a question regarding the Marauder

[NitroBobby]

I am looking to get into PCPs. i initially was looking at the Hammerli Pneuma Elite 10 in .22 cal based mostly on the price. After doing a bunch of reading on this forum and a few other places, I am now thinking the Marauder is a much better gun with better after-market support and a larger community. It's a hundred bucks more, but i am thinking that I'll be happier in the long run with the Marauder.

My question about the gun has to do with it's power. I am looking at keeping the local tree-rat population out of my house/shed/garage and I'm sure it has no issues there. Does the gun (in .22 cal) have the power to deal with larger critters like racoons, possums and such?

Thanks,

Keith

[aack73]

yes. with well placed shots it will be effective.

[TR]

When I was shopping for mine, I was strongly considering a .22 marauder.  Fortunately I spend alot of time with the chat folks at Pyramid Air.

One of the guys explained that the .25 cal Marauder barrels are not manufactured by Crossman, but are manufactured by Green Mountain.  He stated (and opionion on this board will verify) that the .22 Marauder is a very accurate rifle.  However the .25 Marauder is more accurate, and has more power.    The down side is you don't get as many shots as you would with a .22.

I have been really happy with my .25.  The .22 will do the job you are looking to do, but the .25 will do it better.

Go for the .25

Be sure to shop around.  Pyramid air usually has 10% off weekends occasionally, and there is a "NRA" code available for pyramid that will get you 10% off.

When you get to pellets, I found the JSB Exact Kings are the pellet to use with my .25

Good Luck and Happy Shooting.

[amb5500c]

Welcome to the GTA Keith. My 22 Marauder does its job nicely. For small game up to coon size, it has power to spare. As with any gun or caliber, shot placement is the key to quick and ethical kills.
Richard

[pmans]

I think you are making a wise decision with the Marauder as starting point for your introduction to PCP. A M-rod .25 was my first PCP. I also had Pneuma 10 .22 for several months. Still have the M-rod .25 as well as another in .22, sold the Pneuma a couple months ago. It was a good gun, but I preferred my M-rod .22 over it so I sold it.

On anything larger than squirrels, I tend to use my .25 because I have it available. That being said with proper shot placement (i.e. headshot), I think a M-rod .22 is ample for a quick clean kill on a coon.

+1 on the recommendation for the .25, though. The .25 really kills 'em dead.

Welcome to the Dark Side...

[Rescue35]

I bought a .22 Marauder for hunting. It is a great rifle with plenty of power and the accuracy to do the job. I prefer the .22 over the .25 because pellets are cheaper and easier to get.

I have taken several coons and many squirrel with it. In fact it is so powerful I get full pass through on almost everything. I shot a squirrel a couple of weeks ago and hit him low. The pellet entered the right front leg, passed through the abdomen, then completely went through the left rear leg. After hitting the ground he took off on the two unbroke legs and tried to get in another tree. A quick follow up to the head put him down for good.

I often use my Pistol Marauder for smaller critters in town.

Here is a thread from last weekend when I had them out.
http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php/topic,38493.0.html

[NitroBobby]

thanks for the responses everyone.

and thanks for the welcome. it's actually a welcome back though. i had an account here a little while back, but it must have been purged due to inactivity.

anyway...it's great that you guys mentioned the .25 cal marauder. after i posted this thread i went back and started looking at that one. i was going to ask about it too, so we got two with one thread here. i was leaning towards the .22 mostly because i have a .22 Remington NPSS already and I could share the ammo, but a .25 cal marauder seems like it may be a better choice. only $10 more, so cost isn't an issue...just a few extra tins of pellets and they don't take up much room....decisions decisions...

kgb

[Finchlake]

I think the .22 Mrod has enough power to take down coons and possums. I have taken them down with my .22 Disco, so the Mrod should do it even better, and the .25 even better than that the .22.

One thing I would like to throw out is, if you are considering the .25, you should think about how much air it going to take. I have a 3000 lb tank for my Disco and my Mrod, my shop fills it to 3200 lbs, the .25 Mrod goes through that air petty fast. It is a long way to the shop to refill my tank, so I have not shot the .25 Mrod as much as I would have liked to.

Love the .25 Mrod, when I have air it's a great shooter.

[PakProtector]

hey-Hey!!!,
I got a 22 cal Marauder. It shoots well, and I've reached out pretty far to introduce small critters to their ancestors. I am probably going to get a 25 cal to go with it. Wife bought a Career 707 II tanker in 22 cal and she's happier with the Marauder. Sounds like the perfect justification to go and get a 25 cal. Shot count is its biggest downfall...it should have a tank twice the size of the OE design. Turned up to Career power it eats air too...
cheers,
Douglas

[NitroBobby]

yep. air is a big consideration, especially since i'll be hand-pumping the gun for a while. i was watching some videos on youtube earlier. the poster (EdgunUSA) had a video about a de-bounce device that he said increased the efficiency by as much as 40%. if that's the case it's definitely going into the maurader. anyone else use this device?

how many shots are you getting out of the .22? the .25? i'm pretty sure one of the videos said you can get 16 "good" shots with the .25. that's probably a good number for hunting / varmint dispatching. if the de-bounce device ups that to 20-22, even better. probably a pain when you are sighting the gun in though....

kgb

[mtsheron70]

The .22 will have plenty of power if the shot placement is correct.  Same as with the .25 for matter of fact.  The .25 just has the extra fpe and with that GM barrel it is deadly accurate right from the box!  I would opt for the .25 personally and have the extra energy behind the shots.  Just my 2 cents.

