Beeman Model 2028 air pistol - Much to like

Air pistols can be great fun for informal garden target practice, and the model on test here is a good compromise between the bargain basement spring-powered cheapies and the full-blown match PCP models. One glance at the asking price of £249 and the Beeman Model 2028 looks great value for money, and just looking at the bold design and sizeable grip, it’s clear that at face value at least, we’re getting a lot of pistol for the money.

Box of delights

Inside the padded carton, along with the pistol, there’s the instruction booklet, two cassette magazines, a de-gassing tool, two single-shot trays, Allen keys, and a filling adaptor. I should point out that my test gun was the Model 2028, which denotes .22 calibre, and there’s also a Model 2027 which is .177. The Beeman comes fitted with fibre-optic open sights, a sleek main cylinder, a rotating dust cover, bolt action, a floating barrel, front mounted manometer, dovetail rails, a manual safety catch, an adjustable trigger, and hardwood semi-target furniture. That’s a pretty impressive spec sheet, so time to explore the potential.

Simple but brilliant

I’ve seen these before, but why all manufacturers can’t follow suit I don’t know. To what am I alluding? That brilliant charging adaptor probe, that’s what. It’s such a simple design, but by making it a quick-fit straight-line fitting, it just snaps straight into a Foster female connector, something that most of us have on our airline ready to go. No connecting threads, no spanners, job done! The probe then inserts into the inlet valve, to be exposed by the rotating silver dust cover at the front of the cylinder. Make sure it is fully seated and slowly charge it to 200bar (3,000psi approximately) as specified. Bleed, withdraw the probe, and close the cover.

Now we need to decide on the single-shot tray or the magazine. If the former, pull back the bolt and snap in one of the trays. It’s great that we get two, since they are cheap plastic items, and can easily be lost. Opt for the mag, and unlike many rivals, no pre-wind is needed here, and unusually, the clear cover doesn’t move either. Just drop a pellet nose first into the open chamber and rotate to the next one. Insert, then repeat until full. These mags have shot count windows too, so keeping track is easy once familiar, and they are also positive to locate.

Final prep

The final piece of preparation concerns the attractive hardwood furniture. It’s all ambidextrous, yet an adjustable and removable palm shelf is all part of the design. Have a play here without firing a shot, just getting a comfortable hand position, and locking off the shelf via the rear bolt at the point where it properly supports the hand. Alternatively, remove it altogether.

Getting started

The fibre optic open sights included are vibrant and to be honest, excellent. The red foresight and green rear dots combine well. Factor in the long-sight base, and it’s hardly surprising that decent results aren’t hard to come by. The rear sight sports finger wheels marked up for windage and elevation, and both have a really positive click adjustment. Think long and hard before switching, as these sights are perfect for pistol action. But if the lure of some form of more advanced sight is too much to resist, then the receiver carries dovetail rails to take either a scope or red dot system. However, that rear sight first needs to be removed by unscrewing the elevation finger wheel all the way, while taking care to catch the wheel and the small spring held beneath. Access to the twin screws is now possible. I bolted my 2x magnification pistol scope in place, and this was a good match-up.

Action and feel

So, how does this Beeman feel in use? Well, those dimensions, coupled with 3.7 lbs in weight, make for a big, bold pistol. The bolt isn’t the most ergonomic of features, and pulling it back takes a fair bit of effort. It’s also a bit weird that it’s mounted on the left, for a right-handed shooter. Be aware that the action of pulling it back cocks the action, sets the trigger, and cycles the next shot in the magazine, so it does require a positive approach, otherwise, it is possible to cycle the magazine but not actually cock the action. Pulling back the bolt again will then cycle a second pellet into the barrel, so it just pays to be firm. Once I properly paid attention, all worked well.

The contoured hardwood grip feels well-made, and I found it very comfortable in use. As for the trigger, it’s more of a continuous single stager, but that’s no bad thing. The first stage weight has a fair bit of drag, but there’s no further resistance felt, so overall, I would say it’s par for the course on this grade of gun, and no bar to decent groupings. On that note, scoped and rested, I could easily get five-pence-sized groups over 10 yards, and penny-sized groups over 20 yards, so some serious accuracy on offer then.

Range report

I clocked 110 shots over the chrono, which showed a total velocity spread of 99 fps. Now, whilst this sounds quite high for practice and informal shooting, it would hardly register at the 10 to 20 yards or so at which this pistol is designed to shoot. However, for those who take their shooting a bit more seriously, looking back at the paperwork for this test reveals that the first 30 to 40 shots were climbing significantly from the 332 fps start point. This is an unregulated action don’t forget, so charging to a lower pressure, say 170bar, would maybe return a much more consistent band of shots. Indeed, monitor and get that pressure right, and I reckon that the final 60 shots were more like a 40 fps total spread. That’s a huge difference, so plenty of potential here.

Conclusion

The Beeman Model 2028/2027 is a very competent piece of machinery, and given that the sizeable furniture is wooden, the further potential for amateur DIY modifications is enormous. Some form of shoulder stock comes to mind, but as it stands, this pistol is just a huge step up from bargain basement spring-powered models as mentioned. The PCP action rewards technique for sure. Just bear in mind the downside is the dependence on an external power source, which is something to be factored in both for additional cost and minor irritation. If that’s all acceptable, then this Beeman must be seen as a slick airgun, for very reasonable money.

Thanks to Range & Country Shooting Supplies in Sleaford, Lincs., for the kind loan of this pistol.