When I unboxed the Beeman Raider, I was rather impressed by its simplicity and sleek design. Looking through the manual I realized that it not only looked simple in design, but it was easy to operate as well. In fact, out of the many air rifle reviews I have done over the years, this one was one of the most pleasant to work on.
My wife and I went to the range on our property and began sighting it in. Because it has adjustable iron sights, I decided to forgo shooting it with a scope to see what would happen. Sometimes when I do this, I will get a scope out and give the gun I am testing an edge. The Beeman Raider I tested never had a scope put on it. I was hitting within an inch at 20 yards with open sights, despite my eyes not having the best day. Many of my groups were near the half-inch mark.
The sights adjust with an audible click, but there is no indication as to how much the impact should move. So, there is some guesswork there. I was using GAMO TS-22 pellets at 21.95 grains. They are heavy pellets, but they surely deliver on accuracy in many air rifles ... and that includes the Raider.
The trigger is very smooth and light, with just under 3 lbs. required to send the pellet downrange. I had absolutely no complaints about the trigger. The safety is forward of the trigger, as it is with many airguns and is flicked forward for “FIRE” and pulled back to “SAFE.”
The air tank holds 3,500 psi, and the box the rifle comes in says it will shoot up to 60 shots. I never had that experience. Normally after about 28 shots, the pressure in the Raider was dropping off and at the lower end of the green zone on the charge indicator. At 30 shots, the Raider needs to be aimed a tad high, and, from my testing, at 40 you might run the risk of pellets getting stuck. I stopped at 25 to 30 shots to refill the rifle. Still, that is 30 good shots for hunting or plinking ... which is not bad at all!
Beeman states the rifle will shoot up to 900 fps. My range was too shady to run the chronograph when we were testing it, but judging by previous experience with many airguns, the report and the time to target seems to bear that to be true.
On that note, the rifle is quiet in my opinion. I would personally have no issues shooting this in a large backyard without any worries about waking up neighbors or causing a noisy disruption. This fact also means that for those who want to small game hunt, the rifle report would not cause small game to disappear for a long time. Some squirrels may not even be bothered by the report unless they are the ones being shot at and the pellet misses but hits nearby.
This is a good-looking rifle, and the ergonomics are just as nice when shooting. It isn't too heavy, and the stock feels like it will fit many shooters very well from teenagers to veteran shooters. The buttpad is nice and helps secure the rifle in the shoulder pocket.
There are two things that could be improved. First, there's the minor issue I mentioned earlier about the adjustments for the fiber optic sights. Although they have audible clicks to them, it is guesswork to how much they will move the impact. Still, l believe that is being a bit picky, particularly for a rifle that costs less than $200. I found a few sites online that were listing them at $169.
Second, when working the bolt, if the shooter does not pull the bolt all the way back until there is an audible CLICK, the trigger will not reset. Pulling the bolt back that hard to reset or cock the gun does take more effort than it should. Not getting that reset can cause two pellets to be loaded and jam. I had that happen to me once during testing and the remedy was to put the rifle on “SAFE”, open the bolt, remove the magazine, and then gently push the pellets out with a cleaning rod. Easy enough, but if the bolt reset the trigger more easily, the issue would have been moot.
In summary, the rifle is pleasant to shoot. I love the fact that it is lightweight and the trigger is very smooth and crisp. The ergonomics of the rifle are great minus the cocking of the rifle. Accuracy is super up to 20 yards with open sights and I am quite sure that even at 30 yards or further it would be quite good as well. I can see this rifle being useful for small pests, small game hunting, and definitely for plinking at small targets. It is a great buy for under $200, and available on a wide variety of websites including Amazon.
SPECIFICATIONS
5.9 lbs.
39” long
Fiber optic rear and front hooded sights. There are grooves in the receiver to mount a scope
Fills to 3500 PSI
10-shot magazine (comes with 2)
Comes with 2 single shot trays.
Noise reduction system
Trigger pull average 2.8 lbs.
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