Beeman Raider 1331

[Nukall856]

OAL 39, 7/8 " < 1013 mm
LOP 14, 3/8" < 365 mm
Barrel 18, 1/2" < 470 mm
Listed as 5.9 lbs
3500 PSI fill limit

The Beeman Raider included 2 of 10 shot magazines and 2 of Single shot trays along with a few Allen wrenches, one is used to adjust the Hammer spring.
  Handling the Beeman Raider is a thing to behold. It feels Nice light and compact.
Wood stock with a rubber butpad, polymer shrouded barrel with a short baffle that is on 1/2 x20 UNF threads. The included LDC does cut down on shot report, though the BR LDC I have does Alot better at quieting the short report.
  The Polymer open sights are not marked and click adjustable for windage and elevation and provide a good sight. I like that the front sight is hooded.
Filling the Raider does not require a fill probe and connects right to the fill connection of your selected air source. Good. The fill port has a snap on cover which fits good without play or wiggle.
The trigger is adjustable, OOTB the trigger pull is light and short. I will be adjusting the trigger to my liking. I'll see if I can find a wall to stop on. The Safety is manual and in the trigger guard in front of the trigger< push forward to disengage the safety.
Before begining I adjusted the hammer spring out until it was flush with the rear of the tube. I then turned in 5 rounds. Starting with a 3200 PSI fill I took 20 shots to get down to 2500 PSI.  Another 20 shots and there was 1700 PSI left.
When the weather is warm enough I'll be gathering Chrono numbers to find a setting I like.

4 Uncles 3 stage Hand pump.
1700 PSI
40 Pumps @ 2400 PSI
70 Pumps @ 3000 PSI

NVak

[tennx]

I like Beeman products,have several…Im sure folks are looking forward to your report…..good luck

[Rick67]

OAL 39, 7/8 " < 1013 mm
LOP 14, 3/8" < 365 mm
Barrel 18, 1/2" < 470 mm
Listed as 5.9 lbs
3500 PSI fill limit

The Beeman Raider included 2 of 10 shot magazines and 2 of Single shot trays along with a few Allen wrenches, one is used to adjust the Hammer spring.
  Handling the Beeman Raider is a thing to behold. It feels Nice light and compact.
Wood stock with a rubber butpad, polymer shrouded barrel with a short baffle that is on 1/2 x20 UNF threads. The included LDC does cut down on shot report, though the BR LDC I have does Alot better at quieting the short report.
  The Polymer open sights are not marked and click adjustable for windage and elevation and provide a good sight. I like that the front sight is hooded.
Filling the Raider does not require a fill probe and connects right to the fill connection of your selected air source. Good. The fill port has a snap on cover which fits good without play or wiggle.
The trigger is adjustable, OOTB the trigger pull is light and short. I will be adjusting the trigger to my liking. I'll see if I can find a wall to stop on. The Safety is manual and in the trigger guard in front of the trigger< push forward to disengage the safety.
Before begining I adjusted the hammer spring out until it was flush with the rear of the tube. I then turned in 5 rounds. Starting with a 3200 PSI fill I took 20 shots to get down to 2500 PSI.  Another 20 shots and there was 1700 PSI left.
When the weather is warm enough I'll be gathering Chrono numbers to find a setting I like.

4 Uncles 3 stage Hand pump.
1700 PSI
40 Pumps @ 2400 PSI
70 Pumps @ 3000 PSI

NVak

I wish the Crosman 2260 had that shape of stock 

[Blowpipe Sam]

Waiting for the brown van to bring my .25 cal right now.

[Nukall856]

  GTA members, Feel free to add to this thread, your experience, the settings or tunes and mods done, your setup and Chronograph information will all be welcome. What do you think and how do you like the Beeman Raider.
  If the temperature doesn't drop any further and the wind stays calm I might be able to gather some Chrono numbers after work.
Excellent Work Stay Alert

NVak

[avator]

I'm not really a bullpup fan but I like the Beeman 1358. The forward cocking lever made it work for me. The reason I brought it up is because I have a feeling that the action on the 1331 is going to be real close if not the same.
My 1358 has turned into a real accurate shooter.
Waiting for someone to confirm my thinking.

[Nukall856]

avator,
 If I am not wrong it appears the 1331 and 1358 share the same Airtube, Valve and trigger with the differences being in the breech and stock and barrel and a fewother parts. But otherwise very close to the same.
 Today from yabE I ordered a Quickshot Side Lever Breech for around $105 including shipping. The Quickshot Breech is made of Aluminum and Stainless Steel and has bothe 11mm and Picatinny rails for mounting optics. I'll use the stock polymer breech until springtime.
 I have found Regulators for Beeman/Barra for around $90... That is a possibility for a later time. I don't want it regulated,,, not just yet anyway
.
NVak

[Blowpipe Sam]

The brown van left another long corrugated box at my house today.  Initial impressions are good.  It only took 130 strokes of my vevor pump to bring it up to 3,000 PSI.  I loaded up both magazines with JSB Kings and headed out back.

