Potent and tiny carbine

[DualMagMike]

Just received a NOS Webley Vulcan MKIII aka Beeman Bearcub. I had a Bearcub years ago that I got for my son when he was much younger but it was far too difficult for him to cock so I got rid of it. This one came up and I thought I'd replace one of the very few rifles I have even gotten rid of. Really tiny and pretty potent carbine rated @915fps and just 37.8'' which is less than an inch longer than the diminutive R7/HW30 but packing over 200fps more velocity. It came with the original box, allen key & oil as well as a letter from Webley to Beeman stating..."new Vulcan for your inspection". The seller used to work for Beeman years ago so I am guessing this may well be the 1st Vulcan MKIII in the US?! It was also mentioned in the letter that it has a spring in it that might not be used for final issue/production. I ran it over my chrony and found it was cranking out Silver Bear pellets over 960fps! The trigger on the Vulcan/Bearcub's I have owned have both been pretty awful but I decided to try a little polishing on this one and it made a substantial difference. It has a very odd trigger adjustment that sits on top of and to the rear most portion of the compression tube area and has a manual safety. I had a Bugbuster 3-9x on the last one and might put a Leapers 4-16x compact on this one some day (maybe not). 

Beeman Bearcub

 

[fatmatic]

That’s a beautiful rifle in a compact size!

 

[Guest]

Is that a jacuzzi? Nice rifle. 

 

[BeeGee11]

That's awesome, one day I'd love to have one that compact.

 

[KWK]

 

Yeah the Vulcan platform is a good one. Some have been critical of the hinge. The mark 3 also has a hinge in the trigger like a Stingray does. They work ok if you like a fake two stage. British makers did that a lot. Webley, BSA. The trigger adjustment is spring pressure and gets unsafe if reduced too much. Polishing the sear and a little moly helps for sure. I got a mint Beeman Vulcan II .177 last spring from a gentleman and he threw in a very nice Mossberg shotgun! The shotgun is worth more than I paid for the Vulcan (not too much). Has the Webley "spring tamer" guide. They work. Bearcub almost certainly has it. I wish I could find a walnut deluxe stock for it. Webley usually used very nice walnut. My beech stock is rather bland. Not the level of polished blue we see on many British guns. The gun handles fairly well. 

Sounds like the Bearcub might benefit from a standard Vulcan spring. Might not be good for it's relevance as a Beeman collectable though. Nice little rifle for your collection.

 

[hitech]

Those are awesome guns. I've had 2 Beeman C1s in the past and wish I'd kept the last one. It was late 80s all original and mint. However, I do like the bearcubs a little more because of the comb and grip. Nice find!

 

[MDriskill]

I'm envious!

I had a couple C1's back in the day, and loved the basic idea - but that straight-grip stock was positive painful to my wrists. Always thought the darn thing would be great with a real grip, which is basically what the Bearcub is!

 

[DualMagMike]

I never handled a C1 but ALWAYS thought that stocked looked "wrong". The Vulcan/Bearcub handle nicely but border on being brutal to cock with their super short barrel and powerful spring.

 

[MDriskill]

Beeman always claimed he was going for a Winchester lever-action look, but the thing that's different is that the C1 has virtually no drop at the heel of the butt. Look at the gun next to a model 94 and you'll see what I mean, the classic old firearm has a lot of drop there, and a sloped angle to the straight grip.

This "straight-line" layout works in one sense - it's great for controlling muzzle lift from recoil. The C1 was remarkably easy for me to shoot well, in spite of its light weight and significant power. But, the trade-off is that extremely flat angle at the grip, which for me actually hurt!

 

[GoldenStateAIRGUNer]

Nice find Mike ! Beautiful compact. Much nicer than the C1 I had back in 1985. Your right though, the pistol grip on the C1 just didn't feel right. One thing I didn't care for on the Webley's is the oversize breech bore. Pellets seem to fit kind of loose.

 

[GoldenStateAIRGUNer]

Those are awesome guns. I've had 2 Beeman C1s in the past and wish I'd kept the last one. It was late 80s all original and mint. However, I do like the bearcubs a little more because of the comb and grip. Nice find!

Those C1's in mint condition fetch pretty good money. Especially the .22cal versions.

 

[SteveV]

Looks like a mini me Patriot - VERY COOL

Shoots in the 900's?

DAMN - that one is on my shortlist!

 

[DualMagMike]

960+ with Silver Bears but they are typically not the most accurate pellet especially over 30 yards or so. This also may not be the same spring that hit full production guns but Beeman rated the Bearcub @915 likely with the lightest pellet around (Laser)

 

[GoldenStateAIRGUNer]

That's getting close to the T06 RWS 34's! 

 

[BeeGee11]

Is the C1 the same as the B1 but with a shorter barrel?

 

[DualMagMike]

B1???

 

[BeeGee11]

Sorry, R1

 

[DualMagMike]

No they are nothing alike and even made by different company's (C1= Webley, R1=Weihrauch)

 

[snakedriver]

My Beeman Bear Cub on the bottom.

 

[snakedriver]

DualBagMike, What a find. I was so thrilled to find mine at an auction. Was very fortunate no one knew what it was and I got it for a song.