AF gun POLL, or "how I relapsed back into Black Rifles&
I unfortunately sold my Condor SS (along w/ my 67′ GTO, Jeep, RM250, and it seems like EVERYTHING else I owned, lol.) in ’08-09 due to a never-ending divorce and was out of airgunning until I made a trade with on a new .25 Marauder with Kip at AOA on a vintage AG I picked up for song.
I’ve only shot the .25 a handful of times, with last weekend being my first and only hunt with it. As as impressed as I am with it initially (and for clarity I am admittedly most likely more impressed by the .25 caliber aspect over the actual gun itself), I am quickly finding myself wanting another AF gun. Bad.
I love the “machined metal” aspect of the AF guns, their incredible inherent ability to be modded almost endlessly into any form may you may wish and their never-ending tune-ability -plus I guess I’m a sucker for that “black rifle” look.
So I cruise the “For Sale” section regularly waiting for the deal I won’t be able to pass up. I’m leaning towards finding a gently used .22 talon SS. I LOVE the SS version of the guns, to me it is just so perfectly usable: Points fast, feels good in the hands, like and extension of your body (kinda’ like my favorite 20ga upland bird gun feels). Then again, there is always the wait for AF to come out with a factory .25, or the long-awaited multi-shot that’s supposedly been in development (Crosman has designed, manufactured, marketed and introduced THREE BRAND NEW rifles, and soon a pistol in the same time, lol.) for years now.
I read the YF and find myself clicking the TAG link often to come here. I enjoy seeing what is going on in the world of TAG (and always hoping to find of that perfect picture of WOK to put on my locker at the gym, .), what the AG mad scientists are working on, what critters guys are puttin’ the smack down on and of course, enjoying the well-informed, intelligent conversations that seem to always be sprinkled with just enough goading and smart-ass one-upping that always makes me say “Now THESE ARE MY PEOPLE, my smack-talking, die-hard, fist-pumping, micrometer-in-one-hand-beer-in-the-other, hardcore, rabbit slaying m*tha’ f*ckin’ people!
Yes, I like my new Marauder. A lot even…………but damn it I’ve got the AF bug BAD again.
……………………….f**kers!!! 😀 😀 😀 😯
All Replies
totally agree, the sport has room for all types of guns
my only point was some of the Marauder hype gets a bit deep and I’d rather purchase a used Eurogun than a new Crosman given the money being equal.
Not nearly a snob about this
I do own Crosmans, QBs, ect and each one has far more money into it than what I paid for the base gun…same with my AirForce toys
but that is the glory of those type of guns…the ability and in many case the actual need to modify them
I feel the same way about a Marauder and in time when I run down a 2nd hand .25 it will be added to my little collection
but never at the retail price they currently go for
already have all of Enicks bits for the Marauder trigger group and a TerryX stock assembly so its not as though I am the least bit anti Marauder…simply a realist about what the rifle is and is not.
Chapman may be a great fellow but the facts are he is still in the employ of Crosman to sing their songs for them
further in my years of experience with the firearms industry the writers I have known were not provided with off the shelf guns to “test”…most were hand tuned pieces and moreover most of the writers were even allowed to keep the damn guns!
really leads to an unbiased review
this crap isn’t like Consumer Reports
straight commercialism
Yeah if you want an off the shelf American made AG Tonys customs are the cream in terms of power and accuracy
me?
I’m cheap enough that I do my things a piece at a time as funds allow and I tend to go in different directions from established thinking.
its all good though in the end! 😉
I appreciate all ya’ll boy’s feedback.
Riverside, I did list the .25 Condor (AAA), I guess when I think of any AF gun in .25, I instantly think of it being one of Tony’s (Note to Tony: your marketing is effective, lol.)
I would have ONE of EVERYTHING if I was in the position to and as far as the Marauder goes, I have to say that I am very impressed with it FOR THE MONEY SPENT. No, it’s no “Eurogun”, but it wasn’t $1,400.00 either. It serves it’s purpose well and obviously fits a niche.
