AIRGUN LINKS
This webpage updated 23 June 2008
The airgun links section will be expanded, with emphasis on links that are especially appropriate to this website or less likely to be cited elsewhere. (Some interesting airgun links are shown in blue type in the Literature section.) We encourage mutual linking of other appropriate websites with this www.beemans.net website. Let us hear of your listing of our site and suggestions for other website listings.
Don't forget hard copy research: The worldwide web is great, but many persons, esp. those without pre-web research experience, may not realize that the most and best information on really special subjects, like many aspects of airgun technology, use, and collecting, is in hard printed material. The Airgun Resources section at the back of each of the Airgun Revues (published by Airgun Letter) are gold mines of wonderful sources of airgun items and information and, of course, we hope that your starting point on any airgun research will be the Literature Review section of this website.
Vintage Airguns Website - most airgun forums concentrate on current models. That's fine for most airgunners, but this wonderful British website, operated by Peter Nolan, one of England's leaders in the vintage airgun world, specializes in the wonderful world of vintage airguns. This site not only has a very active forum, but also airgun wanted and for sale sections, and other interesting sections. Just click on www.vintageairguns.co.uk
American Airguns - Brad Troyer's excellent general airgun information website and blog. http://www.airguns.net/
American Airgun Hunter - Jim Chapman's great airgun hunting website. http://www.geocities.com/echochap/airgun_hunter.html .
Barnes Pneumatics - Gary Barnes generally is considered as one of the world's leading custom airgun makers. Many of his PCP creations are really powerhouses, accurate and precisely made. While his website lists many "models", of which Blue Book of Airguns has tried to show a sampling, Gary makes it very clear in his unique website - complete with his outspoken philosophy, that all orders will be made to order over a quite extended period - as custom works only. Reach him at Airguns@barnespnuematic.com or bigbores@glbarnes.com . His website is at http://www.glbarnes.com . Gary has been of special help in freely sharing information and ideas for the Lewis and Clark airgun study.
Beeman History: The Beeman name is much respected in Australia, thanks to the pioneering efforts of Lewis Reinhold, the top airgun expert and marketer down under and founder of Beeman Precision Airguns of Australia at www.beeman.com.au . Their excellent website provides an illustrated page on Beeman history at www.beeman.com.au/beehis.htm .
Beeman History in Spanish!: Here is a fluent Spanish translation of the above article. This may be a clue to the future; English is becoming a minority language in much of California and when I tried to check into a Hyatt hotel in Miami at the off-hour of 2 AM, when our flight from the Amazon came in, I could not find a desk clerk who spoke English!: http://acooper.tripod.cl/beeman.htm
Beeman Precision Airguns Australia. (Lewis Reinhold in Queensland, Australia). Certainly the southern hemisphere's most knowledgeable and reliable distributor of Beeman and many other leading airgun products. Online catalog and information at www.beeman.com.au
Beeman Precision Airguns: Here is the official website of the company which Robert and Toshiko Beeman founded in 1972 and sold to S/R Industries of Maryland in 1993 (Click on The Scoop on the Sale of Beeman for details). Although we now have no association with that company, we encourage you to buy their products simply because their best (such as the R series air rifles and P1 and P2 air pistols) items still are among the best airgun products in the world and their printed and on-line catalogs, although greatly reduced in coverage from the days of our ownership, still are the best catalogs of adult airgun products in the world. (BTW, the http://Beemans.com or www.Beemans.net websites have nothing to do with our Beeman family or the Beeman company!) Do click on www.Beeman.com to view the materials of the new Beeman company, phone toll-free to 1-800-227-2744 or try email to daninav@beeman.com.
Lewis and Clark Expedition: Jay Rasmussen, one of the leading authorities on, and compilers of, information on the Lewis & Clark expedition: http://www.lcarchive.org/firearms.html#airrifle . Be sure to explore website - wonderful, but sometimes not updated during periods, sometimes rather long, when Jay is busy with the rest of his very active life.!
Theoben Gas-Spring Airguns: The official Theoben Website is: www.theoben.co.uk . Maybe some of the type is hard to read on some computer screens (design clearly got ahead of function with the webmaster), but this is a very informative, very important website about the Theoben gas-spring rifles (please, not "gas-ram", click on that term to see why not!).
Never mind the info about wimpy guns under the British 12 ft. lb. limit, go right to the sections on FAC high-power air rifles. All owners, or would-be owners, of gas-spring air rifles, such as the Beeman Crow Magnum and Beeman RX rifles, should study this website.
