Author Topic: Beeman/Crosman P17 review  (Read 22491 times)

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Beeman/Crosman P17 review
« on: September 30, 2007, 04:18:19 PM »
Well folks, I am quite sure some of you have seen those interesting looking Beeman P17 single stroke air pistols thinking they looked intriguing.
Well, keep in mind that both Beeman and Marksman are owned by SRI Industries, and that Marksman sells the exact same pistol as the model 2004.
I bought the Beeman named P17 at a local Gander Mountain for about $50.

Well, first the good.
This pistol is astonishingly accurate, even rivaling my most excellent Gamo CFX, which itself puts 5 Beeman Ram Jets inside 0.4" at 25 yards.
I didn't do any group size measuring for reasons I will get to below, but I was able to strike ping pong balls at 25 yards almost 100% of the time using the included red dot sight.
Another positive is that the trigger is just wonderful, with a tiny bit of creep at the beginning, which I prefer to feel as a way of taking up slack in anticipation of it breaking in the second stage.

Now, that I mentioned the good, time for the bad.
The red dot, while really handy, tends to make target acquisition tough because it acts almost as would sunglasses, which is to say that it darkens the target a bit in all but the brightest sunlight.
Also, that red dot's adjustment knobs, while easy to adjust in the field, are far too easy to adjust, which is to say simply picking up the pistol can cause an inadvertent bump to knock off the sight in.
Another thing quite a few people have complained about is that it can be tough to load certain pellets, and I agree, but only with certain very hard antimony alloyed and snug fitting pellets, namely the Crosman Premier Hollow Point.
However, I found that there are plenty of other pellets that load without making me get a blister on my thumb, with the Beeman Silver Ace and the Crosman Field Point Hunting being two that went in with ease, and they also both shot far more accurately than I could have expected.

Now that I have gone over the good and the bad, time for the ugly.
In a word:  Leak!
I bought one of these only two weeks ago, learning all the pros and cons with it for about 150-200 shots, then I thought my ears were playing tricks on me.
I started to hear a faint hissing sound, which I at first discounted, since no air gun should leak at all with so little use.
I didn't really notice a velocity loss at first, but then I let it stay pressured for one shot for longer than one minute, then fired, and, sure enough, the muzzle pop was FAR lower, and the pellet hit with what was obviously considerably lower impact.
I shot it about 50 more times, hoping all along that it would settle down, but the leaking sound only got increasingly louder, and the interval between cocking and pressure drop became so short as to make the pellet come out slowly enought that (no, don't try this at home, folks!) I could catch it with no pain in my open palm!
Okay, so MAYBE I had an airgun made on a hangover Monday morning over in China.
Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to retain the receipt, so I took it back to Gander Mountain, and to their credit, they offered to give me a refund outright.
I knew that they had three more of the same airgun on the rack, so I requested instead to try one of those in the hopes that my first one was a fluke.
As I walked away from the register after ringing up my second P17, I mentioned that I would keep a death grip on the receipt just in case this second time around, I had another lemon.
Well, I am sorry to say that this one didn't even make it past the 100 shot mark.
If anything, it leaks much worse than the first one, and, if left to sit for a full two minutes, will not even launch the pellet out of the barrel AT ALL.
Blah to this shoddy workmanship.
It breaks my heart to see the Beeman name pasted onto a third rate airgun that is little more than a paperweight, but that's what happens, folks, when the founder who has made such an excellent reputation elects to retire and sell to someone who wants to ride the name and said reputation without maintaining the quality and workmanship that made the acquisition so attractive in the first place.
Shame on you, SRI, for such abominable workmanship.
Oh, and kudo's to Gander Mountain, as this is not really their fault, and they are eager to take care of problems, but I hope that they demand their money and shipping back for my two defective pistols, and I further hope that they ship their remaining stock back to SRI with a note saying "Do us and yourself a favor, and kick your QC department in the head for us."
For crying out loud, even the rinky dink $20 Marksman 1010 Classic is far superior to this junk!
That 1010 may look crappy, and it may not get beyond 200fps, but at least it is durable and does not leak.
Oh, one other thing to keep in mind, folks, and that is that not ALL Beeman branded airguns are crap.
Certainly some of the air rifles and other air pistols, especially the vaunted P1 pistol and the R-series rifles, are as good as ever, as those are rebranded Weihrauch or Theoben rifles.
So, don't avoid ALL Beemans, but do your homework first before buying one to ensure that you are getting the superior German or British workmanship that Weihrauch or Theoben still provide.

