Condor How good a field target air rifle would a Condor in .177 prove to be?

[Cousin Jack]

How good a hunter class airgun field target rifle would the Condor in .177 prove to be? I love the game; I have a Gen 2 Benjamin Marauder with which I can drop 26 of 40 targets; I have an AA TX200 with a Tinbaum 12 ftpd tune I can sometimes drop 10 or so targets with when the wind doesn't blow... I've been advised by fellow club members to "buy a real rifle for $1000-2200," but I'm 83 years old... and I dont even buy green bananas! A blemished Condor appeals... would it be any better than my Marauder?

 

[Franklink]

Not likely better than your Marauder, assuming your Marauder is a .177 as well as the Condor you're considering.

The biggest difference will be the trigger. Marauders have excellent triggers...the Air Force trigger is not as good.

Now, If your Marauder is a .22, and working under the ft premise of a 20fpe limi, then you're likely to gain some ballistic improvements by going to ANY .177.

Ive seen this question about AF guns in field target come up a couple times and I've got a Condor sitting in my gun room. I just light fiddle with making it field target legal for the monthly ft match in September. Just to see how it does.

 

[Cousin Jack]

Not likely better than your Marauder, assuming your Marauder is a .177 as well as the Condor you're considering.

The biggest difference will be the trigger. Marauders have excellent triggers...the Air Force trigger is not as good.

Now, If your Marauder is a .22, and working under the ft premise of a 20fpe limi, then you're likely to gain some ballistic improvements by going to ANY .177.

Ive seen this question about AF guns in field target come up a couple times and I've got a Condor sitting in my gun room. I just light fiddle with making it field target legal for the monthly ft match in September. Just to see how it does.

Thank you, sir.... yes, my Marauder is .177. My only complaint, at this stage, is that I shoot the Marauder at 2500-2000 psi, which means I refill twice in a 40 shot match. My tune might be too aggressive, at 870 fps with a 10.5 Crosman Premier domed, but it came that way from Airgun Revisions and I'm reluctant to change it yet. I'm also looking at an air tube extension from Talon.

 

[wolfmangreg]

Agree with @Franklink, have doubts you'd see any improvement to scores with the Condor. If forced to guess, would bet on scores actually going down a bit with the Condor unless you work the trigger to better compare with the Marauder.
Might want to ask @Airgun Revisions about putting a regulator in the Marauder, to see if that could stretch your shots per fill in addition to the extended tube.

 

[Cousin Jack]

Thank you for the information...
Good suggestion....

 

[Bladebum]

Not to derail your original question, but have you given the jts airacuda or airacuda max a thought for your needs? Like others have said i don't think for your uses in field target you would have much to gain from an airforce. But when I owned the airacuda standard version in 22 at full power 18 gr tune going 900 fps I was getting about 50+ shots. A simple click or two down on the transfer port would put you where your power limits need to fall and give you that many more shots, which sound like plenty for your matches. Oh and they are incredibly accurate. Just wanted to throw this out there, haven't seen anything perform as good as the jts guns for thier $3-400ish price tag.

 

[Franklink]

One thing about regulators is that they can't make a gun any more accurate. Yes, they'll usually extend a shot count, which is a convenience factor for sure, but regulated doesn't equal more precise.

I say that coming from a place where my highest performing field target gun is an unregulated USFT.

 

[Cousin Jack]

Not to derail your original question, but have you given the jts airacuda or airacuda max a thought for your needs? Like others have said i don't think for your uses in field target you would have much to gain from an airforce. But when I owned the airacuda standard version in 22 at full power 18 gr tune going 900 fps I was getting about 50+ shots. A simple click or two down on the transfer port would put you where your power limits need to fall and give you that many more shots, which sound like plenty for your matches. Oh and they are incredibly accurate. Just wanted to throw this out there, haven't seen anything perform as good as the jts guns for thier $3-400ish price tag.

I'll give them a look.... thanks!

 

[jps2486]

I'm almost 85. The clock is ticking, so I would buy the best rifle I could afford and not pass on all my $$ to my heirs, after all, we earned it for ourselves. An Mrod is capable of good scores in the right hands with the right tune, but If you want something better, I would stay away from the mongrels. There are some nice used rifles out there like Daystate Wolverines or Reveres, AA 500/510s, FX Crowns, Brococks and others that appear on the match results leaderboards. Even Mrods. Check out the pre-owned rifles on AOA from time to time. And I would stick with a .177 due to it's flatter trajectory and higher velocity. The tune on your Mrod seems about right. Maybe re=adjusting the hammer spring might generate more shots per fill. I used to know how to do that, but that was long ago.

 

[Cousin Jack]

Thank you, sir... good stuff.... and I'll pay heed to it...

