Benjamin marauder or condor ss?

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Due to the on going oversized .22 bores on the marauder, I would not consider a .22 marauder unless you are prepared to possibly replace the barrel. The .25 marauder however is a wonderful bargain but does lack the shot count of many other .25's.

The condors make alot of power in stock form and tend to be accurate as well. In comparison the marauder is quieter and has a much better trigger. The condor will be capable of more power and probably a larger shot count.

It really comes down to personal preference between the 2.

Depending on your desires, you might take a look at some of the bsa models as well.
 
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The Condor isn't a repeater. There's no magazine to hold pellets. The Marauder comes with an 8-round magazine. I have a Marauder and have found it to be very accurate and reliable. I can't personally say anything about the Condor, but I'm sure it is at least as accurate as the Marauder in .25. The Condor is bottled, I believe, so you'll likely get more shots per fill, you just have to load the pellets one at a time. 

I think it comes down to:
Do you want more shots per fill (Condor wins)
Ability to load a magazine with pellets (Marauder wins)
Accuracy (.22 Condor wins, .25 its a draw)
Do you want a conventional looking rifle(Marauder) or something 'different'(Condor)

You'll get a good gun either way. You just need to decide what's important to you. There are lots of mods available for both platforms. The Marauder platform is almost overwhelming with available options to modify the gun. I've seen Talons/Condors that have been modified to be REALLY high-power airguns with .257cal barrels.
 
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They should both shoot out of the box OK, but they'll be better with some tuning work. If you have a chrony, you can tune the Marauder yourself. AJ has a link to a nifty spreadsheet that will walk you through the tuning process for the Marauder. I can't comment on how easily a Condor can be tuned as I've never had one, shot one or even touched one.
 
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Good points all around. I have a Condor .25 purchased used tuned by Talon Tunes after I shout it for about a year. I have a .177 Marauder which was bought used.

The (IMO expensive) tune turned the gun form acceptable to swell. In particular the trigger improved dramatically, and my trigger was not as bad as other AirForce guns I have shot.

I find the Marauder trigger pretty good, very good for the price point.

My negatives for my guns are the weight and clumsy stock on the Marauder. My stock only Marauder has the occasional flyer. I'm not a fan of the looks or ergonomics of AirForce guns, also I'd prefer a repeater. AirForce guns oft discussed frame flex require a bit of finesse for best groups.

Worth noting is a wealth on information about home tunes for both guns. Marauders in particular have a ton of info and aftermarket parts for upgrade.
 
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 If you are in TN you might consider getting together with some other airgun shooters, nothing like trying something in person and lot's of airgun folks in TN.

Never cared for the Talon myself tho some do, esp. those who enjoy making a rifle all it can be. Frame flex bothers me, the trigger isn't too good, ("I") cant get a comfortable cheek weld, ???

Marauder, truly outstanding trigger, crosman copied a very good trigger design. Likely considered easier to adjust as you can make any adjustment with just a hex wrench from the outside of rifle. 

Do you "need" even a .22 for what you are doing? .177 ?
Neither rifle you mentioned is going to get all that many shots in .25.

Esp. on an Airforce rig "I" would want to buy used ( all tuned up ) and in person or from a well know shooter.


John
 
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I had a condor SS and did really enjoy it. I have since advanced in my budget and now am making a jump to the impact. To make a condor as good as possible, you will need a chrony, a lot of pellets and air. It took me a good 3 months to mate my gun to the right pellet and FPS. After that, the trigger... I did my own work to the trigger and it made it very acceptable at that point. If you get either, air consumption in its stock state is less than desired. I did the top hat mod and gained about 30% in shots and far more consistent strings. I have shot both the disco and mrod and have to say they feel like a rifle vs the condor is something that you have to "adapt" to. My Condor SS was a .22 and was very quiet. If I were to start over again, I would look into the line of rifles offered on mrodair.com. They are appealing and price is very competitive. The condor is definitely a tinker's wet dream. So many things to mod and do to them. Can't go wrong with either. 
 
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For most people, there's little, if any, tuning needed out of the box. You really only need to tune the m-rod if you want to squeeze the performance to a certain style (power vs shot-count). Out of the box you'll get about 16 shots per fill at around 800fps. If you're planning to hunt, then you really just want to make sure that accuracy is your primary concern.

Talk to @AJShoots about tuning. As I said above, he has some documentation that will help you figure it out. Without a chrony though, you don't want to do anything to it. You just need 3 hex keys and a chrony to get started.
 
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Better than a LW barrel? I don't wish to create a forum riot, but I have read in multiple locations that the barrels are better in the Air Force guns than those in the benjis. I will say that my condor, after tuning, was repeatable at 100yds. I would hold around 2 1/2 inch groups with no wind in .22. I can say that I was not able to do that with the mrod. I think more time with the mrod would have aided in better results, but the guns were very similar at 50yds in my hands. Just want to make sure you don't take away the fact that Air Force does use pretty nice barrels in their setups. I would look at the warranty aspect of the two too. AirForce does come with lifetime and I will say that they will stand behind their products. Some of the easiest people to work with. 
 
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Around 25-30 before a shift in poi. I was tuned to 850ish fps and was shooting jsb 18gr. I filled to 2700 and shot down to 1900. You have to make the ultimate decision with what appeals to you the most. For me, it was versatility and adaptability. I love to tinker, mod and fine tune things so the AirForce line was most appealing. I would compare the AirForce more to the 10/22 of Airguns being there are so many different mods to be had and offered. One major draw back is the scope height on the AF line. Really high compared to the disco and mrods. I will say that both guns are great entry guns and will offer a lot of fun. I don't want to persuade you one way or the other but more or less inform you with the few yrs I had a condor. I will say that i have somcchose the impact because it has a ton of tuning ability, compact, at style grip, and a repeater :). It was a wet dream come true for me... I might be repeating someone else, but if you have a gun club there and can shoot and hold a couple guns, your questions will be answered very quickly.
 
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If your just going to sit on a deck then get the mrod but if you carrying it around then get the condor ss.....i really love my condor ss. That thing will take a birds head off at 50 yards and i feel it shoulders pretty good. I personally enjoy single loading pellets and keep in mind i have owned 3-crickets,4-mrods,FX cyclone,2-condor ss,talon ss,AA 400 and tom. i will have a edgun 22 so i have a little experience....PS i also had a evanix rainstorm 2.
 
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Ya .177 is not good for longer ranges. I was just wanting to illustrate the pumping issue. I bought a .22 Marauder as my first pcp and got a Hill mk 4 pump. I lasted a month before I broke down and bought a compressor. Then two months later got an air tank and a $300 used air gun turned into a multi thosand dollar hobby. LOL! Good luck with your decision.
 
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