Benjamin Marauder .25 caliber air rifle

Frogman · July 22, 2012, 03:08:08 PM

Finally got my new Banjamin Marauder .25 caliber air rifle from Pyramyd Air. My neighbor across the street had the .22 Marauder and I was really impressed so I ordered one in .25. Since I have some scuba tanks here at the house I ordered the scuba tank fill adapter for the gun also along with three kinds of pellets. After mowing behind the house the other day I decided to hang up some pop cans from some of the trees. Then we started plinking at them from the back deck.

According to my range finder the closest can was at 52 yards and the farthest was at 118 yards. The 52 yard ones were easy. I was hitting the 74 yard can with some regularity. Brad was hitting the 118 yard one regularly also.

These guns are very accurate!!

Today we took them out to the range to see how the did on paper and fine tune the scopes.

Frogman with the .25.

That's Brad with his .22.

My .25 caliber.

Here are some groups I got after fine tuning the scope. First is at 25 yards . . .

Then at 50 yards . . .

Then finally this great group at 50 yards . . .

After trying several types of pellets, my rifle likes the Benjamin .25 caliber 6.4 mm domed pellets the best. This pellet is the one I used for all the groups pictured above.

This rifle is very accurate and quiet. It is a little heavy though and would be a chore to carry around much. So far I am very happy with it. This is my first air gun and I'm really impressed. My son had a Beeman springer that had used to scare birds and other pests away from my grass seed and stuff. It sure didn't come close to the Marauder. Course it didn't cost as much either. My wife took some video of us shooting off the back porch. I will see if I can get it posted up.

Jim

FinsnFur · July 22, 2012, 04:34:28 PM

Sweeet

It's a nice looking rig too.
I wouldnt mind having one myself. I havent figured out why...but I really think I'd like one anyway

So did the big guy in the background say he was gonna get himself one after having to watch and not being able to play with you guys?

HuntnCarve · July 22, 2012, 04:40:57 PM

Jim,

I knew you would like that .25 Marauder!

Once you find the right pellet they are phenominal! My .22 Marauder shoots the Crossman Premiers (brown box) very well. Then I tried some H&N Baracuda Match (5.51) and got single hole accuracy at 25 yards. The JSB Jumbo Monsters also shoot very fine.
You need to download Hawke ChairGun Pro (it's free). It does pretty much everything in regards to trajectory charts, etc. It provides a ton of information.

I don't know if you've seen these video on the .25 Marauder. This fellow knows alot about air guns.

Same fellow comparing calibers on a squirrel hunt.

Frogman · July 22, 2012, 05:28:08 PM

Jim,

That big guy is Brad's Dad. We let him shoot some too. He has access to Brad's gun any time he wants!! These guns are awesome. Ive been shooting again here off the back porch after we fine tuned the scope. Consistently hitting pop can at 80 yards once we figure the holdover!

Jim

FinsnFur · July 22, 2012, 10:28:59 PM

Yeah you got my attention Frogman

I've seen practically all his videos Dave. He's phenomenal with that Marauder of his.

Todd Rahm · July 23, 2012, 01:14:43 AM

That's cool Frog, and thanks for the links Dave. Looks like that 25 is a nice little pest control rifle.

Frogman · July 23, 2012, 08:56:05 AM

Dave,

Thanks for the Hawke Chairgun Pro heads-up. That's a very good air gun ballistics program!! Comes as an app for smart phones too!

Thanks!

Jim

FOsteology · July 23, 2012, 04:50:32 PM

Has anyone tried one of those .25cal air guns out on a cat or coon?

HuntnCarve · July 23, 2012, 05:13:50 PM

I saw this video the other day FOs.

http://www.realtree.tv/watch/dmlkZW89NzE2/raccoon-hunting-with-crosmanhuntingcom

Edit: I believe he states it's a .22 caliber Marauder in this video.

FOsteology · July 23, 2012, 09:34:04 PM

Awesome!

I may have to give one of those airguns further thought... I've had no trouble with a .22lr and CCI CB Long. However, after a certain distance, the ballistics resembles a rainbows arc!

FinsnFur · July 23, 2012, 09:44:32 PM

I dont know about the .25...but the .22 wont take a cat.

They just play dead.

Todd Rahm · July 24, 2012, 02:06:10 AM

Man, to the pumps come with those things or is that another $170?

Hawks Feather · July 24, 2012, 09:08:52 AM

James,

We know you didn't fire one into the cat. Nice try - CAT LOVER.

Jerry

P.S. Why is my icon so small? How is that for an open line?

KySongDog · July 24, 2012, 04:14:44 PM

Quote from: Todd Rahm on July 24, 2012, 02:06:10 AM
Man, to the pumps come with those things or is that another $170?

Good question. If one doesn't have a scuba tank laying around, how does one charge the gun??

I've got a feeling my bicycle tire pump won't do.

