The Best all around Air Rifle for S&S control

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0418dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Entrances By Sandy</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|</B><B>    </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Entrances By Sandy"><U><B>home</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id255.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Martins Cant Read"><U>Martins Can't Read</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id254.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="European Starlings and English House Spa"><U>European Starlings and English House Sparrows</U></A>   |   <B>The Best all around Air Rifle for S&S control</B>   |   <A HREF="id224.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Comparing Breeding Success: Snyder Exclu"><U>"Comparing Breeding Success:</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id222.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Why do Some Martins Choose to Nest Alone"><U>Why do Some Martins Choose to Nest Alone?</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id262.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Temperature Testing on Different Nesting"><U>Temperature Testing on Different Nesting Cavities</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id224.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Comparing Breeding Success: Snyder Exclu"><U> Snyder Excluders vs. Conley Excluders"</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id222.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Why do Some Martins Choose to Nest Alone"><U>Why do Some Martins Choose to Nest Alone?</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id262.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Temperature Testing on Different Nesting"><U>Temperature Testing on Different Nesting Cavities</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=380 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0418dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I><B>The Best all around Air Rifle for S&S control</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>First of all, let me say that I highly recommend </B></I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><A HREF="http://straightshooters.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://straightshooters.com/"><U><I><B>Straightshooters</B></I></U></A></FONT><I><B> for all your airgunning needs.  While you may find airguns cheaper elsewhere, Straightshooters nearly always have them in stock.  Also, you will not find a two better guys than Kevin and Craig as far as taking as much time needed to answer your questions.  They will not try to oversell you on anything.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>The Beeman R-7</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>by Tim Olson from Texas</B></I></div> <div> <B>This story begins over a year ago. I was complaining about how much my Gamo still bucked and kicked and how every shot was accompanied by a loud twang. Sandy and some others recommended the Beeman line of rifles, particularly the R7, as a superior replacement. But I thought it was more gun than I needed and decided I might be better off just putting more pellets through the Gamo in the hopes of having it smooth out. How I wish I would have just listened! </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Fast forward to this year, and now the Gamo is actually getting worse not only in vibration but in also letting out a wild flyer every few shots. I start looking for replacements and inquire about the RWS Hammerli 850, thinking I might be better off with a larger CO2 rifle. But once again the general consensus is to go with a Beeman rifle, particularly the R7. This time I come to my senses and decide to order a Double Gold version once Straight Shooters has them in stock again. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Now to the experience... </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>On Tuesday, Kevin posted the announcement about having more R7 and R9 Double Golds in stock, and I immediately jump to order a R7 DG along with a dougle gun case, a few tins of JSB Exacts in 8.3 grain, a leather shotgun sling, and a little pellet pouch. I received my tracking information within hours, and two packages finally arrived with UPS late Friday afternoon. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I was like a little kid on Christmas. The smaller package contained the sling, pouch, and pellets, along with a freebie tin of Beeman Silver Bear pellets. Everything was packed neatly and tightly. The big box actually contained another cardboard box and some styrofoam padding, and in all of that was then the foam-padded case with the rifle inside. I was very impressed with the attention to detail. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Now for the moment of truth. I opened the case slowly, first a drum roll, then angels began singing and trumpets began blaring... </B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1052ee330.png" border=0 width="750" height="563" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Here is the rifle in its case, with the sling attached, the pouch to the side, and the pellet tins lined up. I took several pictures, but for some reason I couldn't get one that was nice and sharp, so this is the best one. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The beech stock looks even better up close and personal than in any of the pictures I have seen. The grain is beautiful and the wood has a nice shine and is very smooth. There is a very faint but pleasant smell. The metal parts are an attractive blue, and the trigger and adjustment screw are painted a shining gold. Everything is also very clean - I didn't notice any oil smudges or large globs of lube anywhere. All in all, a very attractive package. It's also very balanced. The weight is evenly distributed and the rifle feels robust but not too heavy. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Something interesting I noted is that there are no plates covering the sections where the front and rear sights would usually be installed. It's all closed. Therefore, I don't think this could even be converted into a regular R7 with iron sights. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The scope came already mounted and according to the material already sighted in for 10 yards. It is a Bushnell Banner 4-12x40. The objective piece has a parallax adjustment from 10 yards to infinity, and the eye piece has the magnification adjustment from 4x to 12x. Both turn nice and slowly and have a fair amount of "weight" behind them. Meanwhile, the windage and elevation turrets can be adjusted by hand and do not need a coin or screwdriver to turn. One thing that threw me off a little were the marking on the scope. Some of the pictures I have seen show fairly bright lettering, whereas my scope has what looks like faded bronze. I don't know if it is meant to be this way or if mine is worn for whatever reason. Not that it matter much, since I'll spend most of my time looking through the scope rather than at it. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The shotgun sling was very easy to install. Just open the loops, put them around the barrel and butt stock, and then tighten. Shouldn't take more than two minutes. I'm glad I got the leather rather than the synthetic version - it looks great and adds a classy touch to an already classy rifle. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The pouch is like a nylon wallet, but obviously with just one compartment. There is also a loop for if you want to attach it to your belt. I don't need to go on long hikes, but its still more useful even for just going outside than fiddling around with a pellet tin. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I did have some issues trying to attach the Hawke flip-up covers to the scope. Even though I looked up the outside diameter of the objective and ocular pieces and then ordered from Hawke according to their guide, the fit is off a little. But that's not anybody's fault other than maybe my own, since I'm trying to match products from two different manufacturers. The objective cover goes on very tightly - not really a problem - but the eye piece cover is rather lose and needs to be held in place to be able to flip up the cover without the whole thing coming off. I wonder if there's a fix for that. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>It was much too windy to go shooting yesterday. The weather wasn't really more cooperative today, but I didn't want to wait yet another day to move beyond the aesthetics and find out how the rifle actually shoots. </B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1054eef10.png" border=0 width="750" height="497" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Here is my ugly mug killing some paper. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>As I impressed I had been just by looking at and holding the rifle, shooting it really was the best part. My Gamo really rattled and jumped the first few shots, but everyone had been saying how nicely the R7 shoots, and so I was hoping I would be in for a pleasant surprise. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I should mention the trigger first... it's very nice and solid. There is no wiggle in any direction. The pull is relatively short but very smooth. You can adjust the weight of the pull, but I was really happy with the default settings. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Anyway... cocking the rifle was very easy, and I noticed there also wasn't any grease and lube all over the breech. The seal looks nice and big. I took a JSB Exact out of the pouch and it slipped right in. I played with the parallax and zoom a bit, then took aim, and clicked off the safety for my first every shot with a Beeman... </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Click... thud... BAM! Shocked </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>It was almost like a big staple gun. There was only a little movement but it provided a nice feedback. I was also surprised by how quiet the rifle is; the pellets hitting the back of the trap actually made more noise. Speaking of the pellet trap, even though the R7 is not as powerful as the Gamo, it still had enough juice to bend back one of the metal ramps inside the trap. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>My grin grew wider with each shot. Maybe some elves snuck into the Beeman warehouse and put a few hundred pellets through my R7 DG before it was shipped to SS, but it shoots out of the box better and smoother than the Gamo ever did after countless pellets. No twang, no vibrations, no kicking and bucking. I know some people like to send theirs in for a tune, and while I've never shot a tuned rifle and don't have any experience to use for reference, I'd imagine its much like tuning a Ferrari. Not that there's anything wrong with tuning a Ferrari, but I know I'd rather have fun with mine than send it to someone else to play with for a few weeks. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Let's see how I did... I should mention that I don't have a bench rest setup. I usually just set the pellet trap on something and stand 10 to 20 yards away from the target. So no dime sized groups from me, but it works well enough for me. </B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1056eef10.png" border=0 width="750" height="497" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>These were the first few shots. I tried to hold the rifle as lightly as possible. The wind was from my left, and though I tried to push back, some of the shots still drifted to the right. At least I managed to get one right smack in the middle. Most of the shots were between the 7 and 9 rings, but I was able to sneak in a few more bullseyes. </B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><IMG SRC="1058eef10.png" border=0 width="750" height="497" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I shot somewhere between 150 and maybe 200 pellets. This is the last of the targets. Rather than go for outright accuracy, which would have been difficult anyway, I played around with a few shooting methods to find out more about the character of the R7. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>First I held the rifle tightly - more like a regular gun - to see how hold sensitive it is. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it shot the same way it did when I had only a light hold. Next I held the rifle with a death grip. It was only then that the shots started going a bit more wide, and even then most hit between the 5 and 6 rings. Finally, I began jerking the trigger instead of squeezing, and that's when the widest shots occurred. So I think it is safe to say that, as many others have pointed out, the rifle is not very hold sensitive at all. It can't hurt to hold it lightly, but pulling the trigger smoothly seems to make even more of a difference. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>It didn't seem like there was a change in character over those 150 or 200 shots, but I'm not sure how the rifle could have shot any better anyway. It really was "point and click." And though those were my first shots and it was also very windy, I think the results were good enough to where probably any sparrow and definitely any starling would have been toast had they been the target. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Now the Beeman R7 Double Gold is back in its case, sleeping safely. I can't wait for the next shooting session.</B></div> <div> <B>All the above photos are courtesty of Tim Olson and belong to him.</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Targets shot by Sandy Bunn's R-7 .177 cal</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="105ceac80.jpg" border=0 width="746" height="968" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>10 shots at each circle.  The gun was benchrested, distance was 23 yards, and there was a 0-10 mph crosswind.  The small circles are 1" in diameter.  The center ring of the larger targets are 1" in diameter.  The pellet that my R-7 prefers, and many other R-7s as well, is the JSB Exacts.  It is very important to do two things with an air rifle.  Get it properly broken in by shooting 750-1000 shots through it and finding the pellet that the rifle wants to be fed.  The gun will let you know this if you use a pellet sampler after getting it broken in.  They can be purchased from Straightshooters.  Here is the link for the .177 cal pellet sampler.  </B></FONT><A HREF="http://straightshooters.com/straightshooters/samplercontent177.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://straightshooters.com/straightshoo"><U><B>http://straightshooters.com/straightshooters/samplercontent177.html</B></U></A><B>  </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>As of this writing, the price is $25.00.</B></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="1059eedb0.jpg" border=0 width="750" height="987" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>This target, or at least the first two, were shot with a new Beeman R-7.  After shooting about 50 shots to get the scope sighted in at 23 yards, and getting used to the gun, I thought I would see what it would do.  Again, these were shot from 23 yards.  Each is a 10 shot group and each circle is the size of a quarter.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Trajectory chart for my R-7 .177 cal  The gun is sighted in for 23 yards.  As you can see, at 32 yards, there is only a 1" pellet drop, so a little holdover would be in order.</B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="106120600.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="608" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id254.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="European Starlings and English House Spa"><U><I><B>Previous Page</B></I></U></A><I><B>              </B></I><A HREF="mailto:sbunn1@suddenlink.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:sbunn1@suddenlink.net"><U><I><B>Contact Me</B></I></U></A><I><B>              </B></I><A HREF="id224.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Comparing Breeding Success: Snyder Exclu"><U><I><B>Next Page</B></I></U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>