I got in some trigger time yesterday with my new .22 Marauder; the new replacement from Crosman. Did I mention what a stand-up company Crosman? Not only do they backup their warranty, they made things right for me by sending me a replacement. I have read on the forums (mostly yellow) that Crosman has sorted out a few issues (trigger, bolt, pellet consistency) with their September batch of Marauders, so I am pleased that my July Marauder has been replaced with a fresh off the press October issue.
Not that the Marauders with defective or faulty. It seems like most of the dissenting voices have been a very few vocal minority. Yes, I had issues with my July Marauder, and in the end it was beyond my limited skill and Crosman felt it had enough issues to warrant a replacement. I do not think that means that the Marauder is a hit-or-miss PCP. I think it means that it is a new product, and while there may be some issues with the initial manufacturing runs, Crosman has shown a willingness to correct any problems.
So back to my new Marauder – 009xxx248. I shot several clips with mixed results. It took me a few shots to get my Hawke 4-12×40 Air Max on a solid zero (at ~60 feet / 20 yards). As always the Crosman Premier pellets (14.3 gr.) shot extremely well and accurate. I loaded a clip of Beeman Crow-Magnum pellets s (18.20 gr.), and I was very pleased to see that these were extremely accurate without any spraying. My July Marauder would not shot these at all; in fact my new Marauder is my first airgun of any caliber to actually shoot these puppies accurately!
I tried a clip of Beeman Silver Ace pellets (15.74 gr), but these were all over the place; not at all consistent. Same story for a clip of RWS Superdome pellets (14.5 gr.), which surprised me because these seem to be a nice general all purpose pellet. Perhaps worst of all were the Napier Power Hunter pellets (15.6 gr.), not only were the first three shots inconsistent (think shotgun spray), but these pellets caused a clip jam, which was a bear to fix. I should have released that there were problems looming because the pellets were tight loading into the clip. These things are not going anywhere near my Marauder.
I do not have a Chrony, so I cannot report on all the facts and figures. I can just report what shoots well, and what does not (or is not accurate).
Today I will shoot another clip of Crow-Magnum pellets, just to make sure they were not a fluke. I am also going to give some RWS Meisterkugeln pellets (14.0 gr.) and RWS Superpoint Extra pellets (14.5 gr.) a go. While I do not generally like pointed pellets, the Superpoint Extra pellets work great in my .22 Beeman R1, so I have plenty on hand.
If I have time, I would also like to sort out some of the following pellets: Beeman FTS Double Gold (14.72 gr.), Beeman Kodiak Double Gold (21.12 gr.), and JSB Diabolo Exact (15.9 gr.).
Hopefully some of these others will work really well, giving me several different pellet options. If the results continue to hold for the Crow-Magnum pellets, it will indeed be a happy day. Not only will the October issue Marauder shoot a variety of pellets well, it will also give me multiple options for plinking, paper punching, and pest control. Good stuff indeed!
Happy shooting!
