VarmintAir's Airgun Hunting Blog

Question - Is The Benjamin Marauder Pistol - Powerful Enough To Kill California Ground Squirrels - Out To 40/50/60 Yards?

Chronograph showing muzzle velocity of 687.9 fps, with the DYNAMIC SN-2, 12.8 grain tin pellets.  The average velocity over 24 shots, is 680 fps, for 13 fpe at the muzzle.  

That's a bit more power than my stock .20 cal R9, shooting the 11.2 grain FTS pellets, generating 12 fpe at the muzzle.

Ground squirrels taken with .20 cal R9, some to just past 60 yards.

Accuracy, and enough power to get the job done efficiently, is what we're looking for. Last time, I posted to the blog the results from sighting-in my Marauder pistol with the SN-2 tin pellets.

Final sight-in target using SN-2 tin pellets at 40 yards.  Five shot group. No doubt the accuracy is there.  How about the power?

I've hunted California Ground Squirrels for over three decades, with a couple of .177 cal FWB 300S 10 meter match rifles.  These guns generate about 6.5 to 7 fpe at the muzzle.  I use them to take ground squirrels with out to about 45 yards.  I used to have an HW30 that was about the same power level, and it was also used successfully to take California Ground Squirrels out to about 45 yards.

The difference being, the HW30 is a recoiling break barrel rifle in a sporter type stock, while the FWB 300S is a recoilless side lever rifle in a 10 meter target type stock.  It might be called a 10 meter match rifle, but I've found the FWB 300S to be a great ground squirrel hunting rifle too.        

FWB 300S, with a pile of ground squirrels taken as far out as 45 yards. Mostly with head shots.

One of things I find interesting these days is, I have far less experienced people trying to tell me, that these guns just aren't capable of doing exactly what I've been using them for, for the past thirty five plus years. I'm thinking, it's probably because of their lack of actual decades of hands on hunting experience with guns of this power level showing through.   

See, back in the early 70's, when a buddy and I first got these rifles, we didn't know they weren't powerful enough to kill ground squirrels with. So not knowing that, we just went out, and over the years, killed California Ground Squirrels by the thousands with them.

One of my favorite California Ground Squirrel power tests is, "the steel soup can test." If a particular gun shooting the pellet of choice for that gun, meaning the one most accurate at the distance that the gun will be used at, and that same pellet is capable of penetrating both sides of a steel soup can at that distance, then we have more than enough power to kill California Ground Squirrels at that range.

California Ground Squirrels do not have anywhere near the resistance to pellet penetration, that the two sides of a steel soup can have.

JSB 8.4 grain pellets fired from an FWB 300S, completely penetrate a steel soup can at 25, 35, and 45 yards.  Entrance holes from top to bottom, 25, 35, and 45 yards.

Caliber .177 exit holes at 25, 35, and 45 yards.

More ground squirrels taken with a 7 fpe FWB 300S.

Here's a steel soup can hit at 80 yards with my .22 cal Marauder, shooting the 18.1 grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy's, generating 30 fpe at the muzzle.  It's a complete pass through.  No wonder it does the same thing to the much softer prairie dogs, all of the way out to 100+ yards.

So, since my .177 cal FWB 300S, generating about 7 fpe at the muzzle, is good on ground squirrels out to 45+ yards, and my .22 Marauder, generating 30 fpe at the muzzle gets me out to 100+ yards on prairie dogs, I'm curious to see what my Marauder pistol, generating 13 fpe at the muzzle can do out to 60 yards.

In the interest of determining whether the .22 cal Marauder Pistol, generating 13 fpe at the muzzle, has the power to cleanly kill California Ground Squirrels at 40/50/60+ yards, I gave her the steel soup can test a few days ago.

First, I set the soup can out at 50 yards on an old stump and fired one shot.  It hit the can in the middle, left of center, and sent the can flying.  I walked out to check the penetration, and to move the can out to 60 yards.

When I picked up the soup can, it was obvious that the SN-2 pellet had blown clear through both sides of the steel soup can.  Next up, the 60 yard test.

I put the can back on the stump, but this time I put a rock on top of it.  I wanted to fire more than one shot, and didn't want the pellet to send the can flying after the first shot.

I backed my shooting stand up until I had a lasered 60 yards to the can.   I then fired two shots, one at the top, and one at the bottom of the steel soup can.  I heard, and saw the pellet holes appear in the can with each shot.

When I recovered the can, this is what I found.  Pellet entry holes from the hits at 50 and 60 yards.

I flipped it over, and found evidence of complete pass throughs at 60 yards. Exit holes on back of can at 50 and 60 yards. 

So, to answer the original question, "Is The Benjamin Marauder Pistol - Powerful Enough To Kill California Ground Squirrels - Out To 40/50/60 Yards?" 

The answer is a resounding yes.  The accuracy is definitely there, and the steel soup can test proves that the power is also there.  The important parts of the ground squirrel killing equation are, accuracy and penetration.  We obviously have both of those, so the only question remaining is, does the nut behind the butt have the shooting skills to use both the accuracy and the power of the gun, to take ground squirrels at those ranges?

