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When I was in the service, RWS air rifles were made available to marksman so that they could practice marksmanship fundamentals pretty much anywhere there was 10 to 25 meters of space available regardless of weather conditions.
With the price of both ammo and reloading components going through the roof mainly due to lack of availability, I decided to return to this “old school” method of retaining my marksmanship skills by using an air rifle.
I did a little research online comparing various models of air rifles, which included RWS, Beeman, Gamo, Remington, Ruger, Winchester, Daisy, and Crossman. I was looking for a single shot, spring-piston air gun in .177 caliber that would generate at least 1,000 fps velocity, had adjustable sights, a two-stage trigger, and the ability to mount a scope all for under $200.00.
I happened to be in the area of Bass Pro yesterday, so I stopped in to see what they had. Fortunately, they carry pretty much all of the models I was considering so it gave me a good opportunity to actually see the quality of the guns as well as test their trigger pulls. Bass Pro’s prices are also pretty much competitive with others that I researched online but with one major advantage, I could buy it and walk out the door with it and save myself some money in shipping charges even with the sales tax.
What I ended up buying was the Beeman S1000 Combo which met all the requirements that I had, plus included a second barrel in .22 caliber (rifle is rated at 765 fps using .22), a 4x32 Bushnell/Beeman scope with rings, a two stage trigger, and a very nice Cordura nylon carrying case all for $149.00. I also picked up a couple of tins of .177 pellets. One tin of wadcutter and the other pointed.
The instructions that came with the Beeman were both brief and precise. Assembly was easy and the overall quality is very good. The wood finish is very rich looking and the two-stage trigger pull is nice and smooth.
The iron sights have fiber optic inserts for improved visibility but are of a cheap quality and they are a dial type without any indents for an audible click. The scope’s glass is clear and bright, includes removable see through lens covers and has ¼” audible click adjustments for both windage and elevation. The parallax is factory set and cannot be adjusted.
I set up a sight in target at 10 meters (33 feet) and first sighted in using the iron sights. It took a few turns of both the elevation and windage dials to get it right but once I did it stayed dead on.
Next, I mounted the scope. It only took about 4, three shot groups to get it zeroed in.
Once she was zeroed in, I was able to consistently print ¼” or less groups using the wadcutter pellets (the rifle is rated at 0.20” center-to-center accuracy with .177 pellets and 0.18” c-t-c accuracy with .22s).
For targets, I printed out some free 10 meter air rifle targets that I found online. There is a formula that you can use to scale down long-range rifle targets so that they can be used at 10 or 25 yards. So I whipped up some 200, 500, and 600 yard NRA long-range rifle targets for use at 25 yards, which are working out great!
Here is the formula:
R1 x H1 / R2 = H2
R1 = Reduced Range
R2 = Simulated Range
H1 = Height of Actual Target
H2 = Reduced Height of Target
Example:
R1 = 25 yards R2 = 500 yards H1 = 72 inches
25 x 72 / 500 = 3.6 inches
So now I can continue to work on my marksmanship skills out to a simulated 1,000 yards without leaving my backyard, annoying the neighbors, or dropping $30 a box for Federal Match ammo.
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With the price of both ammo and reloading components going through the roof mainly due to lack of availability, I decided to return to this “old school” method of retaining my marksmanship skills by using an air rifle.
I did a little research online comparing various models of air rifles, which included RWS, Beeman, Gamo, Remington, Ruger, Winchester, Daisy, and Crossman. I was looking for a single shot, spring-piston air gun in .177 caliber that would generate at least 1,000 fps velocity, had adjustable sights, a two-stage trigger, and the ability to mount a scope all for under $200.00.
I happened to be in the area of Bass Pro yesterday, so I stopped in to see what they had. Fortunately, they carry pretty much all of the models I was considering so it gave me a good opportunity to actually see the quality of the guns as well as test their trigger pulls. Bass Pro’s prices are also pretty much competitive with others that I researched online but with one major advantage, I could buy it and walk out the door with it and save myself some money in shipping charges even with the sales tax.
What I ended up buying was the Beeman S1000 Combo which met all the requirements that I had, plus included a second barrel in .22 caliber (rifle is rated at 765 fps using .22), a 4x32 Bushnell/Beeman scope with rings, a two stage trigger, and a very nice Cordura nylon carrying case all for $149.00. I also picked up a couple of tins of .177 pellets. One tin of wadcutter and the other pointed.
The instructions that came with the Beeman were both brief and precise. Assembly was easy and the overall quality is very good. The wood finish is very rich looking and the two-stage trigger pull is nice and smooth.
The iron sights have fiber optic inserts for improved visibility but are of a cheap quality and they are a dial type without any indents for an audible click. The scope’s glass is clear and bright, includes removable see through lens covers and has ¼” audible click adjustments for both windage and elevation. The parallax is factory set and cannot be adjusted.
I set up a sight in target at 10 meters (33 feet) and first sighted in using the iron sights. It took a few turns of both the elevation and windage dials to get it right but once I did it stayed dead on.
Next, I mounted the scope. It only took about 4, three shot groups to get it zeroed in.
Once she was zeroed in, I was able to consistently print ¼” or less groups using the wadcutter pellets (the rifle is rated at 0.20” center-to-center accuracy with .177 pellets and 0.18” c-t-c accuracy with .22s).
For targets, I printed out some free 10 meter air rifle targets that I found online. There is a formula that you can use to scale down long-range rifle targets so that they can be used at 10 or 25 yards. So I whipped up some 200, 500, and 600 yard NRA long-range rifle targets for use at 25 yards, which are working out great!
Here is the formula:
R1 x H1 / R2 = H2
R1 = Reduced Range
R2 = Simulated Range
H1 = Height of Actual Target
H2 = Reduced Height of Target
Example:
R1 = 25 yards R2 = 500 yards H1 = 72 inches
25 x 72 / 500 = 3.6 inches
So now I can continue to work on my marksmanship skills out to a simulated 1,000 yards without leaving my backyard, annoying the neighbors, or dropping $30 a box for Federal Match ammo.
