Beeman R9 New vs. Old Quality???

[mrbowler1]

Hi,

I wanted to get some feedback on the “older” vs newer Beemans--R9s specifically. I don't believe they made these when they were in their original San Rafael location, but before they sold to Air Venturi (I think that is what happened but I don't know my recent history on Beeman since I got out of airguns for many years).

Has the level of quality decreased over the last 10-15 years or so? The new Beeman R9 from Venturi Air I think I recently came across just did not appear to be of the same high level of quality as I recall from previous Beemans I have owned (an R7 from the early 80s, an RX1 from the early 90s I think and a R10 from the late 90s. Just seems like they had better fit and finish and were smoother to shoot.

I have a brand new R9 but found a deal on an older R9 in like new condition (but have not seen it in person). I may jump on it due to my thoughts that it will likely be of superior to the newer one.

Just curious to hear your thoughts.

 

[boscoebrea]

I bought my R-7 at the San Rafael location in 1981,back then you payed a little more for better looking wood.

I got a used .20 R-9 10 or so years ago,it is still a quality piece.

The same company has been making them,I think the quality of the rifle itself has not changed much ,maybe the wood does not look as good.....I would not be afraid to buy a new R-9...As my girlfriend told me ,nothing is as good as it used to be.

 

[KWK]

Many have stated that the machine work is better now than the older guns. But the stocks look cheap now. The earlier Beeman stocks looked much better no contest. The wood was a better grade of beech.

Wood like my 80's R7 just doesn't happen anymore. It was $189.00

The newer wood is often loaded with light colored flecks and crescent shaped medulary rays that look cheap to my eye. Not to mention the tacky billboard lettering lazer cut into some of the stocks. Weihrauch

I do have a Huntington Beach R7 that has nice straight grain with a rich walnut stain that would fool many. I picked it out for it's nice wood..Personally, I won't spend my money on a gun with wood that looks like a baseball bat.

My 2 cents ain't worth a dime

 

[BZO100]

I have HW98 from 2019, word on the street is it’s pretty much the R9 with a barrel sleeve and adjustable stock. Out of the box, when I charge it, I could hear the spring crunch and the piston seal rubbing. The breech seal got pinched and protrude out of the gun. Firing sounded like garbage. Surprisingly it would stack 25gr .25 JSBs on top of each other at 20 yards or so. I could hit 1” spinners at 35 lasered yards 99% of the time, every time. Smacked the reactive targets with authoriti compared to my 12fpe HW97 .177. Now I’ve got the HW98 apart and a Vortek HO Steel drop-in kit ready to slap on there when I get around to it someday. I’m looking forward to a pleasant firing cycle with that Vortek. I used to enjoy tinkering, but now I just want to have a “tuned” shooting experience out of the box without messing with anything. 

 

[mrbowler1]

My experience is much like BZO100. My new R9 out of the box did the same. I could feel the spring crunch and seal rubbing when cocking and the firing behavior was harsh. But it shoots accurately.

I was not impressed with the stock finish out of the box, the bluing or even the way that the brand and model was "etched" into the receiver. It just did not appear to be the same high quality workmanship. Then I found out that Beeman had been sold and was owned by Air Venturi which immediately made me assume that had an impact on the quality. Like I said though, it shoots surprising well. I was happy to see that.

The grain on the stock was not bad, but it appeared that they did not complete finishing it and that it lacked a sufficient number of coats of oil or whatever they use to finish the stock. I used some linseed oil and rubbed in a couple of coats and it looks pretty good now.

I put about 400 shots through it so far and it is shooting a bit smoother.

I did end up pulling the trigger on the older R9 which hopefully will arrive today so I will have to compare and report back. Just from the pictures it appears to be of the "older" level of quality. I don't know how old it is, but it is clearly older, having the older checkering style and different etching on the receiver.