Yes, the stock is toy-like and awful (I solved that for my use for $4.37 and one hour of my time), it’s trigger is just “OKAY” (my second-hand Sav. Model 10FP .223 has a Sharp Shooters Supply Comp. trigger that breaks at around 11 ounces with a crispness I didn’t even know was possible -so EVERY other trigger I pull feels like it was carved out of cheese, lol.
As far as Jim C. goes, (he lives 2 hours from me and in my contact with him, seems to every bit a nice guy who knows what he is doing, both with AG hunting AND marketing himself) I admire his ability to and effort to not only promote our sport, but figure out how to make a buck at it in the process. My hat’s off to him and I only wish him (and ANYONE ELSE) continued success.
Again, don’t think I wouldn’t LOVE to have any one of your guns. I would assuredly be singing their praises right along side with you, but I do feel that there is room for people with varying interests, disposable incomes and tastes in the world of airgunning.
………..and ROACH, I don’t know if ya’ noticed,,,, but ya’ got part of a Bo-n-Air sticken’ out yer’ gunnnnn on da’ bottuum pic-ture. 😛 [/b]
won’t participate in the poll as the truth is I don’t care for any of the choices
closest would be the .25 Condor
then again I have rarily found ANYTHING American made thats remotely close to what I desire out of the box.
No real interest in the Marauders
yeah folks foam on and on about the famed “Maruder” trigger, {actually an extremely poorly executed Theoben knock off}. Yes it can be made very nice provided you dump a C note worth of Enick’s custom bits into it but then you need to question ones motivation in doing so.
The furniture is trash in both design and execution
as far as I remain concerned those who go on and on about the Marauder come from three camps…
{a}…those who really have little to no experience with high end Euroguns
{b}…those who remain totally hung up on origin
{c}…those who are bought and paid by Crosman to sing their song of love
I can understand a & b but it’s c I have zero time for
and do understand Chapman and a few others are bought and paid to promote the product
I view Crosman products as I view the 22XX, heck even all AF products, just a starting point.
Myself I’ll not waste money attempting to make a Marauder into a Eurogun. By the time you replace the stock, trigger components and what all you haveas much invested as you would in a used but cherry Daystate.
On the other hand if you are into the tactical look much more can be done with the Marauder such as the simple addition of a TerryX pattern stock just to start with
bottomline I buy most of my Euroguns and never alter them
I buy an AF, muchless Crosman product and it is the money pit for me.
thing is AF guns are very very unique
the reality is the Maruader simply is not
the mag deal doesnt get me all a tither either
bought a minty Daystate PH6 .25 in a walnut thumbhole for roughly the same price as a new .25 Marauder
better gun on Every level than the Crosman
Short and tight for upclose damage.
Great little gun that is easy to conceal.
+1
The Talon ss is also my favorite. 22 cal because almost everyone sells pellets for it. Also, you have a bazillion types and flavors to choose from.
Now, if only I could make my Marauder shorter and more compact…
Black Sabot,
Funny, I got into the AirForce line for the Modification end of it, I carried a Car 15 back before they were called M4’s to do my daily chores for years.
I won the Oregon State practical rifle championship in 1983 with a flatop SP1 that I cut the carring handle off of, I was not the first to do that probably the 2nd tho, I saw in SOF magazine someone had done that and gave it a try, I have been there and done that, marvalous gun, I killed elk, deer antelope, bear coyote bobcat and just about everytihng else with them, I am just tired of them.
So the Tacticool look was not the draw for me.
I now have the three setups in the picture and various extra valves and scuba and scba tanks, a shoebox, hi performance valve and a aluminum breech on the way, it is all fun, but like trading in wives from time to time, it takes up a lot of personal treasure.
Somewhere here I have posted on the forum the difference in velocity between the Condor with a 12 and a 24 inch barrel, that was one of the first things I tried, I really had the hots to do that. For me, it did not impress me, and I was forewarned that it would not on this forum, I lost the power of the Condor, and the mouse fart quietness of the SS Talon. Plus with the Home Depoe mod I like to use inside the frame, the extra power would blow the washers and baffles around and mess with the accuracy much too often.
