First air rifle questions

Jump to latest Follow Reply
S

Shinkers

Member
Nov 18, 2022
4
2
United States
Hello,

I had several pellet guns as a kid, starting with a Crosman 2100 and moving on to other inexpensive Crosman break barrel springers. After ~15 years, I'm looking at getting another rifle to do some target shooting on my property.

I know that you get what you pay for and I truly do understand that a $700 rifle is likely worth the investment, but I can't justify spending a ton of money on this so I'm looking at getting the most bang for my buck (as I'm sure everyone is). I'd like to stay under $350.

I've been pointed towards the Weihrauch HW50S as a good option for what I'm looking to do. But I'm also looking at the Flying Dragon XS46U.

It seems like a lot of people buy rifles and then tear them down and clean/tune them for better performance. I'm certainly capable of tinkering, but I'd really prefer to get something that is good to go out of the box. That is part of the appeal to the XS46U, at least in that case Mike has gone through and done the tuning.

I guess I'm looking for something that's durable, doesn't need work out of the box to perform acceptably, and is relatively accurate for the price. I'm only interested in springers or pump rifles (I've also looked at the Crosman 362 and Seneca Dragonfly but not sure about those either). I'm not interested in optics and will only be shooting with open sights.

Sorry this is kind of all over the place and I'm sure stuff like this gets asked all of the time. I have been reading a lot of info on this site and others and trying to look at all of my options.

Thanks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: iAMzehTOASTY1
I have the XS46U. I bought it lightly used from a member here. I like the gun. It shoots good. If you have big fingers it could be hard to load pellets. The gun is BIG and heavy. I would not want to carry it around in the woods. I’m not sure how many rounds this gun has through it. But when cocking it sounds really crunchy and eventually black plastic material started to fall out of the spring area.
I have not tore into the gun yet. I’m new to working on springers (air guns in general) But I got such a good deal on the gun and I do enjoy shooting it. That I eventually will tear into it and fix and or upgrade anything I can.
So , if you get one of these. Plan on rebuilding it at some point.
Hope this info helps.
 
Upvote 0
Having owned both the Mike Melick tuned XS46U and HW's (Beeman R10 and HW 97), I would recommend the HW.

Mike does an amazing job tuning the Xisico guns. Mine felt great, but the trigger pales in comparison to an HW. The overall feel and quality is also lacking.

I really liked my XS46U. I still have my HW's.

If you're looking for a different option, I have a UK built .22 BSA SuperSport with 2 sets of BKL mounts for sale. That rifle has been tuned. It falls well into your budget. If you're interested in that send me a PM.

Otherwise, happy hunting and welcome to the wonderful world of springers!
 
  • Like
Reactions: maxtrouble and Deleted 45061
Upvote 0
Unless power is high on your priority list I'd also recommend an HW30 / Beeman R7. The gun will amaze you with its accuracy once you learn how to hold it. The trigger is the best that you'll find on any springer. The weight and the balance are ideal. The open sights are top of the line. Good to go right out of the box and easy enough to work on and tune should the need arise. One of my favorites.

20220704_103048.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: iAMzehTOASTY1, maxtrouble, Ramjet and 1 other person
Upvote 0
Wow, thanks for all of the replies!

Nico, I very much appreciate that offer! I'll keep that in mind while trying to decide what I want to get. Used is certainly an option.

Mycapt, I have a field behind my house where I can plink and target shoot. I shoot archery and I'd be looking for a similar experience - going out and practice grouping at various distances. I don't have any plans for hunting.

I thought I saw somewhere that said the HW30 was good for youth shooters, but I'm not sure if that's due to being shorter in length or due to the lighter cocking effort?

Thanks again for all of the insight! I very much appreciate it.
 
Upvote 0
I'm 6'4" 250 and I love my little Hw30s. They are small and light but have an adult length of pull (14"). I have 3 Hw30s, a Hw50, 95, 97, R9 and R1. I shoot two of the Hw30s more than the others combined. One Hw30 is my wife's. If you're looking for hours of cheap fun and crazy accuracy you can't beat a Hw30. My preference is for 177. The flatter trajectory makes holdover easier to calculate. I can pretty reliably hit 2 in spinners at 50 yds with my peep sighted Hw30. I shoot beer cans at 100yds with my scoped Hw30. That said because of the low power I don't shoot groups or critters past 30 yards
 
  • Like
Reactions: Snapshot46 and maxtrouble
Upvote 0
Shinkers said:
That actually sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. The length is what I was concerned about and that sounds just fine.

