Beeman Spring Air Air Guns

M

Master Blaster

New member
Just curious how many folks have these and what your experiences are. I saw one that looked pretty nice at Dicks its a GTS 600 (600 fps break action single shot) It seems like a good way to practice at a low cost and is legal in my backyard.

How is the accuracy reliability etc. Have you done anything to adjust the gun or trigger pull.

Do you hunt tree rats with one? what is the most effective accurate ammo (pellets ar about $4 per 250-500).

What type of scope do you have for yours?

Thanks
 
If you're looking at Beeman, I would stick with the "R" series. Beeman is an importer, not a manufacturer. The R series are made in Germany by Weihrauch. They are high quality and generally very accurate. Their triggers are IMO better than any I've shot, both airgun and firearm. The GTS guns are their economy line and are made in Spain. While they are still better than many cheap American guns, they don't hold a candle to the R series.
I own the R9 in .177 which is the least expensive of the bunch. The velocity is advertised at 900-1000FPS. I have taken countless pigeons at 40 yards with it. If I can see one, it's dead.
I picked it up at Big 5 for $250.
 
Second the Motion

I strongly agree with Matt - the R series are great. I have an R7, the lowest level, and preferred it to the Feinwerbau 127 I had at the same time and sold the FWB. If I do my part, crows at 25 yards drop. Mine's a 5mm (600 fps), but .177 are highly regarded and have higher velocity (720 fps).

Jaywalker
 
Varmit control around Alcazar del Tejon is accomplished with a Beeman C1 in .177.

Body shots work on chipmunks. Squirrels need head shots to ice. Body shots will only let the neighborhood cats finish them. Crows, which as you can imagine I have a few, require eye hits.

Remember, when you shoot muzzle inside house and clear your muzzle then clear you sights.
 
Important point about spring air guns...

Do NOT mount a regular rifle scope on one!

It will be destroyed in relatively short order.

Scopes for spring air guns have to be specially made to stand the type of recoil (reciprocal recoil) that regular rifles don't have.
 
I have a...

Beeman Webley Vulcan... (imported by Beeman, built by Webley, and a "vulcan" model...)

it's a break action single cocker, .22 cal, about 700 to 750 fps (slower with the magnum "Crow" pellets, but more accurate)

I would DEFINITELY recommend any of the european impotr Beemans, (at least the ones from known manufacturers)

great fun, quiet, and legal in the city!
 
I forgot about the Webley guns. I owned a Webley Tempest imported by Beeman and was very happy with it. Currently the only Webley gun that Beeman imports is the Kodiac. They are definitely high quality and worth the $$.
 
Careful with that "legal in the city" stuff (duh, which city; we got lots of them). Check your local ordinances before you go plinking away.

You can use regular scopes--good ones. I 've had a Burris on a FWB since `90, no damage. I bet a S & B would hold up too. Contact the manufacturer though.
 
When I was with NRA we dismantled the following scopes with a Beeman spring air gun, all rifle scopes, general 2x7 or 3x9, nothing special.

All scopes were rendered useless, ranging from broken controls to broken objective wires to the failures noted below.

Simmons - fewer than 20 shots. If I remember correctly, the Simmons coughed out the front lens.

Redfield - fewer than 40 shots. Controls failed to move the point of aim.

Burris - fewer than 50 shots. Controls failed to move the point of aim.

Tasco - fewer than 70 shots. Broken objective wire.

Leupold - fewer than 100 shots. This one was interesting because the front objective lens actually cracked.

There were one or two others involved in the "tests," (Ok, so we were cleaning out the bins in prep to moving, so a couple of us decided to give this a try). All scopes were mounted using Beeman's mounts and rings.

All shots were taken offhand.

The gun was lubricated and in good working order.

The shooters were also lubricated and in good working order.

Simple fact of the matter is that regular rifles scopes aren't built to withstand the type of recoil impulse generated by a spring gun.

Even high quality, high price scopes can be battered badly by the kind recoil spring guns create.
 
