Spring Squirrel Season with the Benjamin Marauder
As stated in my previous post, I had planned to use the Benjamin Marauder for my spring squirrel season here in Kentucky. I managed to spend some more time with the adjustment parameters on my Marauder, and settled on a 2700-2800 psi fill that yielded 34 shots in the 850 fps range. This is more than enough power for the squirrel if I'm on target, and the shot count allows me 3+ magazines (over 30 shots) for any squirrel hunt I go on. Since the Kentucky state limit is 6 squirrels at a time, I was confident I had enough shots available for my hunts.
As it turned out, I didn't even need a full magazine for the first hunt! I fired 7 shots and killed 6 squirrels. The accuracy of the Crosman Premier Hollow Points was all a hunter could ask for, and the squirrels hardly knew what hit them. Here's a brief synopsis of the two hunts I managed to get in during the brief spring season.
Hunt #1:
I belong to a hunting club that leases over 3000 acres from area land owners. I am one of the few that enjoys the small game aspect of hunting, with most of the members focusing on deer and turkey. This leaves me with an enormous amount of woods in which to hunt squirrel, and I enjoy it quite a bit!
My first hunt found me in a likely spot, and within moments I had identified squirrels in 5 different trees near me. While watching them, a squirrel setup an alarm bark right in my ear....he was in the tree I was sitting under! Up came the Marauder, pop, and squirrel #1 was on the ground. Squirrels #2 and #3 were also in that same tree, and 3 shots later, they were on the ground, too. The bolt action and 10-shot magazine of the Marauder allowed me to take all three squirrels without shifting position, all within 30 seconds of the first shot. I was thrilled!
Squirrel #4 met a pellet near the base of a tree as he was coming down to the ground. He managed to make it to a thick pile of brambles, and I couldn't retrieve him to add him to my bag. Squirrel #5 was playing around, inspecting a large broken branch near a stump I was sitting on, and a freehand shot brought him down for the count in quick order.
Squirrel #6 was an "eyebrow" shot, one that you take when a squirrel has seen you, and is sitting on the opposite side of the tree, just peeking around the edge to see what you are going to do. He peeked too long, and I caught him just behind the eye with a CP Hollow Point. That made my limit, and my first hunt of the year with the Marauder was done.....about 2 1/2 hours.
Hunt #2:
The following week I managed to get out again for a brief hunt. I headed into the woods near my house, and just like the first hunt, ran into plenty of squirrels. In the first hunt, you remember I got the first three squirrels from the same tree, right? Well, believe it or not, I pulled the same trick again this time! The first squirrel fell to an accurate shot from the Marauder, and while I was waiting on the other two to move around so I could see them better, another squirrel snuck up behind me. I shifted around, popped him, then returned to watching the other two squirrels. I finally got another one from that tree, and the third of the lot headed high up to hide. I retrieved the three I had on the ground, and started to wait out the one playing "hide and seek" in the first tree. As before, another squirrel traveled within range while I waited out the hider, and I took him as well.
Eventually, the last squirrel from the original tree tried to make a run for it, and would have escaped, but he just had to pause to see what I was doing. The pellet caught up with him, and down he went. 5 squirrels in the bag, and I headed for home. On the way, squirrel #6 ran up a tree in front of me, and a quick shot filled my bag for the day.
These hunts proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt just how good the Benjamin Marauder can be in the field. Here is another pic of some of the squirrels I took on the second hunt:
There isn't another airgun on the market that allows the owner to fine-tune his own gun as easily as the Marauder does. The accuracy is all one could ask for, for both hunting and Field Trial competition. The price is right, under $500 for a great gun, and new owners all over the net are raving about their Marauder. Crosman has once again provided a great gun for the American shooter, and I'm sure quite a few shooters abroad are going to enjoy this gun as well!
As it turned out, I didn't even need a full magazine for the first hunt! I fired 7 shots and killed 6 squirrels. The accuracy of the Crosman Premier Hollow Points was all a hunter could ask for, and the squirrels hardly knew what hit them. Here's a brief synopsis of the two hunts I managed to get in during the brief spring season.
Hunt #1:
I belong to a hunting club that leases over 3000 acres from area land owners. I am one of the few that enjoys the small game aspect of hunting, with most of the members focusing on deer and turkey. This leaves me with an enormous amount of woods in which to hunt squirrel, and I enjoy it quite a bit!
My first hunt found me in a likely spot, and within moments I had identified squirrels in 5 different trees near me. While watching them, a squirrel setup an alarm bark right in my ear....he was in the tree I was sitting under! Up came the Marauder, pop, and squirrel #1 was on the ground. Squirrels #2 and #3 were also in that same tree, and 3 shots later, they were on the ground, too. The bolt action and 10-shot magazine of the Marauder allowed me to take all three squirrels without shifting position, all within 30 seconds of the first shot. I was thrilled!
Squirrel #4 met a pellet near the base of a tree as he was coming down to the ground. He managed to make it to a thick pile of brambles, and I couldn't retrieve him to add him to my bag. Squirrel #5 was playing around, inspecting a large broken branch near a stump I was sitting on, and a freehand shot brought him down for the count in quick order.
Squirrel #6 was an "eyebrow" shot, one that you take when a squirrel has seen you, and is sitting on the opposite side of the tree, just peeking around the edge to see what you are going to do. He peeked too long, and I caught him just behind the eye with a CP Hollow Point. That made my limit, and my first hunt of the year with the Marauder was done.....about 2 1/2 hours.
Hunt #2:
The following week I managed to get out again for a brief hunt. I headed into the woods near my house, and just like the first hunt, ran into plenty of squirrels. In the first hunt, you remember I got the first three squirrels from the same tree, right? Well, believe it or not, I pulled the same trick again this time! The first squirrel fell to an accurate shot from the Marauder, and while I was waiting on the other two to move around so I could see them better, another squirrel snuck up behind me. I shifted around, popped him, then returned to watching the other two squirrels. I finally got another one from that tree, and the third of the lot headed high up to hide. I retrieved the three I had on the ground, and started to wait out the one playing "hide and seek" in the first tree. As before, another squirrel traveled within range while I waited out the hider, and I took him as well.
Eventually, the last squirrel from the original tree tried to make a run for it, and would have escaped, but he just had to pause to see what I was doing. The pellet caught up with him, and down he went. 5 squirrels in the bag, and I headed for home. On the way, squirrel #6 ran up a tree in front of me, and a quick shot filled my bag for the day.
These hunts proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt just how good the Benjamin Marauder can be in the field. Here is another pic of some of the squirrels I took on the second hunt:
There isn't another airgun on the market that allows the owner to fine-tune his own gun as easily as the Marauder does. The accuracy is all one could ask for, for both hunting and Field Trial competition. The price is right, under $500 for a great gun, and new owners all over the net are raving about their Marauder. Crosman has once again provided a great gun for the American shooter, and I'm sure quite a few shooters abroad are going to enjoy this gun as well!
posted by Randy Mitchell at
7:04 AM
1 Comments:
I'am an avid squirrel hunter and i've always done my hunting with a .22, but now i have a Crossman Storm XT and i'm waiting for the next season to come around. Your experience with the marauder has inspired me to hunt with my gun, but think it will take me more shots with open sights.
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Anonymous, At
7:15 PM, July 30, 2009
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