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Posted: 7/31/2013 2:24:22 PM EDT
| Shooting my pos gamo while waiting for my rws34 has me still searching. If I can I wouldnt mind getting a marauder. Opinions and how you fill them please. I was looking into hand pumps. Anyone use a hill pump? I want a 22 cal model. Maybe a 177 since that is what my rws is. I assume I will get more shots with a 177 per tank? What scopes are yall using? |
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The .22 Marauders tend to be more miss than hit as far as getting an accurate barrel, than the .177s. Even the .177 has ample power for most airgun targets.
The Hill pump is much better than the Benjamin. I have the Benjamin and am on the 5th rebuild. My brother and a friend both have the Hill and neither has needed a rebuild. The effort using either is about the same and really isn't too bad, even for a light weight guy like me (140 pound range). As I have posted in other places on this forum, the Marauder is really a better rifle than it ought to be given it's price. Going up a few hundred dollars will get you into the Daystate and Air Arms, but you still do not get the ability to fine tune the gun to a desired fill pressure, and velocity as you do with the Marauder. However with the more expensive guns you are assured a very good barrel. The first scope I put on my Marauder was the 4-16x Centerpoint. At about $70 from Wall Mart, this scope is really a good buy. However, you will need quite tall rings in order for the scope cover to clear the barrel shroud. Currently my Marauder wears a Hawke 10x Sidewinder Tactical with 1/2 mill dots. Other scopes that I like but need to be mounted so that they are sighed in at near optical zero for the parallax/focusing adjustment to work properly are the SWFA SS series scopes. I like fixed power scopes and have a 16x and 20x. The rear focus works better for me slinged-up in prone than the side wheel. When I get around to getting some Burris rings that are adjustable, one of these will find its way back onto my Marauder. |
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Quoted:
Shooting my pos gamo while waiting for my rws34 has me still searching. If I can I wouldnt mind getting a marauder. Opinions and how you fill them please. I was looking into hand pumps. Anyone use a hill pump? I want a 22 cal model. Maybe a 177 since that is what my rws is. I assume I will get more shots with a 177 per tank? What scopes are yall using? Using the same Centerpoint as Arimo did. Good buy from Wally World. After about 1400 pellets, still works on a Hatsan 125 NP in .25 caliber. Hope that you enjoy your RWS. 
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| Thanks for the replies. I should have the rws friday. I hope to sight it in and pop some nuisance birds. The more I see the marauder the more excited I get. There is supposed to be a synthetic version coming out soon. I love a wood stock, but the marauder would be all business as far as hunting. Im more excited about the idea of it over a iwi tavor lol |
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I fill mine with the Benjamin pump that is modified to take 20 PSI regulated air pressure from a dry tank. The dry tank has two pounds of desiccant in it and is pressurized to 120 PSI. The hose from the tank to pump has a small adjustable pressure regulator with gauge, these are $15 from any hardware store. This assures NO moisture ever condenses in the pump or rifle. Easy to do with fittings from the hardware store for under $50. You need a shop air compressor to recharge the tank, the desiccant should last for a year. Harbor Freight has a small air tank for under $20 that should work great. The desiccant I use is molecular sieve in the 4 Angstrom variety in 1-2mm diameter spheres so it flows like water when pouring it into the tank. The only limitation is you must wait for fresh air to fully dry, a process that takes an hour or two. And don't move the tank when withdrawing air. Moisture condensing in the pump is the main reason for pump failure. Moisture in the rifle is even worse. |
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The problem with the pump is water, living in a humid location means you won't like the service. But you CAN work on it yourself, just remember to use silicone grease ONLY. I need to make a tutorial on how to take the pump apart for clean/dry/lube. If this is done, the o-ring seal on the last stage should last for years. But if not, just a few months and the ring will need replacement. If you feed the pump absolute dry air, it should last forever. |
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Looking at the .177 does anybody have feedback on accuracy? I have heard some negatives on the .22 barrels and nothing but praise on the .25 barrels (which are made by a different company) I really only need the .177 but not if they have the same hit or miss barrel accuracy of the .22 Feedback if you are a .177 owner would be appreciated! |
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Sub MOA at 50 yards? That is with Crosman Premier heavies (10.5 grains) and a 950 ft/sec tune. I can get groups in the 3/8" for 10 shots at 50 yards when the wind is calm. You cannot do better for the price with the .177". And it loves the Eun Jin 16.1 grain magnum pellets with this tune. I only go for that "first pellet on target" mentality with these so no grouping so far. Always chose accuracy over power, these heavy pellets bridge the gap since .177" already penetrates better, there are no compromises. I brained a raccoon a few weeks ago. One shot to the brain and it dropped like a sack of taters. The switch was hit, I only wasted another pellet on it since the wife thought it wasn't dead enough.  Get the Chairgun program if you have 40+ yards of range. It is free from Hawke Optics and works very well with listed pellets. I'm still trying to get chrono numbers on the Eun Jin heavy pellets for accurate BC calculations. These pellets are downright awesome. As in penetrating a 2x4  . |
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The barrels are generally pretty good with the .177, however like any inexpensively made barrel, there will be some bad ones. Crosman sell replacements for around $25 shipped. A much better Lothar Walthar blank is going to run you about $100 plus shipping. Then you have to find someone to machine that barrel and possibly the action.
