Newbie quite impressed with new Beeman R9!

[AJK 547]

1st off, many thanks for the insight on this Forum!  Great people with excellent experience with air guns!  This newbie appreciates the help...

Went to my dealer this afternoon to pick up my Beeman R9 (.177 format), got the rifle home, carefully cleaned the rifle, adjusted the pivot hinge (per Ed's recommendations), used Frog Lube to clean the bbl., re-torqued the two forearm screws, main action screw and rear trigger guard screw, then went after the scope mounting:
 
1) used denatured alcohol to thoroughly clean the dovetail on the R9 Recvr.

2) used denatured alcohol to clean the #5039 1-piece Beeman mount.

3) lined the rings with quality friction tape (double-sided sticky).

4) used powered 'chalk' to lightly coat the recvr. dovetail rails and mount contact points.  Did not use 'stop pin'.

5) Torqued the mount to 30 in./lbs.

6) Torqued the ring 'straps' to 15 in/ lbs. (mounted an inexpensive Center Point 4-16X40 AO for testing).

7) added a piece of white reference tape to recvr. to detect any mount 'walk' along the rails. (thanks Ed!!!)

Ready for 1st 'Shakedown' of R9!  (I'm Stoked by now!!!)





1st Target (#4 bull) @ 10yds. to determine bbl. Droop...  Found about a 4" droop for the R9 (5 shots clustered below the #6 Bull) so I'm happy I spent the $$$$ on the #5039 Adjustable mount.  Reset the mount for additional 4" elevation which then allowed me to easily use scope adj.  2nd sighting tgt. shot was #4 Bull and was happy with elevation shift.


1st 5-shot group (Crosman Premier) sold me on this R9!!!  Honest...






Next up, (before rain set in) I shot a 10 - 25 yd. (JSB RS 7.33g.) zeroed @ 17yds.:






Initial impressions:  accuracy as I had hoped for/expected in the R9, not as 'hold sensitive' as I had expected (lots of experimentation to come), doesn't seem to be too pellet sensitive base on only a few minutes to test before storms settled in.  After ~ 75 rnds., no detectable mount/scope creep but still too early to tell without more shakedown.

After I get a feel for this little German lady, test variety of pellets, further experiment with hold techniques, I'm sure I can shrink the group sizes down to the 0.25" CTC I want @ 25yds.

Very happy with this air rifle and thanks for everyone's thoughtful input!  Much needed by this newbie!   

Art

[Hangtown-Shooter]

Congratulations on your new rifle, and we'd like to see some pics of her too 

[RatRacer]

Congrats Art, money well spent.
That's some precise shooting thru precision torqued rings.  lots of detail given to not mention the scope. 8^)

[grauhanen]

Congratulations on the new rifle.  I must say I don't understand why a stop pin would not be used on the scope mount.  When used properly they serve very well.  I've used them on all my scoped air rifles and never, ever had a problem with them.  What I like about them is that they give an assurance that the scope mount will not creep backward -- ever.

[AJK 547]

Congrats Art, money well spent.
That's some precise shooting thru precision torqued rings.  lots of detail given to not mention the scope. 8^)

Oooops....     For initial shakedown and tests I mounted an inexpensive Center Point 4-16X40 AO.  If the rifle improves with additional testing, I'll mount a Leupold.

Art 

[AJK 547]

Congratulations on the new rifle.  I must say I don't understand why a stop pin would not be used on the scope mount.  When used properly they serve very well.  I've used them on all my scoped air rifles and never, ever had a problem with them.  What I like about them is that they give an assurance that the scope mount will not creep backward -- ever.

Good question grauhanen...  honestly, I wanted to simply see if I could come up with a way to eliminate 'mount walk' on the rails and it's experimentation as I learn the nuances of this R9.  If needed I can put the stop pin back in. 

Art

[palonej]

Congrats Art!!!
Enjoy that new sweetie!!!

[AJK 547]

Congrats Art!!!
Enjoy that new sweetie!!!

Thanks palonej !

Honestly, if I knew 4 months ago what I know now... I'd never would have purchased the X20S or Ruger AH...  There is simply no comparison in 'consistent' accuracy, quality of Rekord fire control or overall workmanship when compared to the German examples like this R9...

FWIW, I took the rifle out this morning (before more rain set in again!  )  and had a chance to set up @ 25 yds. and shoot a CBS grouping, resight, and a quick test of Beeman Kodiak Match (10.65g.) and JSB EXACT HEAVY (10.3g.) for prelim. analysis...


48 Deg. F., 20-30 mph (variable/East), @ 25yds. (trigger adjusted to ~ 2.0 lb. pull wt.):








My take away is this little lady has a good bbl. (seems to like anything you put through it!)

1) CBS group (acceptable cluster)

2) #2 Bull @ 25yds. (Beeman Kodiak Match 10.65g.) yielded 0.3890" CTC

3) #3 Bull @ 25 yds. (JSB EXACT HEAVY 10.3g.) yielded 0.2350" CTC if eliminate 1st rnd. upon switching to JSB from Kodiak Match (w/o bore seasoning).

4) 'Zero' of scope with Crosman Premier (Walmart), and let POI of Kodiak and JSB naturally settle in...

5) The Rekord fire control is nice!  just a 'hint' of Mil. slack in the 2nd stage, but acceptable as I learn about it...


