Page 18 - Benjamin Marauder Synthetic Reviews

Very powerful solid feeling gun, amazing trigger, nice and quiet

Even though lighter than the old Marauder It is still a big, heavy gun, largest gun in my gun cabinet. I bought the package with the pump scope and pellet. the pressure gauge of the pump is 300 psi heaver than the one on the scope, so you do not know what one to go by. The manual that comes with the gun is next to useless. I think they must think that everyone that buys one of these has their own chronograph for setting it up. Gun Comes with a tag that says it is set up for 2500 psi, Pyramid Air did the 10 for 10 at 3000 psi, Not sure why, I have been running it from 3000 psi to 2000 psi but am not really sure if that is the best. I have the .22 caliber model. I was looking for something to upgrade my 20 year old shiereden blue streak, for squirrel hunting with my son in our back yard. After spending hours on the pyramid air website, I was intrigued by the idea of a gun where reviews constantly claimed 3/4 inch groups at 50 yards. I had spent a lot of time with target rim-fire rifles as a teen, and thought it would be nice if I could get a similar experience in my back yard. The first one that I received from pyramid air, the accuracy was not even close to the reviews I had looked at. After calling tech support, they thought I should send it back in. Since getting my replacement. I think it was a pellet problem.

It does OK with the Benjamin Discovery 14.3 gram pellets that came with it, up to about 20 yards, after that, the groups all fall apart. After spending more time with tech support, I ended up with a large variety of pellets. the ones that shoot the best for me are H&N Barracuda match 21.14gr with a 5.51mm diameter. and believe it or not there is a considerable difference between those and the same ones in 5.53 diameter. which it still shoots pretty good and would rank second in my list, and the last ones that it is pretty good with are the JSB Exact jumbo heavy diabolo in 18.13 grams. With these heavy pellets however, they are dropping about 2-3 inches at 50 yards, where the lighter pellets are not, just the groups are all over the place. Shooting from a gun vise I can get 3/4 inch groups at 35 yards, but at 50 they are abut 1 and a 1/2 inches with the H&N 5.51, not how other people have described it, I would love to know what pellets they are shooting. There is also a significant difference in accuracy depending on the pressure you are shooting at and the pellets you are shooting with at that pressure. So there is a big learning curve in figuring out how to run your gun, I have put many pellets through it and am just figuring it out. Over all, it is a cool gun, and once I get over the fact of how much I spent on it, and get to go hunting with it, I think it will be worth all the learning. If you like to be accurate, it is not just a unpack and go sort of gun.

Pistol Grip, trigger repositioning. More natural, better than wood stock version.

So far, nothing.

This really is the best pfft for the buck. I have the .25 cal and am pleased. Quiet, "ping' is reduced, feels better in the hand, lighter. Since I don't need the sling swivels I unscrewed them, mounted a 3x9 scope and the tree rats have zero chance. None.

i like everything it shoots jsb 25.4 grain the best for my gun i can shoot one hole groups at 50 yards and i can hit cans at 90 yards easy if you want a good gun this is your best bet mine out of the box shot jsb pellets a little slow 815 ish and i got mine to 830 and have a good shot string i shoot one clip before i fill it back up but it only drops down to 2500 psi i could shoot more but i don't like to fill that much up.

nothing

be prepared to get your mind blown with this gun!

Excellent trigger, very accurate. Shot great right out of the box. I use a dive tank to fill and for ease of use that is the way to go. The rifle is very quiet. It does make a sound but it does not sound like a rifle shot, more like a piece of shop equipment.

Crosman should include a single load tray and a tube of the proper lube

Be careful, this is a long range air rifle

Everything.So amazed me with the accuracy and power, I puchased two 22 cal marauders. The feel and balance is perfect for me. A nickel covers 10 rounds at 25 yards.

Nothing.

It is so quiet you may think something is wrong with the rifle. I shoot into a bullet box in a crowded neighborhood. All I hear is the pellet hitting the target.

My first PCP rifle. Shoots way way way better than my two other benjamin break barrel rifles. Love the look of the synthetic stock. The high rise cheek piece is a great touch too. Very accurate with jsb 18.1 and baracuda match 21grain. Insatlled a center point 4x16-40 scope with high rings from leapers. Deadly combination!!!! I love that it has no recoil compared to my benjy XL. Really really quiet!!! I absolutely love this gun!!!!

