BENJAMIN MARAUDER GEN 3 REVIEW – VALUE FOR MONEY
At a selling price of $829.99, the launch-model Benjamin Marauder Gen 3 is priced at $230 more than the current selling price of the previous (and still existing), Gen 2 Marauder. But that price difference gives a large number of benefits – the “Gen 3” really is a completely new airgun.
Now we have a much larger number of consistent shots available, courtesy of the built-in regulator and removable, 500cc Aluminum HPA bottle. That regulator is externally-adjustable, too, for easy power level changes. There’s also a completely new look.
The new Gen 3 Benjamin Marauder was designed and engineered in Bloomfield NY. It’s completely assembled and tested here too. Many potential purchasers in the USA will be heartened to hear that and will find it a compelling reason to buy the gun.
Below the gun’s designer John Solpietro is on the left with Shawn Pragel, who runs the Crosman/Benjamin PCP assembly operation. These guys are real airgun enthusiasts and shooters!
Yes, the barrel is manufactured by BSA in the UK. But overall: the Marauder can still justifiably claim to be put together in the good ole’ USA. And it still benefits from Benjamin’s 5-year product warranty.
The gun also incorporates multiple advanced technical features that – for some unknown reason – the company is not shouting about. These include a balanced valve, lightweight hammer with spring stop guide and “shoot through” bolt. So the Gen 3 has more high technology inside than its relatively restrained exterior would lead you to expect.
There are not many PCPs priced around $800 in the current market. So the Gen 3 is competing against products that have similar functionality but which are either rather cheaper, or somewhat more expensive. Overall, the HAM Team feel that the price is fair for what this Marauder delivers.
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Benjamin Marauder Gen 3 PCP Air Rifle 0.22
BENJAMIN MARAUDER GEN 3 REVIEW – SPEED AND ACCURACY
Firstly we need to say that Gen 3 Marauders are set and end-of-line tested to realistic Muzzle Velocities.
They are not set to maximum power, but to a good power with mid-weigh pellets. Plus – as John Solpietro explained – it’s so easy to increase the power with a little adjustment to the regulator and hammer spring tension that owners wanting more power can easily achieve that. (Power reduction would require de-gassing the gun to lower the regulator pressure).
| Pellet | Average Muzzle Velocity | Average Muzzle Energy | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| H&N Field Target Trophy Green 10.03 Grain | 1,011 FPS | 22.77 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| Predator GTO 11.75 Grain | 972 FPS | 24.65 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| RWS Hobby 11.9 Grain | 965 FPS | 24.63 Ft/Lbs | Very Good. |
| Crosman Premier HP 14.3 Grain | 912 FPS | 26.41 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| JSB Jumbo Exact 14.35 Grain | 910 FPS | 26.38 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. Best Tested |
| H&N Field Target Trophy 14.66 Grain | 908 FPS | 26.81 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| Datstate Howler Slugs 20.3 Grain | 765 FPS | 26.25 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| H&N Baracuda Match 21.14 Grain | 768 FPS | 27.66 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| JSB Jumbo Monster 25.39 Grain | 649 FPS | 23.73 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
In the past, most Marauders had Crosman-manufactured barrels. However, some specific models were fitted with barrels sourced from outside manufacturers such as TJ and Lothar Walther. Given that Benjamin is now part of the ICOG group, it made sense to consider using BSA barrels as an in-house source of supply.
So, all Gen 3 Marauders are to have BSA barrels. Certainly the accuracy of the review gun is creditable. You can see a 50-Yard, indoor test target here.
In fact, all Gen 3 Marauders are supplied with a test target that is shot on an indoor range at 35 Yards. So you can see the factory accuracy of your gun when you receive it.
In HAM testing, we found best accuracy from JSB Jumbo Exact 14.35 Grain pellets. Here’s what they did at 25 Yards.
However – as John Solipetro shared that most of the Gen 3 guns shoot very well with JSB 18.13 Grain Jumbo Heavies (not a HAM standard test pellet) – HAM Tester Doug Rogers also tried those.
Yip, as you can see below, John was right, the accuracy was even better. Great shooting, Doug!
In fact the BSA barrel was about as tolerant of different pellets as anything Hard Air Magazine has ever tested. It looks as if great accuracy will be obtained with a very wide variety of ammo – including the NSA 20.2 Grain slugs in HAM’s standard test suite.
In addition, we should not overlook the probable benefits of the “shoot through” bolt. This design supports the pellet around its skirt and so give a straighter path for the pellet into the barrel, compared to conventional “probe” designs that push in the center of the pellet, with the potential to cause a twist.
