by B.B. Pelletier
Someone asked if the Beeman dual-caliber RS1000H is a variation of the AR 1000 and I’m beginning to think that it is. It shoots remarkably like the Tech Force Contender 89 I tested, which is another AR 1000. Only this one comes with interchangeable barrels.
Mounting the scope
Beeman supplied their 2-piece 5030M scope rings, which mounted easily. The rifle has a scope stop built in so all you need to do is slide the rear ring against it and you’re set. The mounts come with a vertical stop pin, but there’s no need for one with this rifle.
Parallax problems!
The 3-9×32 scope Beeman packs with the rifle is parallax-adjusted farther out than 20 yards, so I was unable to see the targets clearly. I dropped the power back to 6x, but it was still fuzzy. There was still a lot of parallax in the scope, so I tried to get the same spot weld for every shot. I’m sure that caused some group dispersion, but since all pellets were tested the same way, it should cancel out. This scope is not what you want for this rifle, so plan on replacing it as soon as possible.
The first shot at 10 feet was a 10 and nearly a pinwheel. I’ve never had a first shot like that, and I took it as a sign the rifle was going to shoot good. Of course, the elevation had to be lowered a lot to get on target at the 21 yards from which I was firing.
Beeman Trophy
Beeman Trophys were first, and they seemed to do okay, but not earth-shattering. The first group measured 0.941″ which is poor, but four of the five went into 0.482″, which is okay. I’ll come back to this pellet to verify accuracy or eliminate it.
The other pellets were poor to lousy
You may recall I tested Beeman Ram Jets, Beeman Kodiaks and Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellets. They all grouped over an inch with this rifle, with the Kodiaks going two inches. Because of the bad image from the scope, I was ready to quit…but there was one more pellet to try.
JSB Exact
The first group of JSB Exact 8.4-grain pellets measured 0.691″, so I thought I would give them several more tries. As it turned out, that was the largest group they shot – by far. The best group was 0.415″, and there were several that measured under a half-inch. The pellet wants to shoot in this rifle! And the rifle wants to shoot! It just needs a better scope to extract the last bit of accuracy it has to give.
Firing behavior
This rifle fires smoothly and without a lot of recoil, putting me in mind of the AR 1000. The trigger has a big creep in the second stage, but it is consistent, so I could plan on it. Like most breakbarrels, it’s hold-sensitive, but not overly so. It also has a ball-bearing detent to lock the barrel, just like the AR 1000.
The barrel remained tight through this shooting session, as well as the velocity test, so that’s about 150 shots on it so far without any adverse effects. I believe it’ll be fine until I intentionally remove the barrel.
I think I’ll upgrade the scope and retest in .177. I would like to know if it can shoot any better when the target is clear. I’m sure you’d like to know, too.
BB
Are the SS 1000T rifles the same (receiver, barrel, trigger) but with the better AO scopes? Are the Stainless SS 1000T the same?
This package always looked intresting but I was worried about a non AO scope for my shooting from 5 to 30 yards.
It looks as though the Beeman website has not been updated in years. It would be more then helpfull if they put a little time and money back into promoting their products. This lineup of rifles are not even listed. or am I looking at the wrong site?
JoeG from Jersey
BB, have you tried adjusting the trigger? I think you’d find that you can improve the feel quite a bit.
There’s a total of 3 screws – 1st stage, 2nd stage, and spring tension. FWIW – it’s possible to inadvertently make this into a three stage trigger by misadjusting it!
B.B.,
It seems like there aren’t too many guns that dislike JSBs, which leads to a question about sorting and culling pellets. You’ve mentioned sorting by weight (I don’t have a scale…yet) but can’t remember you saying much about deformed pellets. Seems like the JSBs for example (especially the Jumbo Express in .22) have very thin skirts that are easily deformed. Many seem to be that way right out of the tin. I’ve tried rolling pellets on a flat plate to find the misshapen ones. I’ve also tried straightening skirts by pressing them lightly over a small ball bearing. And if the skirts aren’t deformed too much, I’ll often just shoot them and don’t seem to notice any difference in accuracy.
I can see where a deformed skirt on a thick skirted pellet could casue accuracy problems, but what about thin skirts that seem to get kind of blow-molded into the rifling. If I got REAL picky, in some tins I could cull out 50% for minor deformation. Unless you are doing precision shooting in low powered guns, just how much effect do slightly deformed pellets really have?