Cheaper in price. Somewhere to put extra magazines on the gun. Better quality air gauge. Install the air gauge somewhere other than the bottom of the stock.

I get about 30 good shots on my .22 cal from about 3100 psi to 1900 psi stock settings. Its kind a of a pain in the butt to pump this gun to 3100 lbs. loves jsb 18.1 and cuda match 21.1 grain pellets. Sometimes the magazine gets jammed and it shoots 2 pellets at the same time. Its happened about 3 times.

The stock, very quite,10 shot mag,also not as heavy it looks. Have not got to shoot it much yet, just to site in the scope. I can tell Im liking it already.

Not much

jUST LOOK ON THE INTERNET EVERYTHING you could want to know is there.It convinced me, this is my first pcp rifle I have bought,and Im glad I did.

The new Marauder is accurate, powerful, and quiet!. It is light weight and has a great feel. Adjustment on the comb is great and with a good scope, this gun is a tack driver. I have the 25 cal model and couldn't be more pleased.

This is a great improvement over the wooden stock Marauder. The biggest thing is the synthetic stock with the adjustable comb. I like the weight and feel of the new stock. Accurate out to 35 to 40 yards (haven't shot further than that, the weather got to cool) and solidly built.

Can't think of anything at this time.

If you like the wooden stock Benjamin Marauder rifle, this one is a great upgrade.

I like the accuracy, sound and every thing about it except the front sling mount. Striped it the first try to add a UTG bipod, but fixable

I would put a better gauge that reads and coincides with my tank gauges. and beef up the sling fittings. Other than that it is great. I already have 22 and 25 woody. But the 25 synrod shoots better and is lighter.

Only trying to attach a bipod to the front sling mount. Be careful and it might work for you ok. I love the thing.

the black rifle,,this makes number 12 in my collection of this rifle and I have to say this is the best one yet!! plenty of power and 1/2" groups at 50yds and 3/4 at 75yds.

mine is prefect in everyway. just what I was looking for in a airgun. crosman you did this one right!!

this is serial number #32 direct from crosman and it's perfect...

What is there to say I love this rifle; it’s light, accurate, hard hitting and QUIET!! I got it for pest control (The first time I shot it I did not have a scope on it and just pointed down the barrel at a tree and pressed the trigger, when the pellet hit the tree a “Red Squirrel” ran up the tree and looked around on my side to see what going on!) BUT there is room for improvement!

First out when I went to put a Bipod on the front sling swivel (In order to keep it and the SCOPE off the ground while filling the tank) the swivel just pulled out! (I thought it was me at first but the bipod was only on finger tight). Maybe some type of Picatinny rail integrated into the stock with a sling swivel built into it (That way it gives the swivel more bite and the operator can still use it or remove it and use a picatinny swivel adapter) Also would like to see a one piece picatinny scope rail (that is not to high for the Mag) so that the scope can be moved forward and a digital camera can be mounted to the back of it then back when not needed. Also while filling the rifle with a hand pump viewing the gauge can be difficult maybe moving it to the side of the rifle?

Just that you have to place the rifle and scope on the ground while filling the tank with the hand pump and can bump it.

adjustable butt stock.

As a left handed shooter one of the items I liked was that the bolt handle could be changed. However, and unfortunately, shooters should know that disassembly by service/warranty provider is the only instruction provided... NOT good.

Weather has been poor so pellet testing has been limited and so far not acceptable (1 inch at 25 yds). Also I purchased the 10 for 10 and per the chrony tape the gun was filled to 3000 and the tape indicated a drop of more than 30 fps for the ten shots with no rise in velocity which is suspect since the gun was tagged as adjusted at the factory for 2500. I question the value of this option.

