Mostly for pesky birds, target, and an occasional ground squirrel. Greatest interest is in accuracy.

.17 or 22 cal.?

Much appreciated,

I have one. Had it for 5 or 6 years now. Accuracy is pretty easy 1"@25 yards. Pretty sure I could hit a quarter 10 times out of ten with a decent rest and no wind at 25 yards. I have shot 1 hole groups at 10yds indoors. Hits like a hammer in .22 cal. I use it to shoot 100 or so rock chucks each spring as well as the occasional crow or whatever bird needs it. Have killed chucks to 60+yards but prefer 40. At 40 it's a sure thing head shot with a decent rest. I have owned both 177 and 22 cal springers of about the same power. The 22 is far superior for hunting. Both will penetrate most any small critter at 25 yards but the 22 does it with a much bigger hole and the result is a much quicker kills.

An example of power/penetration. Last year I was shooting some chucks on a rock pile at about 30 yards, one pops up and I shoot him in the head - behind him about 20 yards further there was a splat in the mud. Thought I missed, but actually that pellet shot through his head and still made serious splat in the mud.

My R9 is one thing that I would replace if anything was to ever happen to it.

FWIW: I have a Nikon Prostaff EFR 3-9x40 AO scope on mine, would highly recommend that also.

Hope that helps.

Sweet shooting.

I also have R9's, in both .177 and .22 flavors. I have only shot them in my basement range and at squirrels and invasive species birds in my yard - range about 30 feet. They both shoot very accurately. Head shots on squirrels are easy. As centershot said, the 22 hits noticeably harder, although at the ranges I shoot, the .177 is fine. I bought them both used. They last forever given proper care.

I need to track down centershot and shoot a few rockchucks, apparently.....

Thanks for the comments. Was guessing there should be a few out there exceeding the Gamo hype.

FWIW: There is not a Gamo made that I would trade my R9 for. If you think you'll be shooting more targets and smallish birds then the Beeman R7 is a wonderful little rifle. Smooth and easy to shoot. If you get that one go with .177 as it is a low powered springer but man talk about a sweet shooting rifle. Think I saw them for ~$300. And don't think they are not powerful enough for squirrels, I shot rock chucks with the one I owned. Had to make head shots and keep them under 40 yards, but it was so dang accurate, quiet and easy to shoot it was easy to do.

The .20 is also an option, 14.3 Crosman Dome kills great, taken squirrels to 70 yds.

I use the Weihrauch HW95 in .177. This is essentially the same rifle as the R9 as Weihrauch manufactures the R9 for Beeman. I went with the .177 for my primary target Starlings. H&N Sport- Barracuda Match pellets 10.65 grains.

OK. A Beeman it will be.

Thanks

I don’t think you can buy a new Beeman R9 now as that I don’t think Beeman is the distributor for Weihrauch anymore. You can buy the same gun from Weihrauch but it won’t be a Beeman.

Weihrauch

Pyramydair shows them on their website but I did not check for availability.

https://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Beeman_R9_Air_Rifle/1900

About a year ago I bought my HW95 from Air Guns Of Arizona. They were a pleasure to deal with. As already stated the HW95 is the same as the R9.

Reference accuracy, google “artillery hold”. Most spring piston guns are far more accurate than the person shooting them, since they need a consistent hold every time, and normally don’t respond well to a firm grip. That said, R9 was my first “real” airgun, and agree with all previous comments. You’ll never go wrong with one in any caliber, I have one in 177, 20, and 25 (hw95), love them all. For your purposes, a 177 is a good start since you’ll be shooting small birds. Use good pellets as well, normally a dome shaped pellet is the most accurate for most guns. Steer clear of super light or hollow point pellets as a general rule.

Thanks again. Gave my Christmas wish list of one desired item to Cookie, and it's on the way. Sparrows and Eurasian Collared Doves beware. You have 16 days to clear out.

Who has the best price on these?

I got my HW95 Luxus from Air Guns of Arizona and they had the best price. I just got Nikon Prostaff EFR 3-9X40. Other vendors may have th Beeman...primarily PyramidAir I think.

The R9 is a great little gun. 177 will be plenty for what you're planning on using it for.

We used three of them for years to control the Ground squirrels on the University. Literally thousands of shots a year and never a malfunction. Even took to running shots to get ready for Deer season. Just make sure you have a good scope to do them justice

Went the .22 route and have a scope on the way from 257heaven.

Appreciate the feed back, and sounds like more than likely, I'll be quite happy with it.