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All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => European/Asian Air Gun Gates => German AirGun Gate => Topic started by: Motorhead on August 21, 2013, 08:51:55 PM

Title: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW95 ( R9) in .20 cal ?
Post by: Motorhead on August 21, 2013, 08:51:55 PM
Had access to a like new ( Original box etc ... ) Beeman R9 in .20 cal with scope for $350 this past weekend.
Was told rifle was a Kit deal with the scope when purchased, but paid no mind to the specifics of it  :o

So whats the going rate for such a set up ?
Good deal ... Not or just So-so ?
Title: Re: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW R9 in .20 cal ?
Post by: wahoowad on August 21, 2013, 08:55:42 PM
The R9 in .20 is one of the THE CLASSIC airguns anybody can own. It was my first adult airgun and I still have it. That was a decent deal assuming the rifle was in great shape.
Title: Re: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW95 ( R9) in .20 cal ?
Post by: tomykay12 on August 21, 2013, 09:06:23 PM
I picked one up for 325.00 recently, in .22 though, and no scope, but with rings and MB. LNIB R9, equiv. to lexus HW95 model but no sights. Great rifle, tk
Title: Re: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW95 ( R9) in .20 cal ?
Post by: Calmark on August 21, 2013, 11:03:57 PM
That's a nice deal on the R9, especially in high condition like that. The scope was the icing on the cake and made a great deal even sweeter with a bonus like that. If it was a newer R9 with no sights, like the Goldfinger model with gold trigger and checkering, that scope would come in handy since there are no open sights.

I had an R9 in .20 shooting around 10.5-11 fpe with JSBs and it was easy cocking and accurate to 35 yards. I had considered upping the power, but never really needed to as it took care of hosps, starlings squirrels and even a rabbit with no problem.
Title: Re: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW95 ( R9) in .20 cal ?
Post by: nced on August 22, 2013, 12:19:00 AM
Had access to a like new ( Original box etc ... ) Beeman R9 in .20 cal with scope for $350 this past weekend.
Was told rifle was a Kit deal with the scope when purchased, but paid no mind to the specifics of it  :o

So whats the going rate for such a set up ?
Good deal ... Not or just So-so ?

Some really experienced shooters are fond of the .20 R9, however I personally didn't like the one I bought years ago and replaced the barrel with a .177 barrel, then sold the .20 barrel.

The issue I had with the .20 was the fact that I didn't find the "fatter lead" to be any more effective than the "skinny lead" with hits that penetrated the vitals, however the main issue was the loopy .20 trajectory that made hitting the vitals past 30 yards a challenge with my range guessing skills!

Here's a "cut-n-paste" of a post I made back in 2004  concerning my opinion of that .20...............
IMHO, the .177 is the best choice for the R9 if you do a lot of shooting past 35 yards, under 30 yards it doesn't make a nickels difference which cal you get except .177 ammo costs 1/3 to 1/2 as much as the .20 stuff.

I have an R9 in .20 cal and I also had a HW95 (same gun, but non Beeman) in .177 cal that I sold to my brother and I've hunted squirrels a lot with both guns and I PERSONALLY have found that my "hit to retrieve ratio" is better with the .177 cal. I suspect that the flatter shooting .177 is more tolerant of range estimation errors so I get more "good hits". My .20 R9 shoots CP very accurately (a bit more accurate than the Beeman FTS) but I have had better success with the flatter shooting FTSs.

Also, if you're intending to try some Field Target shooting you'll be hindering yourself with the bigger pellet because a pellet through the hole is the name of that game and sometimes the holes are less than 1/2" in diameter.

This past squirrel season I hunted with the .20 cal more than I did in past seasons to see if it was actually more effective than the .177 cal I usually used. This past season with the .20 was a pretty poor one for me in the "hit to retrieve" catagory since I had roughly twice the "crawl-away" rate than when I used the flatter .177. Normally, my hit to kill ratio with the .177 is 90% but this ratio dropped to 80% with the .20 FTSs and 70% for the CPs. I did try the Crow Magnum pellets for three hunting sessions and my efficiency dropped below 50% when using that pellet, and I also realized that even the Crow Mag pellet at 17fpe me won't make up for a fringe hit, and I had a lot of em because the pellet was so inaccurate in my R9. Matter of fact, I personally didn't notice that the .20 cal CP or FTS was more effective than a .177 CP heavy with solid killzone hits so I've decided to give up on the .20 cal for my R9 and reinstall my .177 cal R1 barrel! 
Title: Re: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW95 ( R9) in .20 cal ?
Post by: Mark 611 on August 22, 2013, 08:36:47 AM
I its all in what you expect out of the rifle? I've had a few R9's in 20 their ok but IMO your better off with the R1/HW80k in that caliber, folks tend to buy the R9 power plant in 20 and try to hot rod them up and from my experience it makes the gun unstable and harder to shoot and it will never reach R1/80 velocity's without some serious trade offs in stability, even tho that's a fair price on the rifle still IMO the 20cal needs to run about in the mid 8's to get the best performance out of it with 11.4gn FTT's JMO ;D :P
Title: Re: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW95 ( R9) in .20 cal ?
Post by: VAFarmer on August 22, 2013, 09:31:15 AM
the one I had had been tuned and would shoot 1/2 inch groups at 30 yds open sighted, with most any pellet.

