30 replies to this topic

[Air Rifle Hunter]

Well I couldn't pass up this deal I found this morning . On the GTA Forum (Gateway to Airguns) someone posted three air rifles and a small tank they were selling to save up for/fund getting a .25 caliber Air Arms air gun. One of the air guns happened to be a .25 Benjamin Marauder. The stock of the rifle has a few minor scratches/dings on it, but nothing I can't fix. Besides, I'll probably strip the stock as soon as I get it and primer it for a nice camo job. That way it will be ready for some bigger game out hunting in the field. A small portion of the shroud extension needs touching up too, but like I mentioned... nothing I can't handle. The air rifle comes with an extended shroud which contains (2) additional baffles (which helps quiet it down even more, probably around the noise my .22 makes or even less), UTG high 1" scope rings, a Vector Optics 4-12X50AO scope (which I'll probably switch out to another gun and get a mildot scope for the Marauder), (2) clips/mags (which hold (8) pellets each) and the degasser tool. It has also already been depinged, so I won't have to think about doing that in the future either. The seller is also going to send some pellets along with it since I currently don't have any .25 caliber pellets on hand. The price was $415 for everything, shipping included which seemed like a decent enough price to me . It will get sent out next week and I'll hopefully receive it sometime during the week so I will be able to test it, work on the stock and get it back together. This will be the last air gun I purchase for a long time since now I will have both the .22 and .25 air rifles now for air gun hunting. Man, I really need to get my butt in gear and save for my powder burners for deer and hog. I'll post some pictures of it after I get it fixed up!

[Poslo]

Good for you! Is this going to be your first .25 caliber? Look forward to seeing what kind of damage that caliber does to the game you hunt, oh can't wait to see the gun too!

[ShooterJohn]

That's a great deal and you'll really like it.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

Good for you! Is this going to be your first .25 caliber? Look forward to seeing what kind of damage that caliber does to the game you hunt, oh can't wait to see the gun too!

Yes, it is going to be my first .25 caliber air rifle (and if my wife has her input, maybe the only one for quite some time ). According to the seller, it is a very accurate rifle and has never had any mechanical issues. Once I receive it, I'll do a once over on it and maybe just shoot it over the chrony with the two different pellets he's including to see what the numbers are currently at and test it at 20 yards for accuracy at that range. Then I'll see what maintenance I want to, or need to do to it and then do those maintenance items. After all that's done, then I'll take pics of it to post here. I'm hoping I can tune it so that it shoots the .25 JSB's and Benji Dome pellets at least around an average of 820 FPS or more for at least 16 shots. That should give me around 44 FPE at the muzzle or somewhere around there (I currently get right around 30 FPE at the muzzle of my .22 caliber with the 18.1 grain JSB's). I've been trying to find information on the Vector Optics scope, since I've never use a ballistics reticule scope like this particular one. The seller said he didn't think he still had the manual for it and it looks like I'll have to use it until I'm able to afford getting a new Leapers mildot scope for it. I think I want to get the Leapers 6-24x50 AO scope for this rifle (they cost around $99 from Pyramyd Air Gun Mall). I think this air rifle could use a scope like that. If it works like it should, it should hit like a mini hammer on small to medium small game. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it next week.

[butthead]

You'll love it. Mine is a hammer. Shoots pretty much one hole to 26 yards using Exacts. No fly away's or runners. Topped mine with a Hawke sidewinder. Totally stock, no adjustments or tweaking required. Good luck with yours.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

Thanks butthead! Have you chrony'd your .25 yet? How fast is it shooting the JSB King Exacts? I just ordered a Leapers 6-24x50 AO IR MD scope for it yesterday and some pellets ((2) tins of .25 Baracudas, (4) tins of .25 Benjamin Domes and (2) tins of .25 Predator Polymags) from Pyramyd Air so that I'll be prepared to set the rifle up when it arrives (man, I really need to stop spending money ). I'm going to take the scope that is coming with the rifle and use it on a different powder burner I have. I'm hoping that this rifle will be as accurate as yours sounds like it is. I don't know what adjustments have or have not been made to this rifle, so I will have to put it over the chrony to see what the rifle is shooting in FPS in its current tune. It would be nice if I didn't have to mess with any adjustments at first and can just concentrate on sprucing up the rifle for it's first outing. I have heard that the .25 use the Green Mountain barrels and that they have good reviews, so I am really hoping that this one is a tack driver like everyone reports that they are. I can't wait to get my hands on it...

[butthead]

I can run it over the chrony next week if you like and she what she puts out. I have a very limited range so I just haven't had the need to check it. No holds necessary for the short distances I shoot.

