Post by Range Master on Jun 11, 2020 7:36:50 GMT -7
Before the Beeman trade name was tagged to the original line of Industry Brand CO2 rifles, Archer Airguns seemed to be the exclusive dealer for all things QB. They offered every conceivable combination of options at reasonable prices, plus supported the product. Prior to the onslaught of the cheap Snow Peak PCP rifles (sold under several several names), these were the go-to Chinese gas rifles for quality & options without the hassles of the break barrel air rifles. Ironically, they're based on an older Crosman 1950s design & surpass current Crosman & Umarex CO2 models in every way. (The Umarex Gauntlet is also a modified plastic version of the 78.)
Now they're sold everywhere. Much like the bicycle world, there are good & bad points to this marketing strategy. It was also, unfortunately, the demise of Archer, the very guys that brought them to the dance. Folks that can open a box but aren't fans of reading will have problems with any rifle. There are plenty of introductory videos out there for PCP beginners. I suggest a newbie watch as many as they can offered by dealers & manufacturers. Stay away from the plethora of youtube experts until gaining enough experience to tell whats BS.
My new Beeman Chief arrived via Amazon & UPS & was beaten to death along the way. The barrel was off center (more on that later), but being all wood & steel it survived nicely. I applied & coat of Liquid Gold to the stock & blued steel & let that sit overnight. Always clean the barrel of any rifle before shooting. Make sure there's factory lube on the bolt assembly. I use a portable compressor these days but a hand pump is perfectly adequate, especially after the first fill. Going from 1000 to 2000 psi goes quickly. Expect around 25 shot before the gauge is down to 1000 psi again. After that I suggest firing a few shots using high vis open sights before mounting a scope. This gives you a chance to detect leaks & practice loading single pellets, not always an easy a task for those of us with old fat fingers.
Click photo to enlarge
Now they're sold everywhere. Much like the bicycle world, there are good & bad points to this marketing strategy. It was also, unfortunately, the demise of Archer, the very guys that brought them to the dance. Folks that can open a box but aren't fans of reading will have problems with any rifle. There are plenty of introductory videos out there for PCP beginners. I suggest a newbie watch as many as they can offered by dealers & manufacturers. Stay away from the plethora of youtube experts until gaining enough experience to tell whats BS.
My new Beeman Chief arrived via Amazon & UPS & was beaten to death along the way. The barrel was off center (more on that later), but being all wood & steel it survived nicely. I applied & coat of Liquid Gold to the stock & blued steel & let that sit overnight. Always clean the barrel of any rifle before shooting. Make sure there's factory lube on the bolt assembly. I use a portable compressor these days but a hand pump is perfectly adequate, especially after the first fill. Going from 1000 to 2000 psi goes quickly. Expect around 25 shot before the gauge is down to 1000 psi again. After that I suggest firing a few shots using high vis open sights before mounting a scope. This gives you a chance to detect leaks & practice loading single pellets, not always an easy a task for those of us with old fat fingers.
MORE LATER
Click photo to enlarge