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spring123 · Member

Thank you for allowing me to join your forum. I certainly feel at home. I bought a Benjamin Marauder after reading about the noise level. I also own a Gamo Whisper and Gamo Recon which cause my neighbor's dogs to bark with each shot. I also own a small air compressor. When my Marauder arrived I discovered my air compressor was inadequate and you need 3000 psi. My heart sank. Then I began reading about a special pump that will fill 3,000 psi. I also read that they have a tendency to break and jam. Should I sell my Marauder or return it? Thanks for any help you may give me.

broommaster2000 · Moderator

Hm, getting a good pump might be an idea, but I'd recommend getting a scuba tank and attachments. You'll pump yourself to bits with a 40 fpe rifle.

If you don't wanna go for the extra costs, you might wanna return that rifle. Neutral

Or give it to me. Razz

sniper · Silver Status Member

get in line broom, i need another one.

buy a proper scuba/scba tank set up.

you WILL NOT be dissapointed, i promise. Cool

they are well worth the cost!

shamu25 · New Member

I'm with Sniper....keep the Marauder. It's an amazing piece of art. Simply lay down $175 for a new 80 cu/ft scuba tank and $75 for the fill hose with gauge and you are in for tons of fun and no pumping at all

packrat · Senior Member

I just (day before yesterday) spent $289.99 for an FX Stage 4 pump for my TalonSS...I have it on good authority that there are some guys that use this pump and are very satisfied with it. Based on that, I spent my money..I've just spent probably 2-3 hours on line researching hand pumps of every brand name I could find..there's a member here that says the "HILL" brand is THE one to have, there are others that condemn it from the word go..Many that own the Benjamin pump (comes in kit with Discos /Mrods) say they are GREAT..one member here has one that he's used a LOT..he says "thumbs up"..another member here had one that failed after like 2 or 3 uses.. Point is you CAN buy one of high quality and dependability...seems though, that your chances are much greater of getting one that causes you grief, in short term usage.. I will mention this....seems that a LARGE majority of those that fail are in fact , in the $200.00 price range... I found very few instances of the FX brand failing, but they are by NO MEANS infallible...just seem to have a better "track record", as it were. I took all this in to account before spending my $$$ I intend to follow the accompanying instructions closely, and use the hell out of it..if it fails, I'll send it back and go the 4,500 SCUBA route..bad as I hate to. The Marauder, from everything I read , is a FANTASIC airgun..I personally wouldn't sell it due to hand pumps being mostly junk..I'm NOT gonna sell my TalonSS if the FX pump fails,nope...ain't gonna happen Mr. Green

Of course this is just my opinion, and you know what THAT'S worth....

FX Stage 4 is $289.99 HILL is $286.41 just FYI

spring123 · Member

Thank you all for your responses. Packrat, you mentioned "4500 SCUBA route". What do you mean? It is amazing that good old capitalistic, "build a better mousetrap" American ingenuity has not produced a hand pump that will not fail and is easier to operate. Like a pump with a governor wheel or a foot/leg lever. Someone is dragging their heels on this one. I like the compactness/lightness of a hand pump. It takes a lot of research to discover the manufacturers and prices of the pumps, scuba tanks or other proprietary tanks (the "Benjamin" tank e.g.) and the adapters for all tanks. I bought the Benjamin Marauder (Couldn't they come up with a more fitting name? I mean c'mon! Really! How about the "Benjamin Whispering Death"? Just as bad?) only because my research indicated that it is the QUIETEST airgun on the retail market. The Gamo claimos of quiet made my neighbors dogs bark with each shot until they got bored with their "hey everybody there is a gun being fired!!!" barking and went back to eating-sleeping-grooming. So my Marauder lies on a blanket on the floor, reservoir empty and bolt open, looking like the substantial gun that it is.

broommaster2000 · Moderator

Pack means that you should just get an air tank, and the extras to fill your rifle. Wink

