by B.B. Pelletier
Yesterday, we saw how the Marksman 1010 operates. Today, let’s look at how well it performs downrange. Remember, I am shooting the Marksman 2000 instead of the 1010. It’s a very similar air pistol, but there are the differences I’ve mentioned.
Trigger
A single-stage trigger that breaks at more than 8 lbs. is not conducive to precision target shooting. I’m estimating the one on the 2000 breaks at 10 lbs. plus. My trigger gauge tops out at 8 lbs., so that’s just a guess. It’s perfect for kids and for those new to shooting because it forgives the deadly sin of resting the trigger finger on the trigger; but veterans shooters will find it very difficult to use. There’s no way to know how the trigger feels until you cock the gun. Once it is cocked, it cannot be uncocked. It must be fired.
The trigger on my older model 1010 is a little lighter and a lot smoother. Maybe, there’s a break-in period.
Sights
The old MPR has simple vestiges of sights instead of real working sights. The joint where the two metal halves of the external frame come together runs through the center of the rear sight notch. The older 1010 I have has a very sharp rear sight, but the notch and front blade are both quite thin.
In the 2000 model, a better Patridge front sight was added, but someone changed the once-ideal rear sight to a U-shaped notch that doesn’t work well with a square front. Even though the 2000 is finished in silver and the rear sight is also silver, it’s easy to pick up the black front sight under good lighting conditions. Under poor conditions, though, the rear sight blurs to an indistinct speed bump in your line of sight.
Marksman 2000 rear sight is a groove. Silver color makes sighting difficult unless the light is perfect.
Front sight on the Marksman 2000 is this modified Patridge post atop a ramp.
Accuracy
The first target test was with RWS Hobbys. From 15 feet, I attempted to shoot a group on a target. Two out of five pellets actually hit the 5″ square target paper. When one completely missed the safety backer board (three feet square) that stood behind the pellet/BB trap, I ended the session. Accuracy with lead pellets, Hobbys in this case, is very poor.
BBs were next. I loaded a slew of Daisy BBs into the magazine and proceeded to shoot at the target. From 10 feet, I wasn’t able to stay on paper, so I went up to six feet, where a 3″ group was my best result. Three inches for five shots at six feet is pretty poor performance from a pistol shooter who has a national ranking (NRA Sharpshooter in 10-meter pistol)!
Marksman darts grouped okay, at about 4″ for five shots from 10 feet. If you used a conventional dartboard as your target, this would be a fun gun to shoot. There would be an element of luck involved, but skill would also play a part in your score.
The black dot was the aim point, and this was the best group of five darts shot from 10 feet. Target was just a cardboard box.
Almost as an afterthought, I decided to try shooting Gamo Raptors, too. This is a smoothbore pistol, so the hard zinc (I believe) material they are made from should not be a factor, as far as accuracy goes. They were the clear velocity champions, which should help with accuracy and penetration in a pistol of this low power.
Gamo Raptors were the real surprise, out-grouping other pellets and BBs in the Marksman 2000, as this group from 10 feet shows. Only four holes appear, but two pellets passed through one of them. The aim point was three inches low and two inches to the right.
Penetration
One reader commented that his 1010 will not penetrate a cardboard box, though he didn’t specify what ammo he was shooting. I was surprised to see BBs penetrating a fairly stout cardboard box I used as a target during the chronographing session, but the Hobby pellets just bounced off. The Raptors, however, zipped through with no problem.
Conclusion
I learned a lot during this long test and examination. First, I learned that the Marksman 1010 is not the hopeless case I had always thought. By reading the owner’s manual and using the pellet/dart seater, it shoots as advertised. Second, I confirmed that it’s just a general plinking airgun and not a target shooter. No amount of care will provide groups worth bragging about. However, Gamo Raptor pellets gave the best velocity and accuracy in my test gun. I hope this look helps you to make an informed choice about this gun.
B.B.
Thanks, this sure takes me back. As I remember, mine was single shot and I loaded bb’s by pressing them into a breech seal. Couldn’t even break the barrel until it was cocked as the seal expanded upon firing. I treasured the 3 darts I had and always collected the bb’s for re-use. I don’t suppose it was much more accurate than you describe but I sure had a lot of fun with it.
Thanks again,
Springer John
I think I might still have this little thing. I think I stuck it in storage because the thing wouldn’t group at all. I know you can uncock it though, without shooting it. All you have to do is after it is fully cocked, it’s locked in the forward position by that notch thingy. Just push on the back of the slide and release it, if your holding on it won’t snap back. Let it slowly slide to the farthest back position that it will go. Then, switch your hand around and hold it so it won’t snap forward. Slowly pull the trigger and again, let the slide slowly slide to the fully closed position. Congrats, you’ve just uncocked the gun. It doesn’t take much effort to keep the slide from snapping backwards or forwards, as the spring isn’t powerful enough to make it hard. Let me know if this works.
lama
lama,
Okay, it worked. I learned something new!
Thanks,
B.B.
B.B.