A good spring-piston or one of the newer gas-ram types like the Beeman are the best investment a shooter can make. I have a Beemwn R8 bought in 1986, and have worn out one mainspring already, and still a tack driver. Great on squirrels if you pick your shots and REMEMBER THE TRAJECTORY. I shoot frequently and cheaply in my basement, and a box with several layers of glossy magazines works fine as a backstop. Ammo is cheap. Great for teaching kids. Really improves your shooting. A great help when you can't get to the range. Largely unregulated except in some of our worst People's Republic states e.g. MA. Paid about $250 for mine, and have gotten $1millon in fun. Do it, but spend the dough for a good one.
 
Mike, are you sure the flabby flannels at the NRA didn't have it on backwards? Good scopes are no problem on airguns (well, at least the one I have), but if in doubt you can always put on a Beeman scope. I have that little 2.5X scope (SS-1?) on a 10/22. Works just great.
 
Mike, I just checked. I have only shoot the FWB with the Burris 4,000 rounds. Maybe it just hasn't had time to go kaput?
 
From what I read, many manufacturers these days are reinforcing their scopes for airgun recoil. I don't think it's expensive or difficult for a manufacturer to do this, it's just not something they had worried about until good quality adult airguns started being sold in quantity in the States.

It's best to contact the manufacturer (or an airgun dealer) before mounting a scope on a spring piston or gas piston (gas ram) airgun. It should be noted that this is not a quality issue--even high quality scopes can be damaged if they are not specially reinforced.

KSFreeman,

You've either been lucky, or you happened on a scope that is properly reinforced.
 
Mike, how can you insult such a fine piece of German engineering?

Must be lucky. Yes, I did have it installed by a smith during undergrad. Maybe he knew what he was doing (unlike me).
 
Not insulting your gun at all, but in my experience there can be a ferocious amount of variation in the spring power of the different models, and even within guns of the same series.
 
Well I bought my inexpensive Beeman on Sunday, took it to the range,
It shot 1 foot low at 50 ft with the rear sight cranked all the way up.

By my 50th shot my arm was shot from cocking it, and it was giving very inconsistant velocity, some pellets would not even make it through the cardboard backer. I know this is a cheapie, but I am not impressed with the spring guns for a couple of reasons:

1. you have too hold it very loosely and let it free recoil, this is completly different technique from a real firearm. It has an annoying sproing recoil on every firing, its hard to cock and load this beeman has lower cocking force than the more expensive R9.

I also want to be able to vary the power level for indoor vs out door shooting, and for a couple of other reasons involving pests of various types, the spring air is all or nothing.

I returned it to Dicks and got my $90 back on wednesday, I then went to the sports authority and bought a pump Benjamin sheridan. shot it yesterday at the range to zero it a 50ft.

All of the pellets made it through the backer with only two pumps, and the accuracy was excellent. Cost $99 .

A member of my club who is really into air rifle competition has a Feinwerkbau PCP that cost about $2000 he said the springers are not used in serious competition due to cocking force required and inconsistant accuracy.

He sugested a $800 PCP gun, but I only want to have fun plinking and teach my kids to shoot in the basement, and the backyard. So it seems that the benjamin 397 is ideal, and reasonably priced.

Thanks for all your input.
 
There are a couple of types of side-lever cocking spring piston guns (not barrel cockers) that are used in field competition, but I'll be darned if I can remember the makers right now.

At least one type uses some nifty engineering to get extra mechanical advantage to aid the cocking process. It takes two strokes to fully cock it, however, but they're pretty easy strokes.

One of my former NRA coworkers had one of these. EXTREMELY consistent velocity of about 950 fps from a .22 caliber pellet rifle.
 
Master Blaster,

The low end Beeman guns were added to the Beeman line after Dr. Beeman sold the company.

They are not the same quality that many have come to expect from Beeman products. (I know that they don't make their own guns, but prior to the sale, they were known for being very selective in what they sold.)

For the money you wanted to spend, the Benjamin Sheridan guns are a fine product.

Some of the Chinese guns are getting to be very functional, but you must be very careful as there are still some very poor quality Chinese airguns being imported. The link Mike provided is a good place to start.

Also, springers can be VERY picky about what pellets they want to shoot. Until you have tried 5-10 different types of pellets, it's hard to fairly evaluate the potential performance of a springer.
 
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