HW/Weihrauch HW30 50 yd Bench

Have to ask as it the first question when accuracy is questioned, have you cleaned the barrel?

never thought of doing this with my HW30 .177 , must give it a try .
1 inch groups @ 50 with an HW30 is good shooting for that gun . You can try for 3/4 inch consistently next .

Stormin-Normin said:

Yes, but I’ll ask you a question. What are your groups at 50 yards with a HW30? I’m trying to establish what a very good group can be expected at 50 yards. Personally I think 1” groups at 50 yards is pretty good but I am interested in what others are doing with theirs consistently. I should have mentioned .177 but you can tell by the hole size.

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At 50yds, averaging 2 MOA is pretty solid with a 30S. If you want to do much better, you'll need wind flags and maybe a little pellet sorting to get rid of the flyers.

The farther out you go the trickier it gets. Your doing fine. And you'll get better quick too.

Spring rifles are tricky to master. There is a spot at 45-50 yards where things tend to open up. All your errors start showing, your pellet is slowing down and you are shooting at the limits of the accuracy of the rifle as well as the projectile. Keep plopping them out there and pay attention to the finer details and the groupings will get closer.

The more you miss the more you will hit. Every miss is a lesson and every hit a celebration. Shoot until you've learned the lessons and party all the time.

I have a .20 cal 30 that I've been shooting at 75-yards, but not at paper. I've shot shot shells hulls, CO2 carts, medicine bottles hanging on strings, and Air Venturi, Crazy Eights.
Its tough and fun when things click. My biggest challenge turned out to be cant error.
When we zero short, you at 25y, and I'm at 30y, then holdover with mil dots it's easier to understand cant error knowing the pellet is going up to that X and falling way down to your aim Point.

.20calguy said:

I have a .20 cal 30 that I've been shooting at 75-yards, but not at paper. I've shot shot shells hulls, CO2 carts, medicine bottles hanging on strings, and Air Venturi, Crazy Eights.
Its tough and fun when things click. My biggest challenge turned out to be cant error.
When we zero short, you at 25y, and I'm at 30y, then holdover with mil dots it's easier to understand cant error knowing the pellet is going up to that X and falling way down to your aim Point.

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Shooting with your back to the sun you can see that pellet fly really well. I'll be shooting way down on the fourth dot and let one go. I can see it's going to miss before it gets there. I'll check the scope and I'm canting into it every time. I started out plumb.

I blame it on spring torque and loudly berate the design of the springer. But really Im torquing the gun during a long trigger pull. I'm not relaxing my trigger hand and I'm pawing at the rifle.

I'm starting to keep my thumb up and just a finger on the trigger and it seems to eliminate a lot of those canted shots.

I notice I do it a lot offhand. As I'm holding for a shot the gun rotates a little counterclockwise. The longer i hold it the worse it is. I'm constantly checking in with plumb these days and it does help.

With iron sights under 45 yards it matters just a little. At range with a scope it matters a whole lot more. It all came together when I could see that pellet flying to the left of the crosshair coming down and realized I was canting the gun.

Stormin-Normin said:

I don’t know any other Springer shooters and in particular any HW30 shooters other than on forums. I would like comments from any HW30/R7 owners that shoot 50 yard bench. I think my HW30 is more accurate than I am, I’ve had this, my only air rifle, less than a year. Still learning proper hold. Please tell me if these are decent groups at 50 yards out of a HW30. AIRMAX 4-12x50. All with AA Diabolo Field 8.4. Zeroed at 25 yds. 3 mildot holdover. Always 5 shot groups, 1” CTC average. Thanks for any comments. I’d like to thank MyCapt65 for a chat about my gun. It was very much appreciated.

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That's not bad at 50 I suppose, but I haven't tried it yet. I just got my HW30 and haven't had a chance yet. And I only have 40 in my yard. I'll tell you what helped me with my other springers, and that is to get rid of the big targets..lol. I use 1/4" stick on dots, but I have 1/2" also. It will help you concentrate on the small aim point a lot better than those 5" circles. Then concentrate on your breathing and trigger pull, that right there will help a lot. Pellets I've tried that grouped well in my 30 are JSB or AA 7.33's, JSB 8.44, QYS 8.48, H&N baracuda 8 and a couple others. But the 7.33's are best at least to 20 yards. I don't know yet beyond that, But I will test at 40 soon.

IMO a page of 50 yard 1" groups is very good for any springer. I'd be happy with that from any of mine. Sure I've had half inch groups here and there which is MOA but they might be on a page with a 2" group. IMO consistent 2 MOA is better than a rare 1 MOA.

