Airguns...my thoughts and 'project's

i was shooting the Beeman RX and it lost about half it's pressure. why? i don't know. i took it for granted a seal had "gone south". i decided to remove the schrader valve and check it since it seems to be a 'weak' point of this, otherwise, great, rifle, and, since it's very easily removed...why not? i removed it and inspected it for any cracks or breaches and found none. i re-lubricated with some divers 'o' ring silicone seal i purchased for seals for airguns. i checked the pressure and found it to be 11 BAR before removing the valve. i pumped the pressure to a near maximum of 22 BAR and tried it...no problems! it's been holding pressure and shooting just fine since then. in my opinion, Beeman picked a winner with the RX series rifles. simple, rugged and reliable...what else can an airgunner ask for?

i was shooting the Beeman RX and it lost about half it's pressure. why? i don't know. i took it for granted a seal had "gone south". i decided to remove the schrader valve and check it since it seems to be a 'weak' point of this, otherwise, great, rifle, and, since it's very easily removed...why not? i removed it and inspected it for any cracks or breaches and found none. i re-lubricated with some divers 'o' ring silicone seal i purchased for seals for airguns. i checked the pressure and found it to be 11 BAR before removing the valve. i pumped the pressure to a near maximum of 22 BAR and tried it...no problems! it's been holding pressure and shooting just fine since then. in my opinion, Beeman picked a winner with the RX series rifles. simple, rugged and reliable...what else can an airgunner ask for?

just about the time i get something

102 degrees in the shade of our patio right now. I've stopped shooting the R10 as the barrel is heating up from ambient air temp. I'm certain it's affecting the accuracy. i shot a few cleaning pellets down the bore to do some 'cleaning' and I'm waiting for it to 'settle down' once again. I've only put around 16 rounds through it since cleaning and it's accuracy is adequate (just barely) for hunting but not any serious target shooting. the R10 is not exactly a 'powerhouse' but every time i shoot it, i like it better. in the near future i intend to rebuild it and do some 'tuning' to it. what i have to do is to get offa my duff and make a spring compressor before i do anything else. however...I've been whining about a barrel problem with my RX that did not turn out to be a problem at all, but i know for a fact this R10 has 'droop' beyond any shadow of a doubt...all you gotta do is look at it and you can see it. it doesn't seem to hamper performance or accuracy, though...so for the moment I'm not worried about it. however, when the time is right, i plan on sending to someone who can correct the problem. until then, I'll just keep on shooting it. I'd like to find a way to get into a FWB300S. maybe in the near future.

now that may end up being more than it's worth; but I'll do it anyway. I'm going to make a front sight to put on my Beeman RX1. i just finished making the adapter plate yesterday. it'll fit in the screw holes where the standard rear sight would normally be fitted and the rear sight will be an adjustable peep aperture. there won't be a front sight in the conventional position at the muzzle as there is a muzzle brake installed. the 'front' sight will be where the rear sight would normally be. what I'm looking for here is to lighten the rifle 'in hand', i now have a red dot, open sights would be even lighter yet and should be just as accurate. it ought to be fun and interesting. it took me approximately 4 hours to make the adapter, let's see how long it'll take me to do the rest.

started on the shroud for my RWS 52. tonite i went outside just to sling some lead down range with the RX. now i have the red dot fairly well sighted in and i use the same setting from 20 to 50 yards. i just have to hold high/low a 'tad' with the dot. i'm getting ready to try to take a turkey with the .20 this season and i'm sorting out the sighting and which pellet(s) work best. so far, nearly every pellet i've tried has been accurate enough to use to hunt with at long range (50 yards) and the Beeman silver sting seems to perform really, really well...go figure. hopefully i will get some RWS superdomes or JSB's soon to try.

how punishing a springer and gas piston can be on telescopic or optical sighting devices. i mounted a red dot on my RX Beeman utilizing some very good browning rings, proceeded to sight it in...or at least trying to. even as tight as i cinched them down, it still moved. it's hard to believe that they would move under the recoil of an air rifle and yet be very secure on a heavy caliber centerfire rifle. i know and under stand about the two way recoil of the air rifles but it still amazes me. well, i broke down and spent some time putting a Beeman scope stop in place last nite. let's see if that'll hold it. i've been checking on the barrel situation on the RX and it seems i can get it straightened professionally but most say not to worry about it. i can not recall ever having noticed the droop in years past. i'm wondering if the cocking linkage has 'stretched' over the years? i think, when circumstances permit, i will send it back to Beeman for correcting. i'm not a big fan of break barrel air rifles but i've had the two i have for so long i will keep them, especially the RX. if i get another(s) it will probably be a fixed barrel FWB300S or another fixed barrel PCP. time will tell. for the moment, i'll keep on 'adjusting' the ones i have.

hair-brained idea; i'm gonna put a shroud on my RWS 52 and put open sights on it. it ought to be fun and challenging. making and attaching the shroud is not the problem/challenge, it's mounting the front sight in the CORRECT position. i'm also considering using a Beeman/Mendoza rear peep and removing the standard RWS sight and installing the 'front' sight in it's place. the sighting plane will be a little shorter than the standard sights, but should be adequate. the screw holes are already there, all i have to do is drill the holes in the new 'front' sight in the correct location. it ought to be fun and interesting. if i do it, i'll record and document it and let you know.

aggravated at some of the critters around here. we have been trying to have a vegetable garden and some fruit trees but it seems the rabbits, birds, squirrels and gophers have other ideas. now i don't mind the critters normally, but it's gone too far. the birds picked our peach tree clean of peaches in ONE day and the rabbits are getting to the greenery of the small trees my wife planted stripping all the green off of them as far up as they can reach. my wife does not give her approval of my killing God's creatures for "doing what comes natural". that being said; i set out one morning to 'deter' some of the offending rodents with my trusty Beeman R10. i found a comfortable spot in the shade, settled back and began to glass the areas where I've seen the offenders most often. after a while, after seeing all but what i was looking for i caught movement in a small stand of trees. sure enough, a fur-ball squirrel was busily scampering about doing whatever it is that squirrels do when scampering about. i adjusted the rear sight up three clicks, cocked the R10 and stoked it with a Crosman Premier, Pointed, 8.0 grain, hunting pellet, closed the breech as quietly as possible, shouldered the rifle, positioned my left hand comfortably under the rifle and lined up the front and rear sights on the offending fur covered varmint and began my trigger squeeze after the offender had stopped and was paying attention to something other than scampering about. the R10 bucked it's familiar springer recoil and making a very noticeable 'crack' of an air rife discharge, sending the pellet downrange at 600+ fps towards the offender. i had the elevation perfect but the windage was not right and the Crosman pellet made the "BAWHEEEEEEEEE" of a ricochet as it struck the hard ground sending up a small cloud of dust up in the air next to the offender. i can't ever remember having seen a squirrel jump straight up into the air with all-fours moving at the same time. he "hit the deck a-running" as the old Johnny Horton song about "Sink the Bismarck" says. i haven't seen the little vermin since. maybe he got the message...maybe not. whatever...the good ole R10 came thru again.

quest for "a better mouse trap" I've taken another step towards finding one...i think...I'm not satisfied with the sighting device (scope) on my Avanti 853 so I'm gonna make better open sights for it. having the scope on it makes it difficult to load with the scope tube in the way so i decided to go back to the original daisy sights that came on it on the rear, I'll have to make one for the front as i cannot locate the original. it'll be fun and challenging.