Beeman Record setting R1??

[rokonman]

I bought a couple from that collection and promptly sold them. Shooting them with the tag hanging out of the trigger bugged me. Removing the tag would’ve taken away the collectible value. I like nice old guns and do not knock whoever paid that price for that gun one bit, that said it wouldn’t be me. We are all here for a short time. I don’t mind taking care of some nice old air guns while I’m here, but those same old air guns are gonna have to repay the favor by entertaining me.

 

[Wadcutter]

I bought a couple from that collection and promptly sold them. Shooting them with the tag hanging out of the trigger bugged me. Removing the tag would’ve taken away the collectible value. I like nice old guns and do not knock whoever paid that price for that gun one bit, that said it wouldn’t be me. We are all here for a short time. I don’t mind taking care of some nice old air guns while I’m here, but those same old air guns are gonna have to repay the favor by entertaining me.

Ultimately, such tags were affixed to almost all of the guns in his collection. even on shabby common stuff. I'd have valued them more if RDB had simply held the tags for the best.
I believe what drove the bidding to such an insane high level is that this gun filled a niche in someone's collection of R1 variants, and the Beeman tag wasn't much consideration to the buyer.

 

[.20calguy]

If you were buying it to shoot it then I would say it's a terrible waste of money. I have an R1 in 20 caliber that I bought in the '90s when Beeman was still in business. It really doesn't thrill me that much, compared to some of my other guns. The TX 200 Mark III is much more pleasant to shoot and by far easier to work on.

If you are buying it as a piece of art, that is certainly not my cup of tea but I decision that only you can make. It ties up a lot of money and something that will sit around. Are you going to put it up on the wall with a plaque and spotlights like a beautiful piece of art and a museum and enjoy it every day or hide it somewhere?

I'm a more practical guy - I like to use the things that I buy. I do enjoy art and photographs on the wall in the house but I'm certainly not a collector of things. Maybe too many pocket knives lol.

Feinwerk

Thank goodness some are collectors. It gives us a look into the history of and many facets of the product.

 

[BABz58]

Thank goodness some are collectors. It gives us a look into the history of and many facets of the product.

Pictures suffice in most cases

 

[Bedrock Bob]

For a collector it's a dandy I suppose. For a rifleman it's just not sensible. For a guy that does both it might be attractive.

It's not something someone would buy for utility. There would need to be other motivations to spend bread like that on a pellet gun. But if you've got the money and the motivation the opportunity is there.

 

[.20calguy]

Pictures suffice in most cases

Somebody has to own them to shoot pictures.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

I'm all about looking at fancy stuff I can't afford. It's one of my favorite passtimes. It's a big part of the appeal of this forum.

Keep the pellet pic coming!

EDIT - the editor is changing my words.

I typed
P E L L E T P O R N not pellet pic.

 

[Silver Ace]

The gun itself is very cool IMO. The overall condition is outstanding. The grain on the stock is very nice. But not something I would ever shoot, because I am sure it is just the factory internals which are probably gummed up by now. And replacing them with better parts would probably destroy the value of the gun.

I suppose if someone wanted to use it, you could just remove the trigger guard with the RDB tag and replace with a factory one. But I would be afraid to open it up, even to clean out the old grease. So in reality, it’s probably just a wall hanger. And an expensive one at that.

 

[Lewis]

I love it!!
This shows the health of the market for the right guns. I'm not surprised at all. It is a remarkable example of a prototype of a limited gun that was never available for sale, from an iconic collection of the most noted name in airguns! That's a LOT of specialty.
I'm glad it exists and that it will be preserved for the future.

 

[marflow 777]

in the 1995 catalog the gun sold for 580.00, because it was Beeman's gun that sat in a safe or room, does that add all the extra money i think not

 

[kingfisher61]

I love it!!
This shows the health of the market for the right guns. I'm not surprised at all. It is a remarkable example of a prototype of a limited gun that was never available for sale, from an iconic collection of the most noted name in airguns! That's a LOT of specialty.
I'm glad it exists and that it will be preserved for the future.

Well said Lewis.

