What are your Top 5 Targets?

I figure if David Letterman on the Late Show can have a Top 10 list, then I should be able to come up with a Top 5 List for targets I enjoy shooting. After reading through my humble list, I hope you'll chime in with your offering so that others may benefit from your experiences as an airgunner.

I'm going to lump a few things together, 'cause if I don't, my top 5 will all consist of small game animals.

1. Starlings, squirrels, and other small game.

2. Metal swinging targets - the kind you can buy online or at sporting goods stores.

3. Shaken full soda cans - you get quite a reaction when you hit it, and these are great targets for introducing kids to shooting. They love to see them explode.

4. Paintballs mounted on golf tees. Easy to make, just drill some holes in a 2x4 and set them up.

5. Field Trial knock-down targets - these targets can be a challenge, and the more I do it, the more I want to participate in a Field Trial one day.

These are the things that I shoot at the most. That doesn't necessarily mean that I won't shoot at other targets, but I didn't want a very long list. Just a little something to spur ideas from other airgunners.

Notice that I didn't put down paper targets. Many folks really enjoy the discipline of putting a pellet through a very small spot on paper. They have MUCH more discipline that I do, and I envy them the simplicity of their choice. I'm simply more of a reactive target kind of guy, with a serious bent towards hunting and pest control that rules my target choices as an airgunner.

One of these days, I'm going to have to see if my firearms still work....I haven't hunted with them in nearly 6 years with any sort of regularity. It's just way too easy to grab my airgun, walk out on the back porch, and start shooting! No worries!

So, what does your list of favorite targets look like? I'd really like to have several responses to post so that our readers can get ideas of their own. I know of several more excellent targets, but won't mention them in the hopes that someone will have them on their list when they respond.

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Tech Force .22 Caliber pellets: The Wadcutter

Tech Force offers some very good, economical pellets for the plinker and casual shooter. Recently, I posted a brief review of the domed version of the new .22 caliber pellets that Compasseco is importing and making available for the American market. Now, let's take a look at the wadcutter version of the .22 caliber pellet.

The pellets are made in China, and come in 250 count tins with foam padding inside the cover. This helps in keeping the pellets from deforming during the long trip here, and I found the tin of pellets to be very uniform in shape and appearance. The pellets weight 14.4 grains according to Compasseco, and the skirts on these pellets are very long and very hollow, going all the way up to the base of the pellet head.


This pic shows the Tech Force pellet in the middle, with a Gamo Match pellet on the left and a Crosman Premier HP on the right.

I shot these pellets from a variety of .22 caliber guns. The LD pistol, a custom-made CO2 gun, did very well, even though I was using open sights. I normally have a scope mounted on this gun, but borrowed it for another gun and haven't mounted a new one yet. Still, the pellets all soared down range with acceptable accuracy for my less-than-perfect eyes and open sights.

In the TF-78, a CO2-powered gun from Compasseco, the pellets once again did a fine job in punching neat, round holes in a cardboard target. Shooting wadcutters is fun, especially if you like visible results such as nice round holes! In hunting situations, they work well for close-up shots and tend to do better in not over-penetrating the target. This is a good thing when hunting inside a barn and trying to avoid punching holes in the ceiling while controlling pigeons and sparrows.



In the Benjamin Marauder, a new gun from Crosman, these pellets also did very well. The Marauder was the most accurate of the three guns I'm mentioning here, and several magazines of these wadcutters made an absolute mess out of my cardboard target, near cutting it in half.

Good quality, economical pellets are getting harder to find with the price of lead going up. If you are looking for a good pellet to plink with, at a great price og $8.95, check out this latest offering from Compasseco. They shoot well in a variety of guns at match ranges, and you'll enjoy the nice large hole that a .22 caliber wadcutter puts in a target!

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!

Benjamin Marauder: A Brief Overview

If you hang out online at some of the airgun forums, you can't but have heard about the Benjamin Marauder, from Crosman Corporation. This is the new kid on the block, a bolt action repeater that is dual-fuel capable, shrouded for noise reduction, and filled with features many other guns only wish they had!

Fresh on the heels of the Benjamin Discovery, Crosman's first PCP, comes this wonderful 10-shot, .177 or .22 caliber PCP that offers all the features of some of the more desirable European guns, but at a price point in the $500 neighborhood. This is unheard of for all you get with this gun.

I've owned some nice PCP's, some custom guns, and the normal run-of-the-mill plinkers, and this one is up among the best of the lot. Let's take a look at it....



The Marauder is a handsome gun, quite the handful with a broad stock in the forearm area. It is solid feeling, weighing near 8 lbs. It comes already setup for a rifle sling as you can see in the picture, and all I had to do was add my own sling, scope, and mounts.



The barrel is factory shrouded, making this one of the quietest airguns of this power that I have used. It is truly backyard friendly, and if you want a quiet gun to enjoy without bothering the neighbors, this is certainly a great candidate!

To fill the gun, remove the dust cover on the end of the pressure tube and connect your pump or tank to the quick-detach fitting you find on the end. I've been filling mine to about 2700 psi, but the warning label says that 3000 psi is the maximum you should try. I seem to notice in my gun that 3000 psi causes a slight valve lock, and a few shots must be fired before it behaves like it should. You can also buy an adapter to use CO2 if you wish. I haven't tried it yet, so I'll save that report for another day!



The handy gauge located just in front of the trigger guard lets you know where you stand pressure-wise. It is also useful for determining how many shots you may be able to get before needing a refill.



The safety is handily located inside the trigger guard. Pushed all the way forward is the "fire" position, back towards the trigger is the "safe" position. It is easy to reach, easy to use, and works very well.



I have tried a few different kinds of pellets so far, and the Crosman Premiers (both domes and hollow points) do well, as do the heavier Beeman Kodiaks. I've mentioned in the past that each gun is its own creature, so don't hesitate to try all of your favorites in it to find what works in your gun. The accuracy is very good at 25-30 yards, and on a lark I mounted an old plastic 20 oz. soda bottle on a woodpile and proceeded to plink at it at a distance of 65 yards. I connected 7 out of 10 times once I accounted for the wind, and this was from a knee-rest while leaning against a porch rail! If I were to bench it, I have no doubt 10 for 10 was within my reach.

As the gun comes from the box, in .22 caliber, I recorded the following chronograph numbers. I won't bore you with an entire string, but recorded every 5 shots on my camera to show you.

Shot 5


Shot 10


Shot 15


Shot 20


Shot 25


Shot 30


As you can see, I could probably try just a little more pressure at this setting of the hammer spring and stroke length, and port setting. Oh, didn't I tell you? All of those are adjustable! That's right, you can setup this gun to your own liking by adjusting the hammer spring, the hammer stroke length, and the port opening that allows the air into the barrel. This makes for a wonderfully modifiable airgun, all without taking the thing apart! Very few airguns allow such ease of variables, all with a few twists of a wrench!

You are going to like this gun!

Spring squirrel season opens next weekend in my state....guess what I'm going to be shooting?!