Marauder 25.....has anyone fixed their barrel to be NOT floating?

[kevinbrian]

I am trying putting electrician's tape on the shroud and then sliding it under the barrel band to un-float the barrel in the hopes of stopping the problem of grouping great one day. Poor the next. (while barrel was free floating).  I UN-floated the barrel, and at 40 yards, I shot a 16 shot perfect nickel sized group. Yes, there were a couple of shots peeking out from under the nickel. All in all, very acceptable.
  This morning, I stuck a pear on a protruding wire on one of my tomatoe cages and was going to explode it at 50 yards. I shot a full clip and never hit it. I aimed higher, lower, to the right, to the left. Never grazed it.  I pumped the rifle back up to 3150 psi. My perfect starting fill. And placed a 50 yard paper target out. WELL!!!! No wonder!!! Sometime over the last two days, my POI has shifted (not downward) but to the right about two inches!!! I then started just unloading the rifle into the target from my bench and never got one shot to touch another, This has me bumfuzzled.
  I have noticed my brand new Burris 4x14.5x32 acting real weird (it doesn't respond to correcting clicks even if I tap it with a rubber handled screwdriver to sort of settle th eerector tube....a trick that will work for hard-to-zero scopes).  I am about to mount a known Leupold Vari X 2 3x9 x 40 and see if I am having scope issues.   Squirrel season is a week away, but man, I am not seeing the hickory nuts that everyone in town says are out there. I have been scouting twice. Not ONE scaly bark has cuttings, or even whole hickory nuts under it. No beech mast.  I walked about a mile round trip through my squirrel woods the other day and saw two squirrels. So.....I am NOT gooing to panic over this problem. The rifle has proven to be very accurate at 40 yards.....but the pellets would really have to start deflecting after 40 yards to end up with the 50 yard groups that I just shot this morning.
    Everytime I have been pasing by my Marauder 25 in the house, I would say...now THERE is an accurate rifle!!!! But now, my confidence in it has waned. Well, I start the process of elimination now.

[Frank in Fairfield]

Scott (motorhead) started this trend. Then another shooter thought he would try rubber gaskets (The original Marauderss had the rubber seals under the barrel band) pushed under the barrel band. Apparently if you cut the lip off of the yellow cap that protects your barrel during shipment, it makes the perfect tool to slide the rubber seals under the barrel band. Scott uses hobby tape (blue) where-in he measures exactly where it should be, removes the barrel band, puts the tape on the barrel and, with a little silicone (KY would work), slides the barrel band back on. We know there will possibly be some POI shift, so, before tigtening the scrub screws move the barrel band around a bit until you achieve the original POI. It works for Scott. One hole regardless of the distance ALL the time. But, now that the barrel is in fact attached to the air tube you can expect some POI shift as the pressure in the tube changes and pressure on the barrel lessens. Stay safe.

[PakProtector]

I wouldn't dream of de-floating the barrel. The shortest barrel any of my marauders sport is 23.8"/.470 dia LW, the other two being 24.5" BSA. I have been tempted to snug up the airstripper o-ring with some string(likely dental floss ), but they all shoot quite well. That, and I can't de-float the bottled 25 anyway...lol The next barrel experiment will likely be a 1/2" OD, 26" from TJ's...
cheers,
Douglas

[joel w]

Here one recent thread.   Seems to work for some but it did not for me.
http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=47991.msg451638#msg451638

[squirrelnator]

POI changes like that I would doubt are free floating barrel issues. unless it got bent from mishandling or something and that would be easily seen by misalignment. I would look at scope, pellet or me issues.
My 25 mrod stayed sited in for well over a year and I even picked it up by the barrel from time to time dragged it al over the woods and took lots of game. Its still going strong after 3 or 4 years cant remember any more. As My Step son has it now and is tickled pink it.  I prefer free floated barrels and would never think of putting a band on. Even my huntsman is is free floating in side the band they have. I don't mind a band if it dosent directly touch like the mrod or my huntsman.

