Beeman P17

[fwbsport]

I just received in the mail a Beeman P17 from Mr. Sterner this morning and what a surprise it was!  I had seen this handgun online but dissed it off because it's Chinese.

Well, I didn't read the destructions at all, just pulled it out of the bubble pack from Amazon and loaded CPD 10.5gr pellets one at a time underneath the hood there into the fixed barrel wrapped around some kind of molded plastic that reminds me of my own HW44.  I just shot at 10 yards seeing it was already shooting close enough to go back to 25 yards and fiddle with elevation just a bit to see the pellets go out there with better accuracy than I'd ever seen in a handgun springer. 

So Mr Sterner you made my day!  I'll use the mail money toward the bill on the HW98 .20 I just made the plunge for!

Thanks!

Of course this means a biased guy like me can be made to look again at what's coming out these days!   

[Robert 5mm]

Glad you like it - the Beeman P17 does shoot fairly accurately - try some less than 8 gram wadcutters.
I thought maybe to send you my .20 Beeman P1 - then thought again and you got the P17.

[Bill_in_TR]

John,

That is the pistol I wound up with after the discussion I initiated about a perfect packin' air pistol. Thanks to Steve's generosity I have one and was very impressed with the one I got. Mine has a very nice trigger and is surprisingly accurate. It now has a red dot sight on it to help these old eyes. The open sights that come on it were a somewhat big negative for me. But overall iI am very happy with it.

My only question is you called it a springer. Unless we are talking about different guns mine is a SSP.

[CraigH]

My only question is you called it a springer. Unless we are talking about different guns mine is a SSP.

I had the same thought - the P17 is an SSP.

But perhaps he meant the platform was different and better than springers which was the only pistols he had shot.

[packard8]

I think you'll find that pointed pellets are easier to load. I've had a couple of P17s and they are a real bargain, accurate and fun to plink with. Enjoy!

Amazon currently has them for under $30:

[fwbsport]

Thank you! Yes it's a precompression pistol with a cock like a P1 or IZH-46M and it is a lot of fun!

What's happening is incredible easy accuracy especially with the light gathering fiber optic sights--not true glo type but with MORE fiber to add MORE color and light to the fine sights!

It's really incredible to tell you the truth and my wife thought I had "swapped" guns under the rug with Rob!  I had to EXTRICATE myself from that charge and boy was it really HARD!

So I like it actually better than the IZH for handgun shooting.   

[Bill_in_TR]

Ouch!!!! Like it better than the Izzy??? I am very happy with my P17.  But for target shooting it will never replace my IZH-46M. The Izzy pumps much easier, has a much better trigger and is a significant level higher for accuracy. The only negative for me with my Izzy is the weight. But if I shoot at a conservative pace I can handle the Izzy

I like the P17 for the light weight, surprising trigger and accuracy for the money. It looks to be easy to work on. But the cocking effort is a bear.

Hope you continue to enjoy yours.

[fwbsport]

Yes the cocking is a bear and I was, from the beginning, aware of the design of this from having owned a .177 P something which was more like the HWP1 Magnum without the magnum stuff and more plastic.

The off hand accuracy is as good as the HW44 to me, and the balance of this is better actually.  Accuracy from a pillow or rest I'd try but I haven't got to that with any pistol I own--I always shoot those offhand too!

[Robert 5mm]

John,
A little history of your P17.
It was purchased from Pyramyd Air - not from Amazon ( does not really make a difference ).

I opened it and and de-burred the air intake port and lubed the compression tube O-Ring.
Also lubed the internal valve and o-rings with Pelloil - so it should be in good shape.
On my 2nd P17 I did the Tom Tucker mod to the piston head - getting 440 FPS on 7.0 g
Your P17 is stock:
Chronograph results on your P17 were on spec - 410 FPS with RWS 7.0g Meisterkugeln pellets.

[Bob H.]

P17s are great fun.  I still have and shoot the 1st one that I purchased, it wears a laser. I stretched the trigger spring and later removed most of the first stage.

A lady friend of ours was shooting it one day and almost pinched part of her anatomy while closing it.  I saw the need to lower the closing force.  I did so by about 8 pounds.  I simply drilled some of the material out of the piston. I haven't shot it over a chronograph, it's still a good indoor shooter. 

BobH.

[Earl]

Captain Bravo lowered the closing pressure on his P17 from 31 pounds to 24 pounds by drilling a 3/8 inch diameter hole 3/8 inch deep in the front of the piston.
This also lowered the muzzle velocity from 425 fps to 365 fps.

[fwbsport]

I am pleasantly surprised with this handgun Rob!  I could tell it was somehow looked over before I started using it and didn't know really how old it was thinking maybe as old as 2004 since that's the Model Number on the package.

Yes offhand it is just as accurate at 25 yards as the HW44 .22, but the PCP has the edge in more hits (well it cost a lot more!).  However, if you are a practicing pistol shooter I love this China Handgun!  I really do!

