War Valve in Generation 2 Marauder

[FZ09]

from the factory my rifle was shooting 712 f.p.s. average with the JSB's,.......I didn't believe the results of my chrono -its over 15 years old,...I bought a new chrono and sure enough that was the speed this thing was putting out.I see in the tuning portion ,another marauder brother had his gun shooting 718 f.p.s. with JSB's , right from the start and Ray had commented he thought there was a restriction of the metering screw , maybe being turned when tightening the set screw.Well I can assure you that wasn't my problem,it was adjusted 3 1/2 out just like everyone else has said coming from the factory-I checked the metering screw to make sure it wasn't all the way in .I opened the metering screw ccw 5 turns HT12 HS 6 and it brought my speed up to 820 f.p.s. and the string was in the high to low 700's when finishing two clips .I have a lot to learn with the relationship of the two adjustments but reading others posts it left me wondering if I received a slower gun from the factory.the 800 f.p.s. range is fine for small game but I was really counting on it shooting close to 900 f.p.s. or so,so enters wicked air rifles and their WAR valve .

That post your referring to was mine. I ordered a 12.5lb spring which should be here tomorrow. I disassembled my MRod and checked that my transfer port was clear and wide open with 5.5ccw turns; it was. I removed the hammer and inspected for binding and gouges. I found a little wearing but nothing unusual. Im out of JSB's and have 700 on the way. I am a little let down by this .25 marauder so far...Im thinking of an FX bobcat

[johnw.]

I was a little disappointed as well ,...reading all the posts of guys getting 880 or so and mine starting at 712,...I knew I needed a new chrono because she had been acting up so I just thought it was the chrono but after getting a new one -same readings,...I opened up everything and was getting 824,820 ,796,ect. with the string going down-I could live with the 800 range for small game-its more than enough power ,...but I was really counting on adjusting everything and getting into the 900 f.p.s. range,...the WAR valve has done this but now I need to get an efficient tune/shot curve,...I'm wondering how many more marauder-Gen 2 owners are getting the lower power range from the factory like you and I ? I could have spent the same money on an Air Force gun and started out at 50-60 ft. Ibs. but assuming the marauder would get this with adjustments ,of course-and the 8 round mag is what sold me on buying this gun,.....johnw.

[caniborrowsomeammo]

May be irrelevant now:

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=9748

but it gives a starting point.

[FZ09]

Like I said I ordered the 12.5lb spring which should have been delivered today but USPS had an issued here in Philadelphia so Ill get it monday I guess; no matter though since I'm out of pellets. Im going to get rings to try the Bstaley mod in case the spring alone does not help. I think the heavier hammer spring should help because the GEN II marauders have a stronger poppet spring so I read here on the forums..
I did manage to get up to 840 with the JBS kings but my sting never produced a curve. Its hard for me because I'm hand pumping this with a hill pump...
Im not planning to use this for anything larger then starlings and sparrows. I went with the .25 for the bad shot forgiveness of the caliber as so eloquently described by "TedsHoldover" on youtube.

I had a real issue with my accuracy on my last four strings. Normally I could produce sub 3/8" groups in my 15 yard basement range where Im doing my tuning. Yesterday my shots were scattered around an inch with no pattern.
I thought something must be really wrong so thats when I decided to learn how this thing looks inside. I watched about 30 minutes of videos and then dug right in. I removed everything but the valve and cleaned and investigated the hammer travel and tube for wearing. I did see some wear in the tube. The black coating inside the tube is worn and showing polished wear in two areas. One area is on the bottom of the tube "opposite the side of the bolt" rear of where the hammer would be before its cocked. This tell indicates a cocking wear. The other wear spot is on the top of the tube "the same side as the bolt" and is in front of the hammer when it is rested gains the valve pin. This indicates a forward motion wear occurring during firing. I cleaned everything and lubed with graphite so that the hammer slides back and forth with a slight tilt to the tube without sticking. I'll have to keep an eye on that!!! So I really enjoyed taking this gun apart and familiarizing myself with it; I found that its actually simple to understand and helped me see the adjustments in a mechanical sense better than youtube videos can provide. I have a better appreciation for this gun now because its something I can try to work on and perform mods is really a simple and not very time consuming...

SO back to my accuracy issue. I figured I should clean the barrel but vaguely remembered a video I watched that stuck in my mind about being careful.. So I search youtube for this and found the video again, its by Rick Eutsler called "how to clean your marauder barrel" The part of this video that stuck in my head was the reason for not using a metal brush. The brush can damage the Oring...........The ORing.... what ORing I thought. So I went and looked and found there was no Oring in my marauder breach. So I searched for parts diagrams of the marauder. I searched the forums for discussion of the topic and found that I had done what has been done before and I forgot I did it. I fired my gun with the bolt open and no clip in the gun by mistake during my tuning yesterday. So I went and searched the floor for that ORing with no luck. I then searched the gun and BAM there it was on the bolt. When I fired the hammer pushed the bolt forward enough to catch the Oring as it was forced out I guess. So I replaced it but was out of pellets to find out if my accuracy is back to normal. I called Crossman and order 4 of these ($1.25 each) #2-010 polyurethane Orings In case I damaged the one I have.....

All of this experience with the gun has really lead me to question some of the design flaws with this gun. The ability to fire without the bolt seated, the clip is always jamming on me, and if you fail to fully cock and try again you cycle the mag and load 2 pellets, and now the velocity issue. I guess owning a marauder takes a special breed and I must be in that category. I wonder if the new Fx Bobcat MK II, FX Wildcat, or the new FX Impact models will be as trouble free as my marauder