BENJAMIN MARAUDER GEN 3 REVIEW – TRIGGER AND COCKING EFFORT
While there are a number of similarities to the previous Marauder trigger, this is actually a completely new design. As expected, it’s a 2-stage trigger that can be adjusted for travel, weight and stage setup.
For the first time on a Marauder, the safety is a “push across” type. This is instead of the previous “back and forth” lever inside the trigger guard.
The trigger blade itself is of the pole type with an adjustable, gold-finished blade.
Overall, the HAM testers agreed that the first stage trigger travel was longer than they liked. However there’s a clear “stop” before the second stage and the sear release was sharp and well-defined, with very little drag. This will be a very satisfactory trigger for many owners.
As always, we tested the trigger as received. There’s clearly the potential to adjust the trigger feel and pull weight, if desired.
The diagram below makes the design and adjustments clear.
In HAM testing, the trigger pull weight averaged 2 Lbs 5.7 Oz.
Side lever cocking action is slick and easy. The action felt fluid and pleasant to cycle…
The cocking lever handle is strongly ridged and designed for the easy addition of O rings, should additional grip be required by the owner.
One nice touch is that the caliber is indicated on the rear of the cocking lever. Discrete, stylish and practical!
In addition, the side lever cocking action is designed to be easily-changeable from right- to left-side operation with minimal disassembly. This is a user modification that’s described in the Owner’s Manual.
BENJAMIN MARAUDER GEN 3 REVIEW – COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS
Overall length is 45.6 Inches and the bare weight 9.2 Lbs, the company says. Check and check!
Power levels also take a large rise compared to the previous model. The new Gen 3 Benjamin Marauder has a Muzzle Energy specification of up to 50 Ft/Lbs in .22 caliber. In .25 cal, it’s 80 Ft/Lbs.
In .22 caliber, the Gen 3 Marauder will ship with a reg pressure between 1,000 and 1,400 PSI. Clearly – as described above – that provides for nothing like it’s full power capability. However that’s a logical decision made by the assembly team.
The Benjamin website claims a maximum Muzzle Velocity of 1,200 FPS. In HAM testing, we saw a maximum of 1,011 FPS with the lightest alloy pellets. And that’s plenty!
Could we crank up the power to achieve that 1,200 FPS figure? Yes, almost certainly. But as most serious airgunners know, Zillion FPS marketing claims are pretty-well worthless for much real-world use.
In contrast, the gun is actually set-up at the factory by airgunners who know what they are doing – it delivers great accuracy at appropriate velocities with mid-weight pellets. That’s probably what most people in the Marauder’s target market want: at least to start with.
However, it does mean that we must mark-down the score here. The test results of the gun as delivered do not meet the marketing claims. Even though we understand why.
Amazingly, the company does not make a claim for the outstanding number of shots per fill. They should!
BENJAMIN MARAUDER GEN 3 REVIEW – CONSISTENCY
Excellent accuracy with a wide variety of pellets is a strong suit for the Gen 3 Marauder. Pretty-well any half-decent pellet is going to shoot well through this gun. Plus, maybe, some slugs too…
The Standard Deviation (shot-to-shot FPS consistency) is also quite low at an average of 4.69 FPS across the standard HAM test suite of pellets. That’s not the lowest we have recorded, but it’s still a very good number.
Then there’s the trigger. The variation in pull weight was very well controlled – only about plus or minus 3 Ounces around its 2 Lb 5.7 Oz average, as shipped from the factory. That’s imperceptible!
Then there’s the TRULY HUMONGOUS shot count. Take a look at the graph below. Yes, that’s no less than 260 shots before the regulator set point is reached. The HAM Team has definitely seen more consistent regulator performance, but never such a long shot string at this power level. Wow!
BENJAMIN MARAUDER GEN 3 REVIEW – NOISE LEVEL
The old “Gen 2” Marauder remains Hard Air Magazine’s benchmark for low noise in a PCP air rifle.
As shipped from the factory, the Gen 3 is very similar in noise level. Of course the report becomes louder should the owner choose to increase the power. That’s why the muzzle is threaded 1/2-Inch x 20 UNF so that customers can add a moderator if they would like and where legal.
In fact, the shroud is all modular and can be configured a few ways when adding a moderator.
BENJAMIN MARAUDER GEN 3 REVIEW – SIGHTS AND SCOPE
The Gen 3 Marauder is equipped with a Picatinny top rail for mounting a riflescope. This rail has a “flat” orientation, there’s no built-in droop, which tells you that the gun is not intended primarily for extra-long range shooting.