Glad I could help. I have a quick question, do you know anything about the .25 cal sumatra 2500? I was looking for an enexpensive small game rifle and this one looked like a good bet. I was wondering if I should get the .25 cal or the .22. I think I added up that the .25 gets 60 some ft lbs at the muzzle. I looked at the review of it but it was just talking about the .22, how much different would the .25 be?
Thanks,
lama
lama,
Nothing wrong with a .25 in one of these powerful guns except the cost and availability of the pellets.
The guns are fine.
B.B.
Hmm…maybe I should sign up for an account.
Anyway, thanks for the article on the Marksman products.
Is there a recomendation you could make for a good gun to shoot darts or bolts from?
Off subject, sorry, the JB bore cleaner listed on Pyramyd doesn’t mention “non-embedding”. Do you know if it is? Is this detail important? Thanks for the help.
MCA
Darts and bolts,
Benjamin used to make a fine smoothbore for shooting darts. It was called the 130. Nobody today makes a good dart gun that I am aware of. Crosman made a plastic one a few years back, but nothing today.
B.B.
MCA,
Pyramyd left it out of the product title, but the jar they show says it on the lable. I have a high-rez screen and I can read it. It’s the same stuff.
B.B.
NRA sharpshooter? well i’ve never doubted shooting skills from the guy who hands out advice! i didnt know the NRA had rankings, how are they arranged?
dm20,
The NRA has a national program of airgun matches around the U.S. You show up, enter and compete, and the results are put into a national database. They publish regional results and national rankings.
Go on their website to find out about matches in your area.
http://www.nrahq.org
B.B.
Hi,
Is there a low priced multi-shot pcp rifle that pyramidair carries?
The Sam Yang Saver carbine is only $390. That’s about as inexpensive as multi-shots get.
B.B.
i had taken apart my air pistol to get a bb that was stuck out and all the parts fell out and i dont know how to put them ack in so if you could send me like a diagram of were the parts go that would be a lot of help
Is your gun a Marksman 1010? I ask because people post questions about anything on any blog.
To get a schematic you need to contact the Marksman company. They are colocated with Beeman in Huntington Beach. Their phone number is
714-890-4800 or 800-227-2744
B.B.
I had a 1010 as a kid…got it in a swap from another kid. It wasn’t real impressive but it was my first air pistol.
I teach a course in being on target, using AirSoft pistols, airguns and archery. So I bought a Marksman recently (from K-Mart), as part of the company’s Shootin’ Darts kit. I took it back after a similarly disappointing accuracy experience. The box said shootin’ darts but the darts were actually bolts, which even at the recommended distance to the target (also included & made of cardboard), mostly hit the target sideways!
I used to have a dartboard set up on the back of the door of my home office in the ’80s, and I and my wife would shoot darts from my Crosman 760, and this was pretty accurate. She wasn’t really into guns but could always outshoot me! I read that metal darts would damage the rifling so I bought plastic darts. By that time of course it was probably too late and I swore that my 760 was never very accurate after that. But my kids and I shot mostly minute-of-soft drink can back then, so it may have been my imagination.
-Joe
Where can I get a replacement pellet/dart seater? I seem to have lost mine and can not find it.
You know, I was looking at mine after doing the report and I wonderd the same thing. I would call Pyramyd AIR. They have a line to Marksman and should be able to get something like that.
By the way, I taped mine to the grips of my pistol.
B.B.
does any one now the marksman phone number
BB,
Thanks a lot for the background on the Marksman 1010. With your help, I was able to identify my father’s air pistol, and finally figure out how to properly cock it. (I had been pulling the slide back then pulling the trigger… which WILL work, sorta, but the BB has to be travelling at something like 120fps or below.. the air piston wasn’t actually firing the BB)
I learn something new everytime I read your archives.
Im under a squirrel attack they are eating the garage roof, rafters and telephone line causing hundreds of dollars in damage. I thought of using a AK-47 or hire a professional hit man like Orkin. But my neighbor is from a backward monkey country and may think Im after his god so stealth is important. I developed a plan to counter attack the insurgent squirrel stronghold using a Marksman 2000, pepper/mace spray, and tazor. Before I open the box so I cant return it, and get outwitted and overrun by superior forces of nature, can anyone tell me if a Marksman 2000 can take out an insurgent squirrel at maybe 50 to 100ft? They are very well trained in ground and air warfare one dropped a frozen potato from the tree almost got me and I think the fat one knows Karate.
Defender,
A Marksman 2000 won’t kill a grasshopper at 10 feet!
You need a Benjamin 392 for this job.
B.B.
Dear B.B.
Your blog reminds me about my 1010s which I bought couple of them from the U.S. for my kids several years ago (I live in Bangkok, Thailand). One of them got stuck after not many shots, then I unscrewed (3 screws) trying to take them apart to see what went wrong in there. I gave up as I did not know how to disassemble it apart properly, I ended up to leave it like that. Now, I am wanting to go back to that one as it still looks brand new and needs a fix to be alive again. Could you recommend a disassembly/re-assembly instructions or a link to it.
Thanks for your help,
Roong
Roong,
I’m sorry but I don’t have one. I have a 1010 in the same condition.