[Bennie]

Congrats on your new rifle. New guns are way too fun! Hope you have real good luck with yours.

[Brant]

Way to go. The .25 with the Green Mountain barrels is the way to go.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

I can run it over the chrony next week if you like and she what she puts out. I have a very limited range so I just haven't had the need to check it. No holds necessary for the short distances I shoot.

Thanks Butthead. The current owner PM'ed me and said he chrony'd it just before packing it up. He said the .25 Marauder is set up and shooting the JSB King Exact 25.4 grn pellets at around 880 FPS. That sounds pretty good to me! That would be close to around 44 FPE of energy at the muzzle and at 50 yards should still carry around 30 FPE onto the target (in optimal conditions). If it is shooting that hard and accurate, I'm going to love this rifle! My .22 Marauder is set up to average around 870 FPS shooting the 18.1 grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy pellets. It sounds like I need to look at tuning it a little to up the FPS without sacrificing accuracy on my .22 cal and without the rifle becoming an air hog. FedEx delivered my new UTG Leapers 6-24x50AO IR MD Varmint Hunter Scope (The dummies who assembled it put the IR knob on wrong and when it should be red it is green instead. I guess I'll have to figure out how to fix that or just remember when the dial shows red that the reticle will be green ) and pellets today. The UPS site shows that the .25 Marauder should get here tomorrow between 10 and 11 am. I can't wait! Hopefully I'll have some time to get out this weekend and connect it with some critters! If I don't have too much work to do...

[Air Rifle Hunter]

The .25 Marauder arrived this morning and is in very nice shape. I've installed the new Leapers scope and will zero it in shortly (as long as it is quiet enough for my neighborhood. Once I do that I'll chrony it and post the results. I'll do two mags ((16) shots) of JSB Exact Kings (25.4 grain) and two mags of Benjamin Domed (27.8 grain) and post the results here. I'll also post a few photos.

[Brant]

cool. Mine loves the Kings.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

Well, the brown truck delivered the .25 Marauder today and I set up the new scope on it, zeroed it in and got out the Chrony. After chronying it I'm a little bit dissappointed. The JSB Kings were very accurate, however they are not shooting at the supposed 880 FPS that the seller mentioned he chrony'd it at. Here's the actual Chrony string I just got:Starting fill pressure: 3200 PSIClip #1: #1-774.7, #2-772.4, #3-775.2, #4-796.3, #5-790.5, #6-Error, #7-Error, #8-797.4Clip #2: #9-805.3, #10-802.7, #11-804.0, #12-807.5, #13-809.0, #14-812.5, #15-810.2, #16-812.0Ending fill pressure: 2700 PSI That's not quite where I was expecting the numbers to be for this particular pellet. That only give me an average of 35.9 FPE at the muzzle. I also looks like the FPS is still rising or just reaching the top of the bell curve at the 16th shot. Do you remember what your settings are Brant for your .25? And do you know what FPS it is shooting them at? I know this gun can shoot faster with these pellets and I'd really like to get the FPS up quite a bit more on this rifle so that I'm closer to 44 or 45 FPE at the muzzle since I plan on using this for hunting and want as much power out of two clips ((16) shots) that I can get. I'm not too concerned with getting more than 16 shots since I'm fortunate to get 4 or 5 shots off when hunting larger small to medium game anyway (actually if I get any shots at some game I'm doing good lately ). Thanks for any suggestions.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

I can run it over the chrony next week if you like and she what she puts out. I have a very limited range so I just haven't had the need to check it. No holds necessary for the short distances I shoot.

Hi butthead, If you could, I would really like to know what your .25 is shooting the JSB Kings at. If you look at one of my last post, you'll see the shot string from my rifle with the kings. It seems a little low to me, but I don't have a frame of reference for it right now. Thanks.

[Brant]

Your missing the sweet spot I think. Start your chrony at 3000 fill and shoot down to 1500 to determine the sweet spot. I suspect you will end up normally filling to 2500-2600 psi and it wont peak until about 2000 up or down a few hundred psi. I see a max of about 840 with Kings starting at 810 at 2500 psi. Kodiaks max at about 810. Differences in temperature and humidity will affect it as well.My MRod is factory stock settings.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