Thanks,
Pestbgone
Pestbgone,
You answered your own question with a thoughtful essay. I couldn’t provide anything except to say that where accuracy is REALLY on the line, like a field target match or I want to shoot the best long-range group possible, then I’ll take the time to sort pellets by weight. I do the same thing for the firearms ammo I reload.
B.B.
Jersey Joe,
I wish I knew the answer to your question about the Beeman S1000 rifles. They LOOK the same, but as I am 1,300 miles from the Pyramyd warehouse, I’m not going to guess for you. Call Pyramyd and ask them.
I also read the customer reviews and saw that a LOT of first-time airgunners are buying this rifle without knowing anything about shooting a breakbarrel. One guy thought the rifle was HEAVY! (It’s among the lighter breakbarrels). Others were getting 3.5-inch groups, which tells me they don’t use the artillery hold.
I will make some adjustments to my report on the basis of these reviews.
B.B.
Vince,
No, I didn’t adjust the trigger for the accuracy test, but I’ll do it today.
B.B.
Hi BB!
Sorry for the off topic question, but I need some advice!
Got a Talon and round here there aren’t scubba shops to fill my tank. I have to drive over 2h to get it filled.
I’m going to buy an airpump from Pyramyd… is the Airforce branded pump reliable? I would buy a Hill, but money’s short…
One other question… will I have problems with moisture getting inside air tank? Back here the air humidity is very high (range from as low as 20% to as high as 60%).
I read the description of this pump on Pyramid Air, can you comment a little about it? How does the moisture filter works and why doesn’t it overheat with use?
Thanks!
Rafael
B.B.,
re: pellet sorting-
Thanks. There are so many subtleties in this sport that its tough to know which ones really matter, and how much. But when you need to get really serious, I guess they all matter. LOL.
Just let the OCD behavior take over.
Pestbgone
Rafael,
I have had nothing but good results from AirForce hand pumps, but I hear Pyramyd AIR has had a few problems. Still, AirForce is a U.S.-based company and if there is a problem you can call them. They will stand behind what they sell.
As for moisture, I used to live in Maryland, which had many 100 percent humidity days. I never had a moisture problem, but I always purced my pumps from the base, which is the ONLY WAY they will remove moisture!
The moisture “filter” isn’t a filter at all. It’s a condensing action that takes place in ther base of the pump. The outside filter that Hill puts on a pump doesn’t do much of anything to the air, because it passes through too quickly.
B.,B.
What do you think of a red dot sight on the RWS 48? I don’t need or want magnification. I used red dots on co2 rifles and a pump benjamin and liked them. Just wondered if the 48 might pound them too bad.
Red dot,
I don’t think a 48 will hurt a red dot, but I also don’t know how easy it will be to mount one.
There will be a positive mount for all RWS Diana spring gun on the market in 3-4 months, if you can wait that long.
B.B.
BB:
“A positive mount for ALL RWS in the market in 3-4 months”
WHOA!!!
Could it be possible that RWS has finally fixed their crummy mount system?
This is huge.
Warren
Warren,
No it’s not Diana (remember, RWS is just the exporter). This is being made by others, and I have been testing it for the past 6 months. We’ve gone through three prototypes so far and I have high hopes that number four will be correct. If it is, they should go straight to production and we should see the first batch inside two-three months.
B.B.
JoeG, from what I can tell the Beeman SS1000 series seem to be Shanghai-built clones of two Norica rifles (the actions, anyway). I don’t know the original Norica designations, but one is a copy of the gun that used to be sold as the GS1000, and the other is a copy of the gun that is now sold as the Hammerli Storm.
Functionally, the big difference is the trigger. The cheaper version has the same trigger design as the Storm, and frankly it’s pretty bad. The other has the same design as the old GS1000/S1 series, and is pretty nice.
The big thing to look for in an SS1000 series is an adjustable trigger. If it has one, then it has the good mechanism. It appears that the “S” series has the poor trigger, and the “T” series has the better one.
Vince,
Thanks,
B.B.
Vince,
Thanks on that tip. There seems to be so many variations on that model. But now I’m armed with a little more knowledge.
That is dangerous Haha
JoeG from Jersey
BB, I said RWS not Diana, you said RWS/Diana not me, is this correct? And that there was going to be some improvements in 2-3 months. Could you elaborate on version 4.
Warren
Warren,
My point was that RWS doesn’t make any airguns, just as Beeman doesn’t make them. They buy guns from Diana and export them to the U.S. The guns are therefore Diana guns.
