Rare R1 Beeman ???

[BlueSteel50]

"The new Beeman Rl magnum air rifle already has a collectors' version. Only the very first production run of these guns had the Beeman logo on the left hand side of the receiver. Even the Beeman museum has only one or two specimens of this variation, and I'm not sure that any exist in .22" caliber. There certainly are no legitimate specimens of this variation in 5mm caliber"                                                                         ~~~      found this info online .if this is true i just hit a  homerun the old R1 i bought came in today and the Beeman logo and address  (CA. Address) etc  is on the left side of the reciever right in frt of the safety button~~BS50

[tjk]

Way Cool!!!! Pictures Please!!!!!  Congrads on find!!!

[BlueSteel50]

 not sure if this is what they are refering to as the Beeman logo or if the "logo" was stamped on theose rare ones                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       this one s probably a little more rare being it's a left handed one .Odd as it may seem i never noticed that in the pics b/4 i bought it  wake up huh! So far it seems to love the Crow Mag pellets                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     If i do my part it sure wants to shoot ,  The safety was stuck .just dry ,need to tear down and lube all the joints ,but I had to test it .  ~~WOOWEE  Got a Goodie ~~BS50

[amb5500c]

Congratulations on the new gun. It looks like a good one.
Richard

[Mark 611]

nice shooting!

[tjk]

The logo I think you are referring to is actually the Bozwell Bear logo as located on the other side of you R1's reciever. Most all the R1's I've seen look just like yours with the writing on the rear left. Being a lefty myself, I can appreciate them being available in that configuration. Wish I had some lefty stocks for my R1's.
PS: It's still a cool reminder of the cold war era with the 'Made in West Gemany' stampings

[flyer]

        Have a look at this picture with the Beeman logo stamped on the right side of the receiver (with the bear) - maybe this is was they meant as a "collectors' version" :
                       
                                   http://www.springgunning.com/USR1b.jpg

             

[bart the fart]

OH AND its a Santa Rosa!? Very cool find. I saw two at the Air Rifle show and they went for big bucks. Congrats, thats a boss hog forsure
Bart

[BlueSteel50]

 I agree i think it's the real Beeman Bear logo, this one don't even have the Bear logo on the right side  . 10-4 on the Santa Rosa gun , was told he bought it in 1985 ,  what kind of Big bucks were they bringing , not that it's for sale    It's a keeper ~~BS50

[bart the fart]

I agree i think it's the real Beeman Bear logo, this one don't even have the Bear logo on the right side  . 10-4 on the Santa Rosa gun , was told he bought it in 1985 ,  what kind of Big bucks were they bringing , not that it's for sale    It's a keeper ~~BS50

Hopefully CalMark will chime in here if I'm wrong (been a couple years) but I think one was 500 and the walnut stock one was 650. We drooled and I asked to check them out. Well balanced and GORGIOUS! I live in Santa Rosa CA and have a passion for them. We also met Dr. Beeman later that afternoon. It was wild whirl wind of a day.
That my friend is a keeper.
Bart

[Plekto]

Nice find.  I remember going to the store about once a month when they were there.  (I used to live in Sonoma County back then) When Robert himself ran the company, it was THE place to get a German airgun since they were all tuned, gone over, and customized to their specs.  After they moved, things were less optimal.  After they were bought out, well, they essentially became resellers of other people's stuff. 

It's a keeper.  I mean, look at that gorgeous stock.  That's not a basic HW 80 you have there.

[gandalfretlaw]

I find it so odd that Santa Rosa was once a center of the air gun world and now there's pretty much nothing.

[Plekto]

Robert Beeman lived in Northern California for years and built his business over time, eventually having a huge facility in Santa Rosa.(think pastoral quiet a few blocks away from the industrial area it was in - way, WAY at the upper edge of the city out beyond the airport, even)  Then, they moved to Huntington Beach, IIRC, and he "retired" though the company was still in the family.  After it was sold, well, bean counters got involved and it's... the web site is even "under construction"   IMO, at this point, you should just get a HW directly as you can get more options and calibers that way.

AoA has a great selection of HW models as well.

[gandalfretlaw]

Around 90 I sometimes loaded the UPS truck that delivered to Beeman. It was generally pretty heavy stuff. Always hated ammunition coming down the belt. Little box that weighs forty five pounds. I'd reach for it with one hand only to nearly dislocate my shoulder.

[Calmark]

Bluesteel,

The good news is you have a highly-desirable Beeman R1 in .22 cal. with a left hand stock.  The Santa Rosa era guns are definitely the nicest looking to me, as the stock was designed for use on Beeman imported guns by Gary Goudy.  I really like the look of yours with the high cheekpiece and comb, along with the hand cut checkering and white spacers and a full forearm covering the breech block.  You definitely don't find many stocks of this quality on modern airguns anymore.  Its a shame really, but times change and cost-cutting is the norm nowadays. 

The Santa Rosa guns were imported in the 1980s and Beeman began his import business in the early 70's, around 1972-1973 in San Anselmo, CA.  A few years later the business moved just a short distance away to the town of San Rafael where the business really grew.  Since your gun is from the later Santa Rosa era, its not likely to be that rare, like the very early guns from the previous two addresses.  The stamp you are thinking of is probably of Boswell Bear or something used for a few short years in San Anselmo probably and maybe part of the time in San Rafael.  While you don't have a rare collector's piece like that, you do have a very unique LEFT handed Santa Rosa with that gorgeous stock.  And like others have said, after Santa Rosa, the company moving to Huntington Beach was sort of the end of the era for Beeman.  I regard any Beeman guns from the Santa Rosa and earlier periods as the vintage stuff, so in my opinion you really scored a nice one, and a great shooter to boot!

I lived right next to Santa Rosa as a kid in the 80s and never did manage to visit the Beeman warehouse.  Any time we'd drive by and I'd ask to go see it, there was never time.  Just being near it though and dreaming of seeing the place has been the spark for my interest in fine European airguns though. 

[BlueSteel50]

Any one chrony their R1? I just got one and didn't finsd any #s  with the Crrow Mag pellets it like it doing like 800 give or take a few , and thats a 8.8gr pellet, i did  find post  with number on a JSB pellet 7.9gr that run 850-875 . so i guess mines in the ball park @ 800fps with the heavier pellets~~BS50

[David Powell]

The only R-1 I have ever owned was a .20 carbine. Did not like it much, so I sold it and bought an R-10 Deluxe .20...liked it much better. That's a very nice one you have!

[BlueSteel50]

Would have liked it to be a 22 cal ,but ya take 'em as you can and this was an accident I fell into  it as it was a reply to an ad for a old R8 , seems like I have a R8 on steriods, it just as accurate, with a little more umph  ~~BS50