M-Rod Shopping List

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treynolds

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Apr 23, 2021
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Florida, United States
Hey All,

I just ordered a M-Rod .22 from Crosman (using the AGNATION discount!) as my first PCP to learn how to tinker and tune before moving onto my next gun. I have 2 HP 119 SCUBA tanks and a yoke adapter for air. I’m planning on getting an Athlon Talos 4-14X44 and a lighter Hill hammer and PEEK striker to go with it and the $30 chronograph from Amazon but I could use some help choosing some of the other accessories. I’m looking for:

Good rings to pair with the scope 

A Donny FL moderator that would be a good match for the rifle 

I’m looking at the Huma regulators but I’m not sure which of the three I should go with 

A good bipod in the $50-120 range 

A decent sling. Nothing fancy, just comfortable and durable 



I know there is a ton of other stuff I COULD get but is there anything else I’m going to want straight away?
 
Welcome to the "dark side" and this is just the beginning of something great and can lead to you spending money that you thought you would never spend on a "BB gun". Make sure you're in a position to find some pellets because from what I've read, they're kind of hard to find and that seems to be the latest word. I was able to find some at "Natchez shooting Supplies" that I'm going to try and not that I need them.
 
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Many of today's air rifles have a bit of barrel droop so 20 MOA rings for your scope or some of the adjustable units would probably be a good thing. Maybe one of the Yong Heng compressors. The "Hardcopy" or "Set Pressure" models would do you just in case you are pumping cuz it will get old fast. They are about the best compressor you can get for under $1000 and only cost around $300 so a bargain for sure. Oh, fergot to say welcome to the dark side and another hobby/addiction to enjoy.

Palm Beach is the only one out of the five I checked that has the 30mm adjustable scope mounts in stock.

https://palmbeachairguns.com/product/fx-no-limit-mounts/

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32824234795.html?spm=a2g0o.store_home.productList_13760454.subject_2
 
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Personally, before you add on to anymore purchases, I would just shoot the gun as it comes and only mess with the hammer spring/striker adjustments along with the transfer port adjustment in the valve. Just so you can see and get a feel for the tuning process. In stock form, the 22 cal makes decent power for a good amount of shots as is. Just be sure and put indexing marks so you can note down how many turns on screws and such so you can always turn it back to the stock settings if you feel the need to start over.

google Marauderforu,s.com. Lots of tuning info there, and google “how to tune the Benjamin marauder” and you’ll get pages and pages of good reading material.

Lastly, it’s been my experience in chatting with other marauder owners, that the biggest mistake folks make is to buy one or two parts from one vendor, another part from another, and try to make all these parts work with each other, and all the while not noting how one part, just one, made a change in the tune. You stack more parts on top of that, all from different vendors that make these parts, and pretty soon you’ll be staring at a table full of your own hair that you pulled out from sheer frustration. 

Understand that these manufacturers of these marauder parts are testing them against other parts they design and make. Tim Hill of hillairguns.com for example, tests each and everyone one of his parts to make sure what he sells will provide the customer with as close results as he’s getting. He’s done the footwork, spent the $$ on pellets and air shooting they a chronograph testing his parts so he can provide a package tune kit. His own moderator, when combined with his PEEK striker, makes the gun so quiet you’d think the gun was broken.

im a Hill fan. One main reason, is his customer service. Understand that it’s been since 2017 since I bought parts from him, and the other day I emailed him to ask the length and size of weed eater line he suggested to use, as a way of keeping the hammer screw adjustment but locked after you have it set to your liking. 

He didn’t have to reply back, as he has no obligation to me as I went and bought his parts almost four years ago and he’s answered all of my questions already(some many times over, ha ha).

but he responded by end of day, still remembered me, and even asked how I’ve been. He kindly gave me my answer, too. He’s top notch, in my book for sure. He makes great parts, to boot.
 
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I would shoot it "stock" for a while at first. If everything is working correctly, you will be impressed I bet. As posted above, I wouldn't make a laundry list of mods before you even shoot it.

I went from a stock M-Rod to an FX Crown Mk2 in a few months. I am glad that I didn't start spending money and chasing my tail with mods on the M-Rod.

