by B.B. Pelletier
Testing and photos by Earl McDonald
Beeman R9 Elite Series Combo is a good-looking spring rifle.
Today, we’ll look at the accuracy of our test Beeman R9. Remember, Mac is testing this at his house on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. He’s shooting from inside his garage out into the wood line at the side of his house. By doing it this way, he can chronograph the shot as well as shoot at the target at the same time.
This past Sunday, he was testing another rifle for us and stepped on an underground hornet’s nest. I don’t know if they were actual hornets, but they sure acted like it. The aggressive black and white wasps stung him a dozen times before he could get away.
Mac also wanted me to tell you that this new restyled R9 has a slimmer forearm. Instead of the bull-nosed R1 forearm, the new R9 forearm tapers up after the stock screws. You can see this in the detailed photos on this website. He says he likes the new style better than the old. It makes the rifle more svelte.
Accuracy testing was at 30 yards, with the forearm resting on his open palm at the balance point of the rifle. The scope was set at its maximum magnification of 12x. All groups were 10 shots.
Premier 10.5
Crosman Premier 10.5-grain pellets grouped okay but had a few fliers. That may have been due to irregular pellets, because Mac didn’t sort pellets for this test.
The heavy Premier looked as though it wanted to shoot, but there were some fliers. Perhaps sorting would eliminate these.
Premier 7.9
With the 7.9-grain Crosman Premier pellet, the groups were tight and there were no fliers. The rifle was still burning oil that could be smelled, but there were no detonations during accuracy testing.
With Premier lites, the R9 grouped 10 in 0.67″. That’s not too shabby for 30 yards.
RWS Hobby
And the lightweight RWS Hobby pellets went all over the place. Not a good pellet for this R9!
The light Hobby was not accurate in the test rifle.
Beeman Kodiaks
The most accurate pellet in the test was the heavy Beeman Kodiak, by a slim margin over the Premier lites. This pellet also gave good performance in the velocity test, so it should always be considered for this rifle. Remember, H&N Baracudas are the same pellet by another name.
The heavyweight Kodiak pellet was the most accurate in this test, grouping as tight as 0.65″.
I am more of a pistol lover, but that is one beauty! 🙂
rikib
Good morning, well every gun has her pellet but i cant belive that hobby is all over the place ,yesterday i bought RWS SUPERPOINT and from one to five it is 2,5 they are too soft and squashy will stick to a hobby
Dont get me wrong i would not buy for 177 cal hobby pellets i got this feeling that they would not be that good and there is the proof up on the target 🙂
This one is for David ,i took the liberty to look to our stores (in Croatia)and noticed that diana 48 panther converted to dollars in Croatia is 606 dollars and where you are 400 dollars,and question for B.B. i noticed that we here have Diana 52 (648,75 DOLLAR HERE)but just in 17 cal it is too expencive and not subsonic therefore not good do they make 52 in 22 cal?!We have also Diana 54 AIRKING (TOO EXPENCIVE 826,30 dollar)!
C-S,
Yes, the Diana/RWS 52 (and 48) come in .22 caliber. In fact, that is the best caliber for both guns, because of their power potential.
As for the gun prices in the U.S. being lower than in Europe, here is how that works. In Europe, the prices are held high by agreements and sometimes even laws that regulate them. In the U.S. we don’t have the same laws, so the price is based on what the gun cost to import.
B.B.
Don’t forget that there is also that lovely 15% – 21% Value Added Tax built into the price in Europe. There’s also a 4-8+% sales tax here depending on where you live, that’s added at the cash register, not in the catalog.
you have to like taxes it is so empty without them 🙂
Pete,
Ahh! The Mehrwertsteure (Umsatzsteuer)! How quickly we forget.
B.B.
Thank you B.B.!
BB,
It seems Canada even have MUCH better price than we do. For example, the HW30S is about $230. Any trick they have up there?
