Author Topic: Beeman Silver Bear 1783 + TLC  (Read 8546 times)

Offline gunsup0331

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Beeman Silver Bear 1783 + TLC
« on: August 06, 2008, 12:44:37 PM »
Picked up this gun from a forum member and he convinced me to do a post on it.
 Its a youth sized rifle with a 12lb cocking effort, synthetic stock .177cal rated at "500+fps", says so right on the box.

 I  believe Wally world sells this gun new for around $40 on sale.  It not even worth that IMHO if you want an out of the box fun gun. It is loud, sounds like a hollow gourd when fired, looks/feels kinda cheap, has a ludicrously heavy and stiff trigger, the scope is tiny and plastic(Very Clear though), and mine had a bent barrel
 All that being said, it still looks pretty dang cool and is the perfect size for young people(like my little brother, so a little massaging was in order to get her shooting smooth.
 
 To begin with, the barrel was bent.  So much in fact, that the windage knob was screwed out to where one turn made it fall out and it STILL hit 1/2" left at 5meters. I used secret budget methods to correct this until it shot straight.
  Next, the factory finish was a joke, it was all flaked off where the muzzle brake was attached, and the rest looked like it was ready to come off at the first suggestion.  So, not having any bluing stuff at hand i sanded and flat-blacked it with a clear matte finish, now it looks like the factory finish but a bit better, and any scratches can be fixed with sandpaper and paint.  
-Touched up the crown with a round stone, polished with a Dremel, the original wasnt terrible but now it looks pretty.
-Tarred the spring a bit and lubed/polished things as i saw fit, very simple in internal assembly BTW.
-Cut new angles in the sear and sear catch, polished and molyed for a super clean break.(I can slam the buttstock on the ground quite hard and it will still not go off.)
-Removed the 50+lb trigger spring, replaced with a small coil spring epoxied to the back of the trigger lever. Trigger now breaks at a very clean 3ish lbs.(Trigger geometry limits the lightness of pull i think)
-Filled the buttstock with Great Stuff (Red Can)  It made a big difference as it quieted down the plastic toy sound of the gun when fired.

 After all this was said and done this thing is very fun to shoot, looks cool, cocks and shoots smoothly, and is pretty accurate (headshot on a dove at 15-20m) to boot.  
  For the price range and target market i would give it a 6 out of 10 Pre-"tune", and a 8.5 out of 10 post-tuning.


PS. Doesn't come with Iron sights

Offline tjk

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Re: Beeman Silver Bear 1783 + TLC
« Reply #1 on: August 06, 2008, 01:30:07 PM »
Super job Brandon!!! Glad things have turned out great for your new rifle. Please keep us, the GTA fam, informed on its continual progress!!! tjk
397 Benji-98\' model    
Marksman  0035, My Fav!,CDT T\'d
Crosman Sierra-Pro,.177
Benji 392 08\'
CDT TT\'d RWS 34 .22,CP 4-16X40 AO
MM T\'d Marksman 0035
Crosman G1 Extreme
Daisy PowerLine 1000
TF-97 .22
B-28A MM T\'d
B-28 OEM Tuned by me
Beeman .22 RX-2 w/Theoben GR
Beeman .177 R1 Santa Rosa

Offline gunsup0331

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Re: Beeman Silver Bear 1783 + TLC
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2008, 06:07:56 AM »
I think ill shoot some groups today, but plinking is so much fun with this gun i might get distracted!

Offline vinceb

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Glad to see your comments...
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2008, 03:25:16 AM »
I'd kicked around getting this once or twice for a friend's kid (after a bad experience with a B1-1), but something always told me not to. I finally got a Gamo Delta for her, and I think I made the right choice.

Offline gunsup0331

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Re: Beeman Silver Bear 1783 + TLC
« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2008, 11:23:50 AM »
i bought the gun secondhand so no return policy