I now see where (if I can find a day w/o rain and strong wind conditions) this 'fraulein' will give 0.25" or < groupings @ 20yds. easily.  I plan to take it to a place of mine where I can spend a day testing, testing, testing and see what she can do a distances from 25 - 50 yds. and even 100yd. (conditions permitting)


Question: "Are there any 'issues' with pushing a heavier pellet (ie. premature seal failure, etc.) like the JSB HEAVY or Beeman Kodiak with the R9 powerplant"


Hope I don't bore everyone with 'details' but it's just the person I am!   

Art

[Sfttailrdr46]

  Congratulations on the R9 After I received my RX2 from another member and not even broken in> My take awayis any other springers will be either Beeman or Weirauch or nothing

[Pitchfire]

I tried without the pin with a light scope (11.5 ounces) but it ended up creeping at what I considered high torque, so I flattened the end of the stock Sportsmatch roll pin (which is actually different than the pictures, a thin sheet rolled several layers thick as opposed to a standard roll pin) then I put a piece of plastic above the pin so it wouldn't back out.

The cap screw idea is probably the simplest and I may end up going down that road after grouse season ends. This is what the Sportsmatch roll pin looks like:

 

[Yak54]

Art

Congrats on your new R9 !!!  As far as shooting "heavier" pellets go, I have read here on the forum that shooting "heavier" pellets may cause the spring to wear out sooner than it would if shooting "lighter" weight pellets.  I personally can't verify this as I only have put around 500 pellets thru my own R9.  As far as I can tell "heavier" equates to more than "about " 9.5 gr..  I'm sure guys with more experience than you and I will weigh in on the subject.  Stay tuned. 

[Brazos]

Just shoot what pellet shoots most accurate and don't worry about the weight and possibly wearing out your spring  a little faster.  Springs are cheap and Vortek and JM make excellent spring tune kits that will make your rifle shoot even better.  HW's shoot great out of the box and get sweeter with use.  If you wear out a spring no worries. 

[bReTt]

Great choice Art and congratulations!  I love both my R9 .22 and my HW95 .177.  Enjoy and keep up posted on your progress with getting familiar with your new airgun!

[AJK 547]

Been raining and windy (15 - 30mph) here in Chi-town since I picked up the R9 on Sun. so I thought I'd set up a 15yd. indoor temp range and do a little more pellet and some initial torque testing on the pivot hinge.  This newbie found out just how 'critical' the proper torque on the pivot hinge is for 'precision' accuracy...



Below image is first series of rnds. with the pivot hinge screw very loose (3 - 4 in. lbs.):




Thought 'Whoa Nellie !!!' and re-torqued to a higher setting and got the following with Beeman Kodiak Match 10.65g.):






Then tried Crosman Premier (10.6g.) with acceptable but not stellar results:




After the Crosman Premier initial test, I noticed the start of some 'vertical stringing' and detected the Beeman 1-piece mount had started to ever so slightly 'walk' in the rails... Darn!!!  Immediately stopped testing and ordered the Beeman Scope Stop setup from PA.  Hope to have it by Fri. to carefully re-clean the mount, rails, etc. and recoat with caulk before having some more fun.

Again, looking forward to some testing @ 25-50yds. and 100yd. to see what this little lady can do at more extended distances.  I'm still impressed with significant less hold sensitivity on the R9 as compared to the Ruger AH and X20S.

Art 

[Lost]

Pardon the interruption from a newb but have you put the arrestor pin in the mount you are using (5039)?

I'm not sure why the scope stop is needed.

[AJK 547]

Pardon the interruption from a newb but have you put the arrestor pin in the mount you are using (5039)?

I'm not sure why the scope stop is needed.

Lost - I'm in the learning process of these 'springers' and simply trying to come up with a solution w/o using the 'stop pin' you mention.  If all else fails, I simply install the pin and be done with it...

Art

[palonej]

Shoot what's most accurate Art......period!!
If the stock spring breaks......Vortek or JM time!!
My 97 shoots best with JSB 10.3 and I got over 50,000 rounds on a Vortek spring!!
My 98 also loves them! I find the JSBs a touch more accurate than the Kodiaks.
Wait till she shows you what she can do further out!!
Enjoy!!!

[AJK 547]

1st test (indoors) today @ 11.6 meters after installing the Beeman Scope Stop and stop pin.  The mount didn't 'walk' on me so I decided to experiment with the torque settings on the pivot hinge.  As I can see, this is definitely a way to precision tune this air rifle:



Beeman Kodiak Match 10.65g. @ 11.6 meters:





Was impressed that the sweet spot (for this R9) was in the 8 - 12 in.lbs. range.  Too bad I screwed up and pulled the 4th rnd. on Bull #3...   

Again, to all of you this prob. seems old hat, but for this newbie, it's the first time I have shot an air rifle with this level of precision.  Have others experimented with the pivot hinge settings with similar results???

Art 

[palonej]

Hey Art!! Seems like she put that silly grin on your face!!
I found mine is extremely consistent when the barrel just barely holds itself up after cocking.
That 98 puts that little boy grin on my face every time I shoot her!!

[Calmark]

It looks like you got a keeper.    I too have noticed barrel hinge tightness setting can make a difference on my Weihrauchs.  Each rifle is different too.  I have one that likes the barrel to just drop with no resistance and another I formerly owned that liked it about as tight as it could get.  Most prefer to be somewhere in the middle though.