Trials with an old marauder…

[wyotrap]

Hey folks, I have been lurking around here for several years…maybe 7 learning a bit here and there entertaining the idea of getting into pcp air rifles “someday” well I ordered up a Diana bandit, and a pump, and that was fun-that grip is terrible tho with my big hands it’s both too blocky, and too small at the same time. But the darn thing is real accurate, and fun to shoot.

Having dabbled a bit before making the “real leap” I felt confident I’d enjoy it, so I bought an old gen 1 marauder off eBay that had developed some grouping issues for the previous owner. I’ve always been a fan of the green mtn barrels, so I had to get the .25.

It got here and it seemed in decent mechanical shape, but was pretty ugly spray painted camo etc, really bad scope. So like any impractical back-yarder scientist I threw on a Leupold 3-9x33, with Leupold rings and thought it was probably the old scope had gone bad…still grouped all over…took the scope off, checked the barrel for tightness, still bad.

I finally took off the shroud, and it started making a ragged hole at 20 yards. That’s more like it! Then the guage got stuck on 3k psi…., ordered a sekhmet digital job that supposedly has high accuracy, someone had gutted the factory suppression system, so I ordered more internals, a hill air stripper, because this one had been “modded to death” and they hung a heavy lead dust catcher on the end…putting a lot of unsupported stress on the barrel I think. I ordered a hill barrel band, and a DonnyFL shroud end to replace the missing one. And leave additional options open down the road.

Then it stopped holding air after another round of 2 magazines…I degassed and resealed the unit, learning the basics of how it works. The shots seemed anemic (chrony is still in the mail) so I removed one of the stack of orings someone put in for anti-bounce mods.

Did I mention this .25 was shooting like 60 shots between fill ups-taken with a grain of salt because the guage is suspicious. Which was cool, but at 30 yards my scope was out of vertical adjustment clicks….

I am still waiting on parts, but I see how the shroud design is one of this systems weak points. Right now this thing drives tacks and is sporting a naked barrel so I can chase squirrels and actually hit em.

I haven’t had this much fun since I was a little kid!

I actually tried a number of times to order a new rifle, but couldn’t find anyone who would ship to Alaska-except Amazon, then when I bought one there it got mis-delivered to Australia… so I just decided to go with a used one, and I am pretty pleased with the results.

This is just a brush buster for chasing birds anyway. Scratches, dings and lots of rain moisture are all in the cards for it.

Thanks for sticking with my ramblings I am thinking this needs a regulator, and a few other things, but I am super pleased already!

This forum has been extremely helpful in my knowledge-gathering thus far.

[ShakySarge]

I really enjoy the Gen 1 marauders. It almost sounds as if the barrel was bent slightly along the way somewhere and may be clipping the shroud or baffles. I had a used marauder that clipped the end cap on the shroud enough to cause erratic groupings and had to replace the shroud because it was slightly warped. Has the barrel passed the roll test? Might be something to look at. I only bring this up because you state that it shoots great unshrouded. Perhaps inspect the baffles and end cap for any signs of clipping by the pellets.

Once you get it sorted out you will no doubt be even more pleased with your purchase. Not to mention there are probably more aftermarket options for that gun than any other in production.

[Frank in Fairfield]

Eric,
You will find that the .25 Marauder does not have enough air to warrant a regulator.
You can modify the valve, etc., to increase power.
Yes, you may be getting a lot of shots now but I suspect the 60th shot is way below the velocity of the first few.
I have had two .22 Marauders
I am down to just the .177 (regulator equipped) and the .25.
My .25 with original valve gets 16 shots at 41-42fpe which is fine for me.

BTW..I have a nice Boyd’s Varmint stock with adjustable Lee cheek piece for the Gen I if you are interested.

Here are my girls.
The .25 is the one in black:

[wyotrap]

Eric,
You will find that the .25 Marauder does not have enough air to warrant a regulator.
You can modify the valve, etc., to increase power.
Yes, you may be getting a lot of shots now but I suspect the 60th shot is way below the velocity of the first few.
I have had two .22 Marauders
I am down to just the .177 (regulator equipped) and the .25.
My .25 with original valve gets 16 shots at 41-42fpe which is fine for me.

BTW..I have a nice Boyd’s Varmint stock with adjustable Lee cheek piece for the Gen I if you are interested.

Here are my girls.
The .25 is the one in black:

Those are lovely!

I will let you know on the stock, I feel the need to strip the paint off, and redo the color in cerakote, por15 or something to make this one look less ghetto first, and spend a little more time seeing if it’s a worthwhile platform. I was really just hoping to buy a new field and target marauder, but after trying to get one all summer-and being repeatedly frustrated- I had a couple adult beverages and got on eBay…(always a good choice)….and found one that would ship to me…pyramid air, air guns of az, everyone quotes usps regulations on “CO2 cylinders” as their reason for not shipping the darn things to Alaska… I don’t buy it, just degass them and it’s an empty tube, toss it in the mail, and usps will take it just about anywhere…

I was hoping most of it didn’t have too much mileage or rust. So far it I have found the orings due for replacement, not well thought through “upgrades” etc. I am blank slating it to factory settings more or less, then will start assessing what it needs next once the chronograph gets here. If it passes that stage, I’ll start deciding between mild and wild.

I do like a nice Boyd stock tho!

[Frank in Fairfield]

It is sky blue..