New Benelli MRl Is Varmint-Hunting Ready

ADVANTAGE
profile (approximately 80 percent).
Hut the .25 begins its trip
at a substantially higher energy
level and creates a larger
wound channel anywhere
along the pellet's flight path.
The downside of this caliber,
related to the availability of
guns and pellets, was touched
on earlier. In terms of performance,
there is no reason
the .25 can't be intrinsically
accurate, as always it's a matter
of the gun/pellet combination.
If a .25 pellet is propelled at a
much lower velocity than a .22
pellet, the point of impact will
have a much greater drop at
longer distances. This requires
that the shooter apply a greater
degree of correction (holdover)
to stay on target. As previously
discussed, if the .25 leaves the
muzzle at close to the same
velocity as the smaller caliber.
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the trajectory will be similar. In
my experience, the .25's trajectoryis
not that far off of a .22 with
most of my pre-charged pneumatics
(PCPs), and even when the
trajectory of the .25 is more pronounced
can Ix? easily compensated
by using the scope's mildots.
I have my Marauder .25 zeroed in
at 50 yards and have no problem
dropping prairie dogs out at 75
yards using the mildots to find
my target. The secret here is to
spend the range time to know
what your gun will do at different
distances, and if you can't remember
it, write it down on a card and
tape it to the rifle's stock. Another
frequently mentioned disadvantage
of .25 caliber guns is that the
ammo costs more, however we're
still talking about 200 pellets
averaging around $10. Considering
the fact these guns are used
primarily for hunting, that's a lot
|uSttCtHlTlCS*
of shooting for not much money.
In terms of the availability of
guns and pellets in .25, there is
gtxxl news on the horizon —
manufacturers of both spring piston
and PCP air rifles are offering
more of their guns in the larger
caliber. Companies like Crosman,
UMARFX and Gamo produce
several of their spring piston rifles
in .25 caliber, and Ku Jin, Crosman,
Falcon and many other PCP
manufacturers are expanding
their .25 product portfolios. While
I'CI's tend to work more efficiently
with larger calibers, some of the
new springers are working very
well with the lighter .25 |X'llets.
The recent availability of lightweight
alloy pellets is an interesting
development and will make a
good topic for a future column.
One of the .25-calibcr springers
that I've been shooting a lot and
finding very effective is the
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Walther halcon from UMAREX
USA. l or a spring piston gun to
work well in .25 it needs a powerful
spring and a substantial
compression chamber, which
means the gun will be big and will
require some effort to cock. By using
a well-designed synthetic stock
on the Falcon, the weight is kept
reasonable and the shooting ergonomics
are retained. Further, the
long barrel reduces the cocking
effort to a point that most averagesized
adults can manage it without
difficulty. This isn't a gun you'd
necessarily spend the day plinking
or target shooting with, but for a
day of hunting it's not a problem.
The Falcon in .25 is generating
a very respectable 30 FPE, which
I think is quite impressive in a
gun that is fully self-contained.
I've used this rifle to put down
groundhogs and raccoons at 45
yards, and it hits with authority!
Another gun I've been using
(and talking about) a lot is Crosman's
Benjamin Marauder in
.25. This is a full-sized PCP riflethat
charges to 3,000 pounds
per square inch (I'M), and delivers
approximately 45 ft/.lbs. It's
a feature-rich design, with an
eight-shot rotary magazine, a
fully shrouded barrel, an excellent
two-stage adjustable trigger, all
matched with outstanding performance.
At 25 yards this gun will
consistently empty the magazine
into a one-hole group (using the
Benjamin domed |X'llcts), and at
50-75 yards a shooter can drop
prairie dogs all day long without a
miss provided they do their part.
This rifle delivers sledge-hammer
power with tack-driving accuracy,
and has proven an excellent longrange
varmint gun.
So with manufacturers offering
more guns in .25 caliber, both PCP
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and spring piston models, which
will best meet your needs? The optimal
gun for you will depend on
how you shoot, what you shoot,
and how much of your hardearned
paycheck you want to Ix*
separated from. The springers are
less expensive, are self contained
(no filling equipment needed),
offer good all-around performance
and are fairly quiet. However, the
cocking effort is such that you
probably don't want to spend the
whole day on the target range
or out plinking with them. To
cock one of these big guns 10-15
times while hunting is nothing,
but a couple hundred times for a
plinking session, well, your arm
will know it's been exercised. Hie
PCP guns, on the other hand,
tend to cost more, require filling
gear (pump or tanks), and unless
shrouded they are louder (still far
below the sound signature of a
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