It sucked trying to buy/wait for pellets, and I had no other .20 cal guns, so I sold it.

I am in agreement with the .177 vs .20 vs .22..........although I do most of my hunting with .22........more-n more........I use .177..... 

The .20 rocked just because the gun itself rocked, but I noticed NO advantages from .20 over .22.


Meh, 350.........you can get an HW 95 from AoA for 398 BNIB and shipped free.....so.........maybe the .20 commands more money, but I havent seen proof that it is profoundly more advantageous for hunting.   
what type of scope is included?

that would probably tip the scales as to the "bargain" rating, IMO

God bless,

Farmer
Title: Re: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW95 ( R9) in .20 cal ?
Post by: WHITEFANG on August 22, 2013, 04:10:29 PM
awh!! ??? The old .20 story hits the forum once again. I have no R1 or HW95. But I do have the HW80 .20 and a very accurate gun.
Title: Re: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW95 ( R9) in .20 cal ?
Post by: Rico14 on August 23, 2013, 06:18:59 PM
The issue I had with the .20 was the fact that I didn't find the "fatter lead" to be any more effective than the "skinny lead" with hits that penetrated the vitals, however the main issue was the loopy .20 trajectory that made hitting the vitals past 30 yards a challenge with my range guessing skills!


If you had problems shooting past 30 yards with your R9 .20, there was something wrong with your gun. I have a Vortek PG2 kit in my R9 .20 and it shoots flat out to 50 yards. I've taken ground squirrels out to 65 yards with the .20.
Title: Re: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW95 ( R9) in .20 cal ?
Post by: nced on August 23, 2013, 09:55:13 PM
If you had problems shooting past 30 yards with your R9 .20, there was something wrong with your gun. I have a Vortek PG2 kit in my R9 .20 and it shoots flat out to 50 yards. I've taken ground squirrels out to 65 yards with the .20.

LOL.....I don't doubt that you can take ground squirrels "out to 65 yards" with a .20 R9 IF you correctly GUESSED the holdover to hit the vitals! The issue isn't power but the ability to place the pellet on the mark at the ranges being shot! I don't know your shooting technique or conditions but I don't posess such skills unless I'm simply "lottery shooting"!

Anywhoo.........
I had my oring sealed .20 R9 tuned to shoot 11 grain Beeman FTS pellets at 825fps and indeed it did have an adequately flat trajectory out to 40 yards. The issue was that my .20 R9 at that power level was excessively hold sensitive for my shooting skill level and I got better accuracy with the .177 pellet tune.

Since I found that the effectiveness of the .20 on tree squirrels wasn't any better than a similar hit with the .177, I just didn't see the point of using a HIGH STRESS, high hold sensitivity .20 pellet tune simply to be able to come close to the trajectory of a low stress .177 tune! Matter of fact, if I tune the .177 R9 for 12fpe or 15fpe and zero the gun at 30 yards there isn't even one inch of difference in drop at 50 yards.

LOL.....in the last couple years I've even reduced my .177 CPL power level to about 13fpe and the pellet still matches the 16.5 fpe .20 trajectory at 40 yards. I reverted back to .177 and sold both the .20 barrel and a .22 barrel at the same time years ago and don't regret my decision.



 
Title: Re: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW95 ( R9) in .20 cal ?
Post by: WHITEFANG on August 23, 2013, 10:01:34 PM
You all are killing me! Lol Did you ever detune the .20 and see how it did? I know the detuned HW97K Millennium .20 is a fine shooter. But there again I am limited on distance at the house.
Title: Re: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW95 ( R9) in .20 cal ?
Post by: Duckfish on August 24, 2013, 11:40:45 PM
I have an R 10 .20 I like it but the pellet selection not worthy, mine only likes JSB.
Title: Re: Question .... How desirable or good is a HW95 ( R9) in .20 cal ?
Post by: nced on August 25, 2013, 04:08:03 PM

I have an R 10 .20 I like it but the pellet selection not worthy, mine only likes JSB.

When I owned a .20 R9 the pellet the only pellet of choice to give an acceptable tragectory was the Beeman FTS or H&N Field Target Trophy Smooth pellet, and the gun in factory trim only chronied 755fps with that pellet! There were no .20 JSB pellets (perhaps no JSBs of any kind) available at that time so perhaps there are a couple good choices available today. In all honesty though......you only need ONE good pellet brand if they shoot well and are consistent tin to tin. In my factory trimmed .20 R9 the velocity of a 14.3 grain CP was only 650fps and even though it was the most accurate of all pellets in my gun the trajectory made it practically useless for my holdover skills!