HW/Weihrauch Okay. Now I'm done buying airguns. No. Really I am.

Jump to latest Follow Reply
M

Mycapt65

Member
Apr 24, 2019
2,646
5,522
NY, United States
The fellow I recently bought my 77 from had my last bucket list gun. Feeling very happy with my 77 I had no problems buying another rifle from him. This rifle was just added to my bucket list in the last year. Thanks to the likes of Mike Driskill and others touting the shooting qualities of the early Hw50 series in a thread. The early 50 series are 25mm bores like my beloved Hw30 with a longer stroke and threaded receivers. They came in target ((55?) and non target models. They sounded interesting to me but the stock styling and lever locking breech kind of left me flat.

Then I find out for a short time Beeman marketed a Hw50 as an R8. I always thought it was the modern 26mm Hw50 that I have already have. Then I found out that the R8 was basically the earlier 25mm Hw50 with modern amenities like a synthetic seals, a normal chisel detent and a Goudy stock. Hold the phone! Now I have to have one.

Today I struck a deal on a very nice R8. Not cheap but I don't mind. There's nothing I know of like it in the Weihrauch line. I don't have it hand yet. I haven't even written the check for it yet. Here's some photos of it with aperture sights. I declined those sights to bring the price down to my budget. I'll post more pictures when I get it.
IMG_1960.jpg

IMG_1961.jpg

This morning I ordered a Vortek kit for my 77 I'll have to call Tom in the morning and have him add another kit on there for the R8. That's my big excitement for the day. Now that I've got my early 77 and getting a R8 I'm out of bucket list guns. That makes ten or eleven Weihrauch rifles now, so no more.

Thanks for letting me share my excitement.

Be well.
Ron
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Love
  • Wow
Reactions: vashon, .20calguy, K3JB-1 and 27 others
Mycapt65 said:
The fellow I recently bought my 77 from had my last bucket list gun. Feeling very happy with my 77 I had no problems buying another rifle from him. This rifle was just added to my bucket list in the last year. Thanks to the likes of Mike Driskill and others touting the shooting qualities of the early Hw50 series in a thread. The early 50 series are 25mm bores like my beloved Hw30 with a longer stroke and threaded receivers. They came in target ((55?) and non target models. They sounded interesting to me but the stock styling and lever locking breech kind of left me flat.

Then I find out for a short time Beeman marketed a Hw50 as an R8. I always thought it was the modern 26mm Hw50 that I have already have. Then I found out that the R8 was basically the earlier 25mm Hw50 with modern amenities like a synthetic seals, a normal chisel detent and a Goudy stock. Hold the phone! Now I have to have one.

Today I struck a deal on a very nice R8. Not cheap but I don't mind. There's nothing I know of like it in the Weihrauch line. I don't have it hand yet. I haven't even written the check for it yet. Here's some photos of it with aperture sights. I declined those sights to bring the price down to my budget. I'll post more pictures when I get it.
View attachment 528468
View attachment 528467
This morning I ordered a Vortek kit for my 77 I'll have to call Tom in the morning and have him add another kit on there for the R8. That's my big excitement for the day. Now that I've got my early 77 and getting a R8 I'm out of bucket list guns. That makes ten or eleven Weihrauch rifles now, so no more.

Thanks for letting me share my excitement.

Be well.
Ron
Click to expand...
Congrats. Now you'll have two 25mm rifles, it'll be interesting to see how they compare.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bandito, BABz58 and markhooper
Upvote 0
r1lover said:
That's a beauty, please tell us how it shoots.

I bought a couple of R8 club guns some years ago in mediocre condition and they are both VERY pellet picky.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the heads up. Luckily mines not 20 cal so I'll be ok. Lol. I wonder what would make them more pellet picky than others. Oh well something to look forward to.

Be well
Ron
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bandito and markhooper
Upvote 0
No pressure, lol! If you don't like it...call me!

The R8 is based on the original HW 50, which was Weihrauch's first airgun to be produced after the war. To me it's the ultimate all-round light sporter rifle, especially the later more refined versions like the R8 with Rekord trigger, plastic seals, and upgrade stocks. It's said that it remained the original Herr Weihrauch's favorite for all his days...he kept his in the office and was known to sneak out the back door to go shoot It!

