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Benjamin Marauder Semi-Auto (SAM) PCP Air Rifle: Part 3

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Benjamin Marauder Semiauto
Benjamin’s new Semiauto Marauder repeating PCP.

Part 1
Part 2

This report covers:

  • Adjusting the power
  • The test
  • JSB Exact Jumbo
  • Beeman Kodiak
  • Misfeeds
  • JSB Exact Jumbo RS
  • How loud?
  • How much air was used?
  • Adjust the rifle back to the factory setting
  • Dial off 7/8 of a turn
  • Dial off another full turn
  • Dial off another 3/4 turn
  • Dial back a half turn
  • Dial back another half turn
  • The bottom line
  • The trigger
  • Summary

Today we look at the Benjamin Marauder Semi-Auto (SAM) PCP air rifle adjusted up as high as it will go. I want to know how much power and also how many shots I can expect at this setting. I will also adjust the rifle back to how it came from the factory to see if I can achieve the former power by simply counting the revolutions of the adjustment screw.

As an aside, reader GunFun1 found out that his .22 Marauder magazines worked just fine in his SAM. He wanted to know because SAM magazines aren’t available yet. I do believe he increased their spring tension just a little.

Adjusting the power

The first step was to determine how far out the adjustment screw was set on the test rifle. To do that I unscrewed it until it stopped, which it did after 5-1/8 revolutions. That is all the power adjusted out.

After that I screwed it in as far as it will go without slipping. The manual says that it’s impossible to turn the screw in by more than 6 revolutions, and when I did I felt a click with every additional revolution. So Crosman has designed something to prevent over-tightening. Now I was ready to test the rifle.

The test

I will use the same pellets from the previous test in Part 2 so we can compare the power levels. I will also test the discharge sound again, to see if there has been any change.

JSB Exact Jumbo

This time I remembered the SAM is semiautomatic. I also remembered to press the charging handle forward and also the forward assist to properly seat the new pellet in the breech after installing a loaded magazine.

Last time at the factory setting the SAM pushed JSB Exact Jumbo pellets out at an average 804 f.p.s. The spread was 6 f.p.s. and the average energy generated was 22.81 foot-pounds. This time the velocity averaged 828 f.p.s. with a 10 f.p.s. spread from 821 to 831 f.p.s. The muzzle energy this time was 24.2 foot-pounds. That’s only a little faster after the adjustment, but as I said the adjustment screw was already turned in 5-1/8 turns as the rifle came from the box.

Beeman Kodiak

The next pellet I tested was the obsolete Beeman Kodiak, which is identical to the H&N Baracuda that’s still available. In Part Two this 21.14-grain pellet averaged 684 f.p.s. for a muzzle energy of 21.97 foot pounds. In this test the same pellet averaged 706 f.p.s. for a muzzle energy of 23.41 foot pounds. The spread was 10 f.p.s. from 703 to 713 f.p.s.

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Misfeeds

With the Kodiak, though, there were several misfeeds. I only recorded 7 good shots out of the first 10, The other three were misfires. And when I tried to get the last three shots by reloadinbg the magazine a second time, all three were misfires. By misfires I mean that one pellet might have gone out at 333 f.p.s. followed by a double feed that went out at 515 f.p.s. Since it happened twice with this pellet I determined that the SAM doesn’t care for Kodiaks. So I stopped using them.

I think the Kodiak pellet is either too large or too heavy for the SAM’s action and it “confuses” the semiautomatic action. The same thing happens in semiautomatic firearms when the wrong ammo is used. In the case of the SAM I think the pellet is putting more backpressure on the action than it was designed for and that is what is bolloxing things up. This is something you must pay attention to if you plan to shoot a semiauto.

JSB Exact Jumbo RS

The last pellet I tested was the lightweight JSB Exact RS dome. In Part Two they averaged 865 f.p.s with a 5 f.p.s. spread. On the high power setting today the same pellet averaged 888 f.p.s. with a 9 f.p.s. spread from 885 to 894 f.p.s. At the average velocity the RS pellet generates 23.52 foot-pounds at the muzzle.

How loud?

In Part Two I recorded the rifle’s report as 84.3 decibels. How loud is it now that the power has been increased? My sound meter recorded it as 91.6 decibels, though it still sounded pretty quiet to me. I took several readings and this one was in the middle.

SAM report
With the power up all the way the SAM’s report was 91.6 decibels.

How much air was used?

At this point in the test 34 shots had been fired (the three magazines, plus 4 additional shots for the Kodiak pellet string). The onboard gauge says 2,300 psi remains in the reservoir. In Part 2 we learned that the test rifle runs out of steam when the onboard gauge reads around 1,600 psi. So, there are lots of shots remaining.

Adjust the rifle back to the factory setting

Can I now adjust the rifle back to where it was set when I first tested the rifle? Theoretically I should be able to “eyeball” the position of the 1/4-inch Allen screw, by watching the short end of the Allen wrench and return to that setting. Let’s see what happens when I try.

Dial off 7/8 of a turn

I dialed the wrench off 7/8 of as turn and recorded the following string with JSB RS pellets that had averaged 888 f.p.s. on high power.

Shot………Vel
1………….891
2………….888
3………….886
4………….881
5………….880
6………….880
7………….880
8………….889 Oh, oh! Wrong way.
9………….880
10..……….887

The average for this string is 884 f.p.s. so some velocity has been dialed away, but not much. Until shot eight I thought the rifle was going to settle down to a lower velocity.

Dial off another full turn

Next I dialed another full turn off the power screw. Here is what I got.

Shot………Vel
1………….877
2………….869
3………….870
4………….871
5………….871

Dial off another 3/4 turn

That was much closer to the 865 f.p.s. average for the RS, but I wanted to get even closer. So I dialed down the screw another 3/4-turn and got this.

Shot………Vel
6………….857
7………….853

Dial back a half turn

Wooops! I went too far. So I put back 1/2 turn of the power adjustment.

Shot………Vel
8………….867
9………….858
10..……….854

Dial back another half turn

Well, I’m close, but I want to get even closer, so I dialed in another 1/2 turn of power and got this.

Shot………Vel
1………….866
2………….862
3………….861
4………….864
5………….864
6………….861
7………….864
8………….857
9………….856
10..……….855

By the way, that’s 64 shots on a fill and the rifle still has 1,900 psi in the reservoir. So there is at least one more magazine’s worth of air.

The average for this string is 861 and I decided to leave the power set where it is. But there are two important things I have to say.

First, why didn’t the velocity go back to exactly where it was before when I adjusted the power screw to exactly where it had been set? Maybe I miscalculated where the screw was really set. Or maybe when you mess with the power setting it takes a long time for the rifle to settle back down.

Second, How come I dialed it down 3/4 turn of power and then put a full turn back in and the power didn’t go to higher than it was before the 3/4 turn adjustment? Same answer as before, except this time I know I did adjust the screw exactly as indicated.

The bottom line

The bottom line, guys, is to get a chronograph if you want to play around like this. Don’t think that counting screw turns is an exact science. This is the reason when someone says they are shooting their AirForce TalonSS at setting 8.12, it means nothing to anyone except that guy and only at the time he records it.  If he ever adjusts his power setting somewhere else he may never be able to get back to that exact velocity! Chronograph, chronograph chronograph!

The trigger

I must tell you about the trigger. Stage two is smooth and light, but there is absolutely no hint of where it’s going to break — other than the distance it has travelled. I’m starting to know where the rifle will fire by how far I have pulled the trigger. It’s a new experience for me, but it’s not hard to learn.

Summary

Well, the SAM didn’t go up as high as I thought it would. But it still has all the power I will ever need in the .22 semiauto. 

Remember that Kodiaks didn’t work so well this time and be willing to accept that as part of the cost of having a semiautomatic action.

The accuracy test is next.

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

101 thoughts on “Benjamin Marauder Semi-Auto (SAM) PCP Air Rifle: Part 3”

  2. Great year to you all,

    I have been searching for a .22 break barrel. Not finding what I want or finding one way out of my pockets’ reach. Easy to cock , light weight , shooting in the 600 s or 700s and accurate— 25 to 50 yards ( would love a FWB 127—- I own a Diana 27 and a BSA Airsporter Mk I— both in .22)

    Wait I said, I have a Beeman R9 in .20
    Is it as easy as buying a .22 barrel and a cocking link to convert the .20 to a .22 rifle? What other parts do I
    need?

