Page 4 of 7 - Beeman P3 Reviews

After much consideration, decided to step up from the Beeman P17 (MIC) to the Beeman P3 (MIG by Weihrauch). The P3 overall has a better build, a better finish and a more solid feel in the hand. Components are machined stainless steel (sears, springs, pins, hammer, cams, valve parts) and the external trigger, safety and over lever lock parts are aluminum. Hammer, sears and cams have very squared and trued contact surface areas that provide smooth interactions and increase reliability. Out-of-the-box, the excellent precision 2-stage trigger has a 1st stage 6oz-1\2" adjustable pull, with a crisp break-like-glass 2nd stage set at 15oz...Nice! The P3 and P17 shoot about the same velocity and have similar accuracy (possibly P3 a slight hair better). Both have 15oz triggers (P3 2-stage, my P17 single stage-after mod), both sears break like glass, both handle almost identically, both have excellent accuracy and both load pellets - compress pneumatics (over lever pump) equally!

The P3 safety selector "on my unit" is very stiff and requires a lot of effort to take off safety...gotten use to it now, but could be made easier.

When I don't pull a round, with the iron sights I was able to quickly zero in my POA and readily shoot 10 yard 5-shot cloverleaf groupings within a .250 spread (RWS Hobby 7.0g WCs)! The exterior texture finish is rugged and tactile and grip ergonomics is near perfect. Overall weight is well balanced and the pistol has a solid feel in the hand. When I don't pull a round, with the iron sights I was able to quickly zero in my POA and readily shoot 10 yard 5-shot cloverleaf groupings within a .250 spread (RWS Hobby 7.0g WCs)!

IMHO, if your wanting\needing the extra durability the P3 offers, or possibly the reliability\longevity it may bring, even though it appears at this time to be a relative equal in the accuracy department, then 7X the investment certainly could be worth it! However, if you want\need to be frugal with your air gun investment, willing to put in the time and effort to tinker-repair-upgrade-mod a P17 (if\when needed), then this option is certainly also woth it!

ACCURATE! Fun to shoot, trigger is phenomenal

No need for a fake slide release or magazine ejector

Loading a pellet takes some getting used to but it's a breeze after a day or two, I can load wadcutters without looking or fumbling around. The trick is setting the edge of the pellet's head in the bore and tipping it into place. I'm shooting RWS Meisters and at 10 yards with the open sights I can usually make a nice clover. I have no regrets about spending the extra money on this as opposed to the Chinese version

I gave away my P3 a few years back because my P 17 seemed every bit as good, which in most ways it is. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But I still missed that extra edge of accuracy and feel I get from a P3. I have an HW 75 and several beautiful custom Crosman CO2 pistols for target shooting, and a CP 88 and a Beretta XX Treme for fun. It was gnawing at me to get another P 3. Really glad I did. For fun, skill and accuracy it falls right in between my higher end skill guns and the replica repeaters. It is simply one the best non-competition competition-grade airguns ever created.

I have always had an issue with the extreme smoothness of the grip. Although it feels good in the hand, I could never really get firm and stable purchase. I bought some grip tape and took some time to apply it on those areas where the key parts of my hand need to feel stable and firm. Worked wonders. Grip tape costs about $4. Cocking the gun is still somewhere between not too, too bad and ridiculous. Because of the awkwardness when trying to get leverage, I don't think it would be hard to dislodge the night sights plastic. But if that is the price for such simplicity, accuracy, and no CO2, I can live with that, easily.

Very pleased with this pellet pistol. The quality and construction is far superior to the P-17. The accuracy and performance is well worth the money. If you didn' t know this was a pellet gun you would swear it was a real gun because of the quality and weight.

Had a little issue with the screw and nut holding the rear site to the gun, as it vibrated off after about 25 shots. I secured the nut with super glue and no problems since.

Don't waste you money on the cheaper pistols, they really are not worth it... If you want a pellet gun, paying the little extra is well worth the investment.

Sweet pistol. Hard hitting, accurate, solid pistol. A great value. Clean design, great sights. I really enjoy plinking around in the back yard with it. I like the safety feature after cocking.

For the price...nothing

If you are just getting into air gunning, get this pistol. You can't go wrong.

My wife and I are Bullseye competitors and were looking for practice using air pistol. Finally, effective in July 2015, rifled air guns were removed from Michigan's definition of a firearm. We purchased a Beeman P3 (HW 40) fabricated in Germany and, in spite of difficulty cocking it, found it to have a great fit (most important for accurate shooting) and a set of wonderful fiber-optic sights. Accuracy is sufficient for practice. We purchased a second P3. The Chinese copy (P17) is a knock off. To facilitate cocking, my wife built a fixture using hardwood we had on hand. The fixture has a groove 135 mm long, 13 mm high (more would be better, but that is the thickness of the wood) and with a gap of 18.8 mm. One places the loaded P3 upside down on the groove and one can then press downward to cock - easier than the alternatives. I also crafted a cocking fixture from a stack of old mouse pads with a cutout portion for the rear sight.

It would have been nice to have a Picatinny (1913) rail to facilitate mounting red-dot sights. Loading is not easy because of too little space near breach. Provide a way to submit pictures.

One should pay the extra fee to have the pistol tested so that you and Pyramyd know it works, and is what you ordered. PCP might be next, but not without a way to evaluate the actual fit of the choices.
I have three .jpg pictures showing cocking fixture and its use, but site does not provide a means to attach pictures.

I was wanting an accurate and quiet pistol for whacking troublesome varmints in the yard and got more than I was hoping for with this pistol. I've found Crow Magnum pellets to shoot most excellent through it (1/2" or less at 10m) and regardless of the "3-Medium" loudness rating I can't imagine a gun being much quieter. Too me it sounds remarkably comparable to what you get when you crack open a can of your favorite carbonated beverage.

I'm not a fan of automatic safeties, nor dummy features attempting to make an airgun look like a firearm - such as the dummy slide lock, ejection ports, and compensator. This is still a pretty nice looking pistol though.

If you have big, fat, sausage-fingers you may have trouble loading pellets in this thing. Otherwise it's pretty easy once you figure out how to hold the pellet before inserting.

Very accurate. 11mm dovetail for red dot. Excellent trigger

Nothing

I bought two P13 Chinese knockoffs that lasted less than 200 rounds. Sent back to Crossman. Paid shipping. Lasted less than 100 shots. Finally broke down and bought the real thing. So far so good. Pricey but if it holds up I will be more than satisfied. Don't listen to those that tell you you can get the same quality for under $50. Not true. I spent over $100 on two duds. Hope this on last a long time then it will be worth it

Oustanding trigger, excellent sights, simple single-stroke operation.

The product deserves a better manual. That's my only complaint.

I owned an IZH, and while it has several advantages over the P3, it also costs more than twice as much. The P3's trigger is just as good IMHO, and it delivers more accuracy than I'm capable of a at off-hand shooting. Very, very satisfied with this purchase.

The trigger and the accuracy. Well made gun that feels good in your hand.

Nothing

This gun is hard to pressurize, but you get accustom to it.