And it has a long and storied history. Here's what the HW 50 looked like in 1959 - four varying sight/trigger versions (but no Rekord yet), and the deluxe checkered stock noted at the bottom:
IMG_4252.jpeg


The HW 55 was a successful target rifle and basically just a de-sprung 50 action, sharing most of its parts but with upgraded stocks, sights, and re-engineered locking breech. Don't even get me started on those lol..............
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: kingfisher61, Steve Milbocker, Bandito and 3 others
Upvote 0
r1lover said:
That's a beauty, please tell us how it shoots.

I bought a couple of R8 club guns some years ago in mediocre condition and they are both VERY pellet picky.
Click to expand...
There is always a place for one of those benighted little rifles at the Driskill Home for Wayward Weihrauchs! :LOL: :LOL:
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: r1lover, kingfisher61, Steve Milbocker and 1 other person
Upvote 0
MDriskill said:
No pressure, lol! If you don't like it...call me!

The R8 is based on the original HW 50, which was Weihrauch's first airgun to be produced after the war. To me it's the ultimate all-round light sporter rifle, especially the later more refined versions like the R8 with Rekord trigger, plastic seals, and upgrade stocks. It's said that it remained the original Herr Weihrauch's favorite for all his days...he kept his in the office and was known to sneak out the back door to go shoot It!

And it has a long and storied history. Here's what the HW 50 looked like in 1959 - four varying sight/trigger versions (but no Rekord yet), and the deluxe checkered stock noted at the bottom:
View attachment 528596

The HW 55 was a successful target rifle and basically just a de-sprung 50 action, sharing most of its parts but with upgraded stocks, sights, and re-engineered locking breech. Don't even get me started on those lol..............
Click to expand...
Here's a pic to complement Mike's post, evolution of the design 1954, 1965, R8 and HW55S all with screw in trigger block. The HW55(F) would be a better example, but pretty rare.
L1007677.jpeg
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: vashon, r1lover, Vana2 and 7 others
Upvote 0
Thanks - those are AWESOME! All are lovely but the Bayern wood on the 1954 one is a real collector's jewel.

Here's some more geriatric family members - top to bottom:
+ 1958 HW 50. "Burgo" markings. Per the old brochure page above, appears to be the most basic action, but with the upgrade stock.
+ 1967 HW 50S. An ugly stock that is perfectly balanced and fits me to a T.
+ 1980 HW 50S. Monte Carlo stock was an option in Europe, but used on all Beeman examples for a couple years prior to the R8.
+ 1955 (?) HW 55S. "Burgo" markings. Many transitional details, including the oldest Rekord trigger I've ever seen.

IMG_6156.jpeg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: Vana2, kingfisher61, Steve Milbocker and 5 others
Upvote 0
Put the "not really a Goudy" (FYI Weihrauch rejected the Goudy/Beeman design and made a Monte Carlo instead. I prefer the Monte to a Goudy, myself) R8 stock on your HW50/99. It fits. I like the R8 stock better. So does Lucie. The HW99 shoots so nice at a higher power level I don't think the R8 is going to replace yours. Unless you long stroke it

See the Macarri HW50/99/R8 stock is very close to the R8 stock. In walnut.

IMG_0284.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Orv, MDriskill, Vana2 and 3 others
Upvote 1
KWK said:
Put the "not really a Goudy" (FYI Weihrauch rejected the Goudy/Beeman design and made a Monte Carlo instead. I prefer the Monte to a Goudy, myself) R8 stock on your HW50/99. It fits. I like the R8 stock better. So does Lucie. The HW99 shoots so nice at a higher power level I don't think the R8 is going to replace yours. Unless you long stroke it

See the Macarri HW50/99/R8 stock is very close to the R8 stock. In walnut.

View attachment 528684
Click to expand...


Nice shootin’ irons!

If you are looking for more than 700 ish fps the R8 / old HW 50 probably arent the guns for you. They are like the Porsche 356 of the HW line. Stylish, and fun to shoot with their easy cocking, and mild manners. But they aren’t going to out run your buddies 911.

On a lark a while back, I put a few “power spacers” in mine to up the fps and then removed them a few months later. The modest extra power wasn’t worth the slight increase in cocking effort.

Good to hear you can swap out the R8 stock with the new HW99. Do you know if the R8 barrel/cocking linkage would work with the HW99 as well?

If the day ever comes that I wear mine out, would be nice to know I could resurrect it, since it is very accurate. This thing is a blast to shoot, so it eats pellets like candy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: specie, Bandito and Mycapt65
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu