Tuning M-Rod - Upgrades - Where to start?

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haltervk

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Dec 31, 2018
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I have a .22 Mrod that I got for Christmas this year. It is completely stock. I bought a Huma regulator, and before I tear my gun down to install it, and because I don't want to do this often, I want to spend another $100 on upgrades.

Questions: Would I be better served with a TSS or a new Hammer? If Hammer, JSA MDS, or Buffer, and then can I use the stock spring? Would a Hill .161 transfer port help as I want shot count and accuracy, more than power? What BAR should I start with on the Huma regulator? 

My goal is to get 50 consistent shots with 800+ FPS. That being said I want a 50+ yard gun, so what FPS is needed to achieve accuracy at this range? I am willing to sacrifice some on shot count to get more accuracy at 50+ yards. I',m currently shooting CP 14.3s. Eventually as I have more money to throw at it, I will get a new barrel and SS valve, and other goodies, but for now I need to take that 1st step with some wisdom from others.

Thanks in advance!
 
Look at a barrel upgrade. Sure its a bit pricey at about $250 but worth it. Also you can open up the transfer port yourself as well as the air port on the barrel. On mine I reworked the valve also. Look up the trigger layer spring and remove it. It will make that first stage much liter. There are a ton of parts you could get but there are also alot DIY work you could do. Also get some o-rings if you are going to be working on it. Just nice to have on hand. I love my .22 m-rod but it sits most of the tim now due to having much better airguns.
1553438602_8754123025c97978a76c8d7.21422376_20190324_070921.jpg

 
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A Huma reg at 140 bar should easily give you 50 shots in high 800’s.

I’d have TP deburred & everything chamfered. A LW 23.75” barrel is $114.00 & machining should be no more than $40-80.00 as it takes less than an hour but Greg Davis charged $195.00.

I’d also have a HDD to save air. You can get any length barrel but longer will allow more efficient use of air.

I’ve owned 8-9 Marauders & at this point my next one would just be a .177 FT as the reg & a LW barrel come with. Hill parts are great but if I could do it all over again I’d have skipped all the others & just gotten Rapids, now RAW & have spent less. Not that some of those Marauders couldn’t compete with my AZ Rapids. Well, the GD tuned .22 could & some others with certain pellets.

Of all the tuners I know, there’s a lot of guys who are great but don’t advertise. They just tune their own. Commercial tuners who are good & fair on Mrods, Will Piat of Saddle Mountain Gunsmith.
 
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Actually in my opinion the above pictured MDRL Bullpup is the best upgrade you can do for really balancing the stock front heavy Marauder! It does cost a fair amount though (I have 3) lol. Another fine upgrade is a balanced valve from JSAR but it works best without a regulator.
Click to expand...

Once I felt the difference when I shouldered the M-rod after doing the bullpup conversion I was totally sold on bullpups. Yes it is a costly upgrade but was totally worth it in my opinion.
 
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I run mine with a prod trigger group (moves trigger forward around 2"), along with a re-worked stock valve (.23" valve exit, .24" throat, .05" poppet stem in throat (made from hss blank), .28" poppet OD, a 48 gr MDS hammer, a custom version DIY SSG with 7.7 lb spring, custom aluminum reservoir tube made my Lee545, collapsible butt stock, custom collapsible LDC, custom rear adapter to allow swapping of SSG's with locked in tunes. A custom external plenum extension that adds 33 cc's to the existing 20 cc's without losing volume on the HPA side. At a regulated 1950~ psi I can make up to 60 fpe, and I can detune it down to 12-18 fpe in seconds. Cheek riser holds 3 magazines underneath. Gun weighs 5.2~ lbs undressed. You'd think the rifle was a money pit but I did a lot of the work myself. A valve from crossman is only 20$~, and I find it quite gratifying to do work myself, I went through 3 valves before I got it right but that still cost me roughly 70$, which was a good learning experience, resulting in a cheaper, and IMO superior valve than after market.



So the better question may be, M-rod - Upgrades - Where do they end? ;)



1553463863_9855919415c97fa378436b2.05906441_20181116_175807.jpg




-Matt
 
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I've modded them for accuracy, power, and ergonomics. To quote a conversation I had with Joe Rhea, someone asked him the most expensive airgun he ever owned? He answered a Marauder. I would look at the cost of a barrel, regulator, possibly a stock as I did and others have mentioned. Now look at used guns, Bob O's Streamline, others such as a used Edgun ,Cricket, Vulcan, Air Arms, Brocock, and others. I think you'll find a huge difference in shooting at 800 fps then moving to 900 fps. Speaking for my experience Marauder is a great gun, I still have a drawer of parts from trying to make it better, I'd never do it again.
 
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I've modded them for accuracy, power, and ergonomics. To quote a conversation I had with Joe Rhea, someone asked him the most expensive airgun he ever owned? He answered a Marauder. I would look at the cost of a barrel, regulator, possibly a stock as I did and others have mentioned. Now look at used guns, Bob O's Streamline, others such as a used Edgun ,Cricket, Vulcan, Air Arms, Brocock, and others. I think you'll find a huge difference in shooting at 800 fps then moving to 900 fps. Speaking for my experience Marauder is a great gun, I still have a drawer of parts from trying to make it better, I'd never do it again.
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I would not do it again myself. The Mrod was my first pcp that got me hooked to this hobby. The cost and time put into modifying my Mrod was fun but it will never be a vulcan or edgun (have both). I did learn alot in the process though and that I do not regret. Sure I slowly made the changes to my Mrod because I would never buy a $500 airgun only to buy near $1000 in parts just to try and get it to preform like a higher end gun. That money could of gone right into a better airgun. I have even thought of selling my Mrod several times but there is no way I would get even close to what I put into it. In the end its still a marauder. I would like to give it to a friend but he cannot pump it up. If he could pump it up I would hand it over to him. I told him I pumped for 6 years before getting a fill station. He just looked at me. When your PCP collection starts to grow pumping gets old real fast.
 
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I was looking long and hard at a Prod this weekend. I came to the same conclusion as others here have. It would be a great learning experience, but by the time I do all the mods, I could probably buy an FX Ranchero. While fun and nice to learn, I'm not an airgun tinkerer by nature. I currently own 3 FX rifles, a Verminator Extreme MK II, a Warcat, and a Wildcat .30. I never done any tuning, chronographing or messed with them in any way. I just shoot them lightly, and every few years send them in for all new seals, whether they need it or not.
 
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I am another person who has modified his Marauder (.25 cal), perhaps I am less negative about the experience. I did a lot of filing/sanding/polishing as well as putting in the TSS hammer debounce product (with lightest springs). Most of the internals are Hill (flyweight hammer with flyweight striker, Hill Valve with 0.187 porting and lightest spring they have, 0.187 transfer port made of plastic/PET), Huma regulator designed for .25 caliber (larger plenum and set to 1800 PSI), trigger upgrades, and other minor nick nacks. It shoots rather well, is quiet and reliable. It gives me 42 shots at 40 FPE with only a 1.8 percent variation in velocity from the fastest shot to the slowest shot in the string . It was a learning experience, but it made me very comfortable with tuning and airgun smithing. The education was worth the price of admission.

At the time I wasn't ready to spend more than 600 bucks on an air rifle. But after the initial investment (way under the $600 mark), I started accumulating parts as money became available. Are there expensive guns that can outshoot it? Heck yes, but then I would not really have the understanding I developed in the process. In all fairness, it produces one ragged hole with ten shots at 50 yards, so it isn't too shabby. At 25 yards, it is downright boring to shoot, I reserve that experience for inexpensive springers which offer more challenge.

So, if you have initial budget limits (especially once you consider your air source/compressor/pump, AND you want to really understand PCP rifles, rage on, do a build. It can be rewarding. 
 
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It's your "wants" a messin with you.

End of your posts sounds like power hungry but you started out with accuracy 1st.

Simply open the transfer port adjustment all the way and drop in a $65.00 regulator then adjust stroke & tension and you should hit you stated shot count/power goal of shot count and constant fps, 

Do try some additional pellet brands before spending on a barrel, the newest crosman barrel can be excellent.

John
 
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You already have a good start and that is by having certain goals you would like to achieve with your rifle. I'm new to modding my rifles and went crazy with it in the last 6 months but the knowledge I have gained from doing this is priceless. I still have a lot to learn. I have a tendency to set unrealistic goals, high power and high shot count. As I continue to work on my rifles my goals become more realistic and I get a better understanding on how to dial it in for consistency over power and shot count. I'm waiting on the last of my parts to complete a 22 caliber upgrade and after that I'm just going to enjoy them for a good long while. I don't understand why people that have gone through and upgraded their marauders down play the rifles to the higher end ones. Yes it will always be a marauder but to put all that work into something and then just say it wasn't really worth it IDK seems rather foolish. I haven't had the chance to shoot one of the higher end rifles so maybe in a couple years if I get one I will feel the same way but hopefully not. Some of these marauders are real works of airgun art to be honest. These guys have put together something really amazing. I personally wouldn't have changed a thing on my 22 if it wasn't purchased for the sole purpose of doing so. It shot really good the way it was sent to me and even better with a little adjusting. I personally would buy a chronograph and tweak the factory tune and then start collecting the parts you want for the upgrade and wait until you have done the research and get everything together to start modding it. Seems to work better that way in my limited experience. Good luck and I hope enjoy your rifle.
 
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Hey there folks! New guy here. Hopefully not out of place to bump this older thread? Please advise, if I've made some kind of thread jack or other inappropriate move.

I picked up a gen1 M-rod used through another forum classifieds. Looking to upgrade the glass and wondering if there is a better/best way to put a picatinny mount on to be able to swap around scopes with my powder burners?

I'm unsure about other mods to this first PCP of mine, but I'm sure to want some. I'm a backyard target shooter, but ultimately a hunter.

TIA


 
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Hey there folks! New guy here. Hopefully not out of place to bump this older thread? Please advise, if I've made some kind of thread jack or other inappropriate move.

I picked up a gen1 M-rod used through another forum classifieds. Looking to upgrade the glass and wondering if there is a better/best way to put a picatinny mount on to be able to swap around scopes with my powder burners?

I'm unsure about other mods to this first PCP of mine, but I'm sure to want some. I'm a backyard target shooter, but ultimately a hunter.

TIA

Click to expand...

https://www.amazon.com/UTG-Airgun-Picatinny-Weaver-Adaptor/dp/B007BNHFLQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=dovetail+to+picatinny+adapter&qid=1601735978&sprefix=dovetail+to&sr=8-7


 
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