Beeman R8 Hoard
- Thread starter kingfisher61
- Start date
There's nothing like finding a great old gun with all the period correct goodies and paperwork. Nice!
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Just pulled it out and took pics for comparison. also finally found a set of sights for it added them and put the scope on my R-7
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Found mine some years back, had a Vortek kit in it and the old spring and guides were sent with it but no other goodies like you got.
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My son and grandson will get most of my guns and sporting goods. My daughters get none of it. I do not believe in “even” or “fair”. Life is not fair. Fair doesn’t exist . If I didn’t have a son, I would give everything to friends. Will anyway with a lot of it. I want to see the twinkle in their eyes. Give them a story. We are just caretakers of these things. I want to know the next one. The kids will find the easiest way to dispose of the things we love and blow the money on nothing. I love my kids. I gave them life and I owe them nothing.
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Well, I guess it was Your turn this time....congrats! A lot of history there! My local Elder in my church congeration informed me a year or two a go that he had an air gun he bought years or decaids ago, he's 85, and lived in New York...we were discussing my hobby, he said I could have it, he couldn't remember the make or calibet, probably hasn't been shot in decades...could be anything...your opening statement reminded me about it. He and I don't live very close but guess I need to make arrangements for a pick up and bring it back on line...probably just another SLR...
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It came with an HW50 stock because it is an HW50. R8's have a screw on back block and no white etching
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Nice find! From what I remember the option for " select stock" had
to be chosen. It wasn't automatically given. Other options Beeman
offered were " select group " and " select angle " referring to a rifle
with less barrel droop.
to be chosen. It wasn't automatically given. Other options Beeman
offered were " select group " and " select angle " referring to a rifle
with less barrel droop.
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I'm just an amateur "finder" compared to some guys I know...I could stumble over one of those old break barrels that would be rare and worth a fortune...if it didn't have THEOBEN stamped on it I would just step right over it in my ignorance and keep looking under rocks...lol!
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OMG!!!! Too humble Russ.
I'm having a difficult time believing that one Russ. You're being way too humble. Lol
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Wow, what an awesome find! Beautiful rare rifle...original literature and paperwork...enuff spare parts for a couple lifetimes. Nice!
As KWK said, they squeezed the 26mm seal into the "new" HW 50 by making the receiver tube walls thinner. The exterior tube diameter is the same (about 30mm), and the mount screw spacing and trigger block location match up, thus the stocks will interchange. The newer gun also has a longer stroke which is why it's 100+ FPS stronger than the old gun.
I have several of the "old" 50 / 55 / R8 family and love them. They are a perfect size and balance for me, beautifully made with the threaded-on rear end, and the power (generally high 600's) is fine for 90% of what I do. But I have to admit the "new" 50, which gets a lot more zip out of the same basic "chassis," is a minor stroke of genius - in both design and marketing - on HW's part.
As KWK said, they squeezed the 26mm seal into the "new" HW 50 by making the receiver tube walls thinner. The exterior tube diameter is the same (about 30mm), and the mount screw spacing and trigger block location match up, thus the stocks will interchange. The newer gun also has a longer stroke which is why it's 100+ FPS stronger than the old gun.
I have several of the "old" 50 / 55 / R8 family and love them. They are a perfect size and balance for me, beautifully made with the threaded-on rear end, and the power (generally high 600's) is fine for 90% of what I do. But I have to admit the "new" 50, which gets a lot more zip out of the same basic "chassis," is a minor stroke of genius - in both design and marketing - on HW's part.
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The "old" HW 50 was HW's first airgun, introduced in 1951. The original gun (25mm seal, threaded rear) was made until the late 1990's. It went through a ton of variations in its early days, most notably: several different trigger designs leading to the modern Perfekt and Rekord; a change in dimension of the rear section; and many stock variations. Beeman's R8 was its ultimate iteration, adding a synthetic piston seal, safety, and unique stock.
The HW 55 match rifle is based on the same action. It always used the same barrel and receiver as a contemporary HW 50, adding: the famous lever-actuated locking breech; minor trigger refinements, a lighter spring with modified piston and seal; improved sights; and several versions of heavier match stocks.
The famous HW 35 also has quite a bit in common with the old HW 50. The receiver tube is 5mm bigger in diameter, but has the same length and mounting screw spacing. This enabled the two to share many parts, and even some stocks with identical exterior contours.
The "new" HW 50 was introduced in the late 1990's as the "HW 99" (and is still called that in the UK), and sold here as the "Beeman R6" for a short time. As discussed above it's really a new gun, but cleverly built into the same size platform, simplifying production and increasing power In the process.
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Some comparisons per the slightly obsessive ramblings above...
...
1970's-ish HW 50 (top) and HW 55S. Same receiver tube and barrel, save for the diffs around the breech:
1970's-ish HW 50 (top) and HW 35E. Same length receiver tubes, but HW 35 fatter and again some breech changes:
1950's short-block HW 55M (top) and 1970's long-block HW 55S. The older gun is very different, all newer 55's with Rekord trigger use the longer rear threaded block:
1970's HW 35 Luxus with walnut "Bayern" stock and beech upgrade stock for an HW 50. Exterior size and shape nearly identical:
Note that the two fore ends are the same width, but the fatter HW 35 receiver tube leaves less wood at the sides:
...1970's-ish HW 50 (top) and HW 55S. Same receiver tube and barrel, save for the diffs around the breech:
1970's-ish HW 50 (top) and HW 35E. Same length receiver tubes, but HW 35 fatter and again some breech changes:
1950's short-block HW 55M (top) and 1970's long-block HW 55S. The older gun is very different, all newer 55's with Rekord trigger use the longer rear threaded block:
1970's HW 35 Luxus with walnut "Bayern" stock and beech upgrade stock for an HW 50. Exterior size and shape nearly identical:
Note that the two fore ends are the same width, but the fatter HW 35 receiver tube leaves less wood at the sides:
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