Beeman RX2 Review

Yesterday I was strolling through Canfields, a local sporting goods store (and the only one around that sells premium airguns) and I came across this RX2 for $550. I asked the salesman to pull it down for me to take a look - unfortunately is was a .22, and I was in the market for a .20 hunter. The salesman smiled at me and said he had a brand new .20 in the back, all boxed up. Well, you can guess the rest...
I took it home, cleaned out the barrel, and ran some Kodiaks through it to get a feel for the velocity and handling. I had never shot a gas ram before, and I was eager to feel the difference between it and my springers. First off, this is a heavy gun. With glass, it easily goes over 10lbs. It kicks pretty hard, almost like a powderburner. But the fast lock up time enables me to keep the barrel on point long enough to get the pellet out of the muzzle. The stock is beautiful, with a nice even varnish and gorgeous grain. The metal to wood finish is precise. I didn't bother taking off the receiver to check things out, as I know squat about gas rams. From what I understand, it's basically a Thoeben- it has their gas ram and trigger. So, I mounted up a Leapers 3X9x50 on a pair of high Accushot rings, and twiddled my thumbs until the loctite dried.
I took it downstairs to my 20yd range today and saddled in the bench to punch some paper. As you can see, it has no problem with the Kodiaks. 3 shots per target, 6 targets from the bench rest, 3 targets standing. The thing that most impressed me about the gun was it's accuracy from a standing position. the 3 right side targets were all shot freehand. The weight really helps balance it out and allows me remain steady, and the fast lock time enables me to almost "fire and forget". Also, I was about to put my second pellet of the session through the bullseye when the other half summoned me to my honey do's.... I read that gas rams can stay cocked for a while before shooting, so I figured I'd put it to the test. I came back 2hrs later and fired that pellet center bull. All of this with less than 100 pellets through the gun. How's that for out-of-the-box accuracy....
Chrony results were a little bit less than advertised. The only .20 pellets I had were Kodiaks, and they were leaving the muzzle at @750fps. That's about 17ft/lb of energy, and it should increase once the gun breaks in.
Overall, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better break barrel magnum hunter. To get this kind of power from a magnum springer, you'd have to contend with a lot of hold sensitivity issues. Someone who's never fired an airgun before can go out and shoot this thing well. The one beef I have is a non adjustable trigger.... it's still very good- smooth 1st stage, short crisp 2nd stage, with @2lb pull. But I don't think you'd want it much lighter, especially if you're hunting. Cocking effort is a little high - @50lbs, but that's to be expected from a gas ram. All this gun needs is a nice muzzlebrake - I'm hoping to get a custom one from Tim Wilson - and then it's off to the golf course.... "Freeze, Gopher!!"