Hopefully, I'll have a chance to find out next week.  I'll be shooting video of the hunt, and with any luck at all I should have some interesting footage to share.  I'm going to be gone for several weeks, so it will be awhile before I have a chance to post the results of the hunt.

Stay tuned.    

 

 

Mac1 Prepped - Benjamin Marauder Pistol - Sighted In With DYNAMIC SN-2 Tin Pellets - At 40 Yards

Marauder Pistol, ready to sight-in with DYNAMIC SN-2, 12.8 grain tin pellets.

To get out of the deep snow, I had to drop down off of the mountain from 7000 feet, to about 5200 feet of elevation,  so I could sight my Marauder pistol in at 40 yards.

I got my gear out, meaning I put out my wind flags, set up my portable shooting stand, and put my portable target frame out at a lasered 40 yards.  Initially, the wind wasn't too bad, but that didn't take very long to change.  

The plan of the day, was to shoot two types of pellets at 40 yards.  The PCP-2, and SN-2 DYNAMIC tin pellets.  I started with the SN-2's.  They had shot really well indoors, and I was very interested to see what they could do at 40 yards out of doors.

The wind was running from the Southwest at about 4 to 8 miles per hour.  I noticed that after a bit, it would shift, and come from the Northeast for a minute or two.  Then, before shifting back to the Southwest, it would drop to almost zero for about 20/30 seconds.   That was the condition that I chose to shoot in.

It took a few shots to make the scope corrections needed, to get the point of impact where I wanted it at 40 yards.  I then waited for a couple of the lulls to return, and then fired a five shot group during those, on a Shoot-N-C target, with a one inch inner bullseye.  My hold was on the red dot.  I had high expectations for the SN-2's at 40 yards, and wasn't disappointed.

SN-2's, shot at 15 yards indoors, 8 shot group.

SN-2's shot out-of-doors at 40 yards, 5 shot group.  I held on the red dot while shooting,.  Final sight-in target.

I also wanted to see what these pellets would do on a steel soup can at 50, and 60 yards.  This pistol is generating 13 fpe at the muzzle, with the SN-2's, and I wanted to see if it would penetrate both sides of a steel soup can at those ranges.  I have yet to meet a ground squirrel, that has anywhere near the resistance to pellet penetration, that a steel soup can has.

I ran that test, (results coming later) went out to retrieve the can, and as I was heading back to my shooting stand, the wind really started to pick up.  My wind meter was reading 15 mph, with gusts to 19/20 mph.  It was time to put things away and hit the road.  It's a waste of time, and ammo, to accuracy test in those conditions.  The PCP-2 tests will have to wait for another day.

Equipment used to sight-in my Marauder Pistol at 40 yards.

This rig is shooting the SN-2's so well, I'm just going to go with them on my first ground squirrel hunt.  Any furball inside 60/65 yards is not going to like this rig much at all.

 

 

California Ground Squirrels - Here We Come - Traveling Compact and Light - With The Marauder PCP Pistol

My first trip to California this year isn't going to be specifically to hunt ground squirrels.  Instead, it's going to be so that the wife and I can be present at the birth of our first grandchild, a boy.  We've been told, that he is going to be delivered via c-section on the 15th, and that mom and baby will spend a couple of days in the hospital after the delivery.

More than likely, on one of the days that we are there, I'll have some time to slip away for a few hours of ground squirrel hunting.

Normally, on a dedicated multiple day ground squirrel hunt, I would be taking at least three rifles, my 88 cubic foot AirHog carbon fiber tank, portable target frame, and portable shooting stand, along with my range bag, and other assorted goodies. 

This time, in the interest of keeping everything compact and convenient, I'm only going to take my Marauder Pistol, range bag with binoculars, range finder, non-lead ammo, magazines, and AirHog Pigmee tank.   The bag also contains an assortment of other items that I like to have along on my hunts.  The thing I like about it is, I only have this one bag to grab, and I know I have all of the small bits and pieces in one place, that I use when hunting.

AirHog Pigmee tank, with Dead Head mounted, showing 3800 psi.

I popped my Mac1 Dead Head onto the end of the Pigmee tank's fill hose, opened the main valve, and got a reading of 3800 psi remaining in the tank.  I fill the Marauder Pistol to 2600 psi, so I used one of the online fill calculators to determine, that with 3800 psi in my Pigmee, I'll be able to fill the Marauder pistol 19 times.  

I get 24 shots on a fill, so that's over 450 shots before the Pigmee needs to be refilled. No problem, I will not get anywhere near that many shot opportunities, while hunting for a few hours.

With the 14.5 grain, PCP-2's, my Marauder Pistol is generating 13.4 fpe at the muzzle, which is plenty of power to cleanly take ground squirrels out to 60+ yards.

The weather here locally is warming up a bunch over the next few days. Hopefully, most of the snow will melt off, and I'll be able to get out and get her sighted in at 40 yards.  I also want to shoot her at 50, and 60 yards, at some steel soup cans.  I'm curious to see the penetration of the DYNAMIC tin pellets at those ranges. 

I'm really looking forward to meeting our new grandson for the first time, and I'm also looking forward to putting my new Marauder pistol through her paces, while hunting with it for the first time.

This is going to be a very exciting trip in many ways.