Benjamin Have TX200 looking at marauder as first pcp gun, opinions?

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Marauder much beloved, first PCP for many. Unfortunately, days of long, heavy bolt-action PCPs are waning, platform showing its age. Some aficionados have modded and finessed to keep it relevant but long and heavy is hard to overcome. Armada is a Marauder action in a more contemporary "military-style" stock, still long and heavy. WM
 
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The Marauder gets called heavy when most of these fancy rifles are four times the price and four pounds heavier and even at that price require more dollars to get a "liner" that will hold POI shot to shot. Two of my M-Rod .25s are under 40 inches and 6.5 pounds or less. And accurate. I regularly shoot and hunt with rifles designed over 100 years ago and a few of them are actually over 100 years old. The deer or hogs I shoot with them never complain about their relevancy. The M-Rod is as relevant today as ever it was and there are still parts out there to mod and reduce weight, length and increase power:



That rifle is 39 inches long, weighs 7.9 pounds as it sits there with scope and bipod and that skunk did not seem to mind the rifle not being relevant either, he just fell over dead right there.
 
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WorriedMan said:
Marauder much beloved, first PCP for many. Unfortunately, days of long, heavy bolt-action PCPs are waning, platform showing its age. Some aficionados have modded and finessed to keep it relevant but long and heavy is hard to overcome. Armada is a Marauder action in a more contemporary "military-style" stock, still long and heavy. WM
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This is my story. First pcp that ive also modified in some minor ways and I don't shoot it or highly enjoy shooting a gen 1 marauder 25 anymore. It fell short of velocity claims and air capacity is poor and being a gen 1 it pinged louder than the muzzle report. Perhaps due to its weight it is very accurate, but like I said Mines an old example with a green mountain barrel. Of the collection the daily grab is a 25 but it's a compact fx dreamline variant now. My mrod sits in my office at work for early am play time. It's not a bad gun, but if you can save longer there's a whole new world waiting for you in some of the higher end brands that I can't efficiently convey the rewarding nature of.
 
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Marauder is great. I’ve built 2 custom builds. One .177 and a .22. My .177 is tuned to 95 shots @ 895 with AA 10.3 gr pellets (HUMA Reg, lightweight hammer, etc). Absolute laser of a gun.

Great platform. Lots of room to grow. I don’t know if some of the “better” entry level options will prove to be as reliable as the Marauder. Extremely low maintenance.

The bolt isn’t a big deal with the cocking efforts you’ll be dealing with in .177 and .22. Never experience a .25.

For the money I don’t think you could go wrong with a refurb marauder from Airgun Revisions.

I’d go with an Avenge-X if you want something that has more bells and whistles.
 
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WorriedMan said:
Marauder much beloved, first PCP for many. Unfortunately, days of long, heavy bolt-action PCPs are waning, platform showing its age. Some aficionados have modded and finessed to keep it relevant but long and heavy is hard to overcome. Armada is a Marauder action in a more contemporary "military-style" stock, still long and heavy. WM
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What else would you consider in a $1000 and under gun?
 
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Kcmusa said:
What else would you consider in a $1000 and under gun?
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Popular starter PCPs, in newer (shorter/lighter/sidelever) configurations are Air Venturi Avenger (or recently updated Air Venturi Avenge-X), Dynamic Air Rifle (DAR) or JTS Airacuda Standard (avoid MAX). Umarex Zelos and Snowpeak M60B are also popular. Umarex Gauntlet is from the old long and heavy school but recently went sidelever. Search archives for info on any of these in upper right page corner. Best of Luck, WM
 
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Three Gauntlets and one Avenger, leak, leak, leak. Poor quality, magic marker covering scratches NIB. IMO, the M-Rod is the better rifle for reliability and quality. The Avenge X is 43.75 inches long which is longer than the M-Rod and is 7.3 pounds so hardly lighter. And it is going to leak air. And then try to get parts for it. Most if not all seals for the M-Rod can be had locally at a hardware store and other parts are a phone call to Crosman away. Hopefully that does not change with new ownership.
 
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The Generation 1 Marauder in .177 was my first PCP airgun bought more than 10 years ago. I think Marauders are a great starting gun that can grow with you, thanks to the endless variety of aftermarket parts. There's also more information available about them than anyone should ever read. It's hand pump friendly with a 3000 PSI max fill (tuned, I only fill to 2800 PSI). I still have mine and shoot it as much as as my .177 FX Dreamtac. They're heavy, but not too heavy to be a good field rifle. Keep the optics low and light if you want it to be more than just a bench gun. I've gone to the extreme and put aperture sights on mine (and a quality sling), making it a very handy field gun inside of 35 yards.
Yeah, I've put a lot into it over the years. Yeah, I'll never get it back. But to have a gun I bought for ~$500 new nearly 11 years ago still running great with no end in sight pretty well rocks. They're simple to work on and you'll learn a ton (particularly if you go unregulated).
IMG_9916.jpg
 
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