Recommend me a .25

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Tsarbomba

Tsarbomba

Member
Sep 28, 2018
3
0
NY
Hi all,

like every year, my squirrel activity in my yard is bad. They’re tearing up my lawn, digging for nuts. In my state, its legal to hunt squirrels but with an air rifle with greater then 600fps. Thats not to hard to find. But its very overwhelming with the different actions, charging options and brands. I have a budget of around $500 give or take. So please recommend me a good .25
 
thanks for replies. As you can see im new. I noticed it has a Pre-charged pneumatic system. After watching some YouTube reviews on air rifles, any benefit to that vs break barrel? If for instance I want to go out on land or state land, bring something to charge the rifle seems like it might be a pain. I like the thought of not reloading shot. But I like the thought of not having to worry about charging the rifle either.
 
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As the others said Benjamin marauder all the way. I have mine setup for a 16 shot string but can be tuned for more shots before refill. I think you will be fine going out in a hunt with that many shots. Plus if you get a hand pump you can just take it with you and refill at your truck....thats what I do. Having mine tuned for 16 shots I just fill two mags and take them with me...if I run out go back to truck pump/refill mags and go back to it. Accuracy is great consistent dime size groups at forty yards.
 
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thanks for replies. As you can see im new. I noticed it has a Pre-charged pneumatic system. After watching some YouTube reviews on air rifles, any benefit to that vs break barrel? If for instance I want to go out on land or state land, bring something to charge the rifle seems like it might be a pain. I like the thought of not reloading shot. But I like the thought of not having to worry about charging the rifle either.
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My .25 Marauder gets 24 shots on a fill. There is really no comparison between PCP guns and other airgun power plants. The PCP is superior IF you have a readily available source of air ... bottle filled by a shop or a friend with a compressor or even a hand pump although that gets old in a hurry at higher pressures.

One thing no one has said and most do not remember is that the Marauder IS a dual fuel gun. It can run on anywhere from 900 psi (CO2) to 3000 PSI. The trick is in the tuning of the gun for your desired pressure. You can start out with CO2 or Handpump which works fairly easily if you tune the gun for 2000 psi or less and move up later to a higher pressure source when the bug bites you hard. Depending on parts and tuning these guns can make 20 to 70+ foot pounds of energy in .25

The Marauder is one of the best tinkerers guns around with many sources of unique after market upgrade parts. I currently own 5 in various configurations.

Buy used if possible in the $350 range and you will not regret it.
 
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If I were you, I'd throw $200 more, or so, at it and go with a Brocock Bantam .25 Hi-Lite. Great little semi-bullpup style rifle, somewhat compact, very high shot capacity, very accurate. In fact, that's exactly what I did when I went to buy my first air rifle and told AoA that I wanted a Marauder. Robert, the owner of AoA, showed me a Marauder, but gently guided me over to the Brocock Bantam Hi-Lite .25 which was on sale, new, for $700. Turned out to be an awesome choice. 3-year (or 5-year?) transferrable warranty too!

I ended up trading that rifle, but now I wish I had it back!
 
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If I were you, I'd throw $200 more, or so, at it and go with a Brocock Bantam .25 Hi-Lite. Great little semi-bullpup style rifle, somewhat compact, very high shot capacity, very accurate. In fact, that's exactly what I did when I went to buy my first air rifle and told AoA that I wanted a Marauder. Robert, the owner of AoA, gently guided me over to the Brocock Bantam Hi-Lite .25 which was on sale for $700. Turned out to be an awesome choice.
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Last bb gun I had in the '70's was a red ryder. I purchased the Brocock Bantam in .25 cal as well. Great feel, looks awesome, of course I need to shot it some more but at 20 yards test shots from AoA put all five in the same hole. Little more, I understand, but I didn't want to get into modifications from different vendors and end up spending more money than the Brocock.



Smitty


 
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The Brocock Bantam would be my choice in a conventional gun but mags are expensive and you need a carbon fiber tank to fill it. It can be done with a pump but it gets old fast. It feels like 75% pump 25% shooting Marauder is a great gun and is ready to go. Cheap mags and can be pumped by hand. My first PCP was an AF Condor with. 480/500 cc tank the first fill from 0 psi to 3000 psi was 700 strokes and several rest periods for a hot me and a hot hill MK3 pump. Just letting you know what You are geting in to . It is a slippery slope. Hope this helps,M
 
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I have a Marauder in .22, and for the money, it's a great platform. Modifications are endless because so many of them are out there. Trigger is good, accuracy is excellent out to 75 yards or so, the .25 should easily give 100 yards accuracy.

The downside, it's a $540 gun retail. If you use the AGNATION code above and order directly from Crosman, and order on Friday (Free Shipping on Fridays), it's $405. That gets you the gun. Now, how do you put air in the gun?

You either need an air tank which will run a minimum of $350 or a hand pump which runs around $150 for the Crosman (25% discount and such from Crosman). That puts you around $550.

I hate pumping, and you will too. It's about 100 strokes to fill the gun from 1800 to 2800 PSI. Those last 20 strokes are serious work compressing 2500 PSI and up, so a tank is seriously a better option.

and you'll need Optics, as the Marauder has no sites.

A better low end choice might be either a Fortitude and pump or Maximus and pump. Watch the AEAC reviews for both before buying.

Fortitude - Airgun Depot has the gun, pump and scope combo for $489, but it's only a .22. Throws the Crosman pellets at a bit over 700 fps in .22 and gets 60 shots per fill compared to the 16 a .25 Marauder is rated for. Power is quite a bit less, but still sufficient for squirrels.

Maximus - really hand pump friendly with a max fill of 2000 PSI instead of the 3000 PSI on about everything else. Much easier to pump. Maximus kit runs around $400, but again, it's only a .22, not a .25.

Buying a .25 with an air fill system and scope will be incredibly difficult for $500. 

Lastly, a .22 is plenty for a squirrel at 50 yards, .25 could be considered overkill (pun intended)

good luck, let us know what you pick.
 
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