Beeman 2004/P17 Problems

[travisbicks]

I bought a Beeman 2004 ten days ago. I was really enjoying it and finding it to be incredibly accurate (even in my novice hands) when it developed a trigger problem such that the trigger would intermittently fail, especially when pulled slowly.

I took it back to the shop today and had it replaced. The man in the shop agreed to replace immediately and seemed genuinely surprised at the fault, telling me that he’s been selling them for years with very few problems.

However when I got the replacement pistol home I found the sites were way out of alignment. Then, on examination I discovered a small dent on the scope rail. Also, the piston compression action of this pistol feels easier than the first, the same pellets fit much more easily into the barrel and there appears to be more grease on the piston. Perhaps I’m being overly suspicious but I began to wonder if this was a reconditioned rather than new pistol.

I was able to correct the sites myself , well enough to hit cans at the end of the garden at least, but it meant major adjustment to the windage in particular, so that the notch was adjusted from extreme left (where it was originally set) to now being to the right of the hammer.

My question is whether others think this replacement is acceptable. The dent is cosmetic, as can be seen in the photograph, but the sites concern me. The first pistol was accurate out of the box and the windage notch was about even with the hammer (centred on the gun). On this pistol the windage is now to the right of the hammer. Is this unacceptable or are such variations to be expected? I had thought that with no adjustment for wind the notch should be centered on the gun and the sites should be accurately set up when new.

John

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...nfault014.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images...nfault019.jpg/

[davymole]

hi looking at your pictures of the sight I would say this gun had also been returned as faulty,you mention if it was s/h or b/n.even if s/h most RFD offer a 3 month warrenty our local dealer does anyway. If your not happy ask for your mony back and buy weihrauch hw40 a better made gun of which this is a poor copy hope this helps

[pcusername]

I wouldn't say they were a poor copy at all.All they need are some decent seals and they go on forever.I had the hw40 and the beeman at the same time and compared them and they both shot equally well,the hw40 admittedly does have a better trigger,but not that much better.The hw40 is of a higher quality build wise but I bought my beeman new for £50,the hw40 was £150.I'd rather have 3 beemans for the money.

[crusader8]

If you paid a £150 ? I paid £102.99 brand new yesterday in dorset fair better pistol I spent ages looking and comparing to me build quality is everything not have to replace every couple of years to me weihrauch over a far east copy no contest but thats just my opinion in my youger days price was king now quaility rules every time .

[travisbicks]

hi looking at your pictures of the sight I would say this gun had also been returned as faulty,you mention if it was s/h or b/n.even if s/h most RFD offer a 3 month warrenty our local dealer does anyway. If your not happy ask for your mony back and buy weihrauch hw40 a better made gun of which this is a poor copy hope this helps

Thanks, I bought the pistol new.

With all my doubts about the replacement I took it back to the shop and, whilst the bloke did explain that there was some variation to be expected in pistol sites, he gladly gave me another replacement. I asked his advice about zeroing pistols and left well pleased with the customer service.

After driving home, I took the pistol out of its unopened package. Putting up a target, I fired about four test shots and noticed it was firing a little high. No problem, I thought, I can adjust it later. However the fifth shot didn’t even appear on the target and, trying again, I saw the next shot going well above the target. I looked down at the sites and immediately noticed that the elevation screw was missing so that now the site was far too high. Like an idiot I touched the site, heard a soft ping and watched a spring fly off into the grass. Searching on my hands and knees I managed to find the retaining nut amongst the grass (which means the screw must have come lose whilst I was cocking the pistol as otherwise the nut could not have fallen out of the gun) but I could find neither the screw nor the spring. After an hour’s search I decided there was nothing for it but to return to the shop again.

When I explained to the bloke he immediately asked me if I wanted a refund and seemed slightly surprised when I asked if he could fix the sight. I feel that at first he may have suspected that I was sabotaging the pistol in order to demand a refund. He was able to salvage the spring and screw from the first pistol I returned (with the dodgy trigger) and fix the sites for me. I’m sure he thought I must have unscrewed the site myself but he was more than happy to fix it for me.

In conclusion I’m very pleased with the customer service of the shop but not so happy with the Beeman 2004/P17. In hindsight, I believe I should have spent the extra on the HW40 and avoided all the hassle. The Beeman quality control must be abysmal if they can’t even ensure the sites are screwed down enough to not fall off by themselves and the dodgy trigger hasn’t done much for my confidence either. After having now had two replacements in two weeks, even if the latest proves flawless, a failure rate of two in three is beyond awful.

John

[crusader8]

after reading your thread today I looked at the weihrauch all screws and everything is everything you would expect from a german company keep a look out for one on here s/h or check mcavoys they had got one at the weekend on there website good luck

[travisbicks]

DAM IT!

Make that 3 pistols, 3 failures.

Trigger on my latest pistol is now having the same problem as the first and getting worse: Intermittent failure to fire, especially on slow pulls.

I’m going to disassemble the trigger mechanism to see if I can find the problem and if not, then I’m taking it back for a refund and buying a HW40.

I found this possible solution (last post at bottom of page) so there may be hope:
http://www.airgunforum.ca/forums/topic33212.html

[mickson]

http://anotherairgunblog.blogspot.co...ul-finale.html If its not to late try this blog i use it for p17/hw40 pistols ...mike...

[travisbicks]

http://anotherairgunblog.blogspot.co...ul-finale.html If its not to late try this blog i use it for p17/hw40 pistols ...mike...

Thanks Mike,

Disassembled the trigger mechanism today according to those instructions (invaluable by the way!) and could see nothing out of place. So, lightly lubed the parts with moxy grease and reassembled. Now seem to be working fine, so fingers crossed. No idea what the problem was, but I'm not complaining so long as it works

[PlymShooter]

hi all,

i brought one a few months back now and i must say i have mixed views on it... as for shooting it seems ok, fps is all over the place sometimes but its accurate and the trigger seems nice enough. but when it comes to build quality its not exactly great, i've found with my pistol that the two halves of the gun don't quite match up, on the rear of the pistol grip there is a visible gap.... does anyone else have the same issue with theirs?