This rifle is handsome, lightweight and comfortable to hold. The pump seals appear to be of good quality and promising a long service life.
First things first: I would not shoot BB's in it. The manual refers to the rifled barrel as "delicate". We all know that steel BB's can damage a rifled barrel, let alone a delicate one.
Some warts and pimples:
- The unique safety is finger breaking stiff to operate. A few drops of oil help.
- The bolt action feels stiff and gritty. A drop of oil again.
- The cam which locks the pump lever in the closed position is a bit stubborn. A drop of oil again.
- The arrangement that the rifle can only be pumped with the bolt open is awkward. Lawyers ruling over engineers!
- The trigger pull is heavy and gritty. I did not have the means to measure it but it feels about 5-6 pounds.
It is crisp however, and with practice you know where the crosshairs are when the trigger breaks.
- Loading pellets is cumbersome at best. The loading port is shaped like a groove or a channel and recessed into the body of the rifle by about half an inch, so a pellet cannot be placed in it, it has to be dropped from that distance. It drops in just right about half the time, more often than not it drops either standing up or upside down, or pointing backwards, or falling into the BB's magazine. When the latter occurs the manual instructs you to take the gun to a gunsmith. This is silly nonsense. All you need to do in this case is open the BB's loading door, shake the gun around a bit, and the truant pellet comes right out. This by the way will save you multiple trips to a gunsmith.
The best part of this rifle is accuracy exonerating all of the above. With Winchester pellets, the scope zeroed, I get 5 shot 2-1/4" groups at 15 yards. One flyer removed, the group is 3/4". This is as good or better than the Umarex Ruger 10/22 without the headaches of leaking CO2.
A word about the scope: It is very basic but it is not trash as other reviewers have stated. The field of view is very narrow and when mounting the scope you must adjust the eye relief distance to get any view at all. Clarity is good and you may adjust the eyepiece focus but it does not make much difference. The windage and elevation turrets do not click, you have to go by half turns, quarters, and eighth turns, not a problem.
With the iron sights (they are actually plastic) I get comparable accuracy at 15 yards. The fiber optic sights are clearly visible in daylight. The rear sight is adjusted by a screw in a slot which allows it to slide sideways. With the screw reasonably tight you can still swivel the sight around the screw for fine adjustment. Whether this is a fluke or deliberate design I have no way of knowing but it works either way.
| Brand | Bear River |
|---|---|
| Color | Black |
| Rounds | 50 |
| Caliber | 0.18 |
| Product Dimensions | 40"L x 5"W x 8"H |
| Item Weight | 5 Pounds |
| Team Name | Barra Airguns |
| Air Gun Power Type | Pump-Pneumatic |
| Barrel Material Type | Metal |
| Frame Material | Plastic |
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 40.5 x 7.5 x 2.5 inches |
| Package Weight | 2.27 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 40 x 5 x 8 inches |
| Brand Name | Bear River |
| Model Name | Sportsman 900 |
| Manufacturer | Bear River Holdings |
| Part Number | B1282 |
| Sport Type | Pellet Rifle |
