Macloaded]

I am based in UK and so purchasing an airgun over 12ftlbs on a firearms certificate is a long and dreary process, accordingly you want to make sure you get it right.

In this regard looking for any comments on an r3m matador (long) as one in .22 is up for sale and is calling to me. Not a lot on the internet about this rifle and I just want to get an idea from owners/former owners the pros and cons of the rifle. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[mackeral5]

The r3's are accurate, durable guns. The only real complaint I had was magazine rotation was not consistent/reliable. I do not believe this was a problem all owners experienced. For me it happened with older metal magazines as well as the newer composite ones. Due to this I chose to manually index. The rear bolt is what it is so to speak- some hate it. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.

Hard parts availability is a real concern. Towards the end of owning my r3M I broke the hammer spring guide, due to operator error, and getting a replacement was extremely challenging. Ultimately my journey with the R3M ran its course and I traded it off.

 

[Macloaded]

Thanks, I have read about the magazine issue but hadn't thought about parts availability. Pause for thought

 

[Chuck-in-Ohio]

I found on the Edgun Morana, which is an R3 action, that it had to be cocked deliberately to index the mag reliably.
If you were slow and easy on the cocking, the mag would hang up. If you brought the bolt back and gave it a positive pull in its last bit of travel, it would index the mag fairly reliably.

You do not have to try to rip the bolt out of the back of the rifle, you simply feel it come up on the pawl for the mag, and give it a little quick tug. Worked for me most of the time.

Triggers, that is a whole nuther discussion........

 

[MikeVV]

I have the baby brother, the Lelya 2, in .22 cal.

It was also my...first PCP gun.
It's been a great purchase. Basically, zero maintenance, one of the most, If not...the...toughest, VERY durable guns on the market, the way that it's designed. There's NO barrel stick out to get bent or damaged !!! Others may claim this, but in reality, the Lelya and the bigger brother, the M5R/Matador, is very much the same gun.
Shoulders well, very nice trigger, accurate, has had NO air leaks (in over 2 years). I've had NO...magazine problems as noted above. I've added the longer BAT suppressor to make it a little quieter, and put a modified R5M (Matador) stock on it, just for the hell of it.
After sitting a coupla months, I pulled it out last week and put a few magazines through it. Didn't even have to "top it off" from the previous pressure fill, months ago.
Parts are available, o-rings are available. Though if you like to put add-on goodies on your guns, there really isn't much aftermarket stuff out there. Other than modifying the stock (paint, vinyl wrap, hydro-dip, or maybe a custom stock), and changing the sighting system every now and again as I seem to do, that's about it.
Only had to change the battery in the pressure gauge one time in the 2+ years of owning the gun.

Mac - As long as you know the guns history that you are thinking of buying, I would NOT hesitate in buying it.

Here's mine. It's still got the stock suppressor on it here. And the "marble" vinyl wrap will be coming off of the Matador stock, and another being put on as soon as it gets here.

Mike

 

[Macloaded]

Thank you for all the replies. A lot to think about. On balance it sounds like a very accurate rifle and potentially worth a try. Currently shooting a wolverine R which is great but rather cumbersome and not very easy to tune so looking to try a bullpup and edgun has grabbed my imagination.

 

[wyshadow]

I've owned a R3m standard, R3 long, R5 long, lelya, and a morana. If I were to buy another one, I would choose the R3m long. Although the mag never line up exactly perfect every cycle, you just need to slightly move the mag to get it lined up. The rear bolt on the action is awkward at first but you get use to it. I think this design is very durable and I never had any problems. If the lelya is the same as the R5m action, I would choose a different pcp. I never did like the lelya action. If you don't mind single loading, the R5 or R3 longs are really nice too. Very accurate and powerful.

 

[Chuck-in-Ohio]

Edguns are bomb proof units, don't misunderstand my bolt cycling post as a complete bash on the brand.

Like any platform, they have their little idiosyncrasies that you will have to accustom yourself to. The triggers are easily addressed, and will yield a perfectly usable trigger that just would not adjust down low enough for my use. I was shooting benchrest with a .25 Morana, and the trigger was not reliable when set very very light. You can bang pests and paper with one just fine.

 

[mackeral5]

I found on the Edgun Morana, which is an R3 action, that it had to be cocked deliberately to index the mag reliably.
If you were slow and easy on the cocking, the mag would hang up. If you brought the bolt back and gave it a positive pull in its last bit of travel, it would index the mag fairly reliably.

You do not have to try to rip the bolt out of the back of the rifle, you simply feel it come up on the pawl for the mag, and give it a little quick tug. Worked for me most of the time.

Triggers, that is a whole nuther discussion........

Very similar experience here. I used every method you can think of and never achieved proper magazine indexing 100% of the time. I guess my marauder and CARM style magazines have spoiled me.....

I did find some old video in russian where it appeared the user had a similar problem and received a replacement cam/pawl assembly. Apparently there was a run where the part was not machined properly and Ed sent replacement parts to the effected owners and I just so happened to have one that did not receive the replacement part. Ultimately found it better to just manually index the mags.

On the trigger, I added a second screw to act more like a 2 stage trigger. Apparently some were made this way from the factory but mine only had 1 screw when I got it.

I always wanted a Morana, they were very cool looking guns.

 

[Chuck-in-Ohio]

Very similar experience here. I used every method you can think of and never achieved proper magazine indexing 100% of the time. I guess my marauder and CARM style magazines have spoiled me.....

I did find some old video in russian where it appeared the user had a similar problem and received a replacement cam/pawl assembly. Apparently there was a run where the part was not machined properly and Ed sent replacement parts to the effected owners and I just so happened to have one that did not receive the replacement part. Ultimately found it better to just manually index the mags.

On the trigger, I added a second screw to act more like a 2 stage trigger. Apparently some were made this way from the factory but mine only had 1 screw when I got it.

I always wanted a Morana, they were very cool looking guns.

I wound up using a ball bearing plunger set screw, behind the trigger itself, to get a definite second stage on my Morana. It came with the early model R3 trigger with one screw as well.
I drilled and tapped the trigger frame, and it worked like a Champ for a 1 to 1.5 Lb. trigger.
When I got it set to have a second stage wall at low poundage, there was still some sear creep present. If you tried to adjust it out, the trigger became unreliable. No amount of stoning, lubing and adjustment could sort it out for me.

 

[MikeVV]

Mac -

Just a heads up, this Morana that is spoken of, it's a 9 or 10 year old gun.
Ed did not use the same receiver design in his future guns. The magazine comments above, while not a good thing, can basically be discounted in a much more modern gun like the Lelya and Matador.

Even the Lelya MkI, is of a much different design, even though it mostly...looks like the Mk2.

Mike