I am posting this here to give my experiences with the Marauder in .177 calibre and the Blizzard in .22 calibre. Yes I know they are different and that has an effect on how and what I shoot with each.
Both rifles were bought used from members selling them on this forum. Both in good condition when i got them and both trouble free.
The Evanix Blizzard overall is much nicer than the Marauder. Stock, finish and feel, much more solid. Think VW beetle compared to a full sized Continental. Both do the job but how they do it is much different. The Marauder feels much lighter ovearll and the cocking and loading is nowhere near as sure as the Blizzard. The Marauder with its plastic magazines is not as solid as the Blizzard with its metal magazines. Both work well but one has the feel of higher quality. The Marauder has the number of shots indicated on the magazine, a feature Evanix could have but doesn't. A nice feature that helps in the field.
In shooting I sighted both in with a scope. Maybe 20-40 shots and the rest of the time is in the field shooting blackbirds, gophers, starlings, grackles and other varmints.
The Blizzard is my longer range rifle though when I have it out I have shot as close as 15 feet. The .22 Calibre hits with authority and I can sure hear it smack into a varmint. The Marauder hits with authority also but smaller and lighter pellets do not sound as impressive... but the birds are just as dead. The gophers seem to die much faster with the .22 calibre pellet and I try to use the Blizzard on them when I can though the Marauder in .177 calibre does the job. Just not quite as much energy hitting them and more crawl away a bit before they die. The .22 is my choice here and the feel of the Blizzard helps with that. More solid feeling when shooting.
I use the Marauder mainly for close to 40 yards on blacbirds in the cattail sloughs. Anything within 20 yards is generally dead meat. A bit dicey in the wind at times as they bounce up and down on the cattail stalks but I can usually time it OK. Some misses and then I go a half dozen or so where I can't hit anything for some reason. Then I settle down and all is back to normal. Same thing with the Blizzard on my being inconsistent at times. The Blizzard I shoot close but mainly work 30 yards to about 75 yards. A few further but I like to stay at 30 to 60 where it really shines on the blackbirds. Not really big targets and the accuracy is good in taking them regularly out to 75 yards or so. Further and I am not as good as the rifle is. Skunks and raccoons and the occasional porcupine are fair game out to 100 yards due to their size. Can still hear the .22 slug hit them and one shot kills happen about 7 of 10 times. The second shot usually finishes off those that try running or don't die right off. I don't want wounded animals getting away but try for quick one shot kills and the Blizzard has the power to do it.
The Marauder shoots well and for the blackbirds I often hit them and watch the pellet hit the water behind them. Have to be careful of the background so don't shoot when ducks or geese are behind them. I am using the Crosman Premier Ultra Magnum .177 Cal, 10.5 Grains, Round Nose pellets in the Marauder and the JSB Monsters and the JSB Match Diabolo Exact Jumbo Heavy .22 Cal, 18.1 Grains, Domed in the Blizzard. The JSB diabolo work really well on grackles and are spot on at 20-60 yards where most of these shots happen. Maybe a touch light but they have been working well for me. The heavier pellets get loaded and held in reserve until I see a bigger target like a skunk and I switch magazines and use them.
Best kill this spring with the Blizzard is one coyote right at 40 yards. Best with the Marauder are a few 50 yard shots on gophers. Nothing big and I haven't seen bigger varmints when shooting with the Marauder yet.
For those not familiar with the great number of blackbirds I keep referring to, I live in farm country in North Dakota. Major sunflower farming area and the blackbirds are bigtime raiders of sunflower fields. I can drive by fields when the seeds start to mature and see masses of over 5000 blackbirds that decimate fields. Any we shoot in the spring are some who don't produse young to raid fields later. Farmers use shotguns and some buy shells by the pallet for this purpose. They use 'boomers', propane explosion devices that make loud noises to scare the birds off. They ride fields with ATV's to chase them away and shoot with .22's as well as shotguns to kill and scare the birds off the seed heads. So shooting with a pellet rifle helps but won't stop them. Just too many.
I really like and enjoy the blizzard. If I had purchased it first I may not have bought the Blizzard. But, I am really glad I have the Evanix hammer! Very satisfying to nail critters out to 100 yards and know I have enough power to do the job. As I wrote, most of my shooting is in the field. Few paper targets. I occasionally hit a fencepost or tree to check sighting and see if all is still OK. Easy to do and I can lean on the pickup hood and relax while doing so. Both rifles are better than I can shoot much of the time. Both work well. In fit & finish the Marauder is nice but the Blizzard is beautiful. No, I haven't shot a Marauder in .22 calibre yet. Maybe one of these days. With the Blizzard in that calibre I don't need another. I do have a RWS350 magnum and Tech Force 89 in .22 calibre and after a few more months shooting them head to head I will decide which to keep for the long haul to complement the Blizzard. In .177 calibre I have an RWS 48, A RWS 350 magnum and a Panther Pro. Will shoot each more and then decide which is the keeper as well.
As for the two PCP rifles, both are nice with one much finer than the other... but no compalints on either as they are accurate and do the job well. I fill using a Hill pump so am getting a workout. Both rifles get re-pumped after shooting 4 ten shot magazines. 40 shots and fill. Accuracy is good in both the full 40 and I have had no problems with either.
If you are thinking of a repeater they are really nice to shoot. Quick follow up shots with a cocking lever or the bolt of the Marauder and you are ready for the next bird who is trying to figure out what happened to his buddy. In the cocking... the Blizzard is far smoother than the Marauder and you can cock and shoot without removing the rifle from your eye. That is, for me, a real advantage for the Blizzard and one I would look at carefully if you are in the market. For me it would be enough to tip the scales to the Blizzard as it makes shooting a lot easier. Smoohter and a lot less effort than cocking the bolt in the Marauder. Not a criticism, just personal preference after shooting a bit.
As for numbers so you can see how much I am shooting these rifles. This past week while driving into town a few times I shot more than 20 blackbirds each day( four days) in the morning and more in the afternoon coming back using the Marauder. Easy to keep in the pickup and pop out the window and naild the pests on the cattails. Eight gophers yesterday in a neighbors field and three more in an old graveyard while making sure to shoot only when they didn't have a gravestone behind them. The Marauder is a nice rifle for this use. The Blizzard is a bit longer and more solid and works well and last week I shot 29 gophers in one field with the longest shots being in the 70 yard range. Nice to have an accurate gun I can shoot without all the barrel cocking. The pickup makes a good car blind in pest elimination... and I am on farm gravel & dirt roads with NO traffic to worry about and neighbors who are happy to see these pests nailed.
Overall the Blizzard is smoother and quicker than the Marauder. Both are accurate. As I said, given the choice I would choose the Blizzard for its more refined shooting feel and its quicker and smoother cycling to the next shot. I like the Marauder but head to head the Blizzard is my choice. Don't expect me to get rid of the Marauder any time soon though, it has its place and I will keep it.
