Beeman R 9

[chimpmunkplinker]

I'm upgrading from my Gamo Shadow 1000 in .177 and buying a better springer.  I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on a Beeman R9 and need help choosing the optimal caliber.  I shoot 50% paper targets, metal plinkers, pop cans, clay discs and 50% small game/pest control with chipmunks, raccoons, and possums.
I hope to hear from some Beeman R9 users/owners and what you experiences are. 

[JimL911]

With raccoons and possums I would go for .20 or .22.

[USA]

Go to the German gate and see my recent post about the R9. As for caliber it sounds like a .20 would work well for you.

[nced]

I'm upgrading from my Gamo Shadow 1000 in .177 and buying a better springer.  I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on a Beeman R9 and need help choosing the optimal caliber.  I shoot 50% paper targets, metal plinkers, pop cans, clay discs and 50% small game/pest control with chipmunks, raccoons, and possums.
I hope to hear from some Beeman R9 users/owners and what you experiences are. 

I've taken all sorts of legal critters with my .177 R9 and actually prefer this cal for all my R9 shooting! IMHO, at R9 power levels the only thing that matters is PENETRATION THROUGH THE VITALS and I learned that the .177 cal is a better penetrator than the fatter pellets, especially for the raccoons and possums which require precise pellet placement and deep penetration. For the what I consider outside the R9 springer critters I've found that the 10.5 grain Crosman Premier dome pellet penetrates well, however I've also learned that pellets above 9 grain weight will shorten the life of the R9 spring.

Anywhoo, here are a couple pics of critters taken with one of my .177 R9s......
Groundhog at 25 yards with a hit severing the spinal column  at the base of the skull. By the way, don't even try a body shot on a chuck with a pellet gun!........


Raccoon hit at the base of the skull as it was going up an oak tree after wrecking a bird feeder.........


Now what I consider "normal sized" airgun quarry for a gun of the R9 power level.........
SQUIRRELS at any distance you can reliably hit a paintball 90% of the time. LOL.....that AIN'T 50 yards for me even though the R9 with a CPL has sufficient power to take out a squirrel past this distance. One squirrel head shot and the other double lunged. I personally prefer full penetration through squirrels so I get two holes with one shot.............one hole IN and one hole OUT! 


What happens to the squirrels.........

[lillysdad621]

the only advantage a .177 would have on a .20 is a little flatter trajectory and a crazy variety of pellets. I would recommend a .20 caliber first, as it works great because it has a lot more knock down out to 50 plus yards, and the extra weight also helps bucking the wind deflection. The extra weight satisfies the can blasting hooligan on me (it hits hard, no joke...), the extra face area of a pellet helps disperse impact energy better (the bigger the better, no questions asked...). If you do mostly pesting i would even recommend a .22... just because of the larger pellet variety... but as a all around rifle the .20 is got a lot going on...

[nced]

the only advantage a .177 would have on a .20 is a little flatter trajectory and a crazy variety of pellets. I would recommend a .20 caliber first, as it works great because it has a lot more knock down out to 50 plus yards, and the extra weight also helps bucking the wind deflection. The extra weight satisfies the can blasting hooligan on me (it hits hard, no joke...), the extra face area of a pellet helps disperse impact energy better (the bigger the better, no questions asked...). If you do mostly pesting i would even recommend a .22... just because of the larger pellet variety... but as a all around rifle the .20 is got a lot going on...

Hummm......concerning "has a lot more knock down out to 50 plus yards" I didn't find the .20/.22 to be much more effective on squirrels than the .177!  Actually, after SEEING more than a few tree squirrels take a double lung hit from my over 100fpe .22 rimfire and keep on trucking for several more yards to get into a "tree hole", I really don't have much faith that a piddly 14fpe from a .22 R9 will be much better than a 14fpe (or even 8fpe) hit from a .177 pellet!

Years ago I hunted/shot my .20 cal R9 for a year and didn't notice enough extra performance on tree squirrels vs the .177 (actually none) that I bought a used .22 R1 barrel, had it chopped and choked and used it for about 6 months also not seeing enough difference in performance vs the .177 to warrant the extra "trajectory hit" that made the range estimation when using the "fat lead" too critical for my skills. After playing with the "fat lead" for a year and a half I sold both the .20 and .22 barrels and reverted back to .177 never to look back.

Anywhoo.....this .177 vs .22 cal debate has been going on for as long as folks have been shooting pellets and our differences of opinion certainly won't settle this argument, except in our own minds! LOL....I do admit that the .20/.22 will make a bigger hole than a .177 (well as deep as it penetrates anyway) and they do make more rukus when they hit a tin can, walnut, pine cone, or any other inanimate object, but neither the .20 or .22 actually dropped a squirrel better for ME than the .177, especially if the range was in excess of 35 yards due to the "fat pellet" loopy trajectory giving more "off the mark" hits.....and an "off themark" hit from a .22 pellet wasn't as good as an "on the mark" hit from a .177 cal from a R9 power springer.

LOL....guess we'll  just have to have a FRIENDLY disagreement on this one based on our individual experiences!