So out of the box these are good to go? Or is there anything that should be done that isn't too crazy? I'm mechanically minded but would like to keep it to a minimum until I know what I'm doing.
Click to expand...
Every gun is different and no price point guarantees perfection and outstanding accuracy.

That said, if it’s a Gamo they’re more often troublesome junk than they aren’t. If it’s an HW, they’re quite good from the factory and sometimes outstanding. Plus you’ll have something that is actually worth tuning or reselling.

I don’t know Flying Dragon and so I’d never, ever buy one if I knew an HW was within my reach.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 450BM and maxtrouble
Upvote 0
Baby steps. Spend all of your (under $350) and get the German made HW30 as most here have suggested. Enjoy it out of the box. Leave the iron sights and internals alone. The more you short it the better it gets. Take your time to decide as to leave it as is or add a scope/diopter. This is my latest HW30 from Krale just a few months ago. I did add a diopter. Then did a stock refinish. The 30 is the best canvas to start your painting on. This other 30 I added a custom stock and a Nikon scope. There is nothing else made anywhere in the world that gives a better starting or ending point.
6221BDDD-5B9D-436F-A9A5-CC98D8F7D075.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: 450BM, dgeesaman, maxtrouble and 3 others
Upvote 0
Shinkers said:
That actually sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. The length is what I was concerned about and that sounds just fine.

So out of the box these are good to go? Or is there anything that should be done that isn't too crazy? I'm mechanically minded but would like to keep it to a minimum until I know what I'm doing.
Click to expand...
There's two issues that occasionally happen with Hw30s that can be fairly easily address by someone with decent hands and mechanical understanding.
1) dieseling - recently they have been coming over lubed. This causes dieseling to various degrees. In rare cases the dieseling is extreme and can burn through, rupture or deform the piston seal. Normally the excessive lube burns out in a tin of pellets. Occasionally the piston seal gets lightly cut by the edges of the cocking and it will diesel to some degree for the life of the seal. These are both fairly easy to address. You can break down the rifle mop out the compression tube and properly lube the piston. I'd replace the piston seal damaged or not with a Vortek VAC seal. They're more durable and make more power than the OE. Just remember to deburr the cocking slot.
2) galling often happens between the cocking arm linkage and the compression tube. It happens in varying degrees. Often its unnoticed and smooths itself out with use. Other times it needs to be addressed. This happens because of the sharp upper edges and tight hinge of the cocking linkage. The tight riveted hinge causes the sharp edges to drag on the bottom of the compression tube. Sometimes just brushing in a good moly paste will help smooth things out until the parts mate together. If the galling is excessive you should completely disassemble the rifle and remove the barrel. Then smooth the sharp edges on the back of the cocking linkage. Then lube and exercise the joint until its loose. Then polish out the galling on the compression tube underside. Reinstall the barrel assembly and with moly paste in the hinge and where linkage contacts the compression tube. Don't get too sloppy with it because it can migrate to the piston underside and cause dieseling.

Neither of these conditions are guaranteed to happen on every Hw30 and neither hard to address for someone with a little bit of mechanical ability. If you get the gun and have a problem you can always message me here for me phone number and I will walk you through it.

Two more things, first buy the gun from Krale and add at least ten tins of Krale branded wadcutter pellets. They're rebranded H&N Match. You'll save a lot money, the customer service is excellent and those pellets are great for that gun. Assuming you are getting 177.
Second don't run Crosman pellets through it. Crosman uses higher amounts of antimony and will eventually cause fouling problems. Cossman QC is terrible and you will get results from excellent to terrible. Do yourself a favor and stay with quality softer lead pellets like JSBs, RWS and H&Ns. You'll have better accuracy and you'll never need to clean the barrel after the initial cleaning. Running Crosmans through a Weihrauch is like running cheap 87 octane through a Porsche. It will run but won't you get the performance you bought the Porsche for in the first place. And in the long run it can cause maintenance problems. Just run good pellets through it. You and the gun deserve it. You don't buy a gun like this to miss your targets.

Good luck and have fun with it
Ron
 
  • Like
Reactions: drjjpdc78, jusanothajoe, davelarson and 4 others
Upvote 0
Another vote for the HW30. I have 2, a .177 and a .20, although both mine are Beeman branded R7's. Both were bought used and I've never regretted buying either of them. Anything and everything you could want to know about them: tuning, tweaking, where to find parts right along with pics of it all when or if the time comes you want to can be found right here on AGN :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: maxtrouble
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu