Home › Blog › 
Ammo › Adjusting the Benjamin Marauder for low-pressure operation

Adjusting the Benjamin Marauder for low-pressure operation

by
↓ 102 comments

by B.B. Pelletier

Regular blog reader Fred of the PRoNJ has done a lot of testing with his Benjamin Marauder. Today, he’s going to tell us what he’s been doing to get better accuracy and more consistent velocity when shooting the gun on lower-pressure air.

Guest bloggers must be able to provide clear photos and size them for the internet (if their post requires them), and they must use proper English. We’ll edit each submission, but we won’t work on any submission that contains gross misspellings and/or grammatical errors.

If you’d like to write a guest post for this blog, please email us.

By Fred of the Peoples’ Republick of New Jersey

Perhaps the most accurate rifle I own is the Benjamin Marauder. The rifle has a lot to offer for the money, including dual propellant capabilities; a two-stage, adjustable trigger; and a choked, shrouded barrel. Plus, it’s a repeater (10-round magazine included). It’s so quiet, you hear the hammer striking the pin on the release valve. The biggest complaint seems to be that some people don’t like the sound that this makes, which is a ping.

The rifle, as shipped from Crosman, is said to be adjusted for the best compromise between using 3,000 psi or the low end at 2,000 psi. As I determined what pellet the rifle liked the most, I knew that my testing wasn’t complete until I broke out my chrony to see exactly what the rifle was doing. I bought this rifle because I like the idea of shooting it at 2,000 psi — the same as my Discovery. I own an old steel scuba tank and its maximum working pressure is 2,300 psi so having two PCPs working at 2,000 psi seemed ideal.

First, I shot my rifle to get a benchmark of what it was doing as sent from the factory. Using a .177 cal., 8.85-grain pellet (I have plenty because I discovered it wasn’t a very accurate pellet), my initial muzzle velocity registered 855.8 feet per second (fps) or 14.4 ft.-lbs. However, by shot 10, my velocity had dropped to 804.5 fps. That tells me that I didn’t have 10 shots at a starting reservoir pressure of 2,000 psi without a huge velocity spread. Here are the chrony results for my baseline:

Shot Velocity (fps) Shot Velocity (fps)
1 855.8 6 831.2
2 847.0 7 831.2
3 848.6 8 827.2
4 842.2 9 818.7
5 829.6 10 804.5

As you can see, it’s a nice, almost linear, decreasing velocity but really not what you’d wants. The Marauder has three adjustments. One is the hammer-spring preload, the second is the hammer-stroke travel and the third is the valve-metering screw that controls the amount of air entering the barrel and adjusts the pellet velocity. However, to reach this third adjuster, you have to remove the stock and a jam screw to access the adjusting screw. I decided to just adjust the first two, which are easily accessible at the rear of the breech.


Marauder breech: the hammer-stroke Allen bolt is a smaller size and located in the center of the hammer-spring bolt

I turned the hammer-spring preload counterclockwise to reduce the preload by one turn and turned the hammer-stroke adjuster also one turn clockwise to reduce the travel of the hammer. I decided to increase the air pressure in the rifle to 2,100 psi. My initial velocity increased to 867.1 fps. The second pellet was a bit faster, but by shot 13, I’d exceeded a 25 fps spread, with the crony reading 841.5 fps. I’d gained 3 shots, not taking into account the higher starting pressure.

For the next test, I again increased adjustment by one turn on the two screws. This achieved minimal results so I increased the adjustment by two turns for a total of 4 turns from the rifles’ initial setting. With an initial velocity of 863 fps, I started to obtain some strange results. The next 3 pellets had higher speeds before dropping down below the initial fired pellet. Rather than show you another table full of numbers, take a look at this graph:


Notice what’s starting to happen? I didn’t pick up on it till a day later when I had time to think things through. However, using my limitation of 25 fps spread, I was at 21 pellets now.

The hammer spring has about 6 turns of adjustment, so I turned this fully out to get the least pre-load on the spring and reduced travel on the hammer stroke. In my desire to make a miser out of my rifle and obtain the most shots per charge at 2,100 psi, I missed what was happening and adjusted the striker travel further so that I had only two turns of adjustment left.


Take a look at this graph and things become clearer. My first pellet’s speed is 816 fps. Subsequent pellets increased to a high of 844 fps and then started a decline in speed so that by shot 54 I was at 801.9 fps. I might be able to live with this spread of 43 fps knowing that I could get 54 decent pellets from a 2100 psi charge since the average speed for the 54 pellets equates to 824 fps and is +/- 25 fps. But, I decided to try to remove the valve-lock issue.

I turned back the hammer-spring pre-load clockwise one turn to increase hammer energy. Now, my results produced an initial or first shot speed of 876.9 fps and rose to 890.6 fps by shot 12 for an increase of ~14 fps from the initial velocity. From this point, velocities dropped until pellet 42 produced 850.9 fps, or not quite 28 fps difference from the first pellet. However, as you can see from the chart below, a number of pellets had dropped below this speed.