Just my $0.02.

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RE: Beeman/Crosman P17 review
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2007, 06:37:04 PM »
Oh, I hate to reply to one of my own postings, but I wanted to make sure to add links to the Marksman and Beeman air pistols that are the ones to look out for, plus I wanted to add a link to the good WEIRHAUCH version that apparently is the very good air pistol that Beeman/Marksman used as a cheap knockoff copy of.

First, the exact same awful gun that I had showing the Beeman, then Marksman guns to look out for.
Oh, and this is by no means a condemnation of the retailer whose link I am using, as they didn't manufacture them, and they probably haven't gotten enough complaints, as this is a fairly recent pistol.

Here is the Marksman branded version model 2004 of my lemon, a Chinese junk clone:
http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/Marksman.html

Here is the Beeman branded version model P17 of my lemon, another Chinese junk clone:
http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/model.pl?model_id=1231

Now, here is the one you want if you like the features and looks of the one I have, plus German (Weihrauch) craftsmanship, and none of the leaks.
This is the one Beeman/Marksman copied so poorly.  THIS is the original widely praised gun to get, and that should come as no surprise, as it was made in Germany by the legendary Weihrauch.
http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/model.pl?model_id=47
And yes, the above costs three times as much, but, as you can see from the reviews of this last one juxtaposed against the reviews for the Beeman, it would be a no-brainer to shell out the extra $ for the Weihrauch.
Also, I did not review the good Weihrauch, but I DID review the Beeman, but I just re-reviewed it, asking Pyramyd to pull my first one and replace it with my re-review.

You have been informed.

Offline davee1

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leaking can be easily fixed....
« Reply #2 on: October 03, 2007, 08:22:20 PM »


If you can hear it leaking it is most likely the valve. It is easily fixed. Check out this thread for help.



http://www.gatewaytoairguns.com/airguns/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=4550&mid=32084#M32084

Walther Falcon.25, Shadow.177, Shadow Express.22, Whisper.22, CFX.177/.22, B3AK.22, B3.177(x2), B4.22, B21.22, B26.22, Diana350M.177/.22, Beeman1073.177/.22, Hammerli Storm.22, Hammerli X2.177/.22, BeemanP1.177, P3.177, P17.177(x2), Diana5G(P5).177, Diana LP8, Browning800, BenjiHB22, Crosman1377, Marauder.22

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RE: leaking can be easily fixed....
« Reply #3 on: October 04, 2007, 09:04:53 AM »
Quote
davee1 - 10/4/2007  4:22 AM




If you can hear it leaking it is most likely the valve.  It is easily fixed.  Check out this thread for help.



http://www.gatewaytoairguns.com/airguns/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=4550&mid=32084#M32084



It looks as if you found the solution, most definitely.
I wonder just how much SRI is losing to all the returns for faulty P17s, though.
It's nice to know there are people out there who are mechanical enough to find solutions, but that doesn't excuse SRI for terrible inattention to detail.
Either way, much as I appreciate your help in locating the fix, I already returned the P17.
When I want to shoot an air pistol, I have decided to stick with the more expensive to shoot and less accurate CO2 powered Crosman 1008 I have had for three years now.
At least THAT is holding up like a tank.

Offline collingill

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RE: leaking can be easily fixed....
« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2008, 12:40:50 PM »
The link you pasted is a link to fly like a bird - dealing with sites.  This thread does not discuss leaking.  Have you found a fix for this?

