Beeman 1358

[avator]

I picked up a Beeman 1358 after seeing it posted in the Bargain Gate for $244.
It's a branded for Beeman Chinese bullpup in .22.
I ordered the gun on Wed. 24 at around 6:15am.
At 6:30am I got confirmation and at 9:40am I got an e-mail stating it had shipped.
The gun arrived at my door in the afternoon of the 29th via UPS.

[avator]

So, the gun arrived double boxed. I could tell the inside box was factory sealed and not a return or refurb.
Scope, rings, 2 mags and 2 single shot trays as advertised.
The metal finish looks good and the typical Chinese/Beeman color wash on the wood is acceptable.
The air pressure was at 0 on the gauge but I suspect that is how they are required to ship from China.
My 30min scba tank just happen to have 4k in it so I hooked it up and eased the valve open.
I filled the gun to 3k and closed the valve to check for noticeable leakage.. looks good to go.
Scope and rings are cheap but they are the typical marketing freebie stuff.
I'll round up a better scope and rings. And I know I have a NITB set of side mount legs around here too.

[avator]

5:20am on Nov 30.
The gun held air all night. Gauge is right where I left it last night.
So far, so good.

[avator]

Had a few minutes this morning before time to get ready for work so I rounded up a scope and those side mount legs.
First thing I noticed was the Picca rails were mounted in opposite directions. What I mean is, the number 1 slot is closer to the end of the rail than the last slot and they mounted them with number 1 on the right side towards the breech and the left side towards the muzzle. This made it so the right and left legs were  misaligned by a half slot. No biggie but little things like this bug me. I think I can just remove one rail and swap it around.
This is kind of a mute point because the angle of the legs let the attaching screw heads rub on the stock and leave a mark. Not deep enough to damage the wood but I can see the marks in the finish. I can probably put a washer behind the rail mounting screws on the rails to make clearance.. we'll see. At this point, I don't even know if I'll be using the legs... with the scope, this gun is already on the heavy side and the legs just add unneeded heft. I didn't buy this gun for bench rest use anyhow.

[avator]

Mags....
I like the mags. I like how pellets load in them. Rotate the dial and push a pellet in as opposed to Marauder type mags where you have to rotate the clear plastic cover.
The mags fit nice and snug in the breech... no sloppy sloppy.

[avator]

I hoodied up and stepped out the front door.
I ratcheted the cocking lever. I like the location of the forward cocking lever. I don't have to drop the gun off of my shoulder to recock it with my left hand... I'm a righty.
The cocking was a bit sloppy but nothing to whine about. It was a smooth action with no real snags. I'm sure it could be made better with some tinkering.
No hang ups pushing the pellets into the breech.

[avator]

A note worth mentioning....
If you're looking for an out of the box backyard friendly gun, this is NOT the gun for you.
However, it's right up my alley. I don't have neighbors and I enjoy a good report from my guns.... 
Makes me feel like I'm not playing with toys. It also seems to impress folks that stop by and experience airguns for the first time.
A redneck Yankee impressing the locals with their guns in the backwoods of lower Alabama is a good thing.... you'll just have to trust me on that.... 

[avator]

Initial impressions....
Well, as I've said many times in the past. I am not a bullpup kinda guy.
The reasons for that are, for one, I've have 2 failed shoulder surgeries on my left side and don't have full use of it and now my right shoulder is blown out. That makes it uncomfortable to reach behind my ear to cock a typical pup. If I need to lower the gun each time to cock it, I might as well just stick with a rifle or carbine.
Secondly, I'm a long hair. I prefer not to get snagged in a gil net..... 
The forward cocking lever of this gun removes both of those excuses. Now I get to experience and enjoy the good things that a bullpup brings to the table. The main things being compactness, balance and long gun power.
No muzzle heavy on this gun... no struggling to keep the nose up with my limitations. This alone gives me the freedom to step away from the bench and shoot on the move.

[Hawkeye51]

Those are all good points for you. Sounds like this migbt be just tbe ticket. Glad your enjoying it so far, keep us posted.

[avator]

Thanks Mike..
I probably won't have a whole lot more to report until this weekend when I have some daylight time to play.

[avator]

I will say that bad triggers are a total distraction for me.
I didn't get that from the 4 shots I took this morning.
But then again, the gun is new and my mind may have been on other aspects.
I may have a different opinion once I settle in to sighting in and gathering stats.
The gun will also settle, maybe for better and maybe for worse.

Many folks jump right into tinkering/tuning/cleaning barrels and fussing with their guns right out of the box.
I'm not prone to that. I'm more of a 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' kinda guy because I'm pretty sure i can manage to break it... 
I'd rather wait til it needs fixed. I'm not a power monger so I don't try to wring every drop out of it. If the gun I am using is not up to the task at hand... I have something in the house/mancave that is... 
My common goal is to have a gun perform as it was meant to.. no more, no less.

[avator]

Now, that said... I do buy some guns for purpose of tinkering/modding. This one ain't one of those.

[avator]

Living within one mile from my work is awesome....
It gives me time to go home for lunch, eat and have 40 minutes >< to nap or, in today's case, shoot.
It's a perfect sunny, cool day in lower Alabama... at least from my point of view being from northern most Ohio.
67* and not a cloud in the sky.
So I grabbed the 1358 and headed out to the front porch where I have a patio table, chair and pellet trap set out to 35ish yds. It took the 6 remaining shots left in the mag from this morning to get on target. I popped in the next mag and printed that 10 rounds within an inch of each other.
OK, so an inch is not my idea of a great group at 35 or so yds. But, I'll take it considering it's only the second mag through the gun and I was shooting off an empty dog water dish.... closest thing I could grab at the time... lol My bags are down at other shooting locations.
Also, I just grabbed a half full tin of 14.3 CPUM. I have several others to try out before I call it.

[avator]

Forgot to mention...
I got 2 mags easily within that first initial fill.
2 mags (20 shots) per fill will be well within my walk-about comfort zone.
But then again, the chorno numbers will tell a better story.

[gendoc]

good for you Bill, looks like you might have a good one there......unlike a friend of
mine that got his last week and never got to shoot it.
he tried filling with hand pump, nope.....then he call me and i took my small bottle
to seat the seals....nope !!
leaking air out the barrel, tried cocking to fill....nope!!
asked the seller for a return label and guess what he said....NOPE !!!
return on your dime for a refund or exchange.

[csitas]

Nope , is nothing new. I was just looking at a new website from one of our own. That is the way he is also. Nope

[Hajimoto]

I am glad you are enjoying it. I was really impressed with the rifle itself. The scope and rings that are included really are nothing to talk about but like I said in my video review, if you looking for a solid bullpup for short money, the 1358 checks the boxes.

[renowntwo]

Congratulations on your new purchase.

[avator]

Thanks guys, looking forward to seeing some numbers.
Like I said earlier, if I have any complaint at all, at this point, it might be the excess slop in the cocking lever. I may pull the stock at some point and have a look at that. If and when I do that, I'll clean the barrel and do some polishing and lubing.
But for now, I'm going for the break in and some numbers.

[avator]

Haj, I haven't yet but I plan to watch your review. Thanks for sharing.