Edit:
End of 2022, 9 years later and my second P-rod. 2" "pool noodle" cheek rest and some serious quiet courtesy of Mr Donny :). .110 tx port, 800 fps, ideal fill 2600 psi. 5/8 inside the 1" target dot @ 30 yards. The rifle, still hitting tacks. Best bang (or no-bang) for the buck!
Edit:
Tinkering a little with the accessories:
Two low-profile dove-to-Pic adapters
Ultradot MatchDot II red dot w/ Warne quick-detach rings
BugBuster 3-9x w/Warne quick-detach rings
One-slot Pic rail installed in a shallow inlet at the forward forestock screw (need longer 8-23 for this).
Lightweight Pic-mount bipod
The whole thing switches out in about 30 seconds.
Yes, the Ultradot is a little over-the-top, but I have an "excuse" --- taking some time off from target while a hand injury fixes up. So I raided a target pistol and put the Ultra on this. Shazzam!
The MatchDot II has non-shifting reticles from a pinpoint up, with a ring/dot and a ring/crosshair/dot ... AND an indexed, re-zeroable target elevation turret. So, the same principle as using different practice loads with .22's --- just keep track of the clicks. Verrrry nice on this (or any decent air gun). Right now I'm zeroed at 650fps with Crosman 14.3g; Exacts hit 4 clicks high at 50 feet. JSB Jumbo 14.6 are about 2 clicks. Now I'm getting to use up around 8 lbs. of lead. ;)
I'd love to up the velocity and reduce the noise. This is noticeably louder than the rifle, and with less smack. The rifle is running at 875 fps. It would be incredible if someone came up with an aftermarket thread-on baffle extension, save me the hassle of making one.
This little rig not only has potential --- it's been producing.
If I'm going to play sit-and-wait, I'll take the rifle. But for all of the quick-grab snap shots I've never picked up on, this is absolutely hellacious.
Working through the pellet assortment, the old Crosman Field Hunting 14.3g's are not giving me what I want. A shame, because they run perfectly in the Rifle version. My copy of this gun seems to like things over 14.3g --- no matter what the tin says. Premier HP's run a smidge heavier, you wouldn't think that alone would make a difference ... but those pellets do. 30 yards, golfball-size targets, side-braced only. Not too shabby for a "pistol." (The Benjamin Discovery HP's were awful ... no idea why.)
1-inch fluorescent dot on oak end grain from old limb removal, at exactly 25 yards. 3 shots inside a dime, slight right; a couple of clicks correction; two clovers on center. 3/8 inch penetration. This was with Premier HP.
Original coments below:
I've been using a Marauder rifle for a couple of years, and I'm a huge fan (as posted elsewhere). I just got this pistol yesterday ... and wish I had last year. The rifle is incredible ... and also feels like I'm toting a Garand sometimes.
This item changes the close-in game, with the stock or without. Face it ... the "big girl" doesn't swing too easily. This one feels tiny by comparison.
I'm not touching the hammer settings until I run this through the chrony in out-of-the-box condition. I'll post what I get. Crosman claims 700fps with 14.3, and theirs have been favorites of mine for some time. Mixed in my tests will be JSB Jumbo, Beeman, and Predators ... which DO fit these magazines.
So far I find this gun very quiet ... enough for the backyard.
As for its pistol feel ... it really isn't that heavy two-handed. If you shoot a 40-ounce target .22 you'll find this just manageable. The grip feel and trigger shape are fairly "Ruger-ish," I think.
The trigger on mine is an excellent two stage, from the box.
Just front resting you can whip 8 shots into 3/4 inch in less time than it takes to read this sentence.
I deducted a half star for the shoulder stock. Hard to believe, but the length of pull (trigger to butt) is about two inches MORE than the rifle. Go figure. This is gonna get modified.
Another half star off for a defective gauge that leaked the reservoir down in 5 minutes. Crosman promised a new gauge in a couple of days ... I think they had a bad run of these. Meanwhile, a 1/8 IP brass plug and Teflon tape work fine for now. (My tank is down to about 2700, and the adapter has a limiter, so ... good to go.) BTW ... Crosman answered on one ring, transferred to tech on two rings. Great, by any standard.
Meanwhile I've found a home for my old 3-9x Bugbuster ... and a Bushnell Trophy red dot. Neither of these is a budget buster, and the dot off a rest produces one sloppy hole at 50 feet.
