Marauder hunting pistol

[echochap]

Just posted an initial write up on the Marauder Pistol. I’ve had the gun for awhile and have been shooting and hunting with it quite a bit. This is the first of a two part series.

http://www.americanairgunhunter.com

Regards,

Jim

[dk1677]

Very cool! Thanks Jim!

[only1harry]

Very nice review, thanks Jim! 

I have to say I am a little disappointed with the power though.  That is CO2 power (see RWS 850 .22), not PCP.  Other articles I have seen said the Marauder pistol is supposed to put out 20fpe or similar to the Disco, but maybe everyone is guessing.  I could swear I saw that on the Crosman web site though.. 

Is there no power adjustment?  Like to adjust the travel of the spring?  The reason you are seeing very low velocities at higher pressures, and better velocities at lower pressures, is because the striker is not hitting the valve hard enough to let the air out.  Because of the high pressure in the tank, it requires a good amount of energy to push the valve spring back to release the air.  At lower pressures, the striker/spring combo was able to accomplish that because it required less force. 

So this tells me the spring is "weak" (I 'm sure there will be aftermarket ones), or the striker/hammer is under-weighed, or both.  I don't mind when a gun's optimal fill pressure is 1900-2300psi.  As a matter of fact I prefer it.  That is perfect for when you have a 3K psi SCUBA tank.  You can get a lot of fills that way, but you should be able to go up to 2500-2800psi if you must, to extract more power from the gun, or for more usable shots when you are in the field with no way of refilling. 

Hopefully your pre-production gun is not what we are going to see in the production guns.. meaning maybe they will allow you to get more consistent power with higher pressure fills, like a second 2300-2800psi "sweet spot" for 16 "power" shots in the 14-15fpe range.  The power of the gun along with the set retail price, can make or break it success.  As it stands, I doubt too many people will spend >$200 on an 11-12fpe pistol.. and that's for a few shots before dropping to 10-11fpe and refill again.. but I could be wrong.  My CO2 850 .22 (rifle) will get 12fpe consistently for 150 shots, and at shot 200 it is still >10fpe.  Most people can get their 2240 power-tuned with a longer barrel and Boss valve, some trigger work and they are right around $200 with equal power of this new Marauder pistol.. minus the 8-shot magazine.  Anyway, we 'll see how Crosman plays this out.  I hope they do the right thing, give it some power, and price it right.  I mean it has the same size Disco air tube, no?  Give it Disco power!! hehehe

Looking forward to the Hunting article! Thanks Jim!

[JimH]

Good review, very thorough and informative.

[john gray]

interesting! great reveiw!

[The Knot]

I appreciate your time and story i like the looks of the Mrod pistol and with a custom shoulder stock would be a dream on the construction site at lunch

[longislandhunter]

You have a good point there Harry.  I also find it surprising that the pistol has such limited power.  Lets hope they work on that.

Jeff

[only1harry]

Well the thing is I guess it is not a 3k psi gun right now, the way I read Jim's review of Crosman's new pistol.  It may not make much sense to make it utilize the full 3k psi.  A heavier hammer may not be optimal in a 3.5lb pistol for accuracy, because it will have a pronounced "recoil", and the current shroud will not be able to handle the report of the higher velocites.  I think I'd much rather see a 2k psi (Disco) rating, and have it perform close to a Disco, than calling it a Marauder and be limited to 2300psi for power shots and consistency.  If you are going to call it "Marauder pistol", give it some power and usable higher pressure. 
I think Crosman's intend might be to sell them to the UK and elsewhere in Europe which is possibly why it is a 12fpe gun.  They should be making a de-tuned gun for those markets.

[daveshoot]

First, thanks for the review, Jim!

I just got off the phone with Pyramid... no confirmation yet of whether they will arrive on Monday, nor whether the first batch is sold out yet. Purchasing is closed today so "no further information" is available.

I am thinking about getting in line for this one. I would probably be happy with a 12 fpe pistol, since I see it as a pistol rather than a carbine. I think I just missed a gopher (about 4 minutes ago) with my P3, so I definitely need a new pistol. I don't see any way around that simple fact.

[echochap]

Hi Guys;
I'm on a airgunning deer hunt in Missouri with Eric Henderson and Brian Cook for the next few days. All the points and questions are valid. First as to power, the gun was originally doing 14 fpe and is adjustable, but during testing (before I received the gun) a lighter hammer spring was installed and not swathed back. The gun was a little under 12 fpe for me, but the spec is between 12 - 16 fpe in stock form. I think that there is not going to be much difficult for the more savvy airgunner to tune this up quite a bit (my opinion not official Crosman statement). Having said this, inside 30 yards I think 12 fpe is just fine for small game (12 fpe has been validated over many years of 12 fpe power limitations in the UK). For me, the exciting thing is how accurate and how quiet the gun is. I'm fine with 12 fpe, but 16 - 20 fpe that gets at least 2 clips (16 shots), stays accurate and quiet would be cool .... and I think eminently doable. Will post more when I get back.
Jim