I'm a proponent of posting full pages of groups because it shows realistic results and not a single possibly lucky group.

As to using a 30 for 50 yard groups. I don't do it. I'm a fair marksman at best and too much of a perfectionist so it frustrates me. Light 177 pellets and long flight times makes environmental influences considerable. Therfore i typically only shoot 50 yard groups with >14 fpe. 177 at that power has shorter flight times and 20/22 cal pellets at that power has similar flight times as the 30 but considerably better BCs.

Like @20cal guy I'll routinely plink my scoped HW30s and 50 out to 93 yards (my current max available from my front porch). I have a 4" round plate at that distance that's easy pickens with a predictable wind. Medicine bottles and soup cans are more fun targets. I have shot lots of beer cans and small water bottles at 100-108 yards at other locations. It's great fun.

Long distance shooting is something I enjoy and do pretty well with. I've learned that cant error is my biggest concern. That's no matter where the rifle is zeroed btw. Shooting way down into the reticle only makes it more noticeable and understandable.

Reading the wind is next important to me because I have the luxury of cherry picking calm times to shoot. Even the slightest change in breeze affects the POI with light projectiles and the longer they're in the air the more suseptible they are.

Oh as mentioned earlier a finer point of aim will help greatly. I use 3/4" sorting stickers. They work out to 100 yards for me at 9x. I will often lower the magnification at closer ranges to shrink there size relative to the reticle. I'm not a big fan of high magnification. I can hit a 10" plate at 500 with my 1-6x scoped 223 AR. I hit the same plate at 625 with 3-15x 223 Varmint bolt gun. I know these aren't airguns but I'm using them for examples of magnification vs distance.

For long distance and target shooting the Airmax AMX reticle is fantastic because the bottom post is hollow and graduated. I'm often shooting though that ladder looking thing at long distances.

Anyways kudos to you for a page of good groups and remember to keep it fun.

Be well
Ron

Stormin-Normin said:

wow, That would be fun! Like the way you explained cant and holdover.. agree completely!

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Thanks.
The scope I'm using on the 30s is kind of cheap. The retical is hard to use and difficult to dial in.
At 75y, the point of impact doesn't come onto the mil dots until I dial down to 4X, then I make small movements of the power to a little past 4X to get the impact on the point of the bottom post. It's probably a thirty inch fall down from the X to the POI at 75y.


Another more recent veiw of the 75-yard array through an Element scope.



I eventually invested a little into the cant problem and bought this guy, an MTD Send It.
I have all my rifle scopes set to its leval allowing me to move the unit from gun to gun. It gives me a green light to send it, red if I'm canted right, and blue for left.

Stormin-Normin said:

I’ve ordered a HW97k and waiting patiently. Thank goodness I have the 30 to keep me occupied!

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Wow that's exactly what I did. I think it was nine months for mine, but its a .20 cal Blue Lam. I think .20cal waits are longer.

.20calguy said:

Wow that's exactly what I did. I think it was nine months for mine, but its a .20 cal Blue Lam. I think .20cal waits are longer.

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I was told by a guru here if you shoot h&n pellets it's one hole shooting every shot .. .. (lol..wow .)

Ya, I bet you can get a special edition or anniversary hw. Buy now add to cart for high markup pricing .. funny there everyday bread and butter guns you can't ..lol.

Stormin-Normin said:

Qys 8.44, AA field 8.4, haven’t tried H&N Baracuda yet (but will!). Will also try AA 7.33 for25 yards. I e used stickers also. I’ve used first shot hole on blank paper at 25 for the target. Love my gun. I’ve ordered a HW97k and waiting patiently. Thank goodness I have the 30 to keep me occupied!

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The baracuda 8 fit real tight in my barrel, to the point of annoying, but they are cheaper to buy.
Have you messed with the trigger? My trigger screw keeps backing out on me.

The HW97k will shoot very accurately and be a whole lot easier to shoot (from a rest). Those 50 yard shots will group MUCH tighter with MUCH less effort.

My .22 HW97k will do shotgun shells out to 90-100 yards with good consistency. At least 50% on a calm day. At 50 yards they are no problem at all. So the capabilities of that gun are pretty impressive.

I've always heard the .20 was more accurate. Lots of guys swear by them. I'm a believer.

Don't stop shooting that little breakbarrel though. They are great learning tools and the better you can make one shoot the more precise your new 97k will shoot. A heavier more accurate rifle masks a lot of your mistakes and lulls you into believing you have learned all the lessons. An afternoon once in a while with a lighter gun will humble you and teach you a bunch.