I enjoy the Talon with the 24 inch barrel for short range birding, the SS Talon for out the car window squirrel shooting and the Condor for watching squirrels and birds get the shit slapped out of them “quietly”.
Like leggo’s, I modify and rotate those guns and the various configurations I can put them into depending on my mood or interest, at times I add all the Airforce shit up and think, I could have had a high end FX or a Edgun for this, but I love to experiment with guns, and there are so many fun things to do with this stuff, it is never ending.
I tried the 2240 stuff, it was fun, I have a very neat little 2240 carbine, but the next step for me will be higher regulated pressures of around 3400 to 3600 psi and trying to get the heavier pellets in both 22 and 25 to just kiss the speed of sound, then back them off a hair for optimum performance.
I watch those going the 22 Lr slug direction, but again for years I had a silenced Ruger auto pistol, that did 1000 fps with CCI Mini Mags, it was both accurate and deadly, but much more compact and handier than anything with air giving the same performance will ever be, it killed more stuff that cholera and the black plauge over the years, I know what it will do and….yawn I have been there and done that.
So yes, I see why, as you get your feet on the ground from a forced vagina modification/trade 😆 😆 , that your going back to these Black AF rifles. Nothing beats them in the little niche they fill.
Roachcreek
The Talon SS is just so sexy! Short, light, powerful, and accurate. What a great little carbine.
Black Sabot, the first question is what are you going to do with it? The next idea is who cares? Buy what you WANT!. Over time, buy one, (or more), of each.
Llama got it right, don’t get married again! 😉
I have had my .25 Condor a few years now and only use .25JSBs on gophers but I also shoot them at around 960 to 980 fps in order to keep my shots from being too loopy.
In .22 Predators are my choice but my .25 does it best even past 100 yards.
Randy
Over 140 yards on a small rock:
Shoot a squirrel with a .25 and lets talk. lol
The .25 even at 780 feet per second smacks the crap out of squirrels!
I have a talon ss in .22 and a condor .22 there is no comparison when taking a body shot on a squirrel. Head shot dead is dead. Put a .25 thru the chest and they drop!
As nice as I am sure the .25 Mrod is to shoot I just cannot see the sense in getting any .25 that cannot throw 31 grain .25s over 950 fps??
Why not just stay with a .22 Mrod as not being able to make big .25 power with a hotrod PCP justs makes no sense to me.
Randy
get the TSS in .22…. its a good platform to build on..but thats just my .02
My advice?
Don’t get married again. 😉
I say buy a .25 condor for power. Then sell the marauder, and get another barrel/tank combo for the condor. 😀
I ran my Condor SS_style with a 12″ .22 barrel and home depot washer baffle and really liked it, but I wonder how much having the Condor valve on a 12″ barrel actually translates into higher usable FPS vs. a stock SS.
Any handy data on this around, boys? (.22 Condor “SS” FPS vs. std. Talon SS FPS)
80G: sounds like a nice gun, but I usually end up leaning towards stock stuff so that I can f#ck it up myself exactly how I like it. I’ll check your gun when you post
WOK: I still need a pic of you for my gym locker 😯
Black_Sabot==Brother I feel your pain !!! I had a really nice TalonSS with many mods/accessories..in a fit of child-like rage, I sold it for WAY cheap..Since then I bought a 1250 Dominator, but it was NOT like the TSS… Bought a new Air Arms S410, .22 FAC, couple of months ago..Now IT is a super accurate, super quiet, quality rifle with beautiful wood stock… BUT I WANT ANOTHER TALON SS,.22, SO BAD THAT IT AIN’T EVEN FUNNY 😥 😥 😥 ..Not to replace the S410, but to have when I want the cool tactical looking, sniper look…, and have it in .177 since I alread have the S410 in .22..I just may sell 2 of my super neat 2250 HPA (bottle) guns to get one–that’s HOW BAD I wamt one again !!!
Your dress just makes you look fat Mr. Reaper 😛
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
my cheap and functional Mrod stock fix: Krylon textured paint
(and it’s tough as nails and seems to be wearing well even against the armored plants of the High Sonoran desert)