Do you ever find yourself with that one special airgun that seems to never miss? This is what I think of:
The gun in question is a Beeman R-1 Laser MKIII in .177 that loves to feed squirrels Kodiak Match pellets:
One pellet to one squirrel is the latest trend for me. At this rate I'll run out of ammo in 427 years.
That looks fantastic. Can you give us some history-- what does Laser MkIII stand for? Also the scope, the power and of course something about the stock which looks superb.
I have a R1 in .177, but it is quite loud, takes almost otherwordly discipline to group well, and gives a proper arm workout, and has a completely useless ribbed muzzle brake that I can't use for cocking. I am very curious about what did you do to your R1 to turn it into a shootable airgun.
Sonny has had a lot of great guns the last 10-15 years that I know of he has posted.
His collection at one time was legendary!!
Imagine what that Laser could have been like if Beeman would have really preformed a custom tune! Beeman was big on a "special" seal and "Laser" lubes, but with a properly fitted spring guide and seal they could have been perfect guns.
Good to see you posting again Sonny
I'll never forget the lazerised R-1 I was asked to look at, back about 1983. I found the nickle plating had peeled off the piston and scored the cylinder. With the tools I had then, I was never able to get it up to spec velocities. Disappointed owner, PITA for me, and I never wanted to work on a Beeman gun again.
My "gun that couldn't miss" was a 342 Benjamin, heavily used, that turned out to have exceptional wood under the decades of grime and crystallized finish. The bore had been shot to a mirror finish and with the optional peep (I'd found a few in a parts box from an old repair station) it would stack Wasps at 30 feet offhand...literally one ragged .30 cal hole for ten shots or more. I never got to shoot it at longer distances. A friend saw it in it's restored state, shot it, and put $50 bills unto my hand until I caved.
Thumbs up for the Runaway reference. I'll never forget Gene Simmons getting a taste of his own medicine.
Runaway is one of my favorites. Good story and some good acting by Selleck, and Simmons as the villain (not a Simmons/KISS fan as a rule). Not many saw it in 1984 when it got overshadowed by The Terminator and a few others at the box office. The science fiction genre tends to be a tough market compared to some others.
Oh yeah, air guns.
The R1 Laser steel mainspring is/was ONE of the best ever made for that rifle in terms a good balance of increased power while still being smooth. But, I do need to try the new and current ARH/Maccari kit so I can review it, too. Beeman had the Laser kit's steel spring guides made a little too small for the spring, though, making the end result susceptible to buzz/twang. So I had my own custom guides made for customer tunes to solve that problem when I could still buy the springs--now all gone as is most of yesterday's Beeman of course. These days I had to look elsewhere to get pretty-similar results.
Those who have a Laser spring can trust its longevity and replace the loose guides with custom fitted ones (and might as well do the rest of a tune while you're in there). You might also want to check the Laser piston seal, as it didn't age all that well IME.
Just a small nod to Robert Berman here, since some people may not know his more helpful, not-solely-for-profit side: When the Beeman company was closing their doors, and I was hoping to find some R1 Laser springs somewhere, I contacted him as sort of a last resort. Not only did he give me the full contact info for the US company who made those springs, but he also gave me contact info at Beeman to buy some of what they had left in the 'dead parts' bin. He even suggested some price negotiating tools that worked--I came away with a bargain! He didn't even own Beeman Air Guns anymore. Still some Profit sharing maybe? I don't know. He didn't owe me that favor regarding the springs I got at the bargain price so he's still not 'all bad' in my book.
Thank you for all the replies. This gun was converted to a ram, then converted back to a springer prior to me purchasing it. From what I remember I bought it for around $700. The trigger was tuned too; set at 9oz. This is when I bought a lyman trigger pull to set it at 1.5lbs. The internals have been unchanged since purchasing it around 1999. I installed the rear replacement plate, CM brake, and trigger shoe. The scope is a Beeman 66RL in a BKL 260 mount. The gun was sighted in a year or two after that. It has moved around a few times, and ended up in a safe about a decade ago.
It was brought back to life several months ago when one of my go to guns, a .177 Beeman RX with deluxe stock, ram died. Vaguely knowing that it was sighted in, I picked it up to dispatch a squirrel. It was only a couple guns deeper in the safe than the RX. Ever since then it has taken about 20 squirrels. It does have JM internals. There are a few other laser guns in my stable (R-1 FT, MK1, etc.), but it's good to know that you can drop in JM parts to make a gun shoot like new. I wouldn't buy any other tune kit, as this one is 20 years old.
From my knowledge, there are three versions of the laser. I have all of them, but do not know where the MKI is at the moment. Will post all three when it's unearthed.
1. MKI: The most desirable of the three. Laminate stock with checkering.
2. MKII: High cheek piece stock with strippling. Matte finish. Probably the most common.
3. MKIII: Gloss finish with no checkering or strippling (shown).
If you acquire one of these rifles, it is the stock that matters. If it doesn't shoot well you can always buy a JM kit. I do have a few R-1's with Venom maglaza tunes that shoot around 23ft. lbs., but in this day and age you are better off with a PCP if you want power.
The 66 looks like the first version of this scope. Different typography indicative of the early Beeman days. I don't know the exact differences between the two. Perhaps Hakko would know. Either way a solid scope. I probably have one mounted on a gun somewhere. Have yet to have an issue with them, even after 30 years!
Sonny: Have you considered doing a series of posts either here or on your blog about these old airguns? You'll find a grateful and dedicated following. There are many new airgunners like me ( started a decade ago though), who'd love to know more about the airguns from 1970s and 80s, but don't have an easy source. The firearm community, perhaps because it is larger, has much more of recording of the past.
Anyway greatly enjoy your posts about these airguns. Thanks for taking the trouble.
p.s: If you're really ambitious, you could vastly improve the terrible standards of youtube videos on airguns, and start your channel about the history of old classics.
Hi Sonny
Regarding the 66RL. I was going through my safe yesterday and found the light attachment that screws into the 66RL. It has a couple of what looks like washers and a battery. I believe I got it at a show a couple of years back. Do you need one?
I have all 3 Lasers. Love my Mk1. It's a rare Carbine version. By far my favorite R1!! My Mk3 is a gas ram 20 cal. Still a one hole rifle.
I enjoy your posts. Please continue! !!
Thank you for the offer on the RL light attachment. I have about four of them, but find it much for useful to use a flashlight. I've never used the lamps to date.
I have considered posting on a channel, as I could make a career out of this. However, too many other constraints consume my time nowadays to enjoy this hobby.
It's a shame really. People would love to see them in a format like hickok45 on youtube, but I'm too selfish to let them go.