[mtsheron70]

yep. air is a big consideration, especially since i'll be hand-pumping the gun for a while. i was watching some videos on youtube earlier. the poster (EdgunUSA) had a video about a de-bounce device that he said increased the efficiency by as much as 40%. if that's the case it's definitely going into the maurader. anyone else use this device?

how many shots are you getting out of the .22? the .25? i'm pretty sure one of the videos said you can get 16 "good" shots with the .25. that's probably a good number for hunting / varmint dispatching. if the de-bounce device ups that to 20-22, even better. probably a pain when you are sighting the gun in though....

kgb

I de-powered mine from the factory setting so I went from in the house of 900 fps just over to 810 fps and can get right at 25-30 great power shots.  That is without the HDD which I am sure if I installed would get me 5-10 more shots probably.  Now that is going from a 2900 psi begin fill to around 2000 psi end.

Here is the beast with it's Teryx stock and a few goodies mounted for night shooting as well.................

[Gixxer340]

I have both and my .22 is just as accurate as my .25 out to 50 yards. I haven't had the chance to stretch them beyond that. I did a quick accuracy test here. http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php/topic,38172.0.html

Another thing to consider is that the .25 seems to be less pellet fussy so you might be able to use a better pellet for the game you are hunting in the .25.

I hand pump both and get 16 good shots out of the .25 and 30 out of the .22. I would also have no problem shooting a coon in the head with the .22. I woud also have no problem shooting a coyote with the .25. It all depends on the intended application for the gun. If target shooting is something that you like to do as well as pesting then the .22 is probably a better choice

[PakProtector]

On the HDD, it cost me a little bit and it got removed and sold at a loss. I wish it did what it is claimed to do, but every time I see ridiculous claims there are really poor attention paid to the method. Like, I got x more shots, but there is no mention about the velocity spread. Biggest disapointment ever on the Marauder saga.
cheers,
Douglas

[Motorhead]

t there is no mention about the velocity spread. Biggest disapointment ever on the Marauder saga.
cheers,
Douglas

What velocity spread ? .... I jest of course !
.22 cal m-rod is one heck of a rifle, but that faxtory barrel is super pellet picky.
Shot count for mine when shooting 18.1 JSB @850 fps with about a 50fps ES was @ 30 shots
Now having gone regulated shooting same pellet 870's with an ES of 20 for 50 shots ....

[pmans]

On the HDD, it cost me a little bit and it got removed and sold at a loss. I wish it did what it is claimed to do, but every time I see ridiculous claims there are really poor attention paid to the method. Like, I got x more shots, but there is no mention about the velocity spread. Biggest disapointment ever on the Marauder saga.
cheers,
Douglas

I completely disagree. I shot my M-rod .25 without the HDD for about 3 months. I got it to try and was very pleased with the results. I'm on the road right now, but I'll put a pre and a post HDD intall graph once I get home on Friday. FPS extreme spread is quite a bit smaller on a 24 shot string. And I would also mention that a 24 shot string isn't really even practical on the rifle without the HDD installed.

I don't have one in the .22,  but I would say that if you're going for the .25... the HDD is a must have.

[mtsheron70]

Yeah I am not sure why PP is having issues with the HDD.  I guess that individual gun could not have benefitted but highly doubt it since I have never really heard this.  The HDD seems to have helped all M-Rod's from what I have seen posted.  I guess folks wanting 20 more shots got a big let down but the cost factor and if I could get 5-10 more shots would be great.  That equates to a savings of between 150-300 psi on average across the shot range for me.

And who knows............maybe I could get 20 more across the range!

[PakProtector]

here is another one that didn't work.
http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php/topic,38615.0.html

The issue I have Matt is that it did none of what it was claimed to do. It is as simple as that. I've looked after plenty of HDD claims and do not find this 'works every time' stuff you see.

 Now I just saw a post where a 30-50% increase with 4% spread was realized, but it was going from 10 shots to 15 at most( shots 14, 15 and 16 missing from the string, and 17 was out of the 4% ), and this on a 2263.  The OE tune clearly was poor. Setting the travel and preload differently should be able to deliver 30 within that same 4% spread. I will bet you that your rifle will not deliver any additional shots with an HDD. Yours is already delivering more than a half a foot ton per fill on 900 psi pressure drop in the tank. If you ever put that rifle up for sale, I will fight all comers for rights to buy it.
cheers,
Douglas

[mtsheron70]

I simply reduced the air to the chamber via the set screw on the M-Rod and took a slight turn off the hammer and can almost get 4 mags or 32 rounds and go from 3000 psi to just a tad under 2000 psi.  Now that is on a warm day which we all know the pressure will maintain a bit better due to the air tube heating up from the hot ambient air and especially if your in the sun.

Now I only start really putting on paper at 2850 psi or so for accuracy.  Seems the gun starts really tightening up at that pressure.  When I do the math on the shots I get anywhere from 15 psi per shot expended to near the end of the cycle 30 psi per shot.  Maybe I am lucky with the settings or maybe it is just my climate and area benefitting me most. 

But needles to say I may just buy and install a HDD to see if I can squeeze at least 5 more shots to maintain that expenditure and would find it a great investment.

There is a caveat to this..................real heavy loads in the 30 plus grain will eat a little more air per shot.  But I shoot primarily JSB Exact Kings and that is what I dialed the gun in for.  810 fps avg. velocity per shot with 35 + fpe is A-OK for me.