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From: jkh@jade.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.rec.guns
Subject: Re: Pellet Guns
Message-ID: <2504@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Thu, 12-Feb-87 15:28:16 EST
Article-I.D.: jade.2504
Posted: Thu Feb 12 15:28:16 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Feb-87 03:03:52 EST
Organization: U.C. Berkeley
Lines: 35
Approved: jkh@ucbjade
Author: marcum@Sun.COM (Alan M. Marcum)
Article: 2:13

In article <2417@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> wmartin@ALMSA-1.ARPA (Will Martin) wrote:
>What Beeman does is to go to the major European airgun manufacturers and
>have them make guns with the Beeman logo on them, meeting certain specs
>and having certain features. In many cases these are just the same as
>the makers' regular models, but they do go through an extra level of
>inspection and quality assurance to be sold by Beeman, plus they have
>warranty and repair-policy support here from Beeman. Companies doing
>this are firms like RWS and FWB (Feinwerkbau).

I'm an avid competitive target rifle shooter.  (To give you an idea of HOW
avid, I've visited the Walther factory in Ulm, Germany twice, and I bought
my current air rifle there.  Incidentally, they welcomed visitors when I
was there, taking me to lucnh, letting me shoot a couple of rifles --
including the one I bought and a fascinating elephant gun -- and making me
feel like an extremely valuable customer!)  From what I've seen of Beeman
and their so-called special air rifles, I don't believe it.  Beeman MIGHT
give a better warranty; I haven't checked recently.

Feinwerkbau, and Walther both make superb air rifles.  (Anschutz used to
make an air rifle; I understood it was a good one, though it apparently
never sold well enough for them.)  Diana, if I recall, also has a good
one.  At the major state and national air rifle matches I've attended,
almost everyone was shooting a Feinwerkbau or a Walther, and very few of
them bought them from Beeman.

Now, Beeman has a very extensive line, ranging from plinkers to
competition-grade guns.  From everything I've seen, Bob Beeman is a good
business man, is honest, and strives to give pretty good service.  My
feeling about the "extra level of inspection" if you're looking at a
target-grade air rifle is that Walther and Feinwerkbau do a better job at
the factory than Bob could in his shop, modulo shipping damage.
-- 

Alan M. Marcum				Sun Microsystems, Technical Consulting
marcum@nescorna.Sun.COM			Mountain View, California