Tag Archives: single-stroke pneumatic

The single stroke pneumatic

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • What is a single stroke pneumatic?
  • The pump head is critical
  • Quick fix
  • How much power?
  • More power
  • Low-cost plinkers
  • Great single stroke
  • Summary

This report was requested by reader Chris USA, and I expect it will be helpful for a number of other readers, as well. Today we’re going to talk about the single-stroke pneumatic, which was the most recent airgun powerplant to be developed. As far as I can determine, the first commercially successful single stroke was the Walther LP2 pistol that was offered in 1967. That pistol’s name tells us a couple things. Was there an LP1? Probably, but I find no record of it in the literature. That tells me it probably wasn’t sold commercially, or if it was, it was withdrawn and replaced by the LP2 soon after launch. So Walther probably developed the single stroke design in the early 1960s or even the late ’50s. read more

Airgun lubrication — pneumatics

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by Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier

Airgun lubrication — spring guns: Part 1
Airgun lubrication — spring guns: Part 2
Airgun lubrication — gas guns

This report addresses:

• What is a pneumatic?
• No. 1 lubrication need.
• A short pneumatic history.
• Which oil to use?
• Other lubrication.
• Wipe down.

This report was written for blog reader Joe, who asked for it specifically; but I know that many of our newer readers also found the information useful. Today, we’ll look at pneumatic guns. There are 3 very different types of pneumatic airguns — precharged, single-stroke and multi-pump — but I think they’re similar enough to cover all of them in the same report. read more

The new best airguns for the money: Part 1

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by B.B. Pelletier

Blog reader Kevin Lentz asked for this report; but as soon as he posted his request, it was seconded by a couple other readers. The first time I did a report with this title was way back in 2007, and that was a four-parter. This time, I’ll hold it to just two parts to save some time, because there are a lot of new models coming out at this time of year. Kevin revised the categories just a little and I went with his suggestions.

Guns under $150: Air rifles
A couple guns that used to be in this category have fallen off the list, in my opinion. They did so due to major changes in product quality. Even at this low level, a gun has to shine to make the list. read more

Choked bores and tapered bores

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by B.B. Pelletier

This subject came up as the result of a comment I made about choked and tapered bores. It turns out that gun makers were having this same discussion 140 years ago with pretty much the same results.

The best gun makers of the 1860-1910 timeframe (and Harry Pope for just a little longer) all either taper-bored their barrels or choke-bored them. I will describe each of these conditions in a moment. There really isn’t much difference between choke-boring and taper-boring, but the slight difference that does exist allows us to talk about each of them as a separate issue.

Most gun makers (or barrel-makers, because in many cases — like Pope, a man did not make the entire gun) did taper-bore their barrels. But that wasn’t what they called it, so the fact that they did it got lost because of the subtleties of the language. read more

Beeman P3 air pistol – Part 3

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by B.B. Pelletier

Test and photos by Earl “Mac” McDonald

Part 1
Part 2

This is the other test result you’ve been waiting for. Today, we’ll look at the accuracy of the Beeman P3 single-stroke pistol.

All accuracy testing was done at 10 meters using conventional 10-meter pistol targets. Remember that Mac has a red dot sight on his gun. And the pistol rested on a single leather bag that was pushed up snug with the triggerguard.

Mac gives this tip for those with astigmatism and see the red dot as a sparkle. Turn the lamp intensity as low as you can still see it, and the dot will grow smaller and sharper.

RWS Hobby
The lightweight RWS Hobby pellet turned in the second-best performance, with a 0.24″ spread for five shots. That’s quite extraordinary, in light of what all the other pellets did. Hobbys are quite affordable, so this is a good solution for this pistol. P3 owners — be sure to try them. read more

Beeman P3 air pistol – Part 2

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by B.B. Pelletier

Test and photos by Earl “Mac” McDonald

Part 1


The Beeman P3 with dot sight is a great-looking air pistol.

Today, we’ll look at the performance of Mac’s personal Beeman P3 pistol. You’ll remember that this is a single-stroke pneumatic pistol with some fine handling features and a great trigger. Two things that many owners have mentioned is that the pistol is difficult to load and that it’s hard to pump (they often say cock). I disagree with the loading statement but agree with the pumping one. While the P3 isn’t as easy to load as a breakbarrel rifle, it’s not that difficult, either. You just have to learn the technique. read more

Beeman P3 air pistol – Part 1

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by B.B. Pelletier

Test and photos by Earl “Mac” McDonald


Mac tested his own P3 with a ProPoint red dot sight.

I’ve already tested and reported on a gun similar to this one. Back in 2006, I tested the Marksman 2004 — a carbon copy of the Beeman P3. At the time, I said it was a wonderful value in light of the price for a P3.

Well, the Marksman 2004 went away in 2006, and the Beeman P17 took its place. Same gun, different name. Still made in China, as opposed to the P3, which is made in Germany. This report looks at the genuine German-made P3.

The Beeman P3 is a single-stroke pneumatic single-shot pistol that performs like a target pistol. I will explain why I say that as we go through Mac’s test. The gun is made primarily of engineering plastic, which is the same stuff Glock frames are made of, so no wear-out and breakage fears. It’s an overlever design, where a top strap is lifted away from the frame and rotated forward to open the air reservoir and provide access for loading the pellet. When the top strap is returned to its starting position, the air is compressed in the reservoir. read more