One of the Weihrauch HW series rifles missing from my collection was an HW80. Checking with Rich at AOA a couple of weeks ago, they had one in .22 so I purchased it. About nine days later, it arrived in great shape.
I removed it from the box, and cleaned the barrel. A significant amount of heavy black grease came out with the patches. Once the bore was bright, I then turned my focus upon tightening the various stock screws as they were all very loose. I removed the front and rear iron sights, and proceeded to mount a new Vortex Diamondback 6-24x56 FFP scope on top of Sportsmatch 30MM high vertically adjustable mounts with stop pin.
My first impressions were how massive this rifle feels in my hands. If my Beeman R9 feels like a Ferrari, and maybe the HW98 more like a Cadillac SUV, then the HW80, with its full stock, extremely long barrel, hefty cocking stroke, and considerable weight - it feels more like a Ford F250 truck, utilitarian with considerable brawn.
As evidenced by exhibits 4 & 5, I was shocked at how accurate it was right out-of-the-box, particularly with the Predator GTO 11.75 gr pellets. The rifle produced 18 to 20 fpe depending upon the pellet chosen. The accuracy achieved was even more remarkable, given the severe harshness of the shot cycle and the tremendous amount of "buzz." The shot cycle was so severe that upon firing, the scope would come way off of the target.
Once I tested all of different .22 pellets indicated, from 11.75 to 21.14 grains, I fully disassembled the rifle, polished any rough surfaces, and installed a new Vortek PG3 Steel HO kit, designed to produce 15 to 17 ft lb of energy. TOM at Vortek specifically produced this spring, at my request, to produce ample power to minimize trajectory with the .22, while smoothing out the shot cycle to eliminate "buzz" and recoil impact upon POI. The kit fit like a glove. All parts were lubricated, and the rifle was reassembled utilizing blue thread lock on all of the screws.
The results can be seen on exhibits 6 & 7, and on the summary comparison chart shown as exhibit 3. While the accuracy generally improved about 10% across the board, the major achievement is that the rifle is now extremely smooth to shoot, with virtually no muzzle jump and/or harshness with the shot cycle, while still maintaining approximately 17 fpe. The Predator GTO and HADES pellets showed the most promise, and I eventually settled on the HADES as I have several tins already on the rack, they are less expensive than the GTO pellets, and I thought they would buck any wind better.
As a final test, I took the HW80 outside to my outdoor spinner range, where I have 15, 25, and 40mm spinners at about 10 yard intervals from 20 yards to 90. While I didn't try the HW80 beyond 55 yards, with just a hair over a 1 MIL hold at 50 yards, the 40mm spinners didn't have a chance.
This rifle definitely has a place in my vault and is certainly different than any other rifle I own. Another fun and rewarding project.
DZ
I removed it from the box, and cleaned the barrel. A significant amount of heavy black grease came out with the patches. Once the bore was bright, I then turned my focus upon tightening the various stock screws as they were all very loose. I removed the front and rear iron sights, and proceeded to mount a new Vortex Diamondback 6-24x56 FFP scope on top of Sportsmatch 30MM high vertically adjustable mounts with stop pin.
My first impressions were how massive this rifle feels in my hands. If my Beeman R9 feels like a Ferrari, and maybe the HW98 more like a Cadillac SUV, then the HW80, with its full stock, extremely long barrel, hefty cocking stroke, and considerable weight - it feels more like a Ford F250 truck, utilitarian with considerable brawn.
As evidenced by exhibits 4 & 5, I was shocked at how accurate it was right out-of-the-box, particularly with the Predator GTO 11.75 gr pellets. The rifle produced 18 to 20 fpe depending upon the pellet chosen. The accuracy achieved was even more remarkable, given the severe harshness of the shot cycle and the tremendous amount of "buzz." The shot cycle was so severe that upon firing, the scope would come way off of the target.
Once I tested all of different .22 pellets indicated, from 11.75 to 21.14 grains, I fully disassembled the rifle, polished any rough surfaces, and installed a new Vortek PG3 Steel HO kit, designed to produce 15 to 17 ft lb of energy. TOM at Vortek specifically produced this spring, at my request, to produce ample power to minimize trajectory with the .22, while smoothing out the shot cycle to eliminate "buzz" and recoil impact upon POI. The kit fit like a glove. All parts were lubricated, and the rifle was reassembled utilizing blue thread lock on all of the screws.
The results can be seen on exhibits 6 & 7, and on the summary comparison chart shown as exhibit 3. While the accuracy generally improved about 10% across the board, the major achievement is that the rifle is now extremely smooth to shoot, with virtually no muzzle jump and/or harshness with the shot cycle, while still maintaining approximately 17 fpe. The Predator GTO and HADES pellets showed the most promise, and I eventually settled on the HADES as I have several tins already on the rack, they are less expensive than the GTO pellets, and I thought they would buck any wind better.
As a final test, I took the HW80 outside to my outdoor spinner range, where I have 15, 25, and 40mm spinners at about 10 yard intervals from 20 yards to 90. While I didn't try the HW80 beyond 55 yards, with just a hair over a 1 MIL hold at 50 yards, the 40mm spinners didn't have a chance.
This rifle definitely has a place in my vault and is certainly different than any other rifle I own. Another fun and rewarding project.
DZ