packrat · Senior Member

YUP...as in 4500 psi scuba tank. and the yoke with hose, and adapter to fit your gun etc,etc,etc. I too like the idea and compactness of hand pump, but if it doesn't last,then what the hell good is it? I'm guessing your pump (broken) is the Benjamin variety?? My research revealed that Benjamin and AirForce pumps win the prize for Most Failed Pumps at every level...this from everything I could find out on-line. These both are in the price range of just under $200.00, which I guess is part of a marketing scheme..The Axsor (Swedish) is about $230.00, the FX (Swedish) is $290.00 and the HILL (British) is about $285.00. All 3 of these have failures cited as well as the less expensive models, but no where as many. The Benjamin and Airforce together have the honor of having about 75-80 percent of all pump failures (available from online research)..While the other 3 brands together (more costly) can only claim the remaining 20 to 25 percent between them.(again-available from on-line research).
What really gripes my a$$ is the fact that for example...Benjamin has been making mutliple-pump airguns FOREVER!! Every single one of those guns has a mini-hand pump built right in it!! How many of those fail in the first 3 months, or 1st year? or EVER?? they just go on and on and on like that rabbit!! They COULD build a PCP/HPA hand pump that lasts...they just do not NOT care to...look at the record. How many times have you heard of someone's multi-pump airgun have a pump failure?
I have found, just today, the 80 cu.ft. air tanks on-line for as low as $159.99 plus shipping of $20.00 to $45.00. And the yoke/hose for as low as $60.00, plus shipping. I may have to go that route..I sure hope not.. my TalonSS and FX pump will be here day after tomorrow, I guess time will tell ( and I'm hoping it's a LONG time Laughing

)
Note :the 80 cu.in. tanks cited are only 3000psi, so you STILL need a pump, at some point in order to get "full" refills,,the whole thing just SUX!!

packrat · Senior Member

After giving thought to my age, and the fact I have acute spinal stenosis, I decided to "go look" at scuba stuff see what the deal is..bottom line, I decided on an 80cuft tank, BUT..instead I did have enough good sense to just rent a 100cuft...gonna use it to see how many refills I can get from 2k back up to 3K..might be worth the extra money..got home, BROWN had been here, got my newTalonSS and FX super turbo pump..Rigged up the adapters I'd ordered and in 80 strokes the pressure gauge on hand pump showed 1500psi..from what I understand and have read, this is just way good performance.
NOTE: I filled the other 1500 with the new K valve I bought Embarassed

and I have to say..after I got over the fear of the high pressure air , and learned how to s-l-o-w--l-y crack the valve open, I understand now....my bottle plugs directly into valve and it's full, SNAP!! just like that.....but as quick as the pump was filling, I'll just keep it...So, no matter what happens I got air..haven't got to even shoot the Talon...got dark too quick. But I did watch the orientation video and saw the proper way to use the hand pump Cool

You can bet I'll be up early tomorrow morning ..cold or not-doesn't matter! I got HPA !! Mr. Green

sniper · Silver Status Member

so broom, would you say packrat went from newbie
to full on junkie? Laughing

i've only been into airguns on this level less than 3 years myself. Shocked

packrat · Senior Member

Heck man, I just started this past November (the 16th, when I bought the Strom you have)..I GOTS IT BAD BOSS. I GOTS IT REALLY, REALLY BAD Crying or Very sad

And what's strange is that I feel just fine Mr. Green

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

Welcome to the wonderful world of HPA/PCP Packrat...

Quick tip.... If you need to replace your "Fill Hose" do not use the 4500 black Grease Gun hose at your local Auto Parts store... they will bubble and leak at 2000 psi... Ninja "In Flight" can will leak as well...

Hose & Fitting out of West Sacramento sells a pre-made "Red Grease Gun" hoses rated at 4800 psi. It looks cloth wraped and can hold constant pressure with out bubbling and leaking... Perfect for teatherd bench shooting... I have 3 of them for a year now with no leaks or failures.

I am picking up another 80cf tank today... to replace one of my 60's... Another tip on SCUBA tanks... Don't use them to blow out your computer case or anything else... Specialy in the winter... The one I am replaceing developed a leak at the neck after doing so...

packrat · Senior Member

Shoot man...you think I'm gonna waste my valuable air on stuff like that??? No way, Jose...it's strictly for TalonSS and the HPA 2250 (as soon as I get the parts I bought from rsterne Mr. Green

)Gotta admit, HPA IS way mo' better than CO2...I just shot 84 pellets on a single charge of my new TalonSS....it has 490cc bottle<gulp> had it turned down to about half power, but that's still a lot of pellets...and filled it right back up in like 10seconds. yeah baby!

Jaxom · Senior Member

Ugh! Making me jealous. Benji has been sitting here since early November, and I've yet to put a pellet through it!

rsterne · Moderator

Welcome to the dark side.... Laughing

You better keep that 100 CF tank.... it's 3400 psi, correct?.... You should get about 10 fills to 3000 psi starting from 2000 psi.... An 80 CF tank is typically only 3000 psi and won't even give you one complete fill.... Shocked

Bob