    I get that the Beeman R9 is not as light or as easy to cock as a Diana 27 but it’s lighter and more accurate than the BSA Airsporter. In addition, I don’t think that I could find a better. 22 rifle for less than $ 200 if all I need is to buy a new barrel assembly and a cocking link.

    I want to keep the .20 barrel since I have a bunch of .20 caliber Beeman pellets left to me by my grandfather.

      • RR,
        From what I gather, a Beeman R9 is a HW 95 and I understand a Beeman R7 is a HW 30. But what about an HW 50? Would that have been a Beeman R8 when they made them?

        Doc

        • Doc,

          Weihrauch made two different, very different, HW50 models so it depends on whether you’re talking about the older HW50 or the newer HW50.

          Weihrauch is currently producing a gun that is called a HW50 but this new model HW50 is the same powerplant as the R6 (which was formerly called the HW99).

          The differences between the old HW50 (R8) and the new HW50 (R6) are:

          Old one: threaded end plug like on the R1

          New one: press in end plug like on the R9

          The piston and chamber are different diameters, The old 50S used the same 25mm piston and seal that the R-8 did. The newer HW50 (aka HW-99 until recently) uses a 26mm piston diameter and seal. The tube sizes are identical in these two guns it’s the id that differs. The newer HW50 tube is thinner. The new HW50 also has much shorter transfer port.

          Very confusing to me that Weihrauch produced two very different HW50 models.

        • RR
          I almost bought it. I really miss the hw50 I had. But I’ll tell ya. I’m starting to stack airguns on top of airguns in the corners of the house. I guess that’s what I get for buying accurate guns. 🙂

          I need to get another gun case or sell them all and start buying minirure guns or toothpick crossbows. 🙂

          • GF1,

            The way I do it is to only have one of each type. A break barrel, a multi pump, etc. This does not count the old gals.

            I took a long time to buy the Maximus. A small caliber PCP. I am hoping it will be a long time before I add another to these.

            • RR
              My DNA isn’t programmed that way.

              What happened is I said I wasn’t going to get rid of accurate guns anymore.

              Then all of a sudden bam!

              What happens is the accurate guns just started coming.

              I just can’t get rid of them. I’m doomed I’m just stuck with a bunch of accurate guns. Whoa is me. What a problem to have. 😉

  3. I have mine set at around 3-1/2 turns in from all the way out. It’s around 800 fps or so right now with AirArms 16 grain pellets. And here is what I like. Mine is getting 3 mags to every 500 psi of air used and staying on poi. So 90 shots from 3000 psi down to 1500 psi.

    And yep that’s what I mentioned about the trigger in part 2. It is a different trigger but very usable.

    And yep wound the spring tighter on my one SAM mag that came with the gun and the two regular Marauder mags I got. They worked fine in my SAM.

    But I did do some additional things to all 3 mags that I learned from owning 2 FX Monsoons I had to help them feed more reliably. Tomorrow I have another extra regular Marauder rifle mag on the way with a pellet order I just made. I’m going to mod that mag also so I will take some before and after pictures and post them on this part 3 report. Probably will get them to late for me to do anything Wednesday but I’ll post the pictures on Thursday if anyone is intetested.

        • GF1,

          Ok. I see in the picture at the top of the blog that the transfer port adjustment appears to still be there,.. so that is why I asked about clarification on the other 2 adjustments.

          I also see that you and I use different terminology/names,… just as we did before. At any rate, I think I got it.

          As I recalled, the outer adjustment (from the rear) was for the hammer and then you had to insert a smaller/longer allan wrench (through) the bigger hole,.. and that was the striker adjustment. Maybe my memory is not serving me correctly? I suppose the manual covers any adjustments pretty well. I knew that you knew the internals pretty well of the old M-rod since you had several over the years.

          Chris

          • Chris
            On the regular Marauder the outer big allen wrench is the spring pressure adjustment for the hammer/striker just like the adjustment on the SAM.

            The smaller inner allen wrench is the adjustment for the hammer/striker stroke or length the hammer/striker can travel before it hits the valve stem. The SAM does not have that adjustment.