Is that Canadian dollars or US dollars? Also need to check tax rates. All things may not be as they appear. 🙂
rikib
rikib,
you are right. But for a fair comparison, we should only talk about the consumer price and just excluding sale taxes and shipping cost.
tdung,
I feel that a true comparison is what will it cost to get that gun in my hands. There are a lot of places that will undercut retail prices only to screw you on s & h charges that are ridiculous.
rikib
Hi Guys
Holy cow, i wonder how much a beeman R1 is
Thanks David
We here don t have that mark of gun so i can t say:)
It is EXPENSIVE not EXPENCIVE ,sorry guys but you know my english you understand me 🙂
BB:
There must be a special award for Mac’s services to Air Gunning,what with getting stung like that.
Thank you Mac.
I had a closer look at the R9 on the link.Outstanding.
The rifles proportions are perfect.
It shoots pellets as well you say,Bonus 🙂
C-S:
Prices in the UK for nearly everything are a rip off as well.
If it wasn’t for cheap Chinese imports the average guy here would be stuffed.
DaveUK
B.B.,
Was Mac shooting these groups off hand or was he benched with the forearm resting on his open palm at the balance point of the rifle?
Seems from this point forward he’s entitled to hazard pay. Nasty bugs.
kevin
Kevin,
The rifle was benched.
B.B.
Interesting this springer shoots the Kodiaks that well. I have Kodiaks and they aren’t doing well at all in my Gamo. But then I am in a real shooting haze of late, can’t hit anything. Don’t know if my eye is changing, or what, but everything around the house is safe lately! Going to set up 20yd targets and see if my sites got bumped. Time to break out the $6 pellet stop too!
KA
KA,
Or maybe time to break out the JB Paste and a wire brush.
B.B.
a big yes to that. I only have 3 springers, but the Gamo seems to need cleaning alot more than the other 2. I only use Kodiaks in the Gamo, so I don’t know if it is the gun or the pellet, or both.
BB, Gene,
Thanks, this barrel has never been cleaned (5 years maybe?) and of course after I opened big mouth about the Kodiaks not shooting good I tried one. Bingo! dead bird. have gotten three more birds as well. Go figure.
KA
My Gamo likes the Kodiak Extra Heavy, I think thats the name. My Big Cat has no iron sights, scope only. I had problems with the scope/mounts, but I think I have that fixed.
Gene,
Mine is a CFX and today it likes the 10.6 ‘s It’s 107deg outside. I wonder if temp plays a roll in certain pellets shooting better than others. The only other pellet I have on hand is 8.8g Crow Magnums. they are my go to pellets but aren’t shooting worth a darn, they’re everywhere.
BB,
Any validity to my guess on the heat effecting barrels’ choice of pellets?
KA
BB
I had never considered blaming my bad groups on hornet stings. Please give my regards to Mac for adding to my arsenal of excuses, 😉 I hope his welts heal in short order.
These last few blogs have been riveting. I like BB pistols too, but this is some real beef for my teeth.
Gotta admit, though I really like open sights, when I see groups like these I really start thinking about scoping the Slavia. At 35 yards I’m getting 2″ groups…I know it’s apples/oranges…but man, those are tight!
On another note I’m really pleased with the weekends shooting. As some of you may recall my two young sons (6 & 9) were getting the BAM B3-1 (the AK lookalike, with std iron sights) for their end of school presents.
At the range we’re members of they have boards set up (on the rimfire range) 20 and 40 meteres. After I got the rifles sighted in (for my eyes) the 6 year old was putting his 10 shots in 5in circle (at 20yds) and the 9 year old was doing the same at 40 yds.
This with a steady 15mph wind.
We were using Hobby’s (wadcutters) and I can’t help but think they’d tighten up their groups with domed pellet.
As I mentioned on another post, at 40yds I was getting 2″ groups with the Slavia (open sights) and the BAM B9-1 (there bullpup design) with a 1x Red-Dot.
yah, I often get my meters and my yards mixed up… 😉
BB,
What’s the difference between the regular R7 and the R7 Double Gold? Is PA selling the R7 DG? Thanks.
tdung,
The difference between a R7 and the R7 Double Gold is that a Double Gold comes with a scope and mounts. B.B. recently said that from this point forward the Double Gold (R7, R9 etc. packaged with a scope and mounts) will be called the Elite Series. It’s now being referred to as a Beeman R7 Elite Series Combo on the Pyramyd AIR site. Some other dealers still call the combo package Double Gold. So the short answer is YES, PA is still selling the R7 Double Gold.
kevin
tdung- it is maybe superstition stuff you know for silver bullet why not then double gold…kiding but that make sense 🙂
double gold with a silver bullet 🙂 CSD-scoping slavia is like a ,well just not wright this is raw practice shooting gun 😉
Does anyone have a Sharp UDII Co2 rifle they would like to sell?
Also, I have a .177 Belgium Hyscore 801 to sell. This one did not come with the pellet seater.
denoch@southwestvault.com
David Enoch
tdung,
The difference between a R7 and the R7 Double Gold is that a Double Gold comes with a scope and mounts. B.B. recently said that from this point forward the Double Gold (R7, R9 etc. packaged with a scope and mounts) will be called the Elite Series. It’s now being referred to as a Beeman R7 Elite Series Combo on the Pyramyd AIR site. Some other dealers still call the combo package Double Gold. So the short answer is YES, PA is still selling the R7 Double Gold.
kevin
tdung,
The R7 at Airguns of Arizona is an obsolete model. They must have not sold all of their old models yet. The new R7s will not have sights, like the one you see at Pyramyd AIR.
B.B.
tdung,
It also looks like the AoA R7 doesn’t have forearm checkering.
– Orin
“…beside the obvious sights and stocks?”
Oops… looks like you already realized that. Sorry.
– Captain Obvious
I suspect that H&N FTT’s (Beeman FTS) would group the best but were not tested. What is it with testing the rifles on this blog almost exclusively with RWS and Crosman pellets?
Does anyone have any exprience with the Crossman Titan GP?
Not for very long, but so far….
Not too hard to cock, smooth cocking, not very loud. A bit over 700 fps with cp .22 pellets.
Nasty trigger….long and stiff, dry feel.
Not terribly hold sensitive as some others, but not super easy either. Good balance and not real heavy. Easy to carry.
Included scope not bad as some for parallax. Rings are garbage, but work. Scope height is about right with included rings.
Good metal finish. Wood not bad for chinese.
Anything else??
twotalon
C-S…I agree with you about the Slavia being a natural for open sights. My ‘problem’ is that I live in the same city and have met Rob Furlong…the Canadian Forces trooper who holds the record for the longest sniper kill (2657 yards).
The Slavia is so accurate…I can’t help but think that with a nice Leapers that record would be obtainable.
hahahahahaha 😉
CSD,
Between you and Furlong, it sounds like the makings of an Edmonton field target club! Just find a gentle way to break it to him that the .50 BMG doesn’t quite sneak under the 20 fpe rule.
-Jan
Oh, and before someone gets on my case…I know that some Brit beat Furlongs record (by about 30 yds) last year.
I choose to ignore it!!! 😉
twotalon, thanks for the input. I was thinking of getting one after seeing it at Wally’s World for under 150. For the money it’s sounds like a good deal. I’d probably be inclined to change the scope, mounts and trigger. Thanks again twotalon. Bargain hunter stalks his prey.
You might be able to get away with medium height rings and a scope with an AO that is not too large.
A better trigger is pretty much a must do thing. Even if it was smooth and easy, it would still be a mile long the way it is.
twotalon
Extra items….
It’s not very violent, and for some reason has what seems like a pretty good barrel for chinese. might shoot quite a few pellets fairly well.