HuntnCarve · July 24, 2012, 05:49:35 PM

Todd/Semp,

You have to purchase the High pressure Hand pump ($170) along with the rifle. This is not your run of the mill bicycle pump. It is capable of 3000PSI. I purchased the "Package" deal that included: Rifle, scope, mounts, bipod, pump, and a plastic hard case. They "Pyramidair" mounted the scope and set everything up. Mine is in .22 caliber and comes with a 10 shot clip. As I mentioned before, I'll charge (pump) it up to 3000 PSI on the gauge and shoot it down to 2000PSI. I'll get about 35 shots. Then it takes about 60 pump strokes to recharge it back to 3000 PSI. Not too much of a work out. You just have to take your time so the pump does not heat up. Only takes a couple minutes. The .25 caliber obviously takes more air per shot. So it will go from 3000PSI down to 2000PSI over roughly sixteen shots (from what I've read).

Most fellows end up purchasing a air tank. From what I've read, a 90 Cu Ft tank filled to 4500 PSI will provide about 67 refills before it needs topped off. That's alot of shooting!
Regardless, these certainly are not the air rifles we grew up with as kids.

Dave

FinsnFur · July 24, 2012, 06:46:01 PM

Holy crap thats some good info Dave. I thought an air compressor would do it, especially since I seen what appeared to be an air chuck quick connect on one of the videos.

Jerry the cat is for coyote hunting. Some have toll dogs, I have live decoy

HuntnCarve · July 24, 2012, 08:08:17 PM

The Benjamin High Pressure air Pump has a quick connect that attaches to the fitting on the rifle. Once you get it pumped up to pressure, you turn a bleed valve that releases the pressure that's still in the line (3000PSI). Then you are good to go.
A standard air compressor only produces about 150 PSI. So it will not work. A fellow makes what is called a "Shoe Box" compressor that works in conjunction with a standard air compressor. This shoe box compressor roughly $500, produces up to 4500 PSI, and seems to be the rage with folks that shoot PCP air rifles. The alternative is a High pressure air tank. The local dive shop posts recharging such tanks for about $8.00 per fill. So once I finally get an air tank I think I'll go that route.
Theres a whole world of PCP air rifles out there that have captured my fascination. Check out the Air Force line of air rifles: http://www.airforceairguns.com/ These are some serious shooting irons! On my ever growing wish list.

Dave

Frogman · July 25, 2012, 12:03:07 AM

Guys,

I too ordered my .25 Marauder with the Pyramyd Air package deal. I also orderd the scuba tank adapter since I still have several scuba tanks left over from when we closed the scuba shop. Even though I got the hand pump as part of the package I thought since I already had the scuba tanks they would make rechargeing the air gun much easier. Here is a photo of the scuba tank filling the air gun . . .

And a closer shot . . .

I have yet to use the hand pump. The scuba tanks were filled to 3000 psi which is the same as the air reservoir in the rifle. But the rifle takes only a small amount of the air for each fill. I have gotten at least 20 fills from the small green 63 cubic ft. tank you see in the photos. My partner in the scuba shop who has our shop compressor and cascade system will be able to fill my tanks a little higher to at least 3200 psi which should give me more fills for the gun. Also some of my tanks hold 80 cu. ft. and I even have one 90 cu. ft. tank that can be filled to 3500 psi. Fortunately as a scuba diver I already had the tanks. If you guys check around at scuba shops and sale papers you can usually find used 80 cu. ft. aluminum scuba tanks for $100 to $150. New ones are prolly going to be more like $200. Pyramyd Air has new ones for $199.99. Most scuba shops will fill the tanks for about $5.00 to $10.00. The tanks do have to be visually inspected once a year and hydrostatically tested every five years.

Be aware that even with using the scuba tank to fill the rifle you will only use a small part of the scuba tank air. Each time you fill the gun, the tank pressure will fall a little. Once the scuba tank pressure gets to around 2000 psi you will need to get the tank refilled at the dive shop or use the hand pump to bring the rifle pressure up to 3000 psi. If you are friendly with the dive shop you might ask them to fill your scuba tank to 3100 or 3200 psi. That would get you several more fills for the gun before the tank pressure drops to 2000 psi or so! Beware, however, of hot fills, where the shop fills the tank to 3000 psi and the tank is quite warm to the touch. This is a result of filling the tank quickly and the resulting friction of the air molecules bouncing around inside the tank. When you get the tank home and it has cooled down you might only have 2800 psi or so!! My .25 Marauder gets about 20 - 24 shots before it's 3000 psi charge drops to 2000 psi or below and starts really shooting lower and lower.

I used the Hawke Chairgun ballistics program that Dave posted about to print out a ballistic table to match my Marauder. Brad and I then used the info to shoot at 8 pop cans that I had hung from trees behind my house today. The cans were hung with monofilament fishing lline at varying distances from 52 yards to 118 yards. Using the ballistic info we were able to figure hold over using the scopes mil-dots to get quick hits on the pop cans. I didn't hit the 100 yard and over ones the first shot or every shot, but we were hitting them regularly if we did our part on the trigger. I actually hit the 118 yard can on the second try and knocked it off the fishing line that held it on the tree! The 50 to 70 yard cans are so easy to hit that we don't shoot at them much any more. These guns are very accurate and I am even more impressed with the Marauder than I was a few days ago. It's just amazing to me that I can hit a pop can sized object with some consistency at 100 yards or more!!

These guns are expensive, but I'm sure getting a lot of enjoyment out of mine, and I certainly don't regret buying it.

Jim

KySongDog · July 25, 2012, 03:17:36 AM

Good info. Thanks, Jim/Dave.