My average speed for these 42 pellets is 878.4 fps. In energy, that’s 15.17 ft.lbs. This is in comparison to the average velocity of 809.8 fps, which equates to 12.89 ft.-lbs. It’s a tough decision. I can accept the minor valve lock, get 54 pellets per charge and a little over 2 ft.-lbs of reduced energy OR I can reduce the valve lock, increase my average speed by 25 fps and get to shoot 38 to 42 pellets within a tight spread.

Would there be a difference in accuracy with the valve-lock issue?


Testing the Crosman Premier Ultra Magnums (10.5 gr) against the Falcon (7.33 gr) and the JSB Exacts (10.35 gr), Here’s what the rifle gave me with 2,000 psi starting pressure and the factory adjustment.

You like my target, I take it? This was done to see if the JSB Exact Diabolo pellets and Air Arms Falcon pellets were more accurate than the Crosman Premier Ultra Magnum pellets that I’d determined were the most accurate in this rifle. I hadn’t adjusted the scope to zero in on my point of aim, but you can see what was giving me the best results.

The Premiers gave me a 1.085″ group at 29 yards. JSBs were 1.3″ and the Falcons a 1.725″ group. I also noticed that the Falcon and JSB pellets would shoot to the left of the target while the Premiers went to the right.

After adjusting the scope for the Crosman pellets so they would be on target, I shot the Marauder at the “miser” settings, accepting valve lock. See for yourself what this rifle did for me at 30 yards.


This is the Crosman Premier Ultra Magnum pellet. There was a gusty wind blowing on this day, and I had to wait between gusts (but sometimes I wasn’t quite patient enough). These measurements, like the cardboard target, are the full measurements of the group — they aren’t center-to-center. The target is also one yard farther away.

Now for the Falcons:


The pellets to the left of the POA were shot for accuracy, while the pellets on the right were shot as part of another experiment. Did the Falcons spiral on me or did the spin imparted from the rifling cause the pellets to drift left? More experimentation is needed. Finally, the JSB Exacts:


Ignore the comment about this group being smaller, as there are 6 pellets in the group. All the groups had 6 pellets. The circled holes are pellets shot from 15 yards away. Again, this was an experiment to see if the JSBs would move from side to side if the distance from the rifle to the target varied. Careful sighting was not conducted here, only general sighting for this experiment. Obviously, there’s no problem with these pellets traveling side to side.

I’m going to leave the rifle adjusted for the higher velocity and have 44 useful pellets and more power as opposed to 54 pellets and less power. Now, it’s time to get the Discovery out of the closet and see what that rifle does.

author avatar
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)
Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on behalf of Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.
See Full Bio

102 thoughts on “Adjusting the Benjamin Marauder for low-pressure operation”

  1. That’s some good work Fred.

    What you need to do now is to check your curve with the best shooting pellets and fine tune as necessary. I have found that with my AF rifles the curve can change a lot with different pellets.

    You have it figured out what the adjustments are doing so that makes it easier when you want to do a little bit of tweeking.

    twotalon

  2. The buzzing behemoth (97K) ate the Centerpoint 4-16x.

    Next up to bat will be the BSA Stealth Tactical sidewheel. Got it adjusted fairly close in the basement a few minutes ago. Wind is blowing like hell outside, so might be a while before I can get a really good zero.

    twotalon

    • twotalon,

      I thought the Centerpoint was springer proof. Way to go buzzing behemoth. Can the scope be returned under warranty for repair/replacement?

      Bruce

      PS We’ve got the same wind here–blew by bird feeder off its post.

      • I will see if they can fix it.
        I looked at the one on the Titan also. Same problem, but has not progressed as far.

        Basic problem….
        Inside the front of the scope there is a large coil spring. It sits against something under the front lens in the front, and sits against a shoulder a little way down in the tube at the rear end.
        The springs are starting to jump off the shoulder and work their way down the tube.
        The one on the Titan has only started to dislodge. The one on the HW has mostly dislodged and is sitting cockeyed in the tube. The one on the HW has started buzzing. That was my clue….along with a sudden slightly out of focus problem.

        “Recoil tested on a .416 Rigby.” A lot of good that does. Work ok on a PCP, but forget the springers or gas rams.

        Don’t know how many pellets have gone through the Titan. A little over a tin with the HW.

        Will be looking for another scope.

        twotalon

        • Don’t put anything on it that you don’t want to lose. I think springers are hard on scopes, obviously, but I also think springers get shot more than other rifles. You probably shoot more in an few minutes than a .416 Rigby would be shot in a lifetime :).

          • A .416 might be a little overkill on starlings.

            I can salvage one of these scopes as is for a spare for pcp use only.
            Both scopes still adjust right and hold zero.

            Will start looking for a different kind of scope for the Titan later on.

            Might try installing the one on the Titan backwards and shooting it a few times to see if the spring will jump back in place.

            twotalon

      • I told Crosman what is wrong with these scopes, and what whould have prevented the problem.
        They are lifetime warranty, and they said they will replace them if they are dicked up.
        I will send both of them in when I get to it.

        twotalon

        • twotalon

          Gotta love Crosman’s after the sale customer service. It doesn’t get much better.

          All my scopes are either Leapers or Centerpoint, which are made by Leapers. Thats 7 scopes. These lower priced scopes were purchased to offset the costs of more expensive rifles, but I have not had a single failure from those on my springers. The only one that failed in a significant way, was a bugbuster that the magnification ring would bind up if the elevation adjustment wasn’t centered. And that was mounted to a Crosman 1377.

          They have been very reliable in my experience– maybe I have been lucky, but history shows this is unlikely.

          • I only use Leapers or Centerpoint on mine too. So far, no failures but I’m pretty nice to my scopes. They only go on pump up pneumatic or PCP rifles. Not too much strain on the scope from those. The one springer is the IZH-61 that my daughter took over. That has very little double recoil from the spring as it’s not very powerful (just amazingly accurate and consistent).

  3. Morning Fred,

    Wonderful report Fred. Thanks for taking your time and sharing it with us. You’ve got a nice bell curve there. Two questions: have you tried shooting on CO2 and do you have any plans to include the valve metering screw in your adjustments?

    I can not remember if you’ve got the power adjustment mod on your Discovery?

    Bruce

    • Ha, I represent that remark. I love PCP, even with a whole lotta tweaking to get it just right. The springers seem so hold sensitive, to contrast their great consistency in power from shot to shot. I’ve found that myself and springers don’t get along well, perhaps my hold is too inconsistent. Perhaps I just don’t appreciate the art form they require to truly shine. The pneumatics tend to be less hold sensitive, so I can hold any which way feels right at the moment. When I’ve tried springers, I couldn’t get them to group as tight as my PCP. Other guys could do just fine, but not me. I’m not sure why, but I didn’t stick around long enough to get the zen hold, I went back to multi-pump or PCP. Gotta love my Talon SS.

      Side note: for those who said DON’T SELL YOUR DISCO! earlier. I’m not anymore. It is now wearing a full barrel shroud and whispers more silently than my Talon SS (which I got because the Disco was so noisy, oops). Love ’em both now. How to justify the new Talon now however…. not looking good.

  6. Update on Tom.

    Tom is now doing better. His vital signs are much improved and stable, he’s not in pain and things are looking good. I’ll be visiting him this afternoon.

    Thanks, again, for all your prayers!

    Edith

  7. Edith,

    I haven’t ordered anything from PA in a while and just want to say kudos to whoever came up with linking the tracking number to FED-X’s tracking system–thanks!

    Bruce

  8. Edith,
    We really appreciate the updates on Tom. Please tell him that he’s in our thoughts today.

    Fred,
    Man, this blog write up was a lot of work! I wouldn’t have thought that a Marauder could have given you a shot string that long on such low pressure.

    Did you shoot the kodiak/barracuda pellets in your initial accuracy testing?

  9. Just got a phone call from Tom, and he sounds great 🙂

    He’s doing very well and is progressing faster than expected. They thought he might be able to sit up with some assistance. In fact, he’s been sitting with no assistance, rolling around from side to side and is quite animated. If the doctor allows it, Tom wants to get out of bed and walk.

    He’s totally lucid, too. He’s bored and doesn’t want to stare at the ceiling all day, so I’ll be bringing him some reading material. Woohoo! My baby’s back 🙂

    Edith

  10. Mr. B, no I don’t have that adjuster installed on the Marauder and do not yet have facilities for bulk CO2 filling.

    Derrick, I didn’t try Kodiaks as far as I can recall. I do have some left if you would like me to put some down the barrel?

    Fred

  12. Fred

    Great work on this blog man. I was really looking forward to this report. I am amazed that you could get such long, useful shot strings at that low a pressure. I will have to get a chrony one of these days so I can tinker.

    And you will have to spring for a carbon fiber tank someday. I have one that was filled to 4500psi. I have filled both the Marauder and the Discovery from the tank at least a dozen times each, (sometimes I use my pump, just to keep the dust off it) and my gauge is currently reading 3500psi. I figure I have at least a dozen fills for the Marauder at 3000psi, and after that dozens of fills for the Discovery after the pressure drops to 2800 or so. CF tanks are pricey, but well worth it. Then again, I don’t find pumping such a chore, unless it’s hot and humid which where I live is about half the year.

    BTW I love a good line graph.

  13. Fred,

    Interesting. Thanks.

    I don’t own a marauder but spent a lot of time with my chrony last week adjusting a .22 cal marauder and .25 cal marauder with Erik the Viking, owner of both guns.

    His goal was to increase shot count, at a full fill, with his .22 cal and to increase velocity on the .25 cal so he could at least have 10 good shots over 890 fps for hunting. He shot his deer with his .25 cal on Monday!

    Based on that experience I have several observations that may not be relevant to you since your goal is to maximize shot count and minimize spread with a lower fill of air. Although I understand your rationale (2,300 psi in your scuba tank) I can’t help but think of tuning a 4 barrel carburator to work like a 2 barrel LOL!

    1-Using up your inaccurate 8.4 gr. pellets for testing makes sense but depending on whether the falcon pellets (7.33 gr.) are most accurate or the crosman ultra magnums (10.5 gr) or ? your power curve will be affected. I’m sure you know this and some additional “fine tuning” will be necessary based on the weight of the most accurate pellet.

    2-I would suggest you introduce the valve metering screw into the equation. Yes, you have to remove the stock to access the screw. We set the action back in the stock for shooting but left the screws off so we could quickly take the action out to make minor adjustment to the valve metering screw. Erik brought over a tutorial that was done by ray and hans appelle. I think he found it on the crosman site? It was an invaluable step by step to know whether to start with the valve metering screw, hammer-spring preload or hammer-stroke travel.

    3-If you haven’t tried cpl (7.9 gr. in cardboard box) would encourage you to try them. If you don’t have any send me your address and I’ll ship you some for testing. These were far and away the most accurate pellet in his first marauder that was .177.

    Thanks for the article. Very interesting.

    kevin

  14. Edith & Tom,

    I am so happy Tom is doing well. Seems like God was indeed with him through this and now he is on his way to a final resolution of this problem.

    I am really happy for you and Tom. We readers are truly blessed by this blog.

  15. Fred: I don’t own a Marauder but now wish I did!

    Terrific report, especially making use of the adjustment features in such a practical test. M-Rod owners are gonna eat this up!

    Brian in Idaho

  16. Fred,

    I purchased a Benjamin CO2 & Air Fill Adapter, Fits Benjamin Air Tank or Standard Paintball CO2 Tank part number Benjamin-FAH002[PY-A-2153]. When I’m plinking with the Discovery I’m running it on CO2. Hundreds of shots from a single 20 oz tank. Accuracy is the same on either HPA or CO2. A very minimal investment in the Benjamin Adapter, $65.99 and around $25.00 for a 20 oz tank which costs me about $5.00 at the local paint ball store. Makes for a lot of hassle free shooting and knocks the starlings dead.

    Are you going to coming down this way to pick up your daughter at U of M of Christmas? I could meet you there and send you back home with the adapter and a bottle of CO2 to try in both your Discovery and Marauder if you’d be interested.

    Bruce

    • Thank you for the offer,Bruce. We’re waiting to see what here exam calendar is like. It appears we won’t have to go down this month but when we take her back in January, we have to move her from the dorm she’s in to a sorority house. I’ll keep it touch.

      Fred PRoNJ

  17. Fred,

    Thanks for a great report on the Marauder. It looks like you put out a lot of work for that report.

    We ended up putting a regulator in ours, and it’s good for 40 shots at 20fpe. with a spread of 8fps. with a 3,000# fill. This is a .22 cal that likes the Air Arms 13.34gr Falcon pellets. So far after 3-4,000 shots the reg. has held up fine.

    Kevin,
    I’ve got a .25 cal Marauder on the top of my “to buy list”, with the idea of 10 good shots for hunting too… but didn’t dream one could take a deer with a .25 cal marauder.. How many foot pounds of energy did you guys come up with?? Shot him in the ear? or a gut shot? Mulit shots???

    I don’t need to hunt deer with such a low power gun, and don’t think it’s legal in Oregon… just curious and wondering if your post might give some bad ideas to some folks:-)

    Wacky Wayne

    • Kevin & Wayne: I was wondering the same thing? I’ve shoot a lot of small game with several .25-20 cal rifles, and the average ballistics for a 86gr, flat pt/ soft pt bullet ,from a 22″ rifle barrel is 1460 fps that generates 407 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle. A pellet at 890fps would be a very mild load indeed, about like using a .25 acp pistol . I would also like to know what bullet/pellet used, the range , and terminal effects on the deer? Robert.

    • Wayne,

      This is Erik’s 3rd deer taken with an airgun. Perfectly legal where he’s hunting. Not legal anywhere in Colorado since the caliber and ft. lbs. don’t meet our minimum requirements. I expressed the same trepidation about deer hunting with a .25 cal. pellet gun but it’s legal in the controlled area where he’s hunting. I personally wouldn’t shoot a deer with a .25 caliber pellet gun nor would I recommend it. I just received an email from him last night and he said 45 yards, one shot. Won’t have anymore details until he gets back in Colorado later this week.

      We dialed his gun into an average velocity of 893fps and the most accurate pellet in his .25 cal marauder is the benjamin 27.8 gr. 49+ ft. lbs. of muzzle energy.

      I’m VERY impressed with the accuracy of his .25 cal. stock marauder. His .22 cal. marauder was one of the first 100 manufactured, spent almost 7 months with greg davis and still shoots marginally.

      Tell you one more story about his .25 cal. marauder. He came over last week after the sun had set so we could adjust his .25 cal. to take on his hunt. Had to shoot from inside my garage with my halogen shop light directed at my garage ceiling in order to get accurate chrony readings (I don’t have a light kit for my chrony). Longest range out of my garage is 20 yards. I’ve gotten cheap and lazy and have started building target boxes out of 18″ X 18″ X18″ cardboard boxes filled with hollowfill. I go to the thrift stores and buy old, used mattress pads and stuff two of these king size or queen size pads into these cardboard boxes and then tape them up with heavy packing tape. I tape targets on all 4 sides of these boxes. Once a target is shot up I merely turn the box to another side that has a fresh target. These are lightweight and I’ve never had a shot penetrate through and through one of these boxes.

      I placed one of these boxes out to 20 yards so we could shoot into it while adjusting Erik’s .25 cal. over the chrony. We probably shot the box 30 times and for the first time a pellet made it through the other side of the box! We dug the pellet out of the hollowfill that was sticking out the backside and looked at each other in amazement.

      kevin

      • Kevin,

        Thanks for the clarification. I was hoping 50fpe was possible, and you proved it is.. very cool!

        Our .22cal Marauder is one of the early ones too, and we had to re-crown the barrel and bed the action to get it to shoot right… after the reg.. now it’s a one hole shooter, it will group with any of the best guns now.. 10 shots in 5/8″ at 50 yards with no wind.

        They can be hit and miss out of the box, but with a little work, they are tack drivers. Got to be the best PCP for the money and except for the stock and ease of the side-lever, about as good as an Air Arms S410… well it’s needs the easy power adjuster on the AA too..

        anyway, the Marauder is worth it’s price and then some..

        Wacky Wayne,
        Match Director,
        Ashland Air Rifle RAnge

      • Very Thrifty (not cheap and lazy). I do the same except I use my wife’s empty powdered detergent boxes,fill them with sand then place that in a large aluminum baking pan- the disposable kind to catch any leaking sand. After shooting up a target, I use masking tape to cover the holes to prevent the sand from leaking out and tape another target to the box. Nailed four pieces of 2′ X 2′ in the form of a square and stapled a piece of bug screen to the bottom to sift out the pellets when the box needs changing. That way you can keep reusing the sand over and over- just make sure the cat does not use it as a litter box.LOL!

  18. Thank you all for your complements. Kevin, I’ll go to the Crosman site and review the Apelles’ article. Thanks for that tip. Oops, being summoned to my first trial.

    Fred PRoNJ

    • fred PRoNJ:

      GUILTY!!
      Oops,sorry if I prejudiced the case.lol

      Goodness that is a lot of work you put in.
      Seeing now what I didn’t know then about how flexible PCP’s are for tuning and power adjustment,I would certainly have thought twice about selling mine.
      Cheers.
      DaveUK

    • Chuck,

      That’s Bob Munden. A few years ago, I gave Tom several videos about the greatest shooters that ever lived, which included Bob Munden. We’ve seen him on several TV shows, too. What a jaw-dropping shooter! He was walking the aisles at the 2008 SHOT Show. I’m assuming Munden is still alive.

      Thanks,
      Edith

      • Edith,
        Great news about Tom. When things settle down, can you check to see whether PA will be stocking the H&N Field Target Trophy in .22 Cal??. I ordered some through a Buddy of mine in Miami and they were put on back order. After a few weeks the order was cancelled without ever notifying us.
        Any help will be appreciated.
        Thanks again and tell Tom not to rush. Stay away from the springers for a while until he is completely healed

  21. Ok Fred, I read it. Terrific test! Thanks for taking the time, but I also know how much fun it is. I’m anxious to see the next installment. I have not attempted to do any adjustments on my Marauder yet. I have the .22 so I would suspect the results might be different. Maybe not. Unfortunately I can’t shoot at 30yds to compare. I’m limited to 10m. Would there be any benefit of you redoing your accuracy tests at 10m so we can compare? Or perhaps there is another .177 owner willing to try 10m accuracy adjustments.

    Also, I noticed you referring to Ms M as a Crosman instead of a Benjamin. I know Crosman owns Benjamin but isn’t that a bit like referrring to the Jaguar as a Ford XK-Series or more recently as a Tata (Indian) XK-Series rather than as a Jaguar XK-Series? Yes, I am sensitive and protective of Ms M 🙂

    -Chuck

    • Chuck,

      YIKES! I should have caught that when doing the editing. I’ve changed the name & URL of this blog so it says Benjamin instead of Crosman, but I left Crosman down as the place that shipped the gun.

      Thanks,
      Edith

      • Edith,
        I know you’ve got a lot going on in your life right now. If I’d have known it was an editing error I would have saved it for later or not mentioned it. I just wanted to needle Fred as a reward for doing such a great job. You know, “no good deed goes unpunished…” kind of thing 🙂

        Fred, looks like you’re off the hook this time. Hope you can find it in your heart to forgive Edith. Remember, Tom WILL get well and he ain’t no man to take messing with his main squeeze lightly.
        -Chuck

  22. twotalon,
    I’m interested in your thoughts on the BSA Stealth Tactical sidewheel. I’ve had on in my wishlist for some time now. Maybe you’re the one responsible for it being there.
    -Chuck

    • I mentioned it a while back, but had decided not to install it either beacuse of weight or the height of scope rings that I had on hand. Or both.
      Tried my old Bushy 4-12x with the rings I had, but found that it was shot. Got a taller set of rings and put on the Centerpoint.
      So far, the AO sidewheel on the BSA checks out pretty close for range. Need to tape on a few more numbers. Crosshairs are a little wider than the Centerpoint, but not terribly excessive. Has fewer mildots on the reticule. Adjustment knobs cannot be set to zero after the scope is sighted in.

      Optics are clean. I expect the big sidewheel to shake loose so will take it back off after I get the extra range marks added to the small knob. The range marks are on the small knob only.

