Beeman R1 find

I think all the R1's have the city on the left side ( I only own San Rafael's or Santa Rosa's so not positive about the HB's). The oldest and rarest marks are the ones where both the Boswell Bear AND the city (would only be San Rafael) are the left side. By your pic it looks like the Boswell is on the right? Which city is yours, Rosa or Raphael? I think the R7 would edge out the R1 by a good margin but I prefer the R1 as the R7 often feels just to small & light for me. 



Some of my batch

I've owned 3 or 4 since 1983 and I must say that it's in a class of it's own. My first and second R1 were in .177 and the last one was .20 caliber, that's a very nice find.

I'm kind of getting the sense they might be a goner. I can't seem to find them at any of the big retailers (PA, Straight Shooters, etc). The HW80 seems to still be around though but with the typical short stock they have always had and I've always disliked. Supposedly the double left side stamp was fairly short lived and only the very earliest ones had it. Why they changed to stamping on both sides seems to be another mystery. 

I own four R1's, and although they are a bit heavy, they may be my favorite air rifle. It might be surpassed by my R7's depending on my mood as DualMagMike suggested. They are hard to shoot freehand due to the weight, but it can be done and I find it enjoyable. If I could only have one gun, it would be an R1, even over the R7's. The machining and metal work are impeccable, and the older Goudy stock is timeless. I do have the newer checkered forearm stock also, but the older one epitomizes Beeman. I foolishly sold my first R1 in the early '90s to fund a rimfire project, I will not make that mistake again.

Very nice! R1 fan checking in. The very first air rifle I purchased was a .20 cal back in 1991 from FSI. Shot the heck out of it for years. I’ve had quite a few over the years and I’m down to 2. I sold the middle one a few years back. It was a .20 cal commemorative. I still have the top one which is a .22 cal carbine with a tyrolean walnut stock. I also have the bottom one which is a .25 cal.

Nice guns all!

I bought my first R1 in 1993 from Air Venture airguns in Bellflower Ca. It was a carbine model in .20 cal. I sold it in the early 2000s and finally came across the same model but with an aftermarket stock. I am at peace now. 

BTW, I agree will you guys. It’s a large gun. I have a HW50 and it is petite compare to he R1. It’s not long, it’s thick. It’s like it took two 50s to equal one R1 in materials. The guy I bought it from said it was tuned using the factory spring. It’s shooting at 15 or 16 foot lbs if I recall correctly. Shooting and cocking is smooth with an manageable recoil. I added a JM brake as well. 

Gabe