Buying a Benjamin Marauder in 2022?

wyshadow said:

I would never pay more then $300 for a mrod. The only thing I would do is put in a 12 or 15 lb hammer spring, and drill out the transfer port. If you are wanting any other modification, I would suggest a different pcp. There are some great pcp's at the $500-700 price range new and used that will out perform a stock mrod.

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Agree….429 can get you an avenger. Regulated and will shoot the nuts off a gnat without even a barrel cleaning. Produces impressive power with zero internal mods. You don’t get the warranty or the support with an avenger but part kits are now available. In my opinion the marauders are lacking features for the 500 dollar + price point. After the maximus I owned for a short while, I personally would probably have a hard time owning a Benjamin gun.

A month or so ago I bought a used Benjy Marauder Semi Auto (SAM) from @GeronimoKY . Thanks Justin! Cleaned the barrel, loaded it up (came with 3 mags), shot over the crony with JSB 15.9 grain pellets. Shot them very consistently at 830 to 835 fps. Later on, took to the range, and shot at 45 yards. It'll put all ten from the mag in a group the size of a nickel. Definitely "minute of squirrel" out to 50 or 60 yards. Haven't shot further, because frankly, it's fairly low power so why push it? The gun is good looking, not too heavy, reliable, decent trigger, and gets 60 shots from 3,000 down to 2,000 psig. I really like it!

Benjamin Marauder​

They are outdated. Remember they came out in 2009. PCP's aren't as mature as powder burners. PCP's technology is evolving so fast now there is nothing in 2009 that is relevant, nothing. The Marauder and others around this time frame. These are a remembrance of a bygone era. Remember back at the good times but do not compare an almost 15-year-old technology to something that you can purchase now.

My Marauder does not feel outdated whatsoever. It is nearly as accurate as my newer rifles that cost $1,000+. Just because it isn't brand new in design does not mean that it isn't very competitive, in the low end PCP price range. I would guess that more M-rods have been sold than any other single PCP. There is a pretty good chance that is because it is a very good PCP. Not for everyone, but still a very solid rifle.

athlon_oved said:

Benjamin Marauder​

They are outdated. Remember they came out in 2009. PCP's aren't as mature as powder burners. PCP's technology is evolving so fast now there is nothing in 2009 that is relevant, nothing. The Marauder and others around this time frame. These are a remembrance of a bygone era. Remember back at the good times but do not compare an almost 15-year-old technology to something that you can purchase now.

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old Harleys and mrods aren't going anywhere soon for a reason , you rebuild them !

jmmartinez573 said:

Has anyone purchased a marauder this year? It’s been a long time since I’ve researched guns under $1000. On PyramidAir I see the marauder now have an option to be purchased with an Lothar Walther Match grade barrel and picatinny rail. I thought these options were reserved for the Field Target version of the marauder.

Has the factory tuned improved over the years?

LW barrels any good in the marauder? Could they be of same quality as a LW barrel in higher end guns?

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If ever I'm in the market for one I'd get mine from Airgun Revisions.

The owner is a machinist and a master tuner of the platform.

Kind of like Troy Hammer and his Krals.

joelayfield said:

old Harleys and mrods aren't going anywhere soon for a reason , you rebuild them !

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One of my Heavily Tuned $300 dollar M-Rod. $300 for the Marauder and about $400 in tuning. Now it out shoots those $1300 rig with style and power.

CTairgunner1288 said:

It actually made me question my more expensive rifle purchases, now I'm never gunna take place in an ebr, nrl, or prs event so I am not holding any rifle to those standards for my uses. Clearly though, this rifle has potential.

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The Potential of any tool is limited by the user. We've been brainwashed into believing that old is outdated, not knocking new ideas or anyone else's dream; but there's more than one way to get it done. Through desire, imagination, dedication, and some good old fashion elbow grease we can make the impossible possible. I never thought that I would own a sub-moa rifle with over 95fpe, now I have several; all M-RODS. Asfar as the EBR/NRL, even these classics are something to beware of.

athlon_oved said:

Benjamin Marauder​

They are outdated. Remember they came out in 2009. PCP's aren't as mature as powder burners. PCP's technology is evolving so fast now there is nothing in 2009 that is relevant, nothing. The Marauder and others around this time frame. These are a remembrance of a bygone era. Remember back at the good times but do not compare an almost 15-year-old technology to something that you can purchase now.

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The Girardoni air rifle was an air gun designed by Italian inventor Bartolomeo Girardoni circa 1779. It fired a .46 or .51 caliber ball and had a tubular, spring-fed magazine that held 20 balls. This Rig could shoot 30 shots off one simple 800psi fill. The lead balls were lethally effective to approximately 150 yards, at 100 yards it's carrying enough energy to blow threw one inch pine board.
Classics don't become outdated unless you forget the history. Just a little history.

Trucker3573 said:

Agree….429 can get you an avenger. Regulated and will shoot the nuts off a gnat without even a barrel cleaning. Produces impressive power with zero internal mods. You don’t get the warranty or the support with an avenger but part kits are now available. In my opinion the marauders are lacking features for the 500 dollar + price point. After the maximus I owned for a short while, I personally would probably have a hard time owning a Benjamin gun.

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An avenger?? Ewww

Nsboost said:

An avenger?? Ewww

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To each their own. I’ve owned 2 and my opinion is obviously very different. Wish kept them. Best performance for the money guns I’ve owned by far.