If by elaborate you mean tell you ANYTHING about it, then, no. All I can tell you is I have been battling this scope-mounting problem since the mid 1990s and Diana isn’t going to make any changes, so, by golly, I am! I’m tired of explaining how to jury-rig scope mounts to get them to work on these airguns.
B.B.
bb,
so…when do you think we will know about the suprise that relates to the whisper?
DED
DED,
I had hoped it would happen by now. Maybe one week?
B.B.
Hi BB,
For power restricted guns (UK) is there a standerdized test pellet? Im not in the UK but it seems that a pcp shooting 7 grain Hobbies at 12fpe would get more power from a 10 grain pellet. Do they have a standard test pellet for all guns?
Nate in Mass
Ok BB
I just received my little AZH Baikal today. This gun is downright weird! I mean weird in the fact that this gun is so damn accurate! I set out a white paper plate about 10 to 12 meters in the bushes outside my window. I started shooting. I shot 5 rounds and was frustated, It seemed like all the pellets were not hitting the target. I went out to check the plate and found out that they were all cutting through the same hole. Just a little off because of my own shooting. It really was amazing. It is also amazing how fun the gun is to shoot. So quiet and smooth and no recoil. The gun is so lightweight, and easy to shoot. This is the perfect gun to start my 7 year old. The only thing is I wish that the directions had been more informative. For instance, when the clip shows three holes, then the gun has gone through the 5 shot clip. THREE SHOTS YOUR OUT! would have been a good slogan. (ok, so the Russians do not play baseball) I dried fired the gun twice in my enthusiasm. That botherd me. Also, I would like to know why then sent a spare spring without any directions on how to change it. Now this may sound as a stupid question, but can this gun get a tune up? Obviously this is a gun to keep for life. Thank you for your review, I am, I mean my son is really going to love this gun. A perfect gun to start a 7 year old on. $95.00 dollars well spent.
JoeG, I learned the hard way – about 1 year and a half ago, I bought (on gunbroker) a cheaper version of the SS1000. When I saw the lousy trigger mechanism, I almost pooped. Fortunately for me the guy had wrongly advertised it as having an adjustable trigger, so I was able to return it after a fair bit of nagging.
Live ‘n learn…
Weighing pellets for the purpose of improved air rifle accuracy is something that I have been experimenting with for about 4 months. I have been very surprised at how significant (viz., clearly measurable differences of about 1/4 – 3/8 inch) the improvement has been over simply using randomly selected pellets.
I am primarily shooting an Allen Z. modified .22 Rapid (about 950 fps using 16 grain) and a .22 Umarex 850 CO2 (about 650 fps using 16 grain), the former for shots over 15 yards, the latter for shooting primarily 10 yards.
It has been my experience (I have weighted and shot about 15 different brand/weight/style pellets, from about 12 grain to 28 grain, probably about 200 pellets of each type for abut 3000 total shots) that all but three of the brands (Kodiaks, JSB Hollow Points, RWS Hollow Points) ALWAYS benefit from weighing. A typical pellet brand that says 16 grain on the tin will actually yield 85% of the pellets between 15.70-16.10. My experience is that a 15.7 pellet will hit about 1/8 inch different at 10 yards and 1/4 inch different at 25 yards from a 16.1 pellet, for example. But the REAL PROBLEM is the 15% of the pellets that are below 15.7 or above 16.1, as these produce shots so innacurate that they can actually miss a squirrel’s head at distances over 20 yards.
The Kodiaks, JSB, and RWS brand/types mentioned above are really much more consistent with their weights, yielding spreads for the JSB, for example, more like 95+% being 15.7-15.85. There are still outliers, but they are not as extreme in being lighter or heavier than the middle 95%, and so when shooting at 10 yards it is not necessary to weigh these brands. However, I still weigh these for hunting over 20 yards, because it is far more frustrating to occasionally miss the squirrel head after waiting 20 minutes for it to appear than it is to be 1/4 (or even 3/8)inch off a paper target at 10 yards.
Interestingly, as we move up to the heavy Eun Jin 28 grain, while the absolute spread is similar to the spread of a 16 grain pellet (viz., .3 grain) the percentage of total pellet weight is much lower, so the effect of different weights is diminished. Thus, the difference in accuracy between 27.70 and 27.96 grain pellets at 25 yards might be 1/8 inch, whereas the difference between 15.70 and 15.96 grain pellets at 25 yards might be 1/4 inch.