[squirrelnator]

I wouldn't dream of de-floating the barrel. The shortest barrel any of my marauders sport is 23.8"/.470 dia LW, the other two being 24.5" BSA. I have been tempted to snug up the airstripper o-ring with some string(likely dental floss ), but they all shoot quite well. That, and I can't de-float the bottled 25 anyway...lol The next barrel experiment will likely be a 1/2" OD, 26" from TJ's...
cheers,
Douglas

If daystate can make a bottle band I am sure U can to DOUG LOL!!!!!!!

[Motorhead]

Been De-floated for over a year now in BOTH mine ... While not a stiff connection within barrel band but allowing forward / rearward limited motion, ALL the side to side float is no more !!

Accuracy is much improved !!

Very doubtful trend was mine having read after we started talking about it on the Marauder forum others had heard of others playing as well with a de-float of these wimpy barrels in M-rods.

See:   http://www.marauderairrifle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=6477

[Frank in Fairfield]

My Man!

[kevinbrian]

Thanks guys. I TRULY appreciate your feedback.  It was my scope. I am getting quarter sized groups at 50 yards now and that is plenty good enough.  Again....I appreciate it.
  (Thanks for the link Motorhead. It was the link (Neil C.'s) within that link you suppled that I found and read.)  I have mine floating again.....but I should NOT have changed two things at once. Bad scope?? Flimsy floating Marauder barrel.......only time and lot of pumping will tell.  I DO know for sure that I have good barrel this time. I have seen what it CAN do/.....if outside influences (like me) don't mess it's potential up.  Thank you again y'all!!!!! 

[Ribbonstone]

Will always try it both ways and make my choice on results rather than faith.

But I will look at two things rather than one.  Accuracy and stability over time. Want to know the gun lands the pellets at the same place a day or two later AND that it shoots accurately. 

Pet peeve of mine.   If I had two guns, one that shot tiny 1/4" groups at 30 yards, but would shift POI from day to day by 7/8", and another that was dead stable to POI, but could only group into 1"...so far as tanking the gun out the safe and taking a crack at a pest bird, they'd be equal.

[Frank in Fairfield]

EXACTLY

[Scrambler82]

Yes another old thread about the Marauder's Floating, except I want ot add a barrel Band to my Benjamin Armada .22.

If anyone would like to comment, "What is the recommended replacement OEM Style Barrel Band, that I can use on my Armada with a Huma Air Quick Fill/Gauge setup" ?  The Barrel Band needs to be compatible with the Huma Air Quick Fill.

I believe, from what I have read, that the Marauder Barrel Band will fit the Armada, with modding to the Stock of the Armada.

OK, I've said enough but I am a little confused about what I want to do.

Thanks to any and all for commenting, especially if it fits my confusion.

GOD Bless

[3crows]

Yes another old thread about the Marauder's Floating, except I want ot add a barrel Band to my Benjamin Armada .22.

If anyone would like to comment, "What is the recommended replacement OEM Style Barrel Band, that I can use on my Armada with a Huma Air Quick Fill/Gauge setup" ?  The Barrel Band needs to be compatible with the Huma Air Quick Fill.

I believe, from what I have read, that the Marauder Barrel Band will fit the Armada, with modding to the Stock of the Armada.

OK, I've said enough but I am a little confused about what I want to do.

Thanks to any and all for commenting, especially if it fits my confusion.

GOD Bless

There are several vendors on the eBay who can print a barrel band that will fit around the air tube and then around the shroud. I had one fellow custom print a non-standard dimension for my Marauder Superlight since it has a high rise breech. If you cannot find them let me know and I can direct you to the two vendors I used.

James

[Scrambler82]

There are several vendors on the eBay who can print a barrel band that will fit around the air tube and then around the shroud. I had one fellow custom print a non-standard dimension for my Marauder Superlight since it has a high rise breech. If you cannot find them let me know and I can direct you to the two vendors I used.

James

James,
Not sure you got my reply, I thought just replying to the message would do it.

Yes, please sent me the 3-D Printers you know can do the work, appreciated !

I need to measure and draw up a Barrel Band that fits, to see if it can be made.

Thanks

[3crows]

James,
Not sure you got my reply, I thought just replying to the message would do it.

Yes, please sent me the 3-D Printers you know can do the work, appreciated !

I need to measure and draw up a Barrel Band that fits, to see if it can be made.

Thanks

I meant to send a DM but I think I sent you an email instead? Let me know if you get the links. You can also just do a search in eBay for "Marauder Barrel Bands" should bring up at least three sellers.

I think you are wanting a barrel band that goes around the shroud and then around the Houma fill assembly? You will need to provide the diameter of the shroud and the diameter of the Houma assembly and the exact distance between them (the gap). With that it should be possible to adjust the model.

[avator]

I recently had a custom barrel band printed by another member. All that he needed was the OD of each the shroud and the tube and the measurement closest to the breech from the top of the shroud and the bottom of the tube.
It was easier than trying to measure the gap.

It was also suggested by another member to counter bore the shroud OD so an 0-ring can be squeezed in with a pick or small screw driver. That OD was 1mm larger and the o-ring would tighten it up. The tube OD side got grub screws at 4 and 8 oclock.
I didn't opt for the o-ring groove. I wasn't trying to make the shroud tight. I don't mind a bit of free float. I just wanted to protect it from accidental bumps and bangs.

As for the Marauder, you could just squeeze an o-ring into the void on the shroud OD of the band. I tried it on the MRod I had and it changed the poi... I removed it.  YMMV

[PCPBarry]

I love the idea of a free floating barrel, my pb's are free forward of the breech minus some glass bedding in some cases.  However, with my free floating Synrod, my barrel is not centered in the free floating barrel band.  Yes I loosened the set screws and I can rotate the barrel band clockwise and counterclockwise and center it up that way but when the rifle is level, the barrel is high in the band.  Not touching, but high.  With the rifle vertical, the shroud nearly touches the o-ring in the factory barrel band.  With that much difference, my POI is going to change when I shoot at a squirrel on the ground or a bird in a tree.  If nothing else, POI will change vertically.

That's why I went with Scott's (motorhead) craft foam deal and I think the o-ring application is good too. 
Barry

[PCPBarry]

I love the idea of a free floating barrel, my pb's are free forward of the breech minus some glass bedding in some cases.  However, with my free floating Synrod, my barrel is not centered in the free floating barrel band.  Yes I loosened the set screws and I can rotate the barrel band clockwise and counterclockwise and center it up that way but when the rifle is level, the barrel is high in the band.  Not touching, but high.  With the rifle vertical, the shroud nearly touches the o-ring in the factory barrel band.  With that much difference, my POI is going to change when I shoot at a squirrel on the ground or a bird in a tree.  If nothing else, POI will change vertically.

That's why I went with Scott's (motorhead) craft foam deal and I think the o-ring application is good too. 
Barry

[Nomadic Pirate]

Sure by marauders and spend big bucks to make them serviceable, by the time you done you have High end gun money in them but still a Marauder in your hands.

[3crows]

^ Oh good grief  ^

I  However, with my free floating Synrod, my barrel is not centered in the free floating barrel band.  Yes I loosened the set screws and I can rotate the barrel band clockwise and counterclockwise and center it up that way but when the rifle is level, the barrel is high in the band.  Not touching, but high.  With the rifle vertical, the shroud nearly touches the o-ring in the factory barrel band.  With that much difference, my POI is going to change when I shoot at a squirrel on the ground or a bird in a tree.  If nothing else, POI will change vertically.

I do not know why your barrel/shroud assembly is moving around that much but it should not be doing that.