The first shot sounded like a five round burst on full auto.  VERY loud!  Second shot sounded like a three round burst.  The third was a double and then it settled down I estimate somewhere around 2,500 PSI and began to sound like a normal (albeit loud) Air rifle.  Lots of hammer bounce!  NOT backyard friendly!  I don’t know where the hammer spring adjuster is set but this is not optimum.  Chronograph tomorrow and then I’ll start fiddling with the adjuster.  The irons ( I refuse to cal them “plastics”) are not bad (for cheap plastic sights).  I despise fiber optics.  With my poor eyesight they are too indistinct for accurate shooting.  But these were good enough to show that the gun has intrinsic accuracy out to at least forty yards.
I shot two magazines and then two from the single shot tray.  I short stroked the bolt three time in the first magazine but I got the proper technique figured out and the second one ran flawlessly.  The single shot tray is easy to use and would be the choice for longer pellets.
Its light  and handy and it looks good.  My only beef at present is with the somewhat odd line of the wrist of the stock.  The curved ridge is not terribly comfortable.  I think I’ll be at it with a rasp and sand paper shortly.

[Nukall856]

Blowpipe Sam,
 It sounds like the spring adjustment is set high on your .25 Raider. I'm sure the factories set them on high seeking a high FPS reading to attempt to meet their own FPS claims. I set mine back and out of the box it was set pretty high so I backed it out to get to the 5 turns.
 
Today I shot 31 times from 3000 PSI and ending around 1550 PSI.

Hammer spring set at +5.0 turns in from out-flush.
30°F

CPUM 14.3gr
3000 PSI Start

1. 784
3. 802
5. 830
7. 841
9. 861
10 shots @ 2500 PSI
11.862
13. 877
15. 884
17. 877
19. 881
Shot 20 @ 869 < 2000 PSI
21. 867
23. 853
25. 831
27. 832
29. 820
31. 805 < 1550 PSI

At this setting I have around 15 shots within 30 FPS,  shots #8 - 23 from 2600 - 1800 PSI so I'll have to play around with the adjustment and see if I can find a setting I like. I may try back out the adjustment a little to find a string with more usable shots.

NVak

[avator]

I was doing a bit of research on the gun, mainly to get some insight on that plastic breech, and I found an interest bit of info on another forum that I am not a registered member of but Google gave me a link.
The poster said that the 1100z side lever breech is a drop in. He did put flats on top of the barrel for the grub screws to center and secure it.
He also said he was able to get a few side lever breeches from Barra at $45 each from warranty parts guns...  YMMV on that.
That would be a welcome upgrade for me.

[tennx]

I was doing a bit of research on the gun, mainly to get some insight on that plastic breech, and I found an interest bit of info on another forum that I am not a registered member of but Google gave me a link.
The poster said that the 1100z side lever breech is a drop in. He did put flats on top of the barrel for the grub screws to center and secure it.
He also said he was able to get a few side lever breeches from Barra at $45 each from warranty parts guns...  YMMV on that.
That would be a welcome upgrade for me.

Just a FYI mentioned in post #6
https://www.ebay.com/itm/296795616436?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=zvol6uozrhy&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=_70jmZuBS5m&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[Blowpipe Sam]

I can see where a side lever breech would solve the cocking issue with this gun.  The technique I use is to put my thumb on the back of the receiver and squeeze that last half inch to get the sear to engage.  I'm not spending $109 for a side lever though.  $45 seems reasonable but the OP on AGN said he got the last of the cheap ones.  It is good to know that a lot of the Barra parts are compatible.

The Hawke Vantage 3-9X40 won the scope lottery and now resides atop the Raider.  I took it down to the riverbank this a.m. and zeroed it.  Accuracy is excellent with 25.39gr JSB Kings.  If the sun comes out today I will try and get some chronograph numbers.  I definitely want to play with the hammer adjuster but not until I get some base-line OEM numbers off the chrono.  At this setting the gun is very powerful but it's wasting a lot of air.

[avator]

I can see where a side lever breech would solve the cocking issue with this gun.  The technique I use is to put my thumb on the back of the receiver and squeeze that last half inch to get the sear to engage.  I'm not spending $109 for a side lever though.  $45 seems reasonable but the OP on AGN said he got the last of the cheap ones.  It is good to know that a lot of the Barra parts are compatible.

The Hawke Vantage 3-9X40 won the scope lottery and now resides atop the Raider.  I took it down to the riverbank this a.m. and zeroed it.  Accuracy is excellent with 25.39gr JSB Kings.  If the sun comes out today I will try and get some chronograph numbers.  I definitely want to play with the hammer adjuster but not until I get some base-line OEM numbers off the chrono.  At this setting the gun is very powerful but it's wasting a lot of air.

Did you ask if he would part with one of the 5 he bought?
Would it maybe be fruitful to post a wtb for a broken or parts 1100z? Maybe even on the bay.

[Blowpipe Sam]

I can see where a side lever breech would solve the cocking issue with this gun.  The technique I use is to put my thumb on the back of the receiver and squeeze that last half inch to get the sear to engage.  I'm not spending $109 for a side lever though.  $45 seems reasonable but the OP on AGN said he got the last of the cheap ones.  It is good to know that a lot of the Barra parts are compatible.