I bought an Mrod a few weeks ago with the L&W barrel. I was coming from an Umarex Octane, so this was a huge leap for me. It was purely random shooting with that rifle in regard to accuracy. I have not missed a squirrel since I got the Mrod.

I was going to buy a gun from the classifieds, but I'm impulsive and impatient. I couldn't figure out why I was unable to message users on the forums and then learned of the 10 day waiting period, I had made 10 posts. Three days after joining the site is when I ordered the new Mrod, it was delivered the next day.

So far, I'm thoroughly impressed with the Mrod. It doesn't have the aesthetics of the other guns I was looking at spending a bit more on in the classifieds, but I did save some money. Now of course I want an FX Impact M3.

I recently purchased the pistol in 22 cal and love it.

If the chosen platform does what the shooter needs, then it’s not outdated in terms of function.

jmmartinez573 said:

Has anyone purchased a marauder this year? It’s been a long time since I’ve researched guns under $1000. On PyramidAir I see the marauder now have an option to be purchased with an Lothar Walther Match grade barrel and picatinny rail. I thought these options were reserved for the Field Target version of the marauder.

Has the factory tuned improved over the years?

LW barrels any good in the marauder? Could they be of same quality as a LW barrel in higher end guns?

Click to expand...

I recently purchased one, the .22 regulated version with the picatinny mounts and Lothar Walther barrel. It is my first PCP style air rifle.

Being more of a powder burner, it seemed to me the rifle's finish leaves a little to be desired, but it is adequate and does the job. This is a BIG rifle...heavy too. I shlepped around the woods with it today, unslung, for about 2 hours. Would not want to do that on a regular basis.

I have had a chance to shoot about a dozen magazines through it and I am very impressed with the accuracy and power. Shooting on a bench with a mounted bipod at 35 yards I consistently achieved 3/4" groups, with a few 1/2" groups. It shoots well at 50 yards and I can ring the steel targets out to 78 yards with ease.

The bolt is a little stiff, but I am older and arthritic. It is already starting to wear in, I suspect it will get better with use.

All in all, I have been having a great time using the rifle. It is super quiet, all I hear is a spring noise and the impact.

Grainchaser said:

I recently purchased one, the .22 regulated version with the picatinny mounts and Lothar Walther barrel. It is my first PCP style air rifle.

Being more of a powder burner, it seemed to me the rifle's finish leaves a little to be desired, but it is adequate and does the job. This is a BIG rifle...heavy too. I shlepped around the woods with it today, unslung, for about 2 hours. Would not want to do that on a regular basis.

I have had a chance to shoot about a dozen magazines through it and I am very impressed with the accuracy and power. Shooting on a bench with a mounted bipod at 35 yards I consistently achieved 3/4" groups, with a few 1/2" groups. It shoots well at 50 yards and I can ring the steel targets out to 78 yards with ease.

The bolt is a little stiff, but I am older and arthritic. It is already starting to wear in, I suspect it will get better with use.

All in all, I have been having a great time using the rifle. It is super quiet, all I hear is a spring noise and the impact.

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Grainchaser, the Marauder gen 2 bolt did break in for me more and more. I suspect yours will too. S7

The posts on the M-Rod were interesting. I own a Gen 2 Syn-Rod in .22 with the Crosman barrel. There is one very important matter (to me and my brother, at least, who owns a Gen1 .25 in wood.) We both independently found that the accuracy and consistency increased dramatically when the pressure was somewhere between 1200 (!) and 2500 (or less) psi. I no longer fill my gun to 3000 psi as it simply seems to be too much pressure for the hammer to open for the proper amount of time, if I am saying that correctly. This also makes hand pumping easier because those last 500 psi or so are harder. I suggest tracking accuracy along a pressure range.
In fact, when I bought the gun, the conventional wisdom for the BM was to find out what pressure range your gun likes. Several people said stay around 2600, and after I started listening it was quite true. Initially, I paid no attention.
I wish I got the LW barrel, but the deal was too good to pass. Thanks for listening.
Also, for those who may not know, years ago Green Mountain made the .25 barrels and they were very good. For a while, Crosman's .22 barrels were not good. This is a recognized fact, I believe. Crosman has since fixed the problem for about several years now. S7

These rifles are great. I have a whole bunch of them. Although mine are all decked out and perhaps I spent more than what I should have but they work for me. I don't think they are out dated. One quick question, do they still sell 10-22's? Nuff said lol.

I bought a new Marauder Semi-auto direct from Crosman when they first came out this past year. Out of the box the only thing needing done to it was cleaning the bore, as with any new gun. It shoots great and has a very consistent shot string from the factory. No need to tinker with it unless that is your vice. (I bought it to tinker with and experiment with upping the power, which I did.)

So I guess my point is, unless you are wanting an older model Marauder (that you are possibly looking into modifying right out of the gate) why not get a new Semi-auto (for a few dollars more) and just shoot it.

My first PCP gun is my Gen 1 Mrod. I thought about selling it when I got my FX Dreamline, but it has always been a great shooter. I've decided to keep it as a project gun... I'll never get what it's worth anyway. It's easy to get carried away with all the new stuff, but I just bought 1701P a couple of weeks ago. Pretty much the same technology as the original, unregulated Marauder. You can still buy these guns because they work and they're reliable.