      Wind is supposed to drop a lot in a couple days. Will finish sighting in then. Have to re-sight the Titan as well. I put the original Centerpoint back on it for now.

      twotalon

  23. I’m thankful Tom is doing well! Today is the first day I’ve gotten to read the blog since last week. I was thinking about Tom and praying the surgery went well. My wife’s grandmother just died yesterday (thankfully we got to see her Thanksgiving) and work and home repair projects have gone crazy.

    AR

    • A.R. Tinkerer,

      I’m sorry to hear of your wife’s grandmother’s passing. No matter the age, circumstances or time, it always stings. Glad you were able to spend time with her during Thanksgiving!

      Edith

    • Chuck,

      Not a clue why, except the first time I went to e-mail him, clicking his link took me to a sight that said I had to do so. I was doing that through my AOL account. A short ago I did it through google as my search engine, and off it went. Most of this stuff is way above my pay grade.

      Bruce

  27. Edith,
    I looked at the video again of the quick draw guy and can’t determine a date but and they mentioned a 1986 or so championship he won so maybe the video is 20 years old. He looks pretty young in the vid. So maybe he in his 60’s now? He should still be alive today if so, unless his FBI job shortened his life.
    -Chuck

  28. Fred,
    Please, no don’t test the kodiak/barracudas just for us. Your data was more than impressive enough as it stands. I only asked because they are the most accurate pellet I’ve run through my .22 cal Marauder and typically in the top 3 pellets for any of my more powerful guns. So, I was curious if you’d ruled them out for your gun. Agree with Kevin that you need to consider the valve metering adjustment. Then again, I like the idea of filling to 3K and adding more hammer spring preload and travel and up the velocity another 50+ fps. But that’s different strokes. My .22 cal is running along at around 975–985 fps with barracudas IIRC.

    Hopefully, no one has gotten the idea that Marauders are only for people who want to screw around with them for days until they achieve their own personal nirvana. They work just dandy right out of the box, too.

  29. First let me thank Bruce for putting me on the right track.
    I got a sport 124 and it would not shoot so I took it apart and found the piston in crumbs. I found a new piston and breach ring on line and instructions with moly grease to reassemble it. Great it shoots, so I put RWS scope on and it will shoot 1 1/2″ groups at 10 yards and throw some out. I am looking for some better pellets. The breach ring is kind of mashed out at the top. I would welcome a few pointers.

    Thanks john

    • Hello John,first does the rifle have intact open sights?I would try shooting with them first since 10 yds
      isn’t hard to see.Check all the screws on the gun for tightness…..medium tight is fine,don’t overtighten!When you cock the gun,put the safety on….then check to see if the barrel is able to stay put in different positions(half way through it’s arc,for example)if it flops open,it’s too loose.
      Then you will need to tighten the barrel hinge bolt.Are you shooting from a rest?? Try shooting offhand,with the support hand open and the gun just resting in it.Try these things and let us know the results…..others will give plenty more pointers.

      • John,we also need to know what kind of pellets you are using.FWB 124 is capable of amazing accuracy
        if fed the right pellet.We can reccomend a few,but compairing them in YOUR gun will determine what works best of all.Does yor rifle have a metal or plastic trigger? I will gess it is the original plastic one
        based on the fact it had the original seal which was known to deteriorate over time.Also tell s the serial # so we know the age,things can be learned from that.

        • Thanks Frank B
          S# 54582 and looks like a metal trigger, no sights, the barrel seams to be tight though I don’t know if the new breach ring is letting it close completely. I was shooting cheap pellets,all I could find, but have found some gamo competition and come crossman copperheads. Have not had time to try these new pellets yet. It will probabily late Friday before I can try them. We don’t have a lot of selection here, please advise.
          Thanks John

    • John Ridley,

      Go to the hardware store and find the right size O ring to replace your mashed breech seal with. Make sure it stands somewhat proud of the breech. You may have to shim it. Would suggest you try Beeman FTS (Field Target Specials) pellets (these are also known as H & N FTT(Field Target Trophies). These were the best pellets in all of my FWB 124’s.

      kevin

      • Hi Kevin
        They could have sent me the wrong seal, it was hard to put in and will order some of the pellets you recommended. Should I take the ring out and find one with a smaller OD ?
        Thanks John

        • John,if the top of the breach seal is mashed,that would seem to indicate that the barrel is closing all the way.IMHO.By all means,try any pellets you can get….but if you can get the ones Kevin suggested
          You definitely should!!!!!! Kevin sold me my best 124,and it groups 1/4 inch at 25 yards.

          • I will get the pellets ordered for the 177. I am looking for 22 cal. gun in maybe a rws 48, but I don’t really like the way it loads. Something in the 4 to 5 hundred range.

            • If you are flexible about type,(i.e.PCP,Co2,gas piston….) then tell us the main purpose for the .22.
              Pest control,hunting,plinking all have different groups of good candidates!

                • johnridley,
                  It’s not so much the rifle or power plant you choose, it’s the foot pounds it will produce. There is a minimum ft/lb that a rifle/pellet combination will produce for the animal you want to shoot. If you don’t get enough ft/lb out of your gun for a certain size animal you will cause the animal severe suffering.

                  Therefore, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a spring piston, a gas piston, or a PCP, if you don’t use the proper pellet weight/fps velocity to produce the proper ft/lb you should not hunt.

                  There is a blog article that explains this but I don’t know where it is now. Maybe someone else on this blog remembers or at least can give you the numbers.

                  Basicly, you should use a .22 or greater for anything larger than a crow, I think. If I can find that article I’ll post its address for you.

                  -Chuck

                • John Ridley,

                  The FWB 124 (along with a few other guns) requires a special mount with the cross pins that requires a cross slot built into the mount in order to align with the cross grooves cut on top of your receiver. Unless the mount that came with your RWS scope has these cross pins instead of the typical vertical metal pin that is intended to fit into a hole in the receiver I would suggest you take that mount off the gun immediately.

                  Not only will it quickly jump out of the cross slot it currently resides in the minor movement to the scope will shift your pellet impact.

                  You need a mount designed for your gun. Mrs. Gaylord, forgive me but PA doesn’t sell these anymore and there is only one vendor in the world that I know of that offers these mounts in a choice of either one piece or two piece. If you need to delete this link I understand:

                  http://www.tawnadoairguns.com/sportsmatch_mounts.php

                  For a one inch scope tube the two piece rings and mount the part number is TO3S, for the one piece scope rings and mount the part number is HOP23. You need to email Michael to get the correct part number for rings and mount for a 30mm scope tube if you still want to use that RWS scope.

                  kevin

                  • The gun came with a stop on grove, I don’t know if that’s enough or not. I will look for some different mounts. What other scope works well?
                    I became interested in air rifle when on of my friends that I keep his rifles and shot guns up left his rws 48 outside in the rain all night and brought it to me to be cleaned. I tried to get the water out with out taking it apart, but had to disassemble it. Cleaned it up and started to reassemble and had to put a adjustable pipe clamp in a vice and it went right together. I hate to ask, but he gave me his grandsons cross-man 760 to fix if possible. Is this thing worth trying to fix or not? If not no big deal.
                    Thanks John

        • John Ridley,

          The breech O ring should fit tight and snug. As long as it lays flat you should be ok. The key to the right O ring or breech seal is a tight fit and some of the seal/O ring should protrude beyond the breech block (stand proud) to insure an airtight seal when you close the gun after inserting a pellet. If it doesn’t stand proud some folks use dental floss to shim or a punch plastic out of coffee can lid (if you have a set of punches this works well. Large diameter first then punch the smaller hole in the middle) and other folks use small copper wire pounded flat to shim under the breech seal/O ring.

          A good test to verify if your breech seal is sealing properly is to place a one ply sheet of toilet paper over this seam at the breech block prior to firing and see if it moves when you shoot a pellet. If it moves you have a breech seal that leaks and either need a better size of breech seal/O ring or need to shim it some more.

          kevin

  30. Sorry if this has an obvious answer but i want to make sure. I’ve been looking at the Ruger Blackhawk and comparing it to the RWS 34p and Ruger seems to have copied RWS, if that is the case than have they done a good job? I’m thinking of getting a RWS 34p and the Blackhawk is much cheaper. I’d never herd the Blackhawk so I just want to make sure that I’m not getting a bad deal with the RWS. Thanks- Drew

    • Hi Drew!You can’t really “get a bad deal” with RWS or (here in Europe )Diana – so play safe .Can’t tell you much about Ruger Blackhawk ( sorry )but is it a copy well from the outside they look identical but i am not sure how would Blackhawk perform -recoil accuracy etc.I have Diana 34 classic and i can tell you that this is a decent rifle for the money if you ask me -i wouldn’t settle for anything less 😉

      • Thanks! After some thought I agree. I shot a friend of mine’s 34p today and I loved it. Also a copied 34p for about half the price is a little too good to be true. Thanks for the help.
        From, Drew

        • Drew -look around for 34 to6 .To6 trigger is made from metal -although plastic trigger is good too (it won’t brake…)BUT front acrylic sight is protected on new 34 models to 6(globe sight) 😉 stay around on this blog !

  31. One last item, I now noticed that I didn’t actually specify the caliber of the rifle. Although many of the more experienced and knowledgeable bloggers realized that from the weights of the pellets I was shooting and the size of the holes in the target, let me confirm for all that this is a .177 caliber rifle from Benjamin (thanks, Chuck). I thought that I might want to try field target so when I ordered this rifle, I specified the smaller caliber. I don’t know if my shooting talents are up to those of Wacky Wayne, however.

    Fred PRoNJ

    • Fred,

      Remember when Wayne was riding around on that burrow with his favorite ..45lc Marlin lever action? Now there’s a picture that brings a smile to ones brain along with a twinkle in the eyes.