            And the transfer port adjustment hole is in the main air tube on the SAM but no adjusting screw in the valve. If you look in the hole in the air tube all you will seeis the gold anadized valve. The SAM uses a different valve than the regular Marauders do.

            • GF1,

              Perhaps BB can mention some of this in his next blog??? People that know the M-rod will be looking for comparisons on design. As for the Maximus, it did 38 shots and the first was the same as the last,.. as best I recall without checking notes. I really do not know how many shots it will get on a fill. I usually fill to 2800. Reg. pressure is around 1550.

              Chris

                • GF1,

                  I would have to look. I am sure there was a curve. It is my squirrel pesting gun and if I can do 38 shots all the same,… I am happy. Maybe I will find out someday but I am in no hurry at all.

                  Chris

        • GF1,

          Just because it has a regulator,.. why would that be the only adjustment that is needed now? Why would the other 2 not be useful? All of the other adjustments would be post reg. air anyways,.. just as if you put a reg. in an old style M-rod. To me, having all 3 on the SAM would still provide additional tuning ability.

          If there is no transfer port adjustment on the SAM, I suppose they just left it there and plugged it as opposed to removing it. Cheaper I guess. Unless the picture is not accurate.

          Chris

          • Chris
            The regular Marauder transfer port wasn’t so much for power like your thinking. When you opened or closed it you actualy changed shot count. The hammer/striker stroke adjustment and spring pressure controlled the power of the regular Marauder.

            So now on the SAM we have the regulator controling the shot count. And of course the hammer/striker spring pressure adjustment will add or decrease some shot count but not like the regulator does. So on the Sam the spring pressure adjustment is mostly for adjusting the power of the SAM.

            And that’s why I told you a couple times before you do not have your Maximus tuned right with your regulator. You should be easy getting 45 full power shots from yours with the regulator. You got to get regulator pressure right and then work with the spring pressure on you Maximus hammer/striker. You don’t need to change your transfer port diameter on your Maximus. They already have it set for max power. And that is what they probably did with the transfer port orifice on the SAM. So those extra adjustments the regular Marauder rifles have aren’t needed on the SAM if that makes any sense to you.

          • Chris
            I can tell you this right now.

            The SAM valve is different than the regular Marauder rifle valve.

            No transfer port adsting hole is in the valve of the SAM. So that alone makes them different.

            The SAM doesn’t use blow back in the shroud like othe semi auto PCP’s do. So some how they are porting air from the valve to the receiver or barrel from the valve. That’s how the Air Ordinance full auto pcp works. They have different ports in the valve to send air to cycle the bolt.

            So I’m betting the SAM valve is different than the regular Marauder rifle valve.

            Hmm maybe a SAM trigger and valve will convert a regular Marauder rifle into a semi auto. It does look like the SAM breach uses the Marauder bolt pattern. Now I wonder if the trigger assembly’s have the same bolt pattern.

              • Chris
                I know your not questioning it.

                What I’m saying is there is differences. Right now the big thing is I dont know how they are recycling the air to check the action everytime the gun fires. And I’m definitely not tearing my SAM apart all the way to the valve or breech to find out. I will wait for a part schematic. Then I’ll be able to see more. Not all I’m sure but more.

                • GF1,

                  No doubt that you will eventually figure it out,… file this,… tweak that,… mod. this,… and you will have have it spitting lead at 10/second in no time!

                  Chris

                  • Chris
                    I can shoot 10 shots easily in 3 seconds. Takes a little under 7 seconds to load the next mag into the Sam.

                    So 10 seconds total.

                    Take that times 9 mags per fill of the gun.

                    So I can shoot 90 shots in 90 seconds.

                    That is around a tin of 500 pellets in 6 minutes.

                    How about that. Now you see how me and my brother shot a tin of 500 pellets the other day. We use to burn through 2 bricks of 500 .22 rimfire rounds easy in a weekend shooting session of a Friday and a Saturday when we was kids.

                    Of course I don’t just blast out 90 shots like that time after time. But maybe you now get the idea about how fast the SAM can shoot.

                    Like I said I like the SAM alot. I been waiting for a reliable semi auto pcp like this for a long long time. Imagine what it would cost to shoot 22 rimfire like that now days.

