A Noob and an RS2

[BrainsB4Beauty]

Hey there fine folks.  I am very new to air guns; lost my cherry about 3 weeks ago.  As a kid I had the usual Daisy and Crosman's, but I never considered them as serious guns.  And so I didn't think about air powered guns again until a couple months ago. 

I really enjoy squirrel hunting, and now live in a neighborhood (was in the country as a kid), so shooting 22LR's in the back yard aint gonna fly.  So while looking for quiet 22 ammo, I stumbled onto the modern day air rifle.  My interest was piqued.

A few weeks back, as I was purchasing another 22 (Ruger 10/22 Take Down, very cool gun) they had an air rifle on the wall.  It was big, wood stock, and a nice looking gun overall.  And for $100, I figured what the heck.  I knew absolutely zero about the gun, which is not a good thing.  It is a Winchester (read Daisy) 1028.  Now in fairness, as a whole, it's not a bad gun.  It's pretty accurate and I like the size of it.  However, the trigger is like pulling a stump.  I was amazed and the amount of concentration and work it took to consistently hit my target with this trigger.  But, I figured, that's airguns I guess.  Nevertheless it was super fun to shoot and work on all my fundamentals in the process.

My some is coming home from school this weekend (he is 16 and at a Military school) so I wanted to go out target shooting with him and try to acclimate him to guns.  So I decided to get another air rifle, so I started reading up.  There are so many opinions, reviews, brands, calibers, price ranges, it was a bit over whelming to be honest.  But I decided on the one I wanted, being a noob to this whole air gun thing.  Read peoples reviews of it here, at Pyramyd Air, Amazon, ^&$@ss, and for the most part I found that the reviews for this gun were above average.  Using the Winchester as my standard, and it's below average ratings I took the plunge and got the Beeman. 

I have to say, I really like this little gun.  It was sighted within 10 pellets, stopped dieseling in 5 and can shoot straighter than I can aim.  The 22 caliber pellets are just SO much heftier...I don't know why I am surprised by that fact.  I shot 22LRs all the time, so I know the diameter, but I just couldn't seem to get my head around a pellet in that diameter and scale.  The best part is the trigger.  Now, I know, I've read some people who say it feels like pulling a horse out of the mud, but that isn't my experience.  Of course, it could be that I started on the Stumpmeister Winchester trigger, and ANYTHING is going to feel better.  That's fine too.  But this is a nice smooth pull, and a pretty predictable release.  I can *just* feel the second stage come on before it breaks.

Again, it's only 50 pellets through it, but dang, I am really quite impressed.  So my son will get the Stumpchester 1028, and me the RS2.  This way, the only time he is going to shoot at something is when he is REALLY intending to shoot at it.

Just wanted to take a second to give a positive vote for the Chinese Beeman.  A good little gun for the money, in this noob's opinion.

[Paul68]

The RS2 sportsman series are decent guns plagued only by the usual QC issues. When you get a decent one its a really nice shooter and a bad one usually just needs a little TLC. Overall, it's a great platform that takes well to tuning. Requires a compressor adapter to remove the rear block assembly and get the innards out, but otherwise nothing really fancy. They'll do an easy 18+ fpe with a good lube tune.

The RS2 trigger is underrated imo. Easy to take apart, requires little work to make VERY smooth, and can be adjusted to a nice easy break with a very nice two stage operation. Out of the box the trigger is decent and can be made above average with just adjustments.

I've done sub inch groups at 50 yrds with mine after a tune and below 50 yrds its a one shot varmint killer.

Definitely good bang for the buck value with these guns.

[OleTomCat]

Brian, have you looked at some of the trigger mods available from Charlie Da Tuna, aka Bob and admin/owner of this site?

[MichaelM]

Brian, have you looked at some of the trigger mods available from Charlie Da Tuna, aka Bob and admin/owner of this site?

Charlie doesnt offer anything for the RS2/TF-89 trigger groups as there is nothing that needs replaced to make them better (of course after typing this I edited because you where prolly referring to the winchester )

I love the RS2/tf-89 and other clones of the ar1000  they are very good guns with plenty of power for the powerplant size..... honestly most of them can stand to be DEtuned just a tad for the best behavior and accuracy as outta the box its not uncommon for them to be shooting 7.9 grain .177 in the 960+ FPS Range and with 14.4 in .22 they are known to be 770-800 fps right outta the box....

the RS2 trigger group is some of the most tunable triggers on about any springer and fairly simple to clean up(the groups in the tf-89 are made better though and are direct drop in replacements btw...)

only downsides to the rs2/tf-89 is they are tricky to get apart as you do need make a adapter to reach arpund the trigger group..... and they tend to be a bit twitchy to shoot in .177 because of the power that little powerplant pushes

[BrainsB4Beauty]

OK, sorry to threadjack my own thread, but I am confused.  Why is the word A R C H E R converted in the system to ^&$@ss?  Is that code for the original word or something...?