The Hawke Vantage 3-9X40 won the scope lottery and now resides atop the Raider.  I took it down to the riverbank this a.m. and zeroed it.  Accuracy is excellent with 25.39gr JSB Kings.  If the sun comes out today I will try and get some chronograph numbers.  I definitely want to play with the hammer adjuster but not until I get some base-line OEM numbers off the chrono.  At this setting the gun is very powerful but it's wasting a lot of air.

Did you ask if he would part with one of the 5 he bought?
Would it maybe be fruitful to post a wtb for a broken or parts 1100z? Maybe even on the bay.

With the low prices for these entry level PCP's I think we're going to see a lot of noobs (like me) attracted to them.  There will be a lot of returns and refurbs.  Probably be quite a few guns going up for sale cheap as new buyers lose interest or get frustrated with the idiosyncrasies of running a PCP.  Running a WTB add for Barra/Beeman parts is probably a good strategy.  I'll log on to AGN and ask the OP about how he got his parts.

[Blowpipe Sam]

Nukall856, Liking your numbers!  It's encouraging to see that the gun is so powerful in .22.  Bodes well for the .25. 

[avator]

I can see where a side lever breech would solve the cocking issue with this gun.  The technique I use is to put my thumb on the back of the receiver and squeeze that last half inch to get the sear to engage.  I'm not spending $109 for a side lever though.  $45 seems reasonable but the OP on AGN said he got the last of the cheap ones.  It is good to know that a lot of the Barra parts are compatible.

The Hawke Vantage 3-9X40 won the scope lottery and now resides atop the Raider.  I took it down to the riverbank this a.m. and zeroed it.  Accuracy is excellent with 25.39gr JSB Kings.  If the sun comes out today I will try and get some chronograph numbers.  I definitely want to play with the hammer adjuster but not until I get some base-line OEM numbers off the chrono.  At this setting the gun is very powerful but it's wasting a lot of air.

Did you ask if he would part with one of the 5 he bought?
Would it maybe be fruitful to post a wtb for a broken or parts 1100z? Maybe even on the bay.

With the low prices for these entry level PCP's I think we're going to see a lot of noobs (like me) attracted to them.  There will be a lot of returns and refurbs.  Probably be quite a few guns going up for sale cheap as new buyers lose interest or get frustrated with the idiosyncrasies of running a PCP.  Running a WTB add for Barra/Beeman parts is probably a good strategy.  I'll log on to AGN and ask the OP about how he got his parts.

In his post he said he called them and asked. They don't list parts for them. Like I said.. they were spare parts from returns. I wonder if Geo from Barra would be able to get ahold of a few from the 1100z? Might be worth a PM. He's a member here.

[Blowpipe Sam]

I aired mine up to 2,700 PSI again and shot two more magazines at paper to fine tune the zero.  The bolt pull is definitely an idiosyncrasy of this design but for an entry level gun at this price it is perfectly acceptable.  I can live with it.  It feels similar to my XS60C and my Swiss K31 so its familiar to yank back at the end of the stroke.  I don't think the sunshine is going to get any better today so I'm going to go ahead and try to get some chronograph numbers this afternoon.

[Nukall856]

 Thanks to naptemp for having mentioned the Bstaley mod which entails adding 2 rubber O-rings to the airtube up against the valve and before the hammer. Doing this will eliminate or reduce hammer bounce and the resulting wasted air. I have read on the mod and then looking around on A-Z I found a pack of orings that has the right size O-rings 22mm x 2mm needed for the Beeman Bstaley mod. For now I'll be setting up and shooting the Raider as stock unmodified. Sometime before April I'd like to get the Mod done along with installing the Quickshot Breech.
 For now Ive got to think if I want to add or reduce hammer preload. I do want abit more shots within a closer FPS spread.

NVak

[Ronno6]

I had already contacted Geo
He directed me to the  help desk at Barra.......... help@barraairguns.com

[Blowpipe Sam]

O'kay kiddies here's the chronograph results.  Numbers do not lie

Hammer adjuster at factory setting.  Starting fill 2500 PSI.  25.39gr JSB Kings
#!.     762 FPS
#10.  718 FPS
The first shot was the fastest and velocity fell steadily from there.  The first five shots there was noticeable hammer bounce.

Hammer adjuster backed out two full turns from factory setting. 2500 PSI.  JSB Kings
#1 went 715 FPS
#6 was where velocity peaked at 753 FPS
#10 had fallen to 740 FPS
The hammer is still floating for at least the first three shots.

Hammer adjuster backed out four turns. 2500 PSI.  JSB Kings
#1 went 633 FPS
#15 is where velocity peaked at 725 FPS
#20 had fallen to 674 FPS

Some slight hammer bounce still detectable in the first two shots.  Accuracy was excellent until the pressure dropped below 1500 PSI.
I might back the adjuster out one more turn or maybe just a half turn.

Solve the hammer bounce problem with this gun and I'm sure I could run it at higher pressure and get a longer shot string out of it.

This is 20 shots at 20 yards.