For this review, we mounted a Hawke Sidewinder 30SF 4-16 x 50 scope, set to 16X magnification and mounted with Leapers UTG PRO rings. The high rings provided a comfortable amount of clearance between the scope and magazine, as can be seen below.
As expected, no open sights are provided on this air rifle.
BENJAMIN MARAUDER GEN 3 REVIEW – SHOOTABILITY
The synthetic stock is designed with attractive – and practical – honeycomb pattern grip panels on the pistol grip and forearm. There’s also an adjustable cheekpiece.
Of course, there’s always a personal aspect to this review section. HAM Tester Doug Rogers lamented the lack of a thumb rest and felt that the gun did not fit him as well as he had hoped. Stephen Archer was fine with the design “as is”.
Fortunately the Marauder’s sling swivel studs have been retained, that’s a move that will be appreciated by anyone needing to carry the gun for any distance.
As you would expect, the gun is fitted with two pressure gauges. One indicates the bottle fill pressure, the other the regulated air pressure. Both are located on the right side of the gun.
Another good shootability feature is that the new, higher-capacity (14-shot in .22 caliber) magazine loaded and fed well. It also is sized to accommodate longer slugs and pellets than the previous model.
However the gun is long and that big HPA bottle means that it’s quite muzzle heavy. The shooting weight of the test rig with Hawke scope was 11 Lbs 2 Oz. It’s something to bear in mind…
BENJAMIN MARAUDER GEN 3 REVIEW – APPEARANCE AND FINISH
This Marauder is a generally conservative-looking air rifle. I would describe the styling as restrained: that’s a compliment, by the way.
Sure it has a black synthetic stock, but there’s no attempt to produce a “tactical” look here. Personal opinion is that the honeycomb grip areas are a very stylish detail.
You can easily imagine just how good it would look with a colored laminated wood stock similar to that gracing another ICOG product, the BSA R12. Now that really would be a cracker!
Overall the finish of both synthetic and metal parts is very good: they certainly meet expectations for an air rifle of this price. Another good point is the attractive gauge faceplates. These are – again – stylish and restrained, yet easy to read.
At 45.6 Inches overall length, this is a long air rifle and it looks it. That length is caused largely by the long, high-capacity plenum and long, high capacity air tank.
Personally I would like to suggest that both those length-increasing features could be useful for possible future high power .30 or even .35 caliber versions.
But I would also like to see a shorter “carbine” model with cut down barrel, short tank and reduced plenum for improved handling and lighter weight. That would be my favorite. How about it, Benjamin???
BENJAMIN MARAUDER GEN 3 REVIEW – BUYING AND OWNING
Every Gen 3 Marauder comes complete with factory test target and has also been given a 24-hour leak test before it leaves the plant. It also benefits from Benjamin’s 5-year warranty. That’s still an industry-leading period for a mainstream airgun and it’s fulfilled through the factory in New York.
Many DIY owners (and tinkerers!) will also be delighted to hear that this Marauder includes only 16 O rings in the design. This is a very small number for such a full-featured PCP air rifle. Other models can exceed 40 O rings in one gun!
The small number of O rings means less places to leak. It also means that leaks are easier to fix if they do occur.
Also included is a strange yellow plastic part. This is designed to block the rear of the barrel if the Marauder must be filled from a completely empty HPA bottle. (The balanced valve requires it).
Full instructions are supplied and it’s easy to use. But many people will never need to use it, so long as some pressure always remains in the gun. Just don’t loose it!
The Owner’s Manual is in English only – at least for the review gun – and is well written and illustrated.
But one magazine is included, rather than the two that’s becoming common with recently-introduced PCPs from other manufacturers. And there’s no single-shot tray. Nor is there a cover for the projecting male fill quick disconnect. Sure these are small omissions, but they are disappointing nonetheless in an $800+ air rifle.
One other wrinkle is that you may find it difficult – as we did – to remove the female quick disconnect after filling with High Pressure Air due to the stock design. If you don’t have a quick disconnect with a long collar – like the one below – you may want to buy one…
We can expect that the Marauder will be easy to buy online from Pyramyd and all the expected sources. ICOG’s distribution muscle will mean that you may see this PCP in more physical big box stores in future, too.
BENJAMIN MARAUDER GEN 3 REVIEW – TEST TARGETS
This entire article including scoring, test targets etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.
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Benjamin Marauder Gen 3 PCP Air Rifle 0.22
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