Seems like a split decision on how folks feel about the idea. But there was a lot of valid feedback.

 

[.20calguy]

I'm all about looking at fancy stuff I can't afford. It's one of my favorite passtimes. It's a big part of the appeal of this forum.

Keep the pellet pic coming!

.30 cals at 72y. Lol

 

[DualMagMike]

in the 1995 catalog the gun sold for 580.00, because it was Beeman's gun that sat in a safe or room, does that add all the extra money i think not

The OP gun listed is a prototype, so a one of a kind! It is of the 20-year commemorative which was also produced in very limited numbers. It should only be in the 1992 catalogs as that is the year in which Beeman hit its 20-year mark. As is often said... something's worth what someone is willing to pay...

 

[kingfisher61]

The OP gun listed is a prototype, so a one of a kind! It is of the 20-year commemorative which was also produced in very limited numbers. It should only be in the 1992 catalogs as that is the year in which Beeman hit its 20-year mark. As is often said... something's worth what someone is willing to pay...

100% in agreement. Well put Mike.

 

[kingfisher61]

The gun itself is very cool IMO. The overall condition is outstanding. The grain on the stock is very nice. But not something I would ever shoot, because I am sure it is just the factory internals which are probably gummed up by now. And replacing them with better parts would probably destroy the value of the gun.

I suppose if someone wanted to use it, you could just remove the trigger guard with the RDB tag and replace with a factory one. But I would be afraid to open it up, even to clean out the old grease. So in reality, it’s probably just a wall hanger. And an expensive one at that.

All the rifles from the Beeman Museum were test fired and functioning. I believe they were all very well maintained.

 

[Silver Ace]

All the rifles from the Beeman Museum were test fired and functioning. I believe they were all very well maintained.

I’m sure it fires just fine. But a 30 plus year old gun with (I assume) factory grease is not something I would want to shoot on a regular basis. Regardless, it is a very cool gun. Just a little out of my price range.

 

[PaulK62]

All the rifles from the Beeman Museum were test fired and functioning. I believe they were all very well maintained.

I can assure you that many of his auctioned items were not functional. I placed the winning RIA bids on five airguns from Beeman's collection, and four of them -- all springers -- did not work. The only one that did work was a Targ-aire that I sold to him back in 2004, and that's because it was functioning when he bought it from me.

To RIA's credit, since they erroneously claimed all of them were functioning, they offered to pay for their repair costs.

 

[kingfisher61]

I can assure you that many of his auctioned items were not functional. I placed the winning RIA bids on five airguns from Beeman's collection, and four of them -- all springers -- did not work. The only one that did work was a Targ-aire that I sold to him back in 2004, and that's because it was functioning when he bought it from me.

To RIA's credit, since they erroneously claimed all of them were functioning, they offered to pay for their repair costs.

So...they were sold as functional, but you caught 4 out of 5 losers. Then it's the luck of the draw. All 8 of mine worked without issue.
At least RIA made it right. More than some sellers will do.....especially at auction.
Not sure why you're going out of your way to make it seem like buying Doc Beemans collection pieces was a bad move. Do you have a grudge against him??

 

[Wadcutter]

So...they were sold as functional, but you caught 4 out of 5 losers. Then it's the luck of the draw. All 8 of mine worked without issue.
At least RIA made it right. More than some sellers will do.....especially at auction.
Not sure why you're going out of your way to make it seem like buying Doc Beemans collection pieces was a bad move. Do you have a grudge against him??

I picked up a few guns from the Beeman collection. Several of them stated "In working order." However, due to rarity, the question of whether they fired or not was irrelevant as long as all the original parts were intact.

 

[PaulK62]

So...they were sold as functional, but you caught 4 out of 5 losers.

I wouldn't say the guns I won at auction were "losers." They simply didn't work. Externally they were in good to great shape, plus they're rare, hard-to-find items that I was fortunate enough to obtain at a fairly good price.

Not sure why you're going out of your way to make it seem like buying Doc Beemans collection pieces was a bad move. Do you have a grudge against him??

I think you're reading waaaay too much into what I wrote. Regardless, I apologize if contradicting you caused any offense.