Power. Accuracy. Attenuation of Report. I bought 2, .25cal., one for me, one for my son. From the factory @2600psi, I was getting 680-690ft/sec. with eun jin 43grain, 790-800ft/sec. with 28grain, from both rifles. I maxed out the power adjustments on mine to see what I would get. @2600psi I got 735ft/sec with eun jin 43grain, 800ft/sec with eun jin 35grain. Right @50ft/lbs. for both of them. Power is excellent!!! Approximately twice what I get from my custom Discoveries. Accuracy is outstanding. I had read what some said about the precision of the original wood stocked version that I had some difficulty believing, even though my discoveries are probably the most accurate air rifles I've ever owned. I don't have 100 rounds through my Marauder yet, but I can say for sure that eun jin 43grains will group 5 into a dime @30yds., from my rifle. With the 28grainers, less than 3/4" dispersion, and about 1" high of the 43grains @30yds. The "Shrouded" barrel works VERY well for attenuation of the report. At maximum power settings it sounds like a pneumatic nail gun, or perhaps, a small set of air brakes. I've turned the hammer settings to minimum now, I'm going to set it for about 25ft/lbs to try and get the maximum # of shots at good power, with minimum noise. I live in the high desert of eastern Oregon, if I need more power,..... . For my son, who lives in suburbia, the factory settings are optimum.

Both these rifles exhibited some misalignment between the scope rail and the "drop" of the barrel. I had to shim the lower half of the rear ring on both of them to get enough elevation adjustment out of the telescopes I used. To be fair though, the scopes I used don't have much travel in their adjustments. I think they could make a post on the top of the barrel band and include a basic receiver sight system on the rail, so that some use could be achieved even in the worst case scenario.(Broken/Bent Scope) I'd like to see a small storage compartment under the Comb. I'd think a lid like is on tv remotes and such wouldn't be too difficult, or expensive. Just as a Note: The rear of the breech is attached to the main tube in a different manner on the synthetic stock version. There may be other distinctions between the original type and this one, I don't have an original to compare it to. I can't think of anything else I'd want to change. Quality of materials and workmanship is top notch. Some of the more spendy guns may shoot straighter than these, or the Discoveries, but, you'd have to be a Very Good Shot, to prove it. I'd like to see this rig in a six shot 9mm/357. I think the Rogue is way past the point of diminishing returns. The Recluse is neat, but it's a single shot, and an airpig, according to what I've read. For folk who need to be able to deal positively with Raccoons/Nutria/Coyote(@Max Power), and not wake the neighborhood, these are The Bomb!

I wish I could say that the Benjamin High Pressure Hand Pump Quality, matched the quality of my Marauder. I have two of them. For producing 2000psi, they are adequate and will do it for quite a while. By the time you reach 2500psi, the efficiency of the pump has dropped to near zero. If you are a very large, and patient, person, you can probably get 3k/psi out of it. But I doubt it will do it very many times. If it will even do it once, before failure occurs. I now also have 2 Hill Brand Air Rifle Pumps. Bought the first about 6mos ago. They are subject to the same limitations for heating as the Benjamins, but, you can get a reseal kit for it if you burn it up. And, the piston in the Hill is of a smaller diameter than the Benjamin, so that the mechanical advantage is greater with the Hill. It takes a few more strokes with the Hill, but the Hill will EASILY do 3000psi. Takes a specific female adapter though, to use the Hill on Crosman Products. I have sent for some exotic material o-rings to try and get my Benjamin pumps working again. If I feel I am successful in my efforts, I will post again to advertise the results. I do not, however, expect them to give service beyond 2500psi, under any circumstances. But, that would suffice as backup for the Hill pumps. Pyramyd Air says NOT to use CO2 in these. I don't know why. And neither do they. The Owners Manual gives directions for the use of CO2. I'd be interested to know how many shots the .177 version can get @600ft/sec on CO2.

Just received my Syn-Rod last week and put about 200 JSBs and 50 Kodiak Match's thru it. In a word, fantastic! Less than 1/2 inch groups zeroed at 25 yards and 3/4 " at 50. Just use the second mil dot at 50 and the third at 75, hadn't got to 100 yet. I had previously ordered the wood .25 and was very turned off by the weight and cream colored stock. Plus, no magazine would fit correctly and this was after PA's ten for ten deal. I sent it back and waited 6 weeks for the new one. It was a torturous wait but the new product is a MUCH nicer plus it averages 50 fps better than the first rifle. This is a rifle one can actually shoulder and take on an all day trip into tree squirrel territory here on the west coast. Trigger is fantastic and easy to fine tune. The gun seems quieter and the overall dimensions feel smaller than the woody, dang I'm almost back in the 50's in my grandpa's peach orchard with my trusty 1954 Crosman 167.