The two .177s I got were capable of about 1.75 and 2 Minutes of angle at 30 yards. One is currently in pieces and in various states of modification, the less accurate one got a Lothar Walther barrel fitted by me. It is the full length and diameter all the way into the action and I had to machine the action to fit. I also had Pacific Tool make a reamer to my specs to chamber the thing. This rifle is now capable of a bit better than 1 MoA at 50 yards indoors (no wind and consistent lighting). It no longer wears the shroud. The out of the box accuracy is more than good enough for any hunting, pest control and informal target shooting. Where you want a better barrel would be for serious Field Target, Benchrest, and other paper punching for records. If you somehow wind up with a bad barrel, a replacement is a few bucks and a phone call away. |
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I keep hearing that the .22s are not always accurate, but then I have a hard time finding examples of this anywhere. I think it might be an internet thing that got blown out of proportion. My .22 shoots under an inch at 45 yards with almost any pellet, and will print half inch groups with Baracuda Match pellets. It shoots the Baracuda Match pellets at around 830 fps for twenty good shots, which, at 21.3 grains, is about 32 ft/lbs of energy. Lighter pellets like 14.3 grain Crosman premiers will go about 920 fps. It's a great rifle, and a tremendous value considering the other rifles with similar features and power are twice as much $.
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Quoted:
I keep hearing that the .22s are not always accurate, but then I have a hard time finding examples of this anywhere. I think it might be an internet thing that got blown out of proportion. My .22 shoots under an inch at 45 yards with almost any pellet, and will print half inch groups with Baracuda Match pellets. It shoots the Baracuda Match pellets at around 830 fps for twenty good shots, which, at 21.3 grains, is about 32 ft/lbs of energy. Lighter pellets like 14.3 grain Crosman premiers will go about 920 fps. It's a great rifle, and a tremendous value considering the other rifles with similar features and power are twice as much $. I would completely disagree on the .22's being inaccurate. In the other post, I was sending 14.3 grains down range at 1000 fps verified by my Chrony. As to the accuracy, it shoots far better than I am capable of. Debating putting it in a sled to get some REAL results, but my groups at 50 yards are certainly under 1". |
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I'm looking at the Marauder and did some Googling last night. It looks great, but I want iron sights. Has anyone figured out how to put iron sights on one? What is the outside diameter of the barrel shroud at the muzzle end?
One of the things I came across in my research related to the .22 versus .17 accuracy question. I read that the shroud has a .780" inside diameter and the holes are between .24 and .25". As a result, .22 pellets pass closer to the baffles. Also, the baffles have an outside diameter of just less than .780 (obviously) and are not as consistent as one might expect. The author of the article I was reading attributed some of the .22 accuracy issues to that. Also, it appears to be possible to install the shroud backwards (with the breach end at the muzzle) which affects accuracy detrimentally. I'll see if I can find it again and post a link. I also found some cool accessories, like longer shrouds and Lothar Walther barrels. |
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I actually did put iron sighs on my first Marauder as I too wanted match style aperture sights for highpower rifle practice. The biggest problem is that the shroud wants to rotate and even blue LocTite did not completely prevent accidental rotation.
I used the Airforce match sights which are much better than one would expect for the price. The rear sight is quite repeatable in that you don't have to worry about backlash. The front, too compares nicely to match aperture sights of much more cost in sight picture. The mounting system does not have a method of repeat adjustments, though they are quite adjustable. What I did to the Marauder was to make a sight block that was shrink fitted to the shroud. I made the mistake of not removing the baffles first and melted a couple. If I were to do this again, I would freeze the aluminum shroud and fit to the steel sight block. However, there are only a couple of ways of securing the shroud to prevent rotation. I don't think I would want to try to drill and tap screw holes but that would be the most secure. |
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Thanks. Do you think it would be practical to cantilever a Picatinny rail forward from the dovetail on the front of the receiver (in front of
of the magazine)? If so, you could mouflip AR front BUIS on that rail and a rear BUIS on a short section of Picatinny rail behind the magazine, and it would be easy to mount a scope as well. If you could machine a single Picatinny rail to accommodate the magazine, that would be even better. |
| What sigh radius do you envision for your Picatinny rail set-up? It would be possible to machine one out of 7075 T6 with a cut-out for the magazine. The support on the 3/8" dovetail would give enough stiffness since less than half of the left side would be continuous at the cut-out. A long 20" rail could be bent accidentally as could a 16", but the shorter it is the stiffer and less prone to bending. |
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Quoted:
What sigh radius do you envision for your Picatinny rail set-up? It would be possible to machine one out of 7075 T6 with a cut-out for the magazine. The support on the 3/8" dovetail would give enough stiffness since less than half of the left side would be continuous at the cut-out. A long 20" rail could be bent accidentally as could a 16", but the shorter it is the stiffer and less prone to bending. Evolution Gun Works sells pretty stout looking Picatinny rail stock in 16" lengths. If you had a 16" rail cantilevered off the front of the receiver and another section right behind the magazine, I bet you could get an 18" sight radius. I saw a Marauder pistol online that had a tall blade mounted on the barrel band and a rear sight on a riser behind the magazine. I've also seen front bands for the rifle with short rail sections mounted on the bottom (for bipod, flashlights, etc.), so mounting a front sight on a modified front band might be another option. That might be a better solution than the rail idea. Here's the barrel band for the P-Rod: 
LINK 
LINK |
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