04-29-2019, 05:39 AM
I spent close to $500 on a .22 Benjamin Marauder and hand pump. Seems great so far. The sproingy trigger noise is the loudest part. Accuracy is pretty darn good compared to the other air rifles I have. I have not shot it much yet so I can't really give a thorough review but it seems to be the gun I should have bought right off. Pumping is humbug though.
Anyway I can not justify spending any more money on anything shooting related. Any serious money that is. I do want to get some H&N Baracuda match pellets. Although the nominal size is 5.50 mm diameter they are available in 5.51, 5.52, and 5.53 mm diameter. I am furious with Crosman over the NP XL barrels generally being lousy and when I left off in my experimentation there I had discovered that 21.14 grain Beeman Kodiak pellets worked the best simply because they were the tightest fit. They seem to be no longer available The H&N Baracudas are supposed to be the same pellet. I have no idea whether they are really larger than the Beeman Kodiaks which were themselves noticeably larger than the other .22 pellets I tried but if so that might make the old NPXL worth shooting.
Anyway I can not justify spending any more money on anything shooting related. Any serious money that is. I do want to get some H&N Baracuda match pellets. Although the nominal size is 5.50 mm diameter they are available in 5.51, 5.52, and 5.53 mm diameter. I am furious with Crosman over the NP XL barrels generally being lousy and when I left off in my experimentation there I had discovered that 21.14 grain Beeman Kodiak pellets worked the best simply because they were the tightest fit. They seem to be no longer available The H&N Baracudas are supposed to be the same pellet. I have no idea whether they are really larger than the Beeman Kodiaks which were themselves noticeably larger than the other .22 pellets I tried but if so that might make the old NPXL worth shooting.