 

[hameditor]

There's one other option to increase the shot count and consistency for your unregulated Marauder. It's the Archer Airguns XP Tune Kit. It costs just $19.99, comes with full instructions and can give you a HUGE increase in consistent shots with your .177 caliber Marauder. Yet it's very easy to install.

Here's a couple of graphs showing test results for two individual guns shot with (green) and without (red) the XP Tune Kit. Note the different x - horizontal - axis on the two graphs. I started out testing to 50 shots and realized that it would go further. My guess was 70 consistent shots, but the final results can be far beyond that, as the graphs show...



You can read more about it in these three Hard Air Magazine posts:

More Test Results For Benjamin Marauder And Armada Tune Kit

Following the summary of benefits published in the previous post, today we’ll look at more test data for the Benjamin Marauder and Armada Tune Kit.

hardairmagazine.com

Benjamin Marauder Tune Kit Can Add 100 FPS Or Double Shot Count

This new Benjamin Marauder Tune Kit that can provide significant improvements to the performance of any UNREGULATED Benjamin Marauder or Armada air rifle.

hardairmagazine.com

Theory of Operation For The Benjamin Marauder Tune Kit

So what’s happening when the Benjamin Marauder and Armada Tune Kit operates? It’s best to think of the Tune Kit as having a “regulator lite” effect.

hardairmagazine.com

Full disclosure. I developed this Tune Kit and it's sold through my retail parts store at Tune Kit for Benjamin Marauder and Armada Air Rifles. Add 100 FPS or double shot count.

Maybe it could be worth trying?

 

[BenjeneerJohn]

Are you running the 10.5 Crosman pellets or the 10.5 Benjamin Match Grade Single die pellets? If you are not running the single die version, you are selling yourself short. We have had great luck with them for Field Target. Last month I shot a 51 and Shawn (PCP Line Lead) shot a 52 with our custom Challenger/Murders and 10.5g Benjmain match grade pellets.

I also understand wanting to buy a new rifle! There are plenty of good options out there. I like the Daystate Revere, or Redwolf, or the FX Crown. There are a number of other great options.

 

[Cousin Jack]

There's one other option to increase the shot count and consistency for your unregulated Marauder. It's the Archer Airguns XP Tune Kit. It costs just $19.99, comes with full instructions and can give you a HUGE increase in consistent shots with your .177 caliber Marauder. Yet it's very easy to install.

Here's a couple of graphs showing test results for two individual guns shot with (green) and without (red) the XP Tune Kit. Note the different x - horizontal - axis on the two graphs. I started out testing to 50 shots and realized that it would go further. My guess was 70 consistent shots, but the final results can be far beyond that, as the graphs show...

View attachment 15348
View attachment 15349
You can read more about it in these three Hard Air Magazine posts:

More Test Results For Benjamin Marauder And Armada Tune Kit

Following the summary of benefits published in the previous post, today we’ll look at more test data for the Benjamin Marauder and Armada Tune Kit.

hardairmagazine.com

Benjamin Marauder Tune Kit Can Add 100 FPS Or Double Shot Count

This new Benjamin Marauder Tune Kit that can provide significant improvements to the performance of any UNREGULATED Benjamin Marauder or Armada air rifle.

hardairmagazine.com

Theory of Operation For The Benjamin Marauder Tune Kit

So what’s happening when the Benjamin Marauder and Armada Tune Kit operates? It’s best to think of the Tune Kit as having a “regulator lite” effect.

hardairmagazine.com

Full disclosure. I developed this Tune Kit and it's sold through my retail parts store at Tune Kit for Benjamin Marauder and Armada Air Rifles. Add 100 FPS or double shot count.

Maybe it could be worth trying?

I have a plastic bag with it on my work bench already! I'll install it in the next few days..... thanks for the tip!

?Are you running the 10.5 Crosman pellets or the 10.5 Benjamin Match Grade Single die pellets? If you are not running the single die version, you are selling yourself short. We have had great luck with them for Field Target. Last month I shot a 51 and Shawn (PCP Line Lead) shot a 52 with our custom Challenger/Murders and 10.5g Benjmain match grade pellets.

I also understand wanting to buy a new rifle! There are plenty of good options out there. I like the Daystate Revere, or Redwolf, or the FX Crown. There are a number of other great options.

No.... I'm shooting the 10.5s I get from Amazon in the brown cardboard box! Where does one get the Match Grade Single Die pellets?

 

[hameditor]

I have a plastic bag with it on my work bench already! I'll install it in the next few days..... thanks for the tip!

No.... I'm shooting the 10.5s I get from Amazon in the brown cardboard box! Where does one get the Match Grade Single Die pellets?

Let us know how you make out!

 

[BenjeneerJohn]

Most of your favorite online retailers should have them. The Benjamin site has them.

Pyramyd Air has them: Benjamin Single Die Pellets .177 Cal, 10.5 Grain, Domed, 500ct | Pyramyd AIR