raterminator:
I've got both the R-9 Goldfinger and the latest incarnation of R-9. The Goldfinger is .177 caliber and was tuned. The non-Goldfinger is in .20, lube-tuned by yours truly. As they come from Beeman, I don't think there is any difference in them internally, unless you specify one of the tuning options, and even then I don't think there is anything radically different internally, though my Goldfinger does put out 1.5 ft/lb more thump at the muzzle over an untuned one in .177 normally does, so who knows? I haven't had the .177 apart to tell. I think there might be more to it than lubes, because I chrono'd my .20 before and after I lube tuned it and got 14 ft/b with FTS at the muzzle both times.
My .20 has the "full-length" stock that covers the breech block area, and is the same stock as the Goldfinger, including the checkered panels. You can see for yourself on my website. Go to
http://www.uplandhunter.net, click on the "air rifle info" section listed in the menu at the top of the page, and you'll see what a "standard" .20 R-9 looks like these days. The wood on the standards seems to be stained a darker color on all that I've seen lately, while the wood on the Goldfingers is stained more of a honey-color.
I've got two friends who both bought R-9's recently. One got a pair of Goldfingers, with one in each caliber. The other got a pair of standards, again with one in each caliber. All of us went shooting fairly recently before the pal with the standards scoped them, and NONE of us could get a good sight picture through the open sights with the current stock. When I got my .20, I couldn't use the open sights either, but I didn't care because I planned to remove them, anyhow.
The problem seems to be with the height of the comb and the minimal drop of the stock which seems to be set up for scope use. Put a scope on it and it's perfect.
Aside from color of stain, everything about the stock on these late-model non-Goldfingers seems just like the Goldfinger stock.
-JP
http://www.uplandhunter.net