As for AIR ... I've been an ardent (and bad-backed!) fan of the SCUBA rig. I spent one year on the Ben pump, rebuilt it twice, and said the heck with it. If your main objective is clearing the backyard, and you don't need portability, you can find a tank (well, maybe not one I'd dive with ...) and an adapter for the cost of a pump. Fills are less than $10, and the periodic inspection isn't bad. A tank lasts a loooong time on the rifle. I can't imagine how much you'd have to shoot this pistol to run the tank below, say, 1800psi.
I'm sure I'll have more on this. Enjoy! It really is a gem!
DAY THREE
About that pesky stock ...
Got at it this morning, and took a back saw to the stock struts. Here's some GREAT news: I was expecting to have to fill the cavities with epoxy, or wooden dowelling. WRONG! The struts are .. at least for the first two inches ... SOLID!
So, snip-snip, off with an inch and a half. Took the buttplate and cut steps on top and bottom, then drilled and counterbored holes. In the (now matched-up) strut ends I drilled and tapped the appropriate holes, and reassembled the thing using SUGRU as a filler. Presto! A CQB tree-rat carbine, perfect with the Buster or the Trophy red. Now I don't have to strain to get the right eye relief. (The 3-9x Bugbuster has a very short eyerelief.)
Since there's a taper to the struts, the buttplate is slightly larger at the join, which looks and feels fine to me.
The material appears (and smells, when worked) to be in the polypropylene family, so tapping was a quickie. I'll probably just pull those scres out and replace them with wide-flute (z-type?) screws. Probaly be better in the long run, and almost impossible to over-torque.
Bottom line ... if they had made the stock shorter and included spacers, and if the gauge hadn't been defective ... a solid FIVE STARS.
ANOTHER DAY:
So much for the chrony. Still haven't gotten the replacement gauge, so I decided to just shoot the chrony without the gauge. Now I'm wondering if they calibrated this gun with the gauge in "full leak" --- because, out of the box, with 14.3 Crosmans, I got around 450fps on a 3k fill. Ugh. It took a bunch of tweaking to find 655fps. I'm starting to think the .110 transfer port is in the future ...
More for your consideration:
There is no rearward detent on the bolt, and there isn't much o-ring drag, either. This has made loading interesting at times, since the bolt rides part-closed if the gun is tipped forward a bit. It gets a little annoying. This has been a complaint with the rifle too, to some extent. I've always felt it would be nice to be able to carry either of these with a mag in and the bolt back ... nope. Mag in, bolt forward, safety on. Oh, well ...
Anyhooo ... my feeling is, if you have access to a chrony, don't spend a lot of time zeroing right out of the box. Unless I just got a weird one, and I actually still LOVE it!!!
BTW ... up from a disappointing Page 450 in the Natchez catalog (a personal penetration benchmark) to a respectable Page 675. OK, it's thin paper. Still --- HUGE improvement. NOT what came outta tha box! Can't wait to re-port this. And, yas ... it IS louder, now.
UPDATE
Crosman --- EXELLENT! Called on Thursday, brand new gauge on Tuesday! All tefloned and ready to go. The gun held 2700psi overnight, so happy-happy!
I envy the guy who gets 1/2" groups at 50 yards. On the rifle, noooo problem. Someone else commented on the stock moving around, and that's a fact. As mild as this thing is, it does have enough of a hop to it that the stock thing can move the pattern. Should be easy to correct with some plastic shim. Certainly good for 1/2-minute-of-squirrel at 25 yards.
If you like air guns - BUY THIS!
| Brand | Benjamin |
|---|---|
| Color | Black |
| Rounds | 8 |
| Caliber | 0.22 |
| Product Dimensions | 24"L x 6"W x 9"H |
| Item Weight | 0.45 Kilograms |
| Air Gun Power Type | PCP |
| Barrel Material Type | Alloy Steel |
| Frame Material | Metal |
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 23 x 8.4 x 5.3 inches |
| Package Weight | 2.25 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 24 x 6 x 9 inches |
| Brand Name | Benjamin |
| Warranty Description | Limited 5 Year Warranty |
| Model Name | Benjamin Marauder .22-Caliber PCP Air Pistol, Black |
| Material | Blend |
| Suggested Users | "" |
| Manufacturer | Crosman Corporation |
| Part Number | BP2220 |
| Style | Air Pistol |
| Size | .22-CALIBER |
| Sport Type | Hunting |
