Benjamin Marauder air rifle update

[Mitch Booth]

Hi Everyone,

Wow.... is all I can say! This gun is absolutely amazing.

Let me start by saying I purchased an RWS 34 which is a German made break-barrel rifle last year. The gun is great quality but boy is it difficult to shoot accurately everytinme being that is a spring operated gun. The recoil actually shifted the scope over a short period of time. The gun was also quite loud which didn't help matters.

Long story short, I couldn't consistently eliminate the sparrows and starlings with this gun. I became very frustrated with it and it ended up in the safe more than pointed out my windows.

I read a post here a few weeks ago about the Benjamin Marauder and started checking it out through Pyramid Air. This gun is a PCP Pre Charged Pneumatic and is extremely easy to shoot. For a PCP generally costing 900 to 2500 this gun is much more affordable at 469. One down side is that you do have to buy a rather expensive ($200-$250) hand pump to charge it. I can easily eliminate any sparrow or starling up to 45 yards. The barrel is shrouded so it is completely quiet - like firing a firearm with a silencer on it. The gun also comes with a match grade trigger and a 10 round clip to get second shots off quickly.

Anyone who has had trouble with repeating traps or spring operated air guns this gun was made for you. Just wanted to share this with everyone.

Mitch

[dsonyay]

Is the pumping process better or worse than you thought?

Also--- what scope did you end up with? Leapers? Did Pyramid mount and sight it in for you?

What caliber did you end up going with? .22 or .177?

I thought about sending you a PM yesterday. Was wondering if you ordered yet- Saw this post this morning.

Keep everyone updated on the rifle. I think this is a superb rifle for small pest control. We'd like to hear more of your experiences with it as time goes on. Especially if you make any looooonnnng shots.

[Don~VA]

Hi Mitch,
Just wanted to say thanks for posting your update. I have the same problem with my Gamo break barrel. I am continually sighting it in and adjusting the scope but never get accurate groups from it. I have been trying to decide if I should invest in another scope or just go for a better rifle. After reading your post I will definitely take a close look at that Marauder.

[Don Strickland]

I have a Gamo Shadow Sport (just purchased), with the scope slipping problem. There must be a solution. Just haven't been able to come up with anything yet. Original scope and rings were missing when I received the rifle. Bought some Weaver Rings and a BSA AR312X44 A/O Scope. I'm not sold on the BSA yet because the first BSA I bought should have flunked quality control, but looks like a good scope so decided to try another one. Does any one have information about correcting the slipping problem? I originally had a (good) hunting rifle scope on it but the fellow who sold me the rings said the recoil of the Gamo would destroy the (good) rifle scope so I took it off and purchased the BSA. I blame poor accuracy on the quality of ammo. I purchased 750 rounds of Gamo Tomahawk (high performance) ammo, and they should have failed quality control. They fit poorly and some of them will drop completely through the barrel. Also purchased a small tin of Gamo Rocket (high performance) and they work much better. I may try some Crossman ammo next. I'm not ready to lay out 6 or 7 hundred dollars for an air rifle so if worse comes to worse, I'll just use my Ruger 10/22. Accurate and dependable.
Don

[Mitch Booth]

Dave I sent you a pm.

Don and Don,

Any spring gun will cause the scope to shift back using standard rings. I had this problem with my RWS 34 and not being able to hold a zero on the scope setting. There is a fix though. Pyramid Air has a special scope stop ring base designed to be used with Weaver rings that completely eliminates scope slippage due to recoil. They really know what they are doing and the customer support it phenominal.

A word about springer guns. They are good guns but there is a learning curve when firing them. You MUST hold the gun as light as possible to allow the gun to recoil straight back when shooting. If you try to hold the gun firmly you'll never be able to get tight groups. This what they talk about being hold-sensitive on the different air rifle forums. I can consistently put 10 shots in a dime size hold with the Marauder and was not able to even come close to that with my RWS. Basically the gun will out shoot me.

Mitch

[Don Strickland]

Thanks for the info Mitch. I found an old set of rings that would fit the 3/8 dovetail and mounted the bottom half of the rings, hoping that it would stop the slipping. Probably about the same thing you were talking about. Thanks again.

[TheCav-MO]

Glad your so happy with your marauder. As I said in an earlier post on pellet rifles. In my opinion the very best you can get for the money, although not cheap well worth the money.

[dsonyay]

I have a Gamo Shadow Sport (just purchased), with the scope slipping problem. There must be a solution. Just haven't been able to come up with anything yet. Original scope and rings were missing when I received the rifle. Bought some Weaver Rings and a BSA AR312X44 A/O Scope. I'm not sold on the BSA yet because the first BSA I bought should have flunked quality control, but looks like a good scope so decided to try another one. Does any one have information about correcting the slipping problem? I originally had a (good) hunting rifle scope on it but the fellow who sold me the rings said the recoil of the Gamo would destroy the (good) rifle scope so I took it off and purchased the BSA. I blame poor accuracy on the quality of ammo. I purchased 750 rounds of Gamo Tomahawk (high performance) ammo, and they should have failed quality control. They fit poorly and some of them will drop completely through the barrel. Also purchased a small tin of Gamo Rocket (high performance) and they work much better. I may try some Crossman ammo next. I'm not ready to lay out 6 or 7 hundred dollars for an air rifle so if worse comes to worse, I'll just use my Ruger 10/22. Accurate and dependable.
Don

you should have some holes located on top of your dovetail on the rifle. i have a Gamo 440 and the hole is for a scope stop. My gamo came with one that prevents the scope rings from backing. I actually didn't use the scope stop because a set of rings I bought with a scope had the feature on it. It is a small knob that fits into the hole on top of the receiver.