                    That’s why this SAM is so important. Once people start finding out about the SAM shootsand how reliable it is it will be the new age rimfire .22 replacement semi auto gun.

                    Like I said before. The SAM is a bad boy.

      • BB
        Ok you know I’m going to be letting one of my hot rod speed tricks out. 🙂

        But seriously if you want a 99.9% reliable very fast shooting semi auto pcp that use the spring loaded rotary mags we are talking about here for the SAM. The things and notice I say things I do to the mags help tremendously.

        Remember I like fast action semi auto shooting. If its not fast or reliable then I probably won’t own it anymore. And the mods to the mag are very easy to do with a fine tooth flat file and a exacto knife. And maybe a drill bit. But the exacto knife will do what the drill bit will do with no problem. Probably takes at the most 3 to 5 minutes to do a mag.

          • BB its really to simple for a guest blog.

            Just two pictures. I chamfer the hole in the front clear cover. Then I take the black part inside the mag that indexes and file about a 30° chamfer were the pellet sets in on the top part of the indexer. Then set the spring tension tighter than it was. Put the clear piece back on and tighten down to were the clear part rotates free.

            That’s it. You can take that wording and make a blog out of it with the pictures I post tomorrow if you want. But the pictures will be self explanatory. Easy to see the differences before and after.

            • GF1,

              What seems simple to you isn’t simple to other folks. There are always little things to do or to watch for that need to be explained better.

              For example:

              1. How did you change the hole in the top clear cover?

              2. How does a flat file file a 30 degree chamfer? Why not use a round file or a ball reamer or a ball stone in a Dremel?

              3. How is the spring tension set tighter than it was/is?

              4. Is the clear cover held down by an Allen screw? Is it an 0.50, or what?

              5. Can you tighten the clear cover too tight? How can you tell?

              See?

              BB

              • BB
                What it’s all about is free movement of the indexer inside. And what the 30° chamfer on the indexer does is allow the indexer to start moving sooner as the bolt probe starts coming back. It basically gets the next pellet in position faster for the next shot.

                If the clear cover is tightened down too tight with the .050″ Allen wrench the indexer won’t rotate as fast as it can.

                And the picture will show why the flat file is needed. The exacto knife is used to put a little chamfer were each pellet sets in the indexer. And that’s what I use the exacto knife for on the clear cover. I chamfer the hole so it gives the probe a lead in like on a barrel for the pellet. But here I want the probe to feed back in easy.

                And the spring is kind of tricky to adjust. You still want some tension left when you come to the last 3 or 4 pellets. My SAM mag wouldn’t index the last 4 pellets from the factory so I wound it tighter to make sure all pellets indexed fast.

                That’s done by rotating the clear cover clockwise with no pellets loaded then let the cover rotate counterclockwise back home. You should always have good spring pressure all the way home.

                Oh and on the back side of the black outer housing I leave the exit hole alone were the pellet leaves the mag and transfers to the barrel.

                I’ll get the pictures and it will be very easy to see what was done. Adjusting the spring pressure is the hard thing to show.

                  • 1BB
                    The problem with that is I’m use to doing it or something and I tend not to pick up on what someone else might have problems doing.

                    Ask me some questions that come to your mind besides what you just mentioned above.

                    My brain needs to switch into a different gear if you know what I mean.

                    And BB see this why I’m all about posting on the blog report your doing at the moment and not a guest blog.

                    We are on the subject of the mag mod now. Not 2 days or a week later.

                    This will something that helps people thatalrwady have hada SAM for awhile and havebeen waiting for the Sam mags to be released. So nowthishelpsthemmake a choice if they want to get a regular Marauder mag now. Maybe thier SAM mag broke for some reason. This way the regular Marauder rifle magill workforce them.

                    • This is a edit of my post above. I couldn’t edit it because someone came to the door. Its basically from my phone trying to change what I write.

                      Anyway here it is.

                      BB
                      The problem with that is I’m use to doing it or something and I tend not to pick up on what someone else might have problems doing.

                      Ask me some questions that come to your mind besides what you just mentioned above.

                      My brain needs to switch into a different gear if you know what I mean.

                      And BB see this is why I’m all about posting on the blog report your doing at the moment and not a guest blog.

                      We are on the subject of the mag mod now. Not 2 days or a week later.

                      This will be
                      something that helps people that already have had a SAM for awhile and have been waiting for the Sam mags to be released. So now this helps them make a choice if they want to get a regular Marauder mag now. Maybe thier SAM mag broke for some reason. This way the regular Marauder rifle mag will work for them.

                • Gunfun1,

                  “The exacto knife is used to put a little chamfer were each pellet sets in the indexer.”

                  So I am certain your Exacto Knife skills are spot-on. But the reader doesn’t know…
                  Did you SLICE, or SHAVE, or CUT, or SAW, or SCRAPE to make the chamfer?
                  Is it a Positive or Negative chamfer?

                  The Spell Check doesn’t even know that CHAMFER is a word!

                  Make sense?

                  shootski

                  • Shootski
                    Kind of a scrape with the exacto blade. Face the cutting edge away from you and scrape towards you. Kind of like shaving with a straight razor.

                    Going to post pictures in a minute. If you have another question after the picture tell me.

                    And I used steel wool to clean up all the areas I worked on with the knife and file. Makes it all smoother.

                    • Gunfun1,

                      Would a RCBS cartridge case burring tool work for those chamfers?

                      Depending on what angle you want maybe a wood screw counterbore reamer will work. As you are working with plastics only hand power is needed —- no recommended, or that hole could get oversized really fast. Might be overkill but that burring tool will have the job done in no time!

                      BobF

  4. BB,

    Having had the .25 M-rod, it had a 1) hammer spring adjustment 2) striker adjustment 3) transfer port adjustment

    You mentioned in Part 1 that you would be adjusting the hammer for power. The PA site also says the power is adjusted by the hammer.

    Q: So what does it have,.. and what did you adjust exactly?

    From what you described, it sounded like the (striker) adjustment,.. because,… I remember that I could back it out and it would stop (and) screw it all the way in and it would just “click” as it was unscrewed all the way.

    Also,… I 100% confirmed that the striker would move, after adjusted. As I recall, inside the hammer was some plastic thread locker. This was there to provide resistance to the striker from moving, once adjusted.

    For my striker adjustment, I did as you did and was getting mixed results. In the end,..IMPORTANT NOTE HERE,.. I backed the striker back to full stop,.. and then,…. add or subtract turns from what I had adjusted.

    Once aware that the striker was moving,… I did the method I described above, shot 50 shots and then re-checked it. I do not have the notes now, but as I recall, the striker had moved back like 1/2 ~ 3/4 turns during the 50 shots.

    I came up with a fix,.. but I will let you comment first.

    Chris

  6. BB

    Seems there is stiction in the adjustment. If so it should eventually settle down to one place. This does give me pause before stretching the legs on my BB’s golden gun, the Ataman P16 Standard. It is so accurate at the low hammer spring setting I have to wonder if I can find the sweet spot again if I crank up the power. I do have the baseline chrony readings but if I can’t repeat the accuracy – – my bad. Well knowing me I will likely do it anyway and hope for the best. The quality on the Ataman is such that maybe this is not a concern.

    Very interesting test today.

    Deck

  7. The click you felt when you screwed it all the way in is the adjuster coming out of the threads. When you went the other way, the re-engagement is difficult, at best, to feel. As with a scope, the last adjustment should be against spring pressure. The best way to adjust the SAM and all Marauders is to back the adjuster out until it stops, then count turns in.

    • Mobilehomer
      Yep that’s what the spring adjustment does exactly.

      And that’s how I told BB to adjust the pressure in part 2 to repeat his factory setting on the spring adjustment.

  8. Hi BB,

    Off topic but… My Condor SS seems to have a stuck air intake tank valve and I can not fill it with air. It won’t allow air into the tank. When I try to pump up my Condor SS, I don’t hear the click sound that it usually makes when the tank valve opens up to let air into it. It shoots fine, I just can’t fill it up with air anymore.

    Any suggestions as to how to get this valve unstuck? Is the air tank bad?

    Thank you,
    Doug

      • BB,

        So far the tank is still connected to the Condor SS (it has the Spin-Loc tank by the way) and I’ve shot it down to around 1500psi. Is 1500psi an ok level to take the tank off and tap the top hat?

        I was thinking that since my Compressor and Hill hand pump can’t seem to push the intake air valve in, that maybe the nipple assembly is the problem. I feel like the nipple Assy is stuck in the all the way out, closed position and won’t get unstuck. How does my theory sound to you?

        Doug

          • BB,

            I have called Airforce and spoke to Rachel, a really knowledgeable, wonderful woman, and she is going to send me a Nipple Assy. She was thinking that it sounded stuck too, because no air was getting in.

            It still shoots great. Would the top hat be the problem if it were still shooting great, but not filling up with air?

            Doug

            • Doug,

              Bingo! I knew they would help you. I will thank Rachel the next time I see her.

              About the top hat, I’m testing the ReadyAir compressor today for tomorrow’s blog and I had the older AirForce tank in my hands when I answered you. What I said does work with that tank, but with the SpinLoc it doesn’t. On the older tank the top hat was both the inlet and exhaust valve.

              BB

  9. BB, I like the efficiency, the jams not as much, sounds like you just need to be aware of the ammo it likes. This as a semiauto matic pistol would be neato. I appreciate the Crosman 600 pistol and its price point. Pricing out a new rifle is fun to do with all the choices there are with ammo too. I see how great it is to be able to tune an airgun bullet/pellet to any velocity you want with consistancey with many different guns now, and it makes me understand all the trouble it is to get the same control, low cost with a powder burner, like .22lr. Plus no powder residue. 100 yards target shooting is getting to be normal. Now there are dual regulator guns, this is getting interesting. The toasted beech grip looks good, whether to oil it or not, then do nothing, well see.
    Looking forward to your fire superiority test too. Does the forward assist have depth seating control ?
    R

    • 1stblue
      Now that I have shot my SAM bunches and bunches of times I don’t even use the forward assist anymore. In reality I think my mag mods eliminated using the forward assist.

  10. B.B. and Esteemed Readership,

    I knew this very issue was on the horizon as the Dark Side became more Mainstream and the complexity of PCP became greater. Obviously having Crosman call the new SA rifle the Marauder is part of the problem along with using easily identifiable parts from the Original Marauder. As Gunfun1 pointed out until we have drawings of the internals of the SAM we don’t have a clue how the Action really functions. Dd to he complexity a Regulator and it is three blind individuals holding different parts of the elephant describing what one is!

    So! Back to basics. Non Regulator PCPs operate primarily on air FLOW controlled by a balanced valve. That balance is achieved by supply pressure (downward variable) Back Pressure controlled by TP (Transfer Port) restriction. Added to all that is Spring rate of the Hammer Spring and the Valve Spring providing most of the OPEN Dwell Time along with valve head diameter and lash. A great deal goes into tunning a Non-Regulator PCP.

    When you add a Regulator you gain control of shot to shot pressure at the EXPENSE of most of the POWER BAND control. That is why when B.B. changed the Hammer spring preload it really didn’t change the power as much as he might have expected.

    So much for the PCP 101 mini lecture. There is a great deal of complexity, much more than most users ever understand in the adjustability of the Gen1 and Gen 2 Marauders!

    It is my opinion that Crosman was trying to SIMPLIFY the SAM to keep the ADJUSTERS from screwing up the Semi Automatic Action viability b adding the REGULATOR that provides the constant pressure it needs to function reliably.

    Just imagine folks twirling the knobs and getting LOST! How many returns could the distribution system be flooded with; 1 in 5, 1 in 3, or 1 in 2 before it collapses?

    shootski

    • Shootski
      The big downfall I seen withe the 4 different semi auto pcps I had was keeping a consistent pressure to the pellet to use that left over air at the muzzle to push a piston back in the shroud that operates the action.

      They all neededa regulator to keep each shot of air consistent to the barrel and pellet for each shot.

      So Crosman did that with the regulator. They did not use a piston in the shroud to operate the action. So they have a pasaage in the valve or breech that is recerculating air to cycle the action. Search the Air Ordinace SMG full auto pcp and see how the action is controled. Also they are made by Tipman. Search the animation to see how that valve functions on the Tipman paint ball guns. Pretty much the same as the Air Ordinance gun. The valve has a pasage that switches air back and forth to keep the actions cycling.