[Kailua]

I am almost sure the RS2 main spring is the same as the TF89.  Reason is I have bought a RS2 spring that fit the TF89.  But things and models change but think they should be the same.  With that being said I had problems with spring breakage and the last I checked Air Rifle Headquaters has a replacement spring to match (might want to have them set it if you do order one).  I have had no problems since buying the ARH spring.  The ARH oversized small Apex piston seal will also fit but needs an adapter.  Only place I had found was Target Tune India which I had recieved the screw but not the springs they had offered.  Shipping from India is hit or miss in their postal service but part and shipping was about $6 not a big lost if you don't get it.  Or you can probably make one. 
There is a lot of info on how to lube tune your new rifle on the GTA.  LOL

[OleTomCat]

OK, sorry to threadjack my own thread, but I am confused.  Why is the word A R C H E R converted in the system to ^&$@ss?  Is that code for the original word or something...?

It is one of those forbiden words around here, sorta like he who shall not be named....

[blind dog]

I had an RS2 dual caliber, and only ever shot .22 with it. Great gun for the money, I thought.
It was a victim of my early tuning attempts, and I ended up scrapping it as part of the cost of learning. A buddy of mine has one he got used and has beat the heck out of it for a few years and it still works fine.

[Paul68]

I am almost sure the RS2 main spring is the same as the TF89.  Reason is I have bought a RS2 spring that fit the TF89.  But things and models change but think they should be the same.  With that being said I had problems with spring breakage and the last I checked Air Rifle Headquaters has a replacement spring to match (might want to have them set it if you do order one).  I have had no problems since buying the ARH spring.  The ARH oversized small Apex piston seal will also fit but needs an adapter.  Only place I had found was Target Tune India which I had recieved the screw but not the springs they had offered.  Shipping from India is hit or miss in their postal service but part and shipping was about $6 not a big lost if you don't get it.  Or you can probably make one. 
There is a lot of info on how to lube tune your new rifle on the GTA.  LOL

Could you link to the spring and seal on their site? I've been wanting to upgrade my spring and seal from stock.

 I've been making seal adapters pretty successfuly for these rifles, just a little time consuming with my limited tools. Sent one a couple days ago to one of GTA's members who has better machinery so he can try his hand at it with a real lathe. He's wayyy busy but if luck works out maybe he can make a few extra. Pretty sure the smaller seal on these would require a tapered adapter though instead of the stepped design I came up with for the larger Turkish seals.

[Kailua]

Paul68
The seal is the Apex small over sized by 8 thou.  I had bought a flat head tapered screw to match the the piston thread.  Got a piece of 3/16" flat plate and countersunk it to sit the screw head flat then shaped the outer edge at a taper to match the seal inside opening.  Like you have limited tools but have a bench grinder to shape the taper.  It worked but ended up using the Target Tune India adapter.  The spring was a ARH E9870 last checked was still in stock.  Hope that helps

[Paul68]

Paul68
The seal is the Apex small over sized by 8 thou.  I had bought a flat head tapered screw to match the the piston thread.  Got a piece of 3/16" flat plate and countersunk it to sit the screw head flat then shaped the outer edge at a taper to match the seal inside opening.  Like you have limited tools but have a bench grinder to shape the taper.  It worked but ended up using the Target Tune India adapter.  The spring was a ARH E9870 last checked was still in stock.  Hope that helps

Thanks. I can fab a tapered seal adapter. The seal and spring are the biggest issues. I'll try em out.

[jward681]

Welcome to GTA and the rs2 crowd. Like you I didn't know much about the world of real airguns until recently and ended up getting myself the rs2 as well. Man was I lucky at my blind grab as it has turned out to be a great gun. My only real plans for it are to make a custom stock, lube tune and polish the trigger to make it even better but even that's not necessary in my eyes to keep enjoying this gun.

Spend some time using the search function in top corner and you will find a ton of info on the rs2 and just about anything else you could want to know about the airguns out there.

Enjoy and happy shooting!!!
John

[MichaelM]

I am almost sure the RS2 main spring is the same as the TF89. 

the rs2 and tf-89 are the exact same gun (and probably from the same factory) only difference is the tf-89's fit and finish is a bit better and the trigger group is constructed better (solid internals instead of spot welded together peices)

[BrainsB4Beauty]

Thanks all!  I have to say, I am amazed at the deep level of knowledge this forum possesses!  It looks like I will be learning for a LONG time to come.

[Kailua]

Isn't the internet wonderful.  There are some videos on Youtube on the special tool being made   to compress the main spring it may be under AR1000 or Tech Force 89.  There have been posts on it on the GTA also you have to do a search for it. LOL

[Paul68]

I have a teardown tutorial for the RS2 I put together awhile back thats shows how to set up the adapter if anyone needs it.

[nervoustrigger]

Paul, that would be great.  I have an RS2 that I'm planning to give a tune-up in the near future.

[jward681]

Paul, that would be great.  I have an RS2 that I'm planning to give a tune-up in the near future.

X2....... I'd like to get into mine in near future as well.

Paul that would be awesome to see. Please share with the rest of us!?!?!?!  Thanks

[Paul68]

Send me an e-mail and I'll send it.

[Paul68]

Sent out the file today. Nothing fancy, but should steer you the right way.