Thanks very much for that information Brant. It's very helpful. I contacted the seller and he said that he has adjusted it for maximum shots and lower noise report. He commented that he had typically filled starting it at 3000 PSI. He also apologized for the error in reporting the FPS and said it might have been the 20.06grn H & N Field Target Trophy pellets that were shot at that velocity over the chrony. That could, in fact, be the case since that would be a 5.34 grain difference in pellet weight. I know that when I first got my .22 Marauder I had it set up for the 14.3 grn CPHPs shooting at a high of 915 FPS (around a 900 FPS average) and when I switched to shooting the 18.1 grain JSBs (which at those current settings were shooting around 820 FPS average) I had to adjust the velocity metering screw about a full turn, maybe 1 1/4 turn CCW to get to the 870 FPS average that I have it at now with those Jumbo Exact Heavy pellets. And that's only a 3.8 difference in grain weight. So I can imagine how a 5.34 difference in grain weight might affect the chrony results. I may need to turn out the Velocity Metering Screw a full turn or more (if there is that much adjustment left in it) and see how it affects my starting/ending fill pressure and the average FPS. It's just always easier if you don't have to mess with it to get the desired results.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

Ok... I've turned the Velocity Metering Screw 1 1/4 turn CCW and took 16 shots with the JSB Kings. Here are the chrony results:Staring PSI: 3000Clip #1: #1-816.3, #2-Error, #3-Error, #4-825.9, #5-831.2, #6-836.5, #7-834.3, #8-833.5 (also accidentally dry fired after shot #8)Clip #2: #9-858.7, #10-851.9, #11-856.3, #12-843.1, #13-856.7, #14-851.1, #15-852.5, #16-849Ending PSI: 2300Average Velocity was 842.6 which gives an average FPE of 40.1 at the muzzle. At the peak FPS (858) it was getting 41.5 FPE at the muzzle and at 833 FPS is was getting 39.1 FPE at the muzzle. That's better and closer to what I want. Like you mentioned Brant, it appears that the current tune brings my starting PSI to lower starting point, I'd say with the adjustment it would be around 2750 to 2800, my starting FPS would be around 830 or so and then after 16 shots I would probably end around 833 FPS and have an ending PSI of around 2100 or round about there. I'd really like to the the average FPS up around 870 or better (which is around 30 FPS more than current average). However, I'm guessing that since the change in air consumption with a 1 1/4 turn CCW adjustment was an additional 200 PSI which produced an additional average of 44 FPS that if I adjust the Velocity Metering Screw another 1/2 or 3/4 turn I'll probably consume another 100 PSI in air and maybe gain an additional 25 to 30 FPS average. I suppose the only way to find out is to try it out and see what happens. Here I go again!

[Brant]

Do you have the HDD? That changes the picture because it saves air. I went from 16 to 24 shots with the same avg velocity with the AOA HDD.My .25 guns give me the spectrum on power. The Marauder is second on accuracy only to the Ranger.Stubby Talon 33 FPEMarauder 40 FPEAir Ranger 50 FPECondor w/ Extreme valve 80 FPE (with Kings but breaks the sound barrier - 100+ FPE with 62 grain solid Surefires)

[Air Rifle Hunter]

I do not believe that it has an HDD in it (at least the previous owner did not mention it, which I would have though it would be mentioned as a great selling point if it had one). I've looked into them, but there is a huge back order and wait time on them currently. Therefore I decided to wait until there is a good stock on hand. As soon as I can get one when I order it I'll do so. I've turned the metering screw another 3/4 turn CCW and will have to test it tomorrow over the chrony when I get a chance. I've got it charged up to 2900 PSI and will see what my max FPS is with the current adjustments and where the sweet spot starts and stops. The nice thing about this gun is that even though it is a .25, it is actually just as quiet as my .22. Although the pellet impact is much louder.

[Brant]

Especially a Predator pellet.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

I've heard that those make a really big "THWAP" sound when they hit.

[Brant]

Yes - they dont tend to exit and transfer all of the energy to their target where Kings go clean through a lot times. I have shot the same game with both extensively. Even though the JSBs are more accurate I hunt with Predators.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

How accurate at the Predators and out to what yardage typically? I'm going to use the .25 Marauder mostly for Jack Rabbits and game animals that are a bit larger than what I would attempt to take with my .22 and I'm curious as to what pellet works best for different situations. I think I mentioned that I purchased the Predators (300 pellets), Benji Domes (800 pellets) and Baracudas (400 pellets). I only have a few of the JSB Kings (maybe 50 or so left) since those were some of the pellets that were sent with the rifle. I would have purchased some from Pyramyd Air, but they were out of the 350 count tins and I didn't want to buy the smaller quantity tins.