[Matt F.]

This is a great thread.
I knew nothing about the PCP air rifles prior to this thread.
I've done some searching around, and those things look awesome!

[Guest]

As I said on an earlier post on this subject. I have the Benjamin and it is a great gun. I to went through several air guns before I found the one that
Is accurate. I wish I had bought this one first. Of course this model has
Not been on the market that long. But for the money you can't go wrong.
I shot a starling yesterday 50 yards away DOA first try! You can't beat that
For controlling these pest birds. Good luck.
Mike

[Don Strickland]

D. Sonnier,
I saw one hole in the rear of the dovetail but didn't know what it was for. Thanks for the info.
Don

[dsonyay]

D. Sonnier,
I saw one hole in the rear of the dovetail but didn't know what it was for. Thanks for the info.
Don

exactly... there are rings made that will fit that hole (usually on some of the BSA scopes. Or you can buy a scope stop, screw it in that hole, then mount a scope against it.

You may want to google "scope stops" ... you can get a bit more detail on the web.

[DAVE]

2 Years ago I bought a Gamo Shadow sport with 3 to 9 scope. What a piece of junk. How ever I'm a little hard headed! So I boxed it up and shipped it back to Gamo. The scope would not stay put. They shipped back with a new scope. Same problem, now I'm mad. Shipped it back with a NICE letter HA and a phone call with a promise that I would put an add in the paper if they didn't fix it this time. One week got it back. They fixed it, also received a nice letter. The problem with air guns is that you have to have a scope made for it and extra strong mounting.
I have killed many sparrows with first shot. Gamo makes good stuff but some of their people just don't use their heads, or maybe they are like so many company's that think you won't fight to make it right. Like I said gamo makes good guns
Dave

[dsonyay]

As I said on an earlier post on this subject. I have the Benjamin and it is a great gun. I to went through several air guns before I found the one that
Is accurate. I wish I had bought this one first. Of course this model has
Not been on the market that long. But for the money you can't go wrong.
I shot a starling yesterday 50 yards away DOA first try! You can't beat that
For controlling these pest birds. Good luck.
Mike

wow! 50yds is a long shot for a bird. But the rifle will easily do it if you've got the scope dialed in for it.

One thing about a Marauder barrel- it is not a typical air rifle barrel. The barrel is "choked". What this means is the last bit of the barrel is slightly undersized. This forces the pellet to leave the barrel uniformly shaped and keeps the air from bleeding through the pellet. This causes a dramatic accuracy advantage over ordinary barrels. Most airgun nuts swap out their old barrels for one of these. A company called Walther Lothar makes barrels styled this way. Lot of people (like me) have plunked down all sorts of money to customize an air rifle and a Walter Lothar barrel is usually one of the parts we spend money on.

I kind of think Walter Lothar makes the barrels for the Marauder.

[dsonyay]

2 Years ago I bought a Gamo Shadow sport with 3 to 9 scope. What a piece of junk. How ever I'm a little hard headed! So I boxed it up and shipped it back to Gamo. The scope would not stay put. They shipped back with a new scope. Same problem, now I'm mad. Shipped it back with a NICE letter HA and a phone call with a promise that I would put an add in the paper if they didn't fix it this time. One week got it back. They fixed it, also received a nice letter. The problem with air guns is that you have to have a scope made for it and extra strong mounting.
I have killed many sparrows with first shot. Gamo makes good stuff but some of their people just don't use their heads, or maybe they are like so many company's that think you won't fight to make it right. Like I said gamo makes good guns
Dave

You are right. Gamo does make a good rifle- but to make them great you need to replace the trigger with a superb aftermarket trigger for about 35 bucks. That alone transforms the rifle into a excellent shooter.

Yeah- scopes are a big issue on spring rifles. Most people don't figure that out and then get a bad taste in their mouths about whatever spring rifle they have.

[dsonyay]

www.gatewaytoairguns.org is a very good air rifle forum and I think many of you guys would love the information contained there. Most of us here need a good rifle for pest control and tips on shooting better. This forum will give you all that and more.

There are numerous subgroups and whatever rifle you shoot there is a group you'll fit into.

There is a huge Marauder fan club there where you can really get into the details of the rifle and how to custamize it to suit your needs.

[Guest]

I have been looking at these for months and reading all I could find on them and finally decided to pull the trigger and ordered mine Thursday and it should be here Wednesday the 11th. Cant wait until it gets here.

[Guest]

I am glad this topic came up. I am thinking about buying another pellet gun or if I can make my current one more precise. Please keep us informed on the Marauder.

[Mitch Booth]

Bobby,

You will not be disappointed. I can reliably eliminate any sparrow or starling up to 50 yards. I can make dime sized groups all day long at 30-35 yards.


One tip though - When you shoot at that starling that is 40 feet high and he is in your screech owl box make sure he's outside the hole and not inside looking out when you pull the trigger. I blew him right to the back of the nest box and then had to get the extension ladder out. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Mitch

[Mitch Booth]

Here's two air rifle forums dedicated to the Benjamin Marauder.

www.marauderairrifle.com

www.yellowforum.com

There is some good information on these forums.

Mitch