Hw 55 and their sights.
- Thread starter muddydogz
- Start date
If you do a lot of shooting with match sights, invest in an adjustable-iris eyepiece. The 1.0 +/- opening in a typical OEM disk is intended for well-lit target ranges. You get a great focusing effect with the tiny opening, but a bigger hole is better for most everyday uses.
The HW 55 is a great fave of mine. Long story short, I agree with the above that there are much better choices if you need more power. I have Maccari kits in a few of mine, and a couple with the original target spring replaced with an old HW 50 sporter one (a popular option when Beeman sold these guns). Either options get them up close to 700 FPS with light ammo, and the 55 is smooth and crisp at that level.
Most 55's do have leather piston seals, but late in production they switched over to the 25mm synthetic seal, same part as in the HW 30 (R7) or old HW 50. Change happened in the late 1980's, when the guns were well into 7-figure serial numbers.
The 55's leather breech seal is unique. Although built from the same basic forging, the 55's breech block is machined to fit much closer than the old HW 50's; the seal face protrudes only 1/100 of an inch or so. You can replace it with HW's standard plastic seal but it takes some careful trimming at a weird angle on the back of it.
Older 55's (up to 400000 serials or so) have another unique feature - the breech leade has a long taper, done by hammering a mandrel in there. HW claimed that this caused the pellet to exit before recoil could have an effect. These guns do best with pellets that have larger skirt diameters, the classic RWS designs (Hobby, Meisterkugeln, Superdome, Superpoint) being my favorites in this respect.
If you haven't discovered this yet, the tension in the breech lock lever can be adjusted via the big "wagon wheel" screw under the breech. Turning the screw "out" (CCW) = tighter.
You will find some of the claims in this classic 1970's ad to be amusing...BETTER than a recoilless rifle, LOL!
Uuuuhhhhh.... can we go back to those prices, please??
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A time machine would be completely wasted on me. Most people would go back and fix the world but I'd probably just go back and buy lots and lots of toys. Probably some BitCoin back in the early 2000s too just so I could continue to buy the new ones without a care in the world.
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Man that add tells me that back in the 70"s i was in high school and if i would've had the fortune to buy one it would have been rode hard and put away wet. So it would have been wasted on me. Probably why my shoulders are shot, from all the pumping on the streaks and benjis.
I would have to scope it as the old eyes ain't what they used to be. But a 10m shooter is not in my future i'm afraid, so she shall remain as found. I can see why people like the target models so much though and easy on the eyes.
I would have to scope it as the old eyes ain't what they used to be. But a 10m shooter is not in my future i'm afraid, so she shall remain as found. I can see why people like the target models so much though and easy on the eyes.
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Allison was the base model for the Cobra. Many were mostly modded for track use but the stock models were a very sweet sports car in their own right.
Everyone has ideas on what they want to do to specific rifles. Some Customize where others prefer originality. Personally, I prefer to keep my HW55MM as intended. The idea of it being a Sport rifle is distasteful in my opinion. I've often said that it is the pinnacle of the Weihrauch rifles.
Everyone has ideas on what they want to do to specific rifles. Some Customize where others prefer originality. Personally, I prefer to keep my HW55MM as intended. The idea of it being a Sport rifle is distasteful in my opinion. I've often said that it is the pinnacle of the Weihrauch rifles.
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Yeah, exactly. AC Cobra. That's a blooper. I'll have to get my Thor hammer and tighten up my knockoffs.
I even have 2 vintage British sports cars stored away to work on with our 3 sons after our downsize move in the near future. No, I'm not putting v8's in them.
Didn't mean to hijack the HW55 sights thread. Maybe I'll start a post about the HW55 11 ft lb Vortek kit sometime. The guys that shoot their HW55's with their pinky in the air should just skip that one.
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No kidding! As much for the now-unobtanium accessories (barrel sleeves, forearm weight) as the guns themselves...
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Hey thanks for the breech lock tensioning bit, much appreciated!If you do a lot of shooting with match sights, invest in an adjustable-iris eyepiece. The 1.0mm +/- opening in a typical OEM disk is intended for well-lit target ranges. You get a great focusing effect with the tiny opening, but a bigger hole is often more useful in other environments.
The HW 55 is a great fave of mine. I agree with the above that there are much better choices if you need more power. I have Maccari kits in a few of mine, also a couple with the original target spring replaced with an old HW 50 sporter one (a popular option when Beeman sold these guns). Either options get them up close to 700 FPS with light ammo. I find that power level just fine for 90% of my shooting, and actually like the crisp feel a little better than the leisurely OEM target spring.
Most 55's do have leather piston seals, but late in production they switched over to the 25mm synthetic seal (same part as in the HW 30/R7 or old HW 50). Change happened in the late 1980's, when the guns were well into 7-figure serial numbers.
The 55's leather breech seal is unique. Although built from the same basic forging, the 55's breech block is machined to fit much closer than the old HW 50's; the seal face protrudes only 1/100 of an inch or so. You can replace it with HW's standard plastic seal but it takes some careful trimming at a weird angle on the back of it.
Older 55's (up to 400000 serials or so) have another unique feature - a long smooth breech leade, done by actually hammering in a tapered mandrel. HW claimed some beneficial effects (per ad below). These oldsters do best with pellets that have larger skirt diameters; I go straight for the classic RWS designs (Hobby, Meisterkugeln, Superdome, Superpoint) which have the fattest skirts out there.
If you haven't discovered this yet, the tension in the breech lock lever can be adjusted via the big "wagon wheel" screw under the breech. Turning the screw "out" (CCW) = tighter.
The prices in this classic 1970's ad from a UK dealer might make you cry...but some of the claims will make you laugh. BETTER than recoilless!
the pri
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