Offline davee1

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RE: leaking can be easily fixed....
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2008, 02:41:53 PM »
yes it does discuss leaking. Read all the posts in the thread. The fix is there.
Walther Falcon.25, Shadow.177, Shadow Express.22, Whisper.22, CFX.177/.22, B3AK.22, B3.177(x2), B4.22, B21.22, B26.22, Diana350M.177/.22, Beeman1073.177/.22, Hammerli Storm.22, Hammerli X2.177/.22, BeemanP1.177, P3.177, P17.177(x2), Diana5G(P5).177, Diana LP8, Browning800, BenjiHB22, Crosman1377, Marauder.22

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RE: leaking can be easily fixed....
« Reply #6 on: July 07, 2008, 12:46:00 PM »
I bought my Beeman P17 about a year ago for less than $40 w/out red dot sight.  Giving credit where credit is due -- I think this pistol is a terrific backyard plinker and target shooter.

After reading this thread, I just now tested mine for hissing/leaking sounds and thankfully there were none.

Nevertheless, thanks for the tip if/when mine develops this minor issue.

Offline WipeoutWm

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Re: Beeman/Crosman P17 review
« Reply #7 on: September 25, 2008, 05:00:40 AM »
I got a P17 at Cabela's, $40 with a red dot, and I was extremely impressed with the accuracy!  I could hit a 20 oz pop bottle freehand at 20 paces 9/10 times.  And about 7/10 times at 24 paces!  I had a blast with this pistol.... for about 150 shots.  THen it would not even pass the pellet.  I finally took it apart and found the piston seal o-ring had been nibbled by the air inlet port and was leaking.  Haven't yet found a replacement o-ring.  It's a shame that a gun that works so well died so soon, but maybe I can bring it back.

Offline cole5169

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Mine was terrible
« Reply #8 on: September 30, 2008, 12:06:49 PM »
Took it back for refund, saved up and bought a HW40PCA.  Should have done it right the first time.

The P17/2004 shot differently every single time I pulled the trigger: 1st time - Psssssssssssstttt...  , 2d time - POP!,  3d time - *click* (what the??), 4th time - Pfft, 5th time - BANG!!!!!...

Holy crap!   Hahaha!  At least it wasn't boring...   Oh, yeah, I did fire over 100 shots before taking it back (same day I bought it!), not just the "five" illustrated above :)

Other things I noticed:  the upper receiver (cocking arm) "humped" in the middle when cocked.  Mine actually popped "open" twice before firing.  The rear sight flew off into the grass on one of those popping-open occasions (no lie, I swear!).  Also , the gun fired on "safe" as well as "fire" and the safety did not automatically engage about 30% of the time.  

When I took it back, the guy at the store said "yeah, I figured.  We get these back a lot from adults...never kids"

Oh, well.  I LOVE MY HW40PCA!  It's great :)

Offline Crzyfrlss1

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Re: Beeman/Crosman P17 review
« Reply #9 on: September 30, 2008, 01:32:48 PM »
Very nice review that gave me a few laughs.
Not because of your bad luck though, more the replies.

Now as to the HW40PCA

It intrigued me to find more info about it.
So I found this very in depth technical review here.

http://my.tbaytel.net/coopers/HW40Review/

It's pretty interesting, I may get one someday.
.22 Discovery 4x16x40 Centerpoint
.22 Beeman SS1000 4x16x56 Centerpoint
.22 2250XT 6x32 Centerpoint
.22 Custom 2240 Tasco Red-Dot w/bling

And various other pistols too

Offline 502rock

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Re: Beeman/Crosman P17 review
« Reply #10 on: January 31, 2009, 07:01:40 AM »
I am glad I found this thread my p17 started leaking and I hav had this gun for a year now. Was getting ready ti call beaman when I found this thread the fix does work. I got the p17 for free when I bought an r series rifle and feel on love with it. Just me but I would rather fix than send back.