If you do plan to mod (nothing wrong with that) the M-Rod, you need to invest in a chronograph so that any changes can be quantified. I am pretty new to air-gunning, but not to shooting sports, so I have a large experience base when it comes to customizing/modding stuff, and the secret is not to just throw stuff at them. 

I wouldn't get a reg unless you really want one. You will lose some air volume, and the shot string is pretty darn good without one. I can go through 4 mags and still punch really tight. I was very happy with my setup for hunting. 
 
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I was out shooting my .22 Synrod just yesterday. I have a .25 Synrod, FX Impact MKII in .25 and .30 calibers and a .357 AAA Slayer I could have shot instead, but the .22 Synrod is what I wanted to shoot while pesting for starlings.

The Marauder is a great platform to learn how to tune on. Having to take it apart to change the tuning makes you think twice about what your plans and goals and how to get there the most efficient way, which is a plus.

I have my .22 setup to shoot 30 shots (three mags) at 30 FPE within a 2% extreme spread (ES). I chose not to regulate it so I would have at least one gun I could always count on for smaller pesting needs around the house with some safety in mind. I would say do not regulate it, but certainly would not want to hold you back with your goals either. I did regulate my .25 cal Marauder and would recommend the Huma regulator.

Reaching my goals involved trying out many mods like the DIY SSG I designed, A TSS mod, which I settled with along with a MDS light weight hammer and custom hammer spring (cut to work without any preload for best shot count). Within all of this, and still today, I have left the transfer port at OEM and did not drill it bigger, which would have been a mistake when going unregulated. One of the best things I did was to swap the OEM valve spring out with a .25 Marauder valve spring. This really balanced out the system and is how I was able to achieve my goal of having 30 shots at 30 FPE within a 2% ES for the string.

I have installed an aluminum lightweight air reservoir on both of my Marauders. This brought the weight down to 5 pounds unscoped and changed the guns to something super sweet to handle and own. I do not know if these are still available, but keep your eye out in the classifieds. My .22 Synrod is about five years old now.

Most important is to have fun learning...Welcome to the "Dark Side". There is quite a bit of info here and especially over on the GTA site that will help you along by utilizing their search functions.


 
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Thanks everyone for your input!

I definitely plan on shooting the gun stock for a while and seeing what effect each mod has but I’m definitely going to mod it as a learning experience whether it needs it or not. I’d rather make my learning mistakes on a $500 gun with lots of support than a $1500 gun with less support.

Huma has 3 regs listed for the M-Rod, one that is tapped for a gauge, the XXL, and a plain one. Does anyone have an opinion on which is better?

I’ve been looking at the Tanto and Tatsu, does one work better than the other? I know it’s a quiet gun but I like the idea of making it as silent as possible and if it isn’t needed I’ll put it on the inevitable next gun!

Does anyone have a bipod on their mrod that they really like?

Does anyone have rings on their Talos that they really like?

I’ve got two SCUBA tanks so I’m set for air and some tins of Crosman and H&N’s from my springer that I’ll be starting out with.

Thanks for all the advice!!!
 
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Regarding the Huma's...The different sizes relate to the plenum sizes. XXL having the most. The bigger the plenum size the better off for the larger calibers as they use more air per shot. The downside is that the larger the plenum, the less HPA reservoir space you'll have left as well. For a .22 cal I would probably go for the .25 Huma for a balance on power capabilities and HPA space left. This is primarily because I don't know really what your goals are. Maybe you plan on low velocity and high shot count tunes. In that case maybe all you'll need is the .22 Huma plenum.
 
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Well, if you are going regulated get ready to open up the ports. This would include the barrel, valve and transfer ports, maybe even the gauge block. You may have to go custom on the transfer port depending on the power level you seek. This is because you will be working with less/regulated air after regulating and will need full flow to the pellet skirt. Just don't go too large on the barrel port to prevent the pellets from dropping through and get damaged when being seated.

I like having the standard Huma reg instead of the all-in-one style Huma that includes the gauge block. This is because I don't have to pull the gauge to remove the standard Huma reg style for adjustments, which will be numerous until you get your tune sorted. Either one though. My gauge block has been opened up from OEM to allow about the same plenum space as the all-in-one version. My .25 cal standard Huma version along with the opened gauge block and the valve space gives me 34cc of plenum space total. That's a good number for you to keep up with as yours will be very similar.
 
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