Maybe magazines made a little sturdier, aluminum for example. Should always come with single tray, but I hear that they are factory discontinued? Anyone have a 3-D printer out there?

One problem that is my issue, I guess. Sometimes you can short stroke the bolt and then it will not cock nor fire. Then on the second try it is possible to fire two pellets at once, not good. The bolt has to be pulled back hard, at lest until the gun breaks in I guess. I'll fix this by staying with the single shot tray and leave the 8 shot magazines on the shelf

Ok, when I first got this I didn't have a scope. I had a 1x30 dot sight that wouldn't let the mag in so I had it hanging off the back. Funny, on a large format target I got every one in the bullseye. Great gun. In a side by side comparison (I have the older Mrod also) both shot about 1/2" groups of 16 shots (2 clips) at 12 yards (36 feet). After that the old Mrod had a little under 2400 PSI left in it and the new one was 2200-2300 somewhere. Ok. I didn't think they could improve the Mrod but they did. Much lighter. Although it's not obvious when you grab it the trigger position is a little nicer. It's slghtly quieter and it's still breaking in so may get quieter. Could be my imagination but the bolt seems to work a little smoother. Trigger is still silky smooth. I haven't adjusted the cheek piece but it's nice to be adjustable.

I prefer a button safety as opposed to the trigger type but that's more of a preference. So I guess I wouldn't change a thing. Offer it in Camo maybe. :)

This is, like it's predecessor, uncanny in accuracy and reproducibility of shots.

Very accurate right out of the box, sighted in with 5 pellets. Great for taking care of all yard pests.

The ten round magazines need to be of the same quality as the rest of the rifle. Then plastic and design are cheap and did not feed the pellets correctly, glad. I ordered additional mags.

Overall a very accurate powerful and easy to shoot air rifle

Have this in 25 caliber, My first PCP so am still adjusting and learning and this is my first review. I got this in 25 caliber - factory set to fill pressure of 3000psi. Mounted a RWS 3-9X44 night pro scope that I had laying around on the rifle.I use a carbon filter 4500 psi tank to fill the rifle. 1- Great looking rifle, it is solid and well made. 2- Very quiet, quieter than I expected. 3- The trigger is awesome, best trigger I have used. 4- have been using JSB Exact King .25 and the 25 cal benjamin domes they shoot a little differently but have yet to figure out which to go with. I have had some problems sighting it in but I am getting pretty good groups up to 40 yards anyway. 5- the clips work great feed flawlessly. I am very pleased with this rifle. I have yet to determine just how powerful it is as far as hunting is concerned. I have seen youtube video of killing hogs / bobcat at 30-40 yards etc but I really question the ability of this rifle to do that based on what I have seen shooting it in my backyard. I am getting chronys fps in the 800's using the above pellets. Any comments on this review would be appreciated as this is my first experience with PCP rifle.

Nothing - This is a great rifle

What's not to like? Less weight, better fit and extreme accuracy! This is a keeper, one to hand down to my grandkids (maybe great grandkids). The new synthetic stock with the adjustable cheek-piece makes all the difference over the wood. Mine is a .25 which tears ragged, one hole groups at 25 yards. The trigger is fantastic, very easy to adjust and is of very high quality.

The magazines could of a little higher quality, they seem slightly flimsy. Maybe make them out of aluminum with a stronger, better spring. I tend to use a single shot tray which is much easier to use and foolproof in the field.

A heavier pellet like the JSB Exact Kings are recommend but I get my best groups with the 31 grain Kodiak Match. Make sure to mount a quality mil-dot scope, sight it in for 25 yards and then use the lower dots for various longer ranges. Don't mess with a pump, buy the scuba adapter, female hose attachment and get a tested, 3000 psi, used 80 cf tank from a dive shop. You will be topping up the gun's reservoir about every 16 shots or so for best performance. Also, and I can't recommend this enough, spend the 10 bucks and get the ten for ten service from PA. They will insure you get a good, leak-free rifle plus they will send you a chronograph read-out certificate so you will know how your new rifle performs!

Power,reliable and shoots very hard and straight.

A better air gauge that would show true air pressure.

Still a little heavy but a great pcp gun.