Over the past couple of years, I have done a series of stories on my blog about various of my airguns, "earning their keep." What I mean by that is, how have they done when used for the primary purpose that I purchased them for, and that primary purpose of course, is for hunting.
I've had my .25 Marauder for one full cycle of the hunting seasons, almost one year, so I thought I would do an "earning her keep" story about my experiences during last years many hunts with her.
One of the first things I did, after I received her from Mac1 Airguns, was to test some pellets for use in the local prairie dog towns. My pellet of choice for this application, was the Beeman Kodiak, 30.8 grain semi dome head pellets. The above picture shows my final sight-in target, shot at 65 yards, with the Kodiaks. Most of my shooting in the dog towns would be at longer ranges, so a pellet with excellent long range accuracy would be needed. The Kodiak's proved to be a great choice.
I spent most of the summer hunting prairie dogs exclusively with my .25 Marauder, and the performance was simply amazing. I killed prairie dogs all of the way out to just past 100 yards in the wind with her, and never once wished for a more powerful rifle. It has done everything I had hoped for when I bought it, and I am very impressed with its overall performance.
Some of the dozens of prairie dogs taken with my .25 cal Marauder.
In early October, I switched from hunting prairie dogs with her, to hunting tree squirrels, ground squirrels, and chipmunks. I was having so much fun with the ground squirrels, and chipmunks, that serious tree squirrel hunting got a bit sidetracked.
I also switched from shooting the Beeman Kodiaks, to the Benjamin 27.8 grain dome heads.
One of the fun things about hunting tree squirrels here in Arizona is, there are a variety of other critters that share the same habitat, and are legal to hunt at the same time. It makes for a fun day afield.
The accuracy of my .25 Marauder is simply incredible. I was taking the small Golden Mantle Ground Squirrels out to 70+ yards with no problem. Chipmunks to 60+ yards were almost too easy. I would walk around all day with a big smile on my face. This rifle will do that to you.
Some of the critters taken during squirrel season.
Abert's tree squirrel.
Golden Mantle Ground Squirrel.
Golden Mantle GS, with chipmunk for size comparison.
Golden Mantle taken at 68 yards.
Rock Squirrel.
While hunting, I had a video camera mounted to the scope on my .25 cal Marauder, and captured a lot of footage of the shots being made, in real time. Below is a compilation of some of my favorite clips from last years hunts. I think they do a great job of showcasing the power and accuracy of the .25 Caliber Marauder.
The video opens with a clip of a Steelplinker's Paddle Target taking three hits in half an inch, on the one inch center spinner, from the .25 Marauder, shooting the 27.8 grain Benjamin dome head pellets at 50 yards. It really gives you a good feel for the power of the .25 cal Marauder, and does a good job of showing off the energy carried down range by these pellets.
The video may take 20 to 30 seconds to load, and runs 3 minutes, 41 seconds.
My .25 caliber Marauder has most definitely "earned her keep." She's a full fledged member of my hunting rifle collection, and in the accuracy department, holds her own against guns that sell for three and four times the amount she cost me.
I keep hoping someone will come out with an accurate .25 cal non-lead pellet. I would love to hunt California Ground Squirrels with her, but the ranch I hunt requires the use of non-lead ammo only. I'll keep my fingers crossed, and hope we see a non-lead .25 cal pellet at some point in the future.
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