COPFIREARMS:
Yeah, and R-9 isn't cheap, but it isn't cheaply made, either. This is a rare case of getting more than you pay for. What you get is an accurate, well-made rifle of heirloom quality that, if properly cared for, can be passed down to your prodgeny. With an R-9, there is no "coulda woulda shoulda."
I live in California, where air rifles may be used by licensed hunters to take all resident small game animals, including upland game birds like quail, chukar, and turkey, during applicable open seasons.
I've been shooting adult air guns since '81 and I've hunted with them for 25 years. When I say "hunted," I am talking about wild animals in wilderness conditions, and not suburban squirrels in my backyard.
With air rifles, placement and penetration mean a whole lot more than power does. The R-9 is one of the most accurate break-barrel spring-piston air rifles made, and it is easy to shoot accurately, due to the excellent trigger. I have little trouble keeping five shots within a 1" circle at 50 yards with my R-9's. That is why I use them.
I have two. One in .177 which is tuned to 15 ft/lb, which I use for "long range" shooting of rabbits , quail, and chukar when I know that most shots will be presented at 40 to 50 yards. I use the .20 for general hunting use. I prefer the .20 caliber, but I am in to making meat and not making mounts. The .20 does definitely punch a bigger diameter hole than .177 does. In that regard, it's kind of exponential, in that the pellet isn't that much bigger around than the .177 is, but the hole the .20 makes is noticeably larger. My .20 is running at the advertised 14 ft/lb.
Both of these rifles will thwack a target 50 yards out with about 9 ft/lbs of energy. The .177 will do that with Crosman Copperheads and Crosman Premier 7.9's. The .20 does it with Beeman FTS.
That energy level on impact is enough to cleanly kill all of the game I shoot, INCLUDING turkey.
When air rifles became legal for taking turkey here in California, I hunted them with my .20 R-1. Although the .20 R-1 puts out nearly 18 ft/lb of power at the muzzle, the nature of air rifle exterior ballistics is such that this big 4 ft/lb power advantage at the muzzle doesn't always automatically extend to the 50 yard line. At fifty yards, the difference in energy delivered by the .20 R-1 and .20 R-9 isn't enough for a turkey to get excited about. The difference in carry weight and handling dynamics, however, is enough for me to get exited about.
When my .20 R-1 was stolen out of the back of my Jeep, I replaced it with an R-9 in .20 and I am delighted that I did. I had no problem taking a turkey with it during the spring season, shooting a 14 pound bird with it at about 45 yards on the last day of the season up on Palomar Mountain.
With my .177 R-9, I've taken jackrabbits up to 9 pounds at ranges out to 50 yards and slightly beyond. With brain-pan shots, the little .177 thumps them dead like a lightening blow from Thor. I can't see that squirrels would be much of a problem. In fact, I started hunting squirrels with a .177 Webley Omega running at 11.8 ft/lbs with great success.
Can you see that I am not convinced that a powerhouse RWS 350 is the way forward for hunting use?
I am a huge fan of the R-9, and think that the price is fair for what you get.
You get a rifle that will provide a lifetime of use. You get a rifle that enjoys aftermarket support and one in which the importer will still sell parts to the public, so you can do service and maintenence yourself, if you choose to.
Gamo won't sell you key parts you might need for maintenence. It seems that RWS/Umarex is now following their lead.
I've shot RWS guns, and their nice, but they aren't R-Series Beemans.
For more unabashed R-9 enthusiasm, check out my website.
-JP
http://www.uplandhunter.net