Airgun Calculator: A handy site for figuring airgun statistics (such as determining energy from velocity and pellet weight, trajectory info, etc.) and even a currency converter. http://www.airguns.net/calculators.html
Dianawerk Collective: An airgun forum developed and maintained by the hard work of Dave Nemanic. Originally concerned only with German Dianawerk airguns, this forum now fields comments and questions about all airguns. http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/184474#
John Groenewold's Airgun Parts and Gunsmithing: Certainly one of the world's best places to obtain information and parts for older airguns. John is one the few really good airgunsmiths with a good, balanced view of the field. John's book on the Quackenbush airguns is a classic. www.jgairguns.com
James Maccari - though Jim no longer finds it feasible to sell airguns or do tune-ups, he has a high quality line of DIY air rifle stocks and other airgun items. He is especially famed for his fine mainspring replacement/tune-up kits. www.jamesmaccari.com. Don't waste his, or any other airgun expert's, time with unnecessary emails - read his FAQ section first!.
Professional Secrets of Photographing Knives and Guns - A learning system consisting of a booklet and a large video - prepared by master photographer Doug Box. Excellent and easy. Described and available for purchase at www.free-info-4-u.com .
Quackenbush Airguns - No, not the long gone Henry Quackenbush, who was so pivotal in the development of American airguns, but a very distant relative: Dennis Quackenbush, a unique and ingenious airgun maker who started making airguns, now especially large bore PCP guns, in 1992. Dennis' work is hard to classify; while some of his models have been made as individual specimens or in numbers you could count on your fingers, others have had production numbers in the hundreds. He is listed here because probably no other individual has had such high productivity - and such a fair balance of quality and price. Dennis' airguns range from copies of antique airguns to modern designs which are very successfully used for game ranging from American rabbits to African water buffalo . Serious airgun hunters thrive on his potent and reliable guns. The Blue Book of Airguns, 6th Edition and later, gives an excellent coverage of past and present models. See a wide range of current products, generally backordered because demand simply outstrips his production, at www.quackenbushairguns.com or contact Dennis at quackenbushairguns@yahoo.com.
Rust Removal by Electrolysis - Abuse by improper cleaning and refinishing probably is the main cause of value reduction in modern and collectible airguns. (You would be wise to be especially suspicious of airguns sold in European auctions; many European collectors seem to have a vastly different perspective about cleaning and refinishing vintage and antique airguns - I have received many specimens, esp. from overseas, that not only had been refinished, usually a crime in itself to American standards, but which had the factory markings and name almost polished away and all formerly sharp corners quite rounded - nuf' to make a grown man cry.) It is possible to remove all rust from steel and iron without removing or marking even a tiny bit of the surface. These links show how to remove rust from steel and iron surfaces ONLY by electrolysis – a very gentle technique which now is easily adopted by individual collectors. (See the websites at www.oldengine.org/members/billd/electrol.htm , www.nothingtodo.org/projects/norust.htm , and www.bhi.co.uk/hints.htm ).Be sure to remove all non-steel items (if a magnet won't attract it, take it off and keep it away from the electrolysis tank) before using these techniques!
iAirguns - www.iAirguns.com/links/ is a link to airgun links. When the site opens immediately scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Airgun Directory..
The World According to Tom Holzel - the absolutely inimitable author of the Air Rifle Hunting Book, which I touted so highly in our literature review section of this website, has his own website. Rather than just refer you to his outstanding section on airgun ballistics and caliber selection, click on this URL : http://www.velocitypress.com to see his incredible assortment of subjects, covering not only airguns, but knee surgery, rape prevention, killing as sport, the gun debate (a different slant!), diet, the Mallory debate, and various other, mostly wonderfully politically incorrect discussions of interest. Put aside at least 30 minutes if you click open this site!
Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do! Those interested in Daisy airguns must not miss these two great websites: http://www.msnusers.com/AIRGUNSUSA and http://bbairguns.com/. Some other airgun information may also be found on these sites. And, please tell me (website@Beemans.net ) if you know of other websites or forum groups dedicated to collector information on certain brands or types of airguns!
Upland Game Hunting with Airguns! - hunting California's resident small game species with adult precision air rifles. The site includes departments (Letters, Photo Journal, Feature, Public Hunting Land Profile, Camp Cooking, Essay) that will changed at least bi-monthly www.uplandhunter.net .
Front Sight Firearms Training Institute - Since their very beginning in the late 1980s, I have taken a number of shooting training classes, ranging from defensive handgun to sub-machine gun, at Front Sight Firearms Training Institute, now located in Las Vegas. Regardless of what kind of shooting you do, this fantastic facility will make you a better, faster, more accurate, more confident, and surely safer shooter. This clearly is the world's best such facility and will leave you better trained than most police or military - their advanced courses can make your skill at arms even better than most SWAT team members! Here is a whole list of articles and informative material about this excellent facility. Regardless of your skill level when you take your first Front Sight training, you will always be treated professionally - never with the "boot camp" mentality of some training facilities!