      Bruce

  32. Completely off topic..but WOOHOO.
    I’ve been working on a quote for photographic equipment over the last few days for the Canadian Department of National Defence (one of the Canadian mechanized brigades is in our city).
    Gotta admit I always go out of my way to help these people…they risk their lives for us…it’s the least I can do.
    The person I was dealing with this appreicated it and asked what she could go (she’s in public affairs).
    I know it was a long shot but she came through with flying colours…in January my boys are getting a ride in a Leopard tank…now this trumps a Red Ryder any day 😉

  33. Pete in the Carribean,

    If PA is out of H & N FTT buy Beeman FTS pellets. They’re the same. PA has Beeman FTS pellets in stock in .22 caliber:

    /product/beeman-field-target-special-22-cal-14-66-grains-domed-200ct?p=373

    kevin

    • Kevin,
      Thanks for the link. I figured they were the same but there is a huge price difference. Whenever I order anything from the USA I have to multiply the price by a factor of 4 to arrive at my final cost, delivered.
      I bought some Daisy pointed pellets to try. The quality is so bad I can almost shoot around corners so my next project will be to melt them down and make sinkers for my fishing kit.

      • Pete in the Carribean,

        The shipment of several H&N pellets are backordered at the H&N plant. We won’t get any before 2011. For some pellets, we’re not sure when we’ll get them again.

        Edith

    • Paul,

      Yes. The model was made exclusively for Pyramyd AIR and has been discontinued. However, the Katana stock is continuing in production, because many who own Benjamin Discoveries like to upgrade to it.

      Edith told me this, as she is closer to that information than I am.

      B.B.

  36. If you are (or were – this was a while back) getting 1″ groups at 29 yards, then I hope that this isn’t your most accurate rifle. I would have hoped that you would be seeing 1 ragged hole at that distance. I am currently fretting about 3/8″ to 1/2″ 29 yard groups from my Gen2 25 cal synthetic Marauder. Although that isn’t so bad, it balloons to 2″ or more at 50 yards.

Leave a Reply to A.R. Tinkerer Cancel reply

Buy With Confidence

  • Free Shipping

    Get FREE shipping on qualifying orders! Any order $150+ with a shipping address in the contiguous US will receive the option for free ground shipping on items sold & shipped by Pyramyd AIR during checkout. Certain restrictions apply.

    Free shipping may not be combined with a coupon unless stated otherwise.

    View Shipping Info

  • Shipping Time Frame

    We work hard to get all orders placed by 12 pm EST out the door within 24 hours on weekdays because we know how excited you are to receive your order. Weekends and holiday shipping times will vary.

    During busy holidays, we step our efforts to ship all orders as fast as possible, but you may experience an additional 1-2 day delay before your order ships. This may also happen if you change your order during processing.

    View Shipping Times

  • Shipping Restrictions

    It's important to know that due to state and local laws, there are certain restrictions for various products. It's up to you to research and comply with the laws in your state, county, and city. If you live in a state or city where air guns are treated as firearms you may be able to take advantage of our FFL special program.

    U.S. federal law requires that all airsoft guns are sold with a 1/4-inch blaze orange muzzle or an orange flash hider to avoid the guns being mistaken for firearms.

    View Shipping Restrictions

  • Expert Service and Repair

    Get the most out of your equipment when you work with the expert technicians at Pyramyd AIR. With over 25 years of combined experience, we offer a range of comprehensive in-house services tailored to kickstart your next adventure.

    If you're picking up a new air gun, our team can test and tune the equipment before it leaves the warehouse. We can even set up an optic or other equipment so you can get out shooting without the hassle. For bowhunters, our certified master bow technicians provide services such as assembly, optics zeroing, and full equipment setup, which can maximize the potential of your purchase.

    By leveraging our expertise and precision, we ensure that your equipment is finely tuned to meet your specific needs and get you ready for your outdoor pursuits. So look out for our services when shopping for something new, and let our experts help you get the most from your outdoor adventures.

    View Service Info

  • Warranty Info

    Shop and purchase with confidence knowing that all of our air guns (except airsoft) are protected by a minimum 1-year manufacturer's warranty from the date of purchase unless otherwise noted on the product page.

    A warranty is provided by each manufacturer to ensure that your product is free of defect in both materials and workmanship.

    View Warranty Details

  • Exchanges / Refunds

    Didn't get what you wanted or have a problem? We understand that sometimes things aren't right and our team is serious about resolving these issues quickly. We can often help you fix small to medium issues over the phone or email.

    If you need to return an item please read our return policy.

    Learn About Returns

Get FREE shipping on qualifying orders! Any order $150+ with a shipping address in the contiguous US will receive the option for free ground shipping on items sold & shipped by Pyramyd AIR during checkout. Certain restrictions apply.

Free shipping may not be combined with a coupon unless stated otherwise.

View Shipping Info

Text JOIN to 91256 and get $10 OFF Your Next $50+ Order!

* By providing your number above, you agree to receive recurring autodialed marketing text msgs (e.g. cart reminders) to the mobile number used at opt-in from Pyramyd AIR on 91256. Reply with birthday MM/DD/YYYY to verify legal age of 18+ in order to receive texts. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Msg frequency may vary. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help and STOP to cancel. See Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy.

Customer Support

Shopping Services

GET TO KNOW US

PyramydAir.com uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. You can find out more about how we use them in the privacy policy. All other designated trademarks, copyrights, and brands are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright © 1999-2024 Pyramyd AIR. All Rights Reserved.

Customer Support

Shopping Services

GET TO KNOW US

|
|

credit cards

secure checkout

Copyright © 1999-2024 Pyramyd AIR. All Rights Reserved.