CP pellets push through with a snug and pretty even fit. Mostly a dry feel, but not really rough. This one also has a choke for some reason…tighter at the last 1/2″ of barrel. Unusual. Might be an accident.
twotalon
Matt61
Yikes. Yet another airport odyssey. Indeed it was lucky for you that we were not traveling companions on that day, or we would both be in the pokey right now. I bet your photo is posted at all TSA checkpoints at this very moment.
What you mistook for ineptitude, incompetence, idiotic bullying, power trips and petty threats was actually the well oiled machine of finely trained TSA professionals using their keen wits to quickly assess the situation, and accurately identifying the supposed librarian with ‘airgun scopes’ to be the wily terrorist that you are, with weapons of mass magnification. If it were not for the quick thinking and selfless courage of these TSA agents, your airline just may have missed out a little on their checked-baggage extortion scheme.
God bless these finely trained federal employees for being too stupid to count, and not trustworthy enough to handle money, so that they could be there to protect us at the airport and in the skies instead of working at a toll booth somewhere. It makes me feel so confident and secure.
SL,
WELL SAID! I have experienced many inconveniences over my many years of travel (even prior to 9/11). Airport security gets a lot of crap, but your still alive Matt. Believe me I’m not all for the way some TSA’s operate, some do the job as an ego trip and are way under-qualified. But as with all law enforcement we have to trust? them.
rikib
SL,
You have help me out a lot in the past, how is it that you can find info about Crosman parts? Whenever I go to their site it seems like all I can do is design a gun, not purchase individual parts. Please help! 😀
rikib
rikib
Everything I know about Crosman came from Derrick or the Crosman forum.
http://www.network54.com/Index/12861
Check out “Common Part Numbers” and “Crosman Forum FAQ”
You can order just about anything from Crosman, but you will need to know the part number for it, as you must order most everything by phone, and the order takers can’t or won’t provide you part numbers based on descriptions of what you want. It is a very weird system.
SL,
Thanks! I’ll have to make a note of that somewhere. I don’t know why Crosman makes it so difficult. Thanks again! 🙂
rikib
RikiB,
You might also try e-mailing Chris (“zoned” – as he’s known on this forum). You can get his contact info from his blog. He specializes in Crosman gun mods and has undoubtedly corresponded many times with Crosman.
– Orin
Slinging Lead,
You’re not only one of the good guys but you’re one of the good guys that knows what he’s talking about. I sure enjoy reading your stuff since it’s in sharp contrast to most know it alls especially on the yellow.
kevin
Okay I need a grammar checker “helped”, not “help”
rikib
Seen this article in the local news. The story is quite long so I’m only posting the first paragraph, don’t want to take up the whole blog.
ALBANY, GA (WALB) –The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Second Amendment not only applies to the federal government, but also to state and local governments, forbidding them from infringing on Americans’ rights to own and carry firearms. Despite the ruling, South Georgia gun owners are still wary that government leaders might try to take away their rights.
I’ll post more if wanted.
rikib
Here in the UK the rifle is called HW95
I tried crosman premier pellets in my HW95 .177 and they grouped slightly worse than RWS super domes, For each group of 5 shots I’d get 3 close together and 2 that would spoil the group – whereas the RWS super dome pellets grouped consistently
B.b. Pelletier ,
I have heard you have shot a beeman r9 at 100 yards and got a 1.5″ group. Is this true? And if I was mistaken could you possibly test it at 100 yards or so? And if you can’t do that ( which I totally understand) what do you think it could achieve? I don’t know what happened with your group, because I’ve seen groups that are the same hole at 20-30 yards so assuming that what do you think it can do?
Thanks,
Nathan
Nathan,
I don’t own an R9, but I’m pretty sure the best one could do is 4-5 inches at 100 yards. And that would be a stretch. An R9 will put 10 shots into 1.5 inches at 50 yards in my experience.
I have shot an AirForce CindorSS and made a 10-shot one-inch group at 100 yards. And i recently made a 1.5-inch 6-shot group with an AirForce Texan.
B.B.