Matt

 

[Hobbyman2007]

 



here’s a pic of an R9 I got off the used market about a year ago. This is dated to be from 2015. I absolutely love it , I did add a custom spring guide and top hat but am using the factory spring. The stock is the best looking wood I’ve seen yet on any HW springer. 

 

[DualMagMike]

Actually the newer R9's have an enhanced cocking shoe and a spring tensioned device that keeps the cocking rod from rattling around/making noise that the older ones do not have (unless someone customized mine, I got it used). Other than those 2 items they are pretty much the same unless you want to add the gold tone trigger which has no bearing on quality. I too like the older style stocks compared to the newest but there are even older versions that the stock looks the same as the R1 with pistol grip checkering only and a pistol grip cap. 

here are two of the slightly older version (notice the forearm checkering) adjustable recoil pad and barrel sleeve added and my personal pistol grip cap.

and a little newer but still older the current version (notice the forearm checkering)

 

[bf1956]

Thanks for the post! very nice pics. KWK that peep sight is sweet, could you share what the no. is

 

[KWK]

It's the Beeman (Williams) #5822 Sport sight available at the time I bought the rifle at the local Beeman dealer we had in New Cumberland, PA. I did not opt for the version with adjustment knobs #5823 because this is a "set it and forget it" sight. Might be but I don't think this exact model is available from Williams today..

Interesting note, I think the #5823 still required a screwdriver to lock the adjustment.

 

[SpiralGroove]

Hey MrBowler1,

As others have suggested, all newer Beeman's or Weihrauch gun's have superior metal work, but not stocks. The older (Goudy design) Beeman stocks were more streamlined, hand checkered and used better wood. The newest Beeman R9 stock actually looks much better than it's previous incarnation with laser checkering, but not the Goudy design (1980/1990's).

All their guns have twang, but this can be fixed by a good break-in or tune.

Since the older stocks cannot be had, just get the new version and be happy; everything is better but the stock.

Kirk

 

[mrbowler1]

Wow, the stock above is beautiful. Looks like the stock on my R10 I had and sold many years ago. I regret that now, but I got out of shooting completely for many years. I am just starting back. The R9 is very similar to the R10 it seems, although the stock is not as nice. I always thought that the old style Beeman stocks with the cut checking, white line spacers and monte carlo stock and cheekpiece were beautiful.

 

[SteveP-52]

If it looks good when you get to see it in person, buy it or you may end up kicking yourself later. While I doubt you'll regret the decision, it should be easily sellable later should you want to.

 

[mrbowler1]

Well I actually got it delivered by UPS yesterday and was able to check it out today. I had to give some thought as to whether I liked the older one or newer one better. I like the stocks on the older ones, but I was still not as happy with the stock on this one as with some of the Beemans I owned years ago.

The "older one" that I got was one made by Beeman at the Huntington Beach location, but it had the gold trigger. The new one I have is literally 45 days old.

For the record, here is what I noticed. Everything considered the two were very similar. Which stock was better was probably a matter of personal preference. I ended up liking the older one better.

Everything else seemed pretty similar. Yes, the newer one's cocking arm did not rattle. So that was different. The bluing was not much different on either.

When cocking the older one I noticed that it had the same grinding feeling as my "newer one" did when it was first out of the box. With about 400 shots though the Air Venturi model though it has smoothed out a bit. The older one I got seems to literally never have been fired so I think it will smooth out as well. It still has that unique smell of a brand new air rifle dieseling. Interestingly enough the Air Venturi version did not have that smell when I first fired it which was strange to me.

I fired both, back to back and the firing characteristics were similar. Neither was noticeably harsher or louder, but the older one seemed to have a better trigger. Lighter at least, but of course that can be adjusted.

In the end, I have decided to keep the older one and sell the newer Air Venturi model. I don't know, but for me there is something about the original Beemans that I like. Maybe it's just because that is what I grew up with (literally). My R7 was my first "real" gun as a kid. I got one in maybe 1985 I think when I was 13.

So I am going to keep the older one and sell the newer one. I am sure someone will be happy with it.



Matt