      The airflow has to be consistent. If you search about the FX Monsoons and Revolution you’ll see that the weight of the pellet changed the guns and people would have cycling problems.

      I’m telling you Crosman was very smart putting a regulator in the Sam and eliminating the transfer port adjustment and striker stroke adjustment. Somebody there finally knows something about airflow.

      I still want to know if Crosman added air passages to the main valve or added a recirculating passage in the breech.

      All I know is the action is the most reliable I have seen on a semi auto pellet gun.

      And even when Crosman releases the schematics. They probably won’t show passages and such in the drawings. Reminds me of the factory muscle car wars back in the day. You basically needed to get a hold of one of the competitors cars or engine and tear it apart to see what was making it work. That will be the SAM.

      • GF1,

        That is a pretty good endorsement. Heck,.. I did some poking around on HAM today and even they had nothing on the SAM yet. You are way ahead of everybody. 😉

        Chris

        • Chris
          I’m saying what I see.

          Probably out of the different types of air guns I have had the SAM is what I have been searching for now way to many years.

          The SAM is semi auto rimfire territory up and down. And I didn’t want to get in front of BB. But my SAM is accurate, accurate. Especially after the mag mod.

          The Semi Auto Marauder takes me back to a special place and time when I was growing up on the farm. I haven’t shot like this in a long time.

          • GF1,

            Dang dude! You are “playing it” from ALL sides. First you better their product,… they pay you to shut up so they can sell some more SAM mags.. THEN,… you give it such a glowing review that they will be paying you for being their spokesperson/poster boy. 😉

            Toss in,.. ” The Semi Auto Marauder takes me back to a special place and time when I was growing up on the farm. I haven’t shot like this in a long time.”,…. and you are a solid “shoe in”. 😉 LOL! 😉

            Chris

        • Chris
          They are handing out files and exacto knife as we speak and reworking all the Marauder, Gauntlet and other gun mags that these mags work in as we speak. 😉

          They are telling them they better do minimum 5 mags a hour. They already know it can be done. 😉

  11. Ok this will take me a minute.

    First picture. See where the clear part and indexer stopped. That’s where there was no more pressure to rotate the indexer anymore counter clockwise. I still have a minimum of 3 shots that won’t have adequate spring pressure to index to the next pellet. Look where the #6 is at. Thats a important spot on the indexer.

  12. Next look where #6 is at with the clear cover off. It needs rotated clockwise to go over the bump in the black outer mag case. That little movement is how much spring preload it had from the factory.

  13. Ok here is where I positioned the indexer to have more spring load. See where the #6 is at. It needs to go clock wise all the way over past that bump. That bump in the outer case is at #1.

  16. Here is after doing the 30°chamfer and debuuring the round spots the pellet goes in with the exacto knife. Basically put a small chamfer on each spot the pellet goes.

    • GF1,

      Well done! Just the type of thing I would do after I have studied something for a bit. Thanks for the added trouble of posting and the pics.

      Hey,… maybe Crosman will be calling you shortly and offering you $500,000.00 to just shut up? 😉

      Chris

      • Chris
        No $500,000.00 but that’s why they haven’t released anymore SAM mags. They was probably waiting to see what us readers of the blog would come up with first. 😉

        • GF1,

          It makes you wonder just who is working for who,.. doesn’t it? Of course,… we,… do not get compensated for fixing and improving their designs. Oh well,…. and so it shall be forever and ever most likely.

          Maybe they will just promise to keep you “hooked up”,… to shut up? 😉

          Chris

          • Chris
            What matters is we can fix our stuff to make it work without waiting on them.

            You know by now I’m a big supporter of Crosman/Benjamin PCP’s, pumpers and the 2240 stuff. But man don’t bring this SAM out and give us 1 mag and we can’t get no more. That just don’t set right if you know what I mean.

  17. Here is the clear cover back on and notice the chamfer in the oblong hole. That helps the probe feedback into the mag. And nothing is done on the back side of the black outer mag case.

    I have now got better accuracy after doing this to the SAM and regular Marauder rifle mags.

    That’s it.

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