Info on Beeman R10

[JohnL]

Hello, I'm new to the forum as of today. I bought a new .177 R10 about seven years ago, and recently dug it out of the gun cabinet. It really is a very nice rifle, and I would like to learn more about it. Is it true that it was supposed to be a lighter, somewhat cheaper version of the R1, and if so, how does it differ? Other than the scope mount, it appears identical to the R9. How does it differ from the R9, and when and why was it discontinued? I'd be interested in any information anyone has on this rifle.

Thanks,
John

[VictorLouis]

http://www.network54.com/Forum/79537


Use the SEARCH function by enclosing "R10" in quotation marks just like that. You might also run the permutation "R-10", with or without the word 'Beeman' in there along with it.

You'll find plenty. From what I recall, those are nice sought-after guns. :-)

[dave]

The R-10 is basically the same as the R-9 internally, except for maybe a stronger spring. It has a fancier stock, sort of like the R-1, and a longer barrel than the R-9. The scope rail is mounted on top of the R-10 tube, the R-9 has dovetails cut into the receiver. The biggest difference is the rear tube plug. The R-10 has a plug thats threaded in, the R-9 plug is pinned. Beeman introduced the R-10 in 1988, the R-9 replaced it in 1995.

[Lawdog]

I bought my R-10 right from the Beeman office back when it was in Santa Rosa, Calif.  The salesman told me to consider it a fancy R-1, which it was.  Better grade stock was about all I could tell the difference between the R-1 & R-10.  This was of course in 1993 before Beeman fled to enemy country(Southern Calif.).   :x   Lawdog
 

[dave]

LD, that guy who sold you the R-10 didn't know what he was talking about. The R-10 is similiar to the R-9, and shares a lot of internals. However, when you bought it, the R-9 was still on the drawing board. The R-1 has a larger tube, bigger spring, basically little in common with the R-10. The R-10 has a similiar looking stock, but thats about it. The gun is actually a step down, not up, from the R-1. The R-10 is pretty much the gun that preceded the R-9 in the Beeman line-up. The R-10 was really an HW 85 marked for Beeman for sale in the US. It was redesigned in 1995, and became the R-9. The current model number for the R-9 is also HW 85. The R-1 is the HW 80, and always has been since it was designed by Dr Beeman in conjunction with Weihrauch.

[Airsporter]

Beeman R9 = HW95.  Beeman R11 = HW98, which is actually an R9 with a different stock/barrel.   HW85 = R10 (discontinued).

Here's a chart:
http://www.iowadsl.net/~jpcraig/old/airgun/beeman_makers.html

R10 was a "lightweight" alternative to the R1 but it doesn't have quite the built quality or power.  Reciever was considered too thin to mill scope grooves so they used a scope rail.  That required them to groove the piston. The replacement R9 has a thicker receiver but the endcap is pinned (sort of) instead of threaded.  Functionally no different, but harder to take-down.

That said, the R10 tends to bring a premium in the used airgun market.  You can coax a fair amount of power out of them (especially tuned) and still have a reasonable weight piece.

[dave]

Not according to Weihrauch. The HW 95 is the R-6, the HW 85 is the R-9.

http://www.kaehny.de/luftdruckwaffen/weihrauch_luftdruck/hwluftgewehre.htm

[Lawdog]

Dave,

There must be something wrong with my R-10 then.  It doesn't look anything like an R-9, more like the R-1 except it has a excellent checkering job, grip cap and a beautiful fancy recoil pad that says Beeman on it.  The paper work rates the power level at 960 fps.(it actually gets more like 927 with H&N pellets) and a weight of 8 3/4 pounds.  I compared this to an R-1 when I bought it and the stock is much nicer giving it a more pleasing overall appearance.  If you want I can e-mail you a picture(I don’t seem to have any luck posting pictures here) of it.  It is much fancier than any R-1.  Lawdog
 

[Airsporter]

Dave, that's not the Weihrauch site, it's a retailer.  Try this:

http://www.weihrauch-sport.de/englisch/e_startseite/e_index.htm

Posted this before, seems it got deleted.

[dave]

LD, If you read my post I did say that the R-10 and R-1 have similiar looking stocks. However, thats where the similarity ends. The R-10 internals are quite similiar to those of the R-9, as I said, except for a slightly more powerful spring. The receiver tube is the same size as the R-9, and the springs are interchangeable.
The R-1, however, has a 30mm tube. It's actually a build-up of the HW35, with extended tube and longer spring. The spring is much too large to fit into an R-10. The R-10 does shoot near 925 in .177, but the R-10 is a much more robust gun with more durable internals. Overall its superior to the R-10.

on the left is an R-10 tube, on the right is a HW35 30 mm tube, same size as the R-1. Theres is a significant difference in size.



As far as which gun is which, HW has recently revamped its model designations and to some extent has changed some of its gun designs. After a bit of asking around, heres the way HW has it now as near as I can tell-
The new HW85 is the same as the R-9, but the HW95 is pretty much the same as the 85(??) so its also the R-9. I haven't been able to find a suitable explaination as to why theres 2 nearly identical guns in the line-up. Both have the same powerlevels, internal parts are interchangeable, they look similiar externally, theres not a lot of difference.  The only difference between the 85 and the 95 seems to be minor stock design and maybe barrel length. Everything else seems identical. So, as to which is the current R-9, looking at the two side by side I couldn't tell you.