[Matchstickshooter]

  John, someone should lend you a Daisy 880 to try!
One with a trigger mod,and  barrel mod.  Another inexpensive enjoyable surprise from China! lol

The P17 maybe made in China, but i's German engineered!

[fwbsport]

It is a well made handgun in all.  It is well engineered and China did a great job here.
I was comparing it again to my HW44 .22 using open sights on both and the HW44 does edge it out at 25 yards.  But I can take out a steel disc at 35 yards with the HW44 (open sights) with my left arm resting alongside the edge of an insulation wall on our generator (yes we have a generator! In this area power goes out all the time).

[Winston]

I'll chime in here with my thoughts on the P17.
My trusty 40+ year old Webley Premier Mk II apparently died a couple of months ago, so began shopping for a replacement. The P17 seemed to check most of the boxes of what I was seeking- adjustable sights, spring or gas piston, decent power, reasonable size, ambidextrous grip. At just under $30 it seemed like a pretty low risk purchase. If I really liked the P17 my plan was to get the Weihrauch P3 version. So I was putting my toe in the water with the Chinese P17 before dropping 8X more for the German P3.
So far I have shot the P17 in 5 sessions, firing about 150 pellets. My thoughts- 1) accuracy is quite good. I have shot offhand 3 shot groups of about 1 1/2" at 50 feet. This is about the limit of my ability offhand 2) fiber optic sights- Wonderful! I can really see the these sights, even with my old eyes. 3) Power- have not chronographed it yet but it seems pretty zippy. 4) Safety location. It is good for me, being left handed. I would think it is on the wrong side for a righty, but maybe it is OK. 5) cocking effort. This is the only real negative. I watched enough videos before buying it to appreciate that it is mandatory to keep your hand clear of the frame and upper part when closing the action. Still, the effort to close the action is significant. It is noticeably more effort to cock than my Webley. 6) pellet loading. Access to the chamber is not as open as on other designs. It can be a little fussy to insert the pellet but it is not all that difficult.
As I write this there is hope that my Webley can be repaired by airgunwerks. So I probably will not buy the Weihrauch P3 version of the P17. Plus, if the cocking effort on the German-made P3 is about the same as the P17, I am not sure I am up for buying another pistol which is somewhat difficult to cock.

[Eddie_E]

Some of the old reviews comparing the P17 vs the P3 showed the P3 around 20 fps slower than the P17. I have no idea if that would show up in the cocking effort, but I can say that I'm getting around 410 FPS with both of my P17's with a 7.9 gr pellet.

[Stinger177]

I'll chime in here with my thoughts on the P17.
My trusty 40+ year old Webley Premier Mk II apparently died a couple of months ago, so began shopping for a replacement. The P17 seemed to check most of the boxes of what I was seeking- adjustable sights, spring or gas piston, decent power, reasonable size, ambidextrous grip. At just under $30 it seemed like a pretty low risk purchase. If I really liked the P17 my plan was to get the Weihrauch P3 version. So I was putting my toe in the water with the Chinese P17 before dropping 8X more for the German P3.
So far I have shot the P17 in 5 sessions, firing about 150 pellets. My thoughts- 1) accuracy is quite good. I have shot offhand 3 shot groups of about 1 1/2" at 50 feet. This is about the limit of my ability offhand 2) fiber optic sights- Wonderful! I can really see the these sights, even with my old eyes. 3) Power- have not chronographed it yet but it seems pretty zippy. 4) Safety location. It is good for me, being left handed. I would think it is on the wrong side for a righty, but maybe it is OK. 5) cocking effort. This is the only real negative. I watched enough videos before buying it to appreciate that it is mandatory to keep your hand clear of the frame and upper part when closing the action. Still, the effort to close the action is significant. It is noticeably more effort to cock than my Webley. 6) pellet loading. Access to the chamber is not as open as on other designs. It can be a little fussy to insert the pellet but it is not all that difficult.
As I write this there is hope that my Webley can be repaired by airgunwerks. So I probably will not buy the Weihrauch P3 version of the P17. Plus, if the cocking effort on the German-made P3 is about the same as the P17, I am not sure I am up for buying another pistol which is somewhat difficult to cock.

Steve - Let me know if you have no joy with Airgunwerks. I've been in and out of many Webley pistols, but I'm sure AGW will take care of it. They are very simple guns to work on.

 

[fwbsport]

Mine was clocked already at 410fps and for the LONGEST time I was trying to remember the handgun of plastic (Beeman) I had after the P1 Magnum came out.  It was .177 and not as "zippy" as this P17.  It WAS the P3.  I like THIS over the P3 I had in 2002 or so--that was the timeline I owned the P3.  I think it also came out in .20 but the one I had was .177.

I wouldn't get a P3 if I had this already.

I'd get a P1 or maybe a version using that power system.