I believe that the pistol is assembled on the clamshell principal, meaning that all the parts fit in one half of the frame and the other half is needed to keep them from springing apart.
B.B.
Hey you can use the pellet seater from the 2000 to push pellets into the sometimes akward cfx. You can use the long point of the seater to push tight fitting pellets in (gamo pro magnums seemed tight in my cfx’s breech) and I have used the shorter, stubbier point of the seater to reshape the skirts on some of those pellets that are mishappen in the tin. Probably more uses out there too.
Kyle.
ne one know how to put one together my brother took mine apart and i cant put it together? so if u can help w/ some good details that would be good!!!
I took my 1399 marksman apart and i need help getting it back. please give me a diagram. send it to iamresolved@yahoo.com
resolved,
I don’t have a diagram. Tou might ask Pyramyd AIR to repair it for you. That’s the best I can offer.
B.B.
Here is a link to a pic of my marksman 1010.
http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a64/heygibb/?action=view¤t=DSCF0023.jpg
It still needs to be closed up and the slide installed. It does show spring position and orientation.
I could not find a schematic anywhere, so this may be helpful to some.
Thank you for the picture, my brother in law gave me an old marksman, it rattled and when opened up everything was in the bottom of the grip. I spent hours trying to orientate everything until I came across your pic. So easy then! It even works, although very inaccurate! thanks again. Pete
Pete,
I'm glad we were able to help.
B.B.
Glad to be of help. Mine still fires but not much power there anymore.
to squeez more power out of your 1010 or 2000 simply take it apart and either use washers to "shimmy" the spring up or replace it with a stronger spring. The same is true for any "springer" model airguns. Accuracy will still be poor, likly, but at least the power will be higher.
Question about the older crosman 1010's…I'm getting a Crosman 150 for $50, (Lucky, Luck Find!), as a bonus he is going to throw in the older model of the 1010 for free, the one thats full metal, no plastic breech? Are these older ones any better accuracy/power wise? Either way, Its free for me so why not take it home with the 1950's Crosman 150 I will be buying.
timbuck2,
Sorry, but the old ones aren't much better than the current ones, if any.
But you will have it soon. Oil t eh piston seal and then tell us what you find.
B.B.
I found mine old MRP, still in the box but but with a lot of wear. Has to be about 40 years old. We couldn't get it to fire anything but the manual was in the box. We followed the instructions and put a few drops of 30 weight motor oil in the barrel. After two hours we were shooting darts into a board. It's definitly a plinker and brought back some memories. My son and I had a few laughs.
TX Dad
Great story. Always good to get something going with just a bit of work.
BTW This is a very old article you have commented on. (over 4 years old) If you have any comments or questions in the future, please check out the current day's blog article at /blog//
The format has changed a little but its the same great people giving invaluable advice.
Hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Slinging Lead
B.B.
Just came across this site when looking for info on my old Marksman Repeater, which I think "Santa" brought sometime around 1958-60. It still looks good and works well and I've recently began shooting it again. Seems quite powerful, at least for basement shooting. I note in the comments that many ask for a schematic of the pistor for help in disassembly & assembly. I still have the original box and instructions. The instructions have a small schematic and disasembly/reasembly directions. I can scan them and send them to you if you like, so others can use them.
xtryder,
That would be very kind of you. Several people have asked for those over the years.
When you have them, just send them to blogger@pyramydair.com
B.B.
Anyone have a suggestion for replacing the front sight. I found my 1010 c.1970 under my mother's bed in a shoe box! The rubber has deteriorated and I need to figure out how to replace it.
I use the pistol to practise in the garage.
The 1010 is not easily rebuildable. Better to just buy a new one.
B.B.
Anonymous, the front sight is rubber? But BB's right, it's not an easy gun to service… although this might help:
/blog/2010/3/vinces-impossible-dream/
Should in the third paragraph should be ‘shoot’.
Does the spring need to be replaced after years of usage? Are replacement parts available? Where?
The recoil (lol) feels the same as the first day I fired it.
Thanks again, looking forward to your reply!
Tj Jack
TjJack,
Yes — shoot.
That spring will outlive you. Just oil it and shoot it.
B.B.
TjJack,
You can oil the spring and that will help, but it is the piston seal that really needs it. Break the barrel open and drop the oil into the hole where the air comes out of the gun and gets behind the BB or pellet. That’s the air transfer port. Let the oil coat the entire piston seal by holding the cocked gun in different positions and allowing the oil to spread.
B.B.
Tijuana Jack,
Welcome to the blog.
I deleted your comment because of the language. This is a family friendly site and we don’t permit language like that.
That said, your comment was a very good one. The Huntington Beach Marksman guns were well made. A little oil down the air transfer port will be good.
And what is a garage sale like in Tijuana?
B.B.
Sorry I didn’t mean to offend, that is why I miss spelled it with an !. Again I apologize. Garage sales in Tijuana are much the same as anywhere in the US used and new stuff at negotiable prices.
Oil the spring itself directly on the spring? What kind of oil? Where/what is the air transfer port? The only hole I see is the barrel.
Tj Jack