[Brant]

3/4" @ 50 yards with a 5 shot group. With Predators I see an occasional flyer. JSB Kings do 1/2" best groups.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

That's not too bad . Not bad at all. For medium sized game I'd want to be 50 yards or closer anyway to keep the FPE on the higher end for maximum damage. I can't wait until I can get it out and hunt with it. Although, getting out to hunt with it is not the problem, it's finding the game animals to shoot .

[Brant]

Thats funny I just picked up 8 tins of Kings in 350 count from PA. I always keep about a dozen of them in my pellet inventory. 8 tins are heavy.

I would have purchased some from Pyramyd Air, but they were out of the 350 count tins and I didn't want to buy the smaller quantity tins.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

Well, I've turned the Velocity Metering Screw 2 full turns CCW from wherever the previous owner had it set. The following sixteen shot string is using JSB Kings 25.4 grain pellets:Starting PSI: 2850 (+/-)Clip #1 - #1-840.6, #2-841.3, #3-Error, #4-850.8, #5-863.4, #6-862.3, #7-853.8, #8-853.1Clip #2 - #9-854.6, #10-853.5, #11-Error, #12-845.0, #13-847.2, #14-848.3, #15-842.4, #16-837.8Ending PSI: 2200+Total air consumption was right around 650 PSI, which seems pretty decent. The Low was 837.8 and High was 863.4. Extreme spread of 25.58 with a Standard Deviation of 7.81. The average FPS was 849.6, which provides an average FPE of 40.1 at the muzzle. It seems like a pretty decent power curve/arc, however, it's still not shooting as "hot" as I'd like it too (however I'm not totally dissatisfied with these results either). I want to shoot the Predator Polymags (26 grain) and Benji Domes (27.8 grain) as my primary pellets in this .25 Marauder and would really like to get 20 to 30 FPS more using these 25.4 JSB Kings. The main thing that is making it difficult to adjust this rifle is that I have no idea what the previous owner adjusted on this rifle. He didn't keep any records and does not remember what adjustments he made to the gun. I might turn the Velocity Metering Screw back (clockwise) a 1/4 or 1/2 turn or less and see if the ES or SD lower just a bit without sacrificing FPS. Oh, Brant... I also emailed AOA to see if they have any of the HDD's in stock for either the .25 or .22 Marauders and I'm awaiting a reply. I'm hoping they do, that way I can order one for each rifle. How long did it take you to install the HDD and what would you estimate the difficulty level of installation to be?

[Brant]

Cool on the setup. With the HDD I get about 24 shots at about 830 avg FPS with Kings or Predators. The HDD took me about 30 minutes to install. They give you a clear vinyl tube with a flap cut in it to hold the HDD in place as you reinstall parts. Once you figure that out it is a piece of cake. Mine moved out of place so It took two tries to get to the 30 minutes. The first time it wouldn't cock. A 50% improvement on the .25 caliber Marauder is very significant improvement in my opinion. The higher it is tuned the more effective it should be in saving air. That is with a maximum spread pf 20 fps. You can get 30 shots if you say your max spread is 30 fps.Your close enough to his numbers for govamint work. Was he at a higher altitude than you are (less pressure opening the valve)? Everything affects those numbers.

[Air Rifle Hunter]

Sounds like it will help the rifle out if I get and install one. :)I tested out the Predators and Benji Domes, doing one clip of each. I should have started with the same fill pressure for both, but I didn't (my bad ).Here's the Predator Polymag String (eight shots):Lo:832.8, High: 850.5, Avg.: 843.1, ES: 17.67, SD: 5.19, Average FPE for the String: Approx. 36.8 (don't have a ballistic coefficient to go by so I'm guestimating)Starting PSI: 2600Shot #1-850.5, #2-842.9, #3-842.4, #4-847.8, #5-844.5, #6-842.1, #7-841.8, #8-832.8Ending PSI: 2200Here's the Benji Dome String (eight Shots):Lo:771, High:815.5, Avg.:797.9, ES: 43.98, SD:14, Average FPE for the String: 39.3Starting PSI: 2800Shot #1-771.6, #2-Error, #3-795.2, #4-792.9, #5-801.3, #6-801.1, #7-815.5, #8-808.1Ending PSI: 2500 Well, I know this can do better than these numbers so it looks like I'm going to be doing some experimentation with the hammer and stroke adjustments. I hope I don't mess it up.

[Brant]

After two months, Mrod HDDs are back in stock at AoA! Abject apologies to...December 1 2011 at 4:42 PM Steve in NC (Login pneuguy) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...those who have been waiting so patiently for so long (two months!!), but the delays are finally over and parts are in hand at last. http://www.airgunsof...CustomParts.htmSteve