All of this testing of different pellet weight effects on accuracy was obviously done on a bench rest.
P.S. I was so impressed with the improvement when weighing the pellets that I experimented with weighing B.B.s for my Drozd B.B.machine gun. At 10 yards, shooting with a scope and shooting single action, and waiting 5-10 seconds between shots, without weighing the B.B.s the gun yielded 1 1/2 inch groups (I think that this is about as accurate as this air rifle shoots). What do you think happened to the groups when I weighed the B.B.s? (This B.B. question is for anyone, not just b.b.).
– DR. G.
Nate,
There are no standard test pellets for the UK or anywhere. If the limit is 12 foot pounds, NO pellet can generate energy in excess of that limit.
A spring gun that gets 12 foot pounds with Hobbys is likely to get 10.5 foot pounds with a 10-grain pellet, because springers generally lose energy as the pellet weight increases.
Recently, though, I have been surprised by rifles like the Beeman SS1000H I’m testing now, because this general rule seems not to apply. So there is some tuning being done by factories today that’s changing the behavior of spring airguns.
B.B.
JW,
It sounds like you are set for an interesting learning curve with your new 61.
The gun is so low-powered that I doubt the dry-firing hurt it at all. Just learn from your experience.
The Russians don’t tell you how to change the mainspring because they assume you can figure it out. American products were shipped like that 60 years ago. It’s a cultural thing.
Yes it’s possible to tune the IZH 61. You can’t get much more power, but the gun can be made to shoot even smoother.
B.B.
Dr. G.,
By shooting “single action” I assume that you mean semiautomatic?
I would assume that a uniform-weight BB would fly true if it were bore-sized, but not if it were undersized. And all steel BBs are undersized in the Drozd. So if you are shooting real steel BBs, I will guess they became less accurate when sorted by weight.
However, if you are actually shooting round lead balls of .177 diameter and you sorted them by weight, I assume your groups shrunk tremendously. I typically shoot 1/2″ to 3/4″ five-shot groups with a Drozd at 20 yards, when shooting lead balls.
Anyway, that’s my guess.
B.B.
I have a Beeman Sportsman’s SS 1000H Air Rifle and for a couple of years it has worked fine. Today, after shooting 3-4 pellets it stop discharging pellets. I have can still cock the barrel with no problem, insert pellets but when I fire the rifle the pellet remains in the breech. I checked the breech gasket for possible leakage but felt no air after firing. Matter of fact, when I recocked the barrel the pellet ejects out the breech. Why is this happening? and what can i to fix it? ..pls help.
Andrea
Andrea,
First, check that the barrel isn’t blocked. If it is clear, you probably have a broken spring or a ruined piston seal, or maybe both.
For the gun to quit suddenly, I suspect the spring. Beeman can repair the gun, or Pyramyd AIR, if you live in the U.S.
B.B.
BB, thanks for the reply. Do you have any idea how much Pyramyd AIR charge to replace a broken spring? Beeman support cost is outrageous.
Andrea
Andrea,
I don’t know exactly, but I do know they are more reasonable than Beeman.
B.B.
True .. Do you know of a How to website by which I could troubleshoot/fix the prob myself?
Andrea
Andrea,
Not that model, specifically, but I have a 13-part blog on the maintenance of a spring piston gun. You will need a mainspring compressor, which Pyramyd AIR sells.
/blog/2006/08/spring-gun-tune-part-13-range-testing-the-r1-we-tuned/
B.B.
Hey guys, im new to the break over rifles, but have been shooting and hunting for 40 yrs. I just bought the Beeman Sportsman’s 1000T SS and am amazed how accurate it is. I first shot the Gamo Raptors throught it, and they sucked! Then I bought the Gamo Rockets and am shooting groups you can cover with a dime at 30 yrds. Now im not the pro you guys are, but I think if I try some of the more match style pellets who knows!
Hi anonymous and welcome to the world of air guns. You have found your way to a post from 2007. Please join us all at PyramydAir and click on blog. I’m like you and was and still am amazed at how accurate pellet guns are.
You ought to try shooting JSB Diabolo Exact Pellets and Crosman Premiers both of which are known for exceptional accuracy. However, I don’t have any first hand experience with your rifle.
Ask about your gun on our current blog and someone will be able to give gun specific advice to you. See you there-Mr B.