A friend of mine who was introduced to PCP bigbores at a little gathering here last year came over with a Marauder 22 and a Korean 45. Well first things first. We scoped both rifles, a Leapers 3-9 and BSA 4x respectively. The wind was blowing hard but we were still able to make even the light 22 a hazard to squirrels at 40 yards. We had the 45 shooting 457 roundball to good effect at 50 yards. Ray is planning his own Woods Walk and wanted the bigbore to use the cheapest easiest ammo for his extended family to be able to use without concern about cost.

For those concerned about numbers, the 22 was shooting 840 fps with Premiers (14gn) starting at 2600 PSI. He was able to shoot two 10 round clips with a max of 5 fps variability. The 45 was shooting 673 fps with 143 gun round ball with 3 consistent shots starting at 2800 PSI.

This is the Marauder on the bench. Line hooked up for ease of fill but shooting from the cylinder.


Now off to the Woods Walk. Here is Ray on the first station. A downward shot from a sitting position atop a tree stand. The combination of 5 ft of stand and 12 ft of elevated bank gives a good approximation of tree stand shooting without a 17 ft climb.

Caught the 45, but I think it just missed the ball exit.

Here's the bird he brought down with the shot. It's a Buzzard, so of course, it will be a little tough to chew. Better stick it in the smoker overnight!

I think I shot this one a little early, he does eventually settle his rump down on his heel to steady the shot. Sure wish my knees would bend like that still.

In case you're wondering what he was shooting at.. Here's the pig hiding in the brush. Note the chopped branches from all that bigbore lead.

We had a great time! BTW I was shooting the Barnes GreyFox 45 to good effect, guess who had the camera. We slapped a lot of steel, 20 shots each with only a few misses between us. Unknown distances, partially hidden targets, various positions under and over logs, even standing on one log to shoot.

I promise to get some pics with a Barnes or two. Just wanted to show some of you lurkers it doesn't require a Barnes to get posted here.

Kent

Looks like a good time!

Sure does. Wish I'd been there. Glad you all had a fine time.

Jerry ... you missed an opportunity there to mention the Raptors - released to the public exactly for that gun! haha.

Kent - remember the "Magic Velocity Number?" 671 fps. At 671 feet per second, your energy (in footpounds of muzzle energy) exactly matches the weight of your projectile (in grains). Therefore ... Ray's gun, at 673 fps ... would have been making a schootch over the weight of the ball. .457 ball - to my old memory ... 144.4 grains IIRC. Thus ... about 145 fpe.

I'm delighted to see some iron out in the woods shooting. Sounds like the Crossman is smokin' right along. We'd heard a few folks here got them, but we need to see more of them shooting.

Great job. Thanks for the post!

Gary

I didn't mention the Raptors because I caught the comment regarding inexpensive ammo! The price on the Raptors has always been extraordinarily cheap compared to any other custom cast slugs (and especially so considering the custom sizing and that they actually perform well) but they won't come as cheap as mass produced balls. If the primary desire is to get the familty out taking lots of shots, ball is the way to go. If one wants to hunt or see how accurately they can actually shoot, then the Raptors are a better choice for the fewer, well placed shots.

Had to look thru the pics again. It's clear that you had a good time.

I got a bit misty eyed over that shorty 4X scope. Looks good on there.



Gary

Jerry if I'd have had a few more days warning about the good weather and his new purchase I would have ordered a fifty pack myself just for some testing. My guess is that once he starts shooting he'll want to take it in the field. I know Raymond won't go unless he feels he has the best for any live target, without a doubt, that will be Surefire Raptors. Let me rephrase that, after we're done testing, there will be no doubt that it will be Surefire Raptors. I'll contact Raymond and ask him not to shoot all the assorted other slugs he has purchased to try.

BTW Raymond let me borrow his chrony a few years ago and now that he has a good use for it, it has returned home. Thanks again Ray. So, my next addition will be a chrony. If anyone has a recommendation or more importantly anything to steer away from let me know.

Lastly, the reason for Gary's keen interest in the scope, beyond his normal obsession, was a little joke about how I'd helped Ray mount his Zeiss scope on his new gun. The contrast between shooting round ball for the sake of a few pennies and dropping a grand on a scope almost caused Gary to stroke! Almost as silly as buying a new car to gain a few MPG, when the new car tag alone would take 5000 mi to break even.

Kent

Hey ... there's nothing "normal" about my obsessions.

Gary

Thats just awesome. Too much fun for mere mortals...lol. Great pics and story. Aren't airguns just "DA BOMB". So are good friends...nice.

Kent, that looked like fun for sure! Great to have a new convert to thew big stuff, next he'll be wanting a Barnes...
Cheers
Neil

Kent,

Nice place ya got there!

Mom was right, I should've been a doctor.

Lon

Nice post Kent! Looks like you guys have a lot of fun. It's always nice to go out and shoot or hunt with airgun, all the stress from work and life is gone at that moment when you're having so much fun shooting.

We had a great time. I realized today what I should have been shooting to better match our fire power. He was shooting 45 round ball and I could have as well with Julio's Hoss. I'll have to challenge him to a rematch! To spur him on to a second go, I posted some "glam" pics of the Hoss on a separate thread.

Lon, don't fret if we can get Obamacare passed you may have a second shot at med school. My advice, with your penchant for warm weather and beaches, I'd check into a nice Caribbean school like Granada.

Neil, I think he's well on his way to Barnes mania. He's just in a little denial at this point. He likes to create with wood, steel, etc and can appreciate the workmanship of a Barnes. We'll see how long he lasts.

Kent

That sound like fun. I'm thinking that one of those Marauders is gonna have to wing my way eventually. The "ten shots in a row without reloading" thing is the real kicker, puts the fun back into plinking with an airgun.

Hi Rotor,

Yeah ... but everybody I've ever seen shoot one of those clip or magazine guns, does so, "Bap, bap,bap,ba,bbbbbbbap!!!" In less time than I take to shoot one round. Therefore; I've not witnessed any less effort or time in loading. They then take minutes of fiddling to reload a magazine, while I continue to shoot.

Just input from an old coot.

Gary

Hey you 'ol Coot, sounds like a challenge to me.

Shoot any gun you want. We need some multi shot air guns to participate. Shoot what ever you want. As described the Marauder is plinker heaven with a drum magazine, so lets shoot plinker style, whatever that means to you. Thirty yards, a three inch spinner or similar target, (tin can size is the idea). The clock starts with the gun pressure low, magazine/gun empty. Twenty hits stop the clock. Be safe Have fun. Post your times and targets for all to see. Let's see if the lo Coot knows a thing or two.

Now to pick a gun to use, I'll have my page choose one from the armory.


Kent