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Air Gun Forums » Air Guns Reviews » Air Guns and accessory reviews » Benjamin Marauder .177

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Old 11-24-2011, 01:40 PM   #1
Smaug
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Default Benjamin Marauder .177

This will be one of my typical work-in-progress reviews.

I'll start off here with my first impressions and some photos. I'll update it as time goes on with shooting.

This is my first PCP gun, but not the first one I've shot. I've shot an Evanix Rainstorm and a BSA SuperTen of a buddy. (Tpatner412) All my other guns are springers or pumpers, as you can see by my signature.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

Weight and balance: 8/10
The weight of the gun is about the same as that of my X20, but in the Marauder, it is more centralized and better balanced. Break-barrel springers tend to be more muzzle-heavy. By the time I added the monster scope, (Hawke Sidewinder Tactical 30 4.5-14x44) it had gotten pretty heavy. Still it can be held off-hand for maybe 5-10 shots at a time. [I'm of medium build, 5'8" definitely not a body builder or anything] The balance of this gun means that although it is heavy, it is not a back-breaker or an arm-burner like the magnum springers. I deducted 1 point for being heavy, and one point for only being available in a conventional design. If stock options were offered for thumbhole and bullpup, and with an option of plastic, it would be a 10/10.

Accuracy: 9/10
The best I've managed so far was 1" at 50 yards. That's shot from a bench, at 14X on the scope, with Crosman Premier Lights. No rear rest, so the rifle will probably do better. Indoors, I've managed 1/2" at 30 yards, 5-shot group, from a bench.

Build Quality: 9/10
It is just excellent. It makes me proud to be American. (since it is proudly laser-etched with: "MADE IN THE USA") The bolt action is quite smooth. The metal:metal fit is great, as is the metal:wood fit. It is not disappointed for the price. The metal parts are finished in flat black; I wouldn't call it bluing, I think it may be some type of powdercoat. The wood is finished in a nice satin brown. I can't comment on the durability of the wood finish yet, but it has been criticized in the past. Here, I deducted one point because the finish is not quite as nice as the $1500+ British guns.

Trigger: 9/10
Not a lot to add here. From the factory, it is outstanding. It is customizable three ways: hammer throw, hammer power, and trigger weight. I'm happy with the factory settings. It is a clear two-stage trigger. Both stages are ultra-smooth, and there is a distinct point between the stages when I could tell it was about to break. A true target rifle has a trigger that breaks in weights of ounces, not pounds. This one is not that light. Factory setting seems to be a couple of pounds, two stage.

Features: 8/10
It has a built in pressure gauge, which some guns costing a lot more don't have. It has the male quick-connect nipple at thed tip of the tank already. The barrel is fully shrouded and the gun is VERY quiet. The loudest thing about it is the PING of the hammer. That's an easy fix, as I understand it. Reading about it, it doesn't seem like a big deal. But when I shot it, the fact that the hammer pinging was the only really audible thing just seemed like a shame. The tank is about 220cc, which is about twice the size as that of a Discovery, and half the size as that of an Air Force Condor. The Marauder also includes sling swivel studs, either for mounting a strap or a bipod. The Benjamin text CNC-milled into the forearm of the stock is well done. From the bottom, it looks kind of gaudy, but it is only ever noticed when the gun is turned over for inspection. Nice.If not for the trigger ping, and the fact that the velocity adjustment requires removal of the stock, I'd have given it a 10.

Value: 10/10
This, and possibly the Discovery, are the only PCP guns of this quality in this price range. It would be nice if Benjamin would offer the Marauder in a package with the hand pump, as they do with the Discovery, but even without it, this gun for $470 (the going internet rate at the time of this writing) is very fair. The trigger alone warrants this price. The Air Force guns have the neat, modular design with the easily accessible power adjuster and the easily swappable barrels and tanks. But the higher powered ones are loud, and they seem to start at around $550 and go up from there. The least expensive FX, which is probably a slightly higher quality gun, starts at around $800. Other guns in this league cost $1400+. That Benjamin was able to offer this type of quality, in an American-made gun, for $470, is simply amazing to me. I'm beaming with pride for my country right now. Compared to a springer, it is much easier to shoot accurately, and even with proper technique, it is much more consistent.

Efficiency: 10/10
The gun comes from the factory tuned for a 2500 psi fill. When I fill to 2500 psi, I get 40-50 shots before I get down below 2000 psi and the pellets start dropping.

Optics:
I found a deal on a used Hawke 30mm Tactical scope, 4.5-14 x 44. Great scope, but big and heavy. I think if I were to do it again, I'd either get something lighter, if I were going to hunt with it; maybe a 3-9x32, or if I were going to mostly shoot from a bench, I'd get a Bushnell Banner 6-24.

Pix: (first batch)







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Old 11-24-2011, 01:47 PM   #2
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Default Updates, and more pix

The best pellets so far are: CPL, CPH, Benji PCP 10.5, H&N FTTP, and Kodiak 10.65 gr.

The worst pellets, as usual, were the Crosman SSP pointed *(4 gr.) and Daisy "Precision Max" *pointed. (7.1 gr.?) I've yet to find a gun that will shoot these well. It is not just the low weight either, because my Skenco Pointed Poly Match 4 gr. pellets have been quite accurate in my lower powered guns. Speaking of the Skencos, don't try their lightweight polymer pellets in this gun. They go supersonic and are therefore ear-splittingly loud.

RWS Hobby turned in a respectable group, despite being on the light side. I think these are my favorite light weight pellets for all around use. Lower powered guns shoot them really well, and higher powered guns don't shoot them terribly. That's about all we can ask for out of wadcutter pellets that go for $6.50/500.

Surprising to me was that this gun doesn't seem to like JSBs, as I tested their Exact RS (7.33 *gr.), Exact (8.4 gr.), and Exact Heavy (10.34 gr.). A good range of weights, but it wasn't liking them.

Maybe I'm giving Benjamin/Crosman too much credit, but if I didn't know better, I'd say they DESIGNED this gun to shoot their pellets the best.


Chrono Numbers:
Here are some chrono numbers from the pellets the gun likes the best so far. These were shot at about 2100 psi fill, stock tune:
  • Crosman Premier Light, 7.9 gr.: 922 fps
  • Crosman Premier Heavy, 10.5 gr.: 886 fps
  • H&N Field Target Trophy Power, 8.8 gr.: 897 fps
  • RWS Superdome, 8.3 gr.: 897 fps


Four more pix:







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Old 11-24-2011, 01:49 PM   #3
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Default Yet more pix







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Old 11-24-2011, 01:56 PM   #4
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Default Last pix and an update







The groups could've been a little tighter if I'd had a support for the rear of the stock.

The earlier review text was written months ago, in September.

Here's a "bullet update" update on the gun.
  • I still love the trigger. Crisp, not too light, not too heavy.
  • I'm going to try Beeman FTS and some more plated pellets. Ted (from Ted's Hold-Over on YouTube) said his Marauder liked plated pellets, so I'm going to try more of those.
  • I have to be honest to myself: with this scope, the rig is an absolute back-breaker. A normal person could only shoot maybe 5 shots in a row before his back starts to scream. I either need to give up my hunting fantasies and put this on a bipod or I don't know what.
  • Lots of folks said I would quickly tire of pumping my PCP. (I don't have any tanks) I'm not tired of it yet. I kind of relish the exercise. I have a desk job and it gives me a weak back. Pumping this and my 1701P keep my back in shape and is good cardio exercise. At the same time, it's not too much. It only takes 5 minutes to pump from 1900 to 2500 psi, and no breaks are needed for the pump to cool off. I do need one break in the middle though.
  • I still love the gun, and I'm thinking about ordering a custom stock for it soon, either bullpup or thumbhole.

More reviews to come.
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Old 11-24-2011, 02:20 PM   #5
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Great write up ! Just recently I picked up a .177 mrod and agree with you on much of your findings except one. Mine loves the JSB heavies but then again I'm only shooting at 21 yards. Thats all the usable space I have too shoot. At that range I found them to be much more accurate then the heavy CP's. I do have several others here I want to try today.
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Old 11-24-2011, 03:00 PM   #6
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I'll try the JSB heavies again then. I guess it just goes to show that each gun can be different.
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Old 11-24-2011, 03:02 PM   #7
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Default Here are some 50 yard groups with different pellets





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Old 11-24-2011, 03:05 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smaug View Post
I'll try the JSB heavies again then. I guess it just goes to show that each gun can be different.
Oh yeah. I did not mean to say yours should be shooting better with them. Each gun is different. My prod likes one pellet and one only. It will do 1/4" at 20 yards all day long with H&N FTT. Try any other pellet and it looks like a shotgun.

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Old 12-30-2011, 10:33 PM   #9
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Here is a two-part YouTube video on the gun:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_rlQ...3&feature=plcp

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owuci...2&feature=plcp
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