First air rifle questions

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Shinkers

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Nov 18, 2022
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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.
 
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Like everyone else, I recommend the HW30 as an excellent rifle. Excellent iron sights out of the box. Deadly out to 30 yards for pesting. I recommend the H&N Field Target Trophy pellets in .177 452 head size. Buy a sleeve (10 pellet tins equals a sleeve) of pellets to start, you are going to need them. Krale has excellent pricing and excellent shipping as well as Airguns of Arizona.
9E2FF684-E203-40AE-BD9A-CBB52BECD67B.jpeg
 
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He said he's been pointed towards an HW50. Why would you try to talk him out of THAT? Fabulous gun. Everybody's loving them. I wouldn't take 4 big heavy XS's for mine. The '50 is a do anything gun.
And I have an HW50, two R7's and an HW30. And some of the "bigger/heavier" HW's. Admittedly, I really like the '30 platform but........
The '50 has something the littlest HW gun will never have. Very useable and accurate POWER. Still a nice compact gun too. Both exceptional carry and offhand shooters. Size and weight typical of .22 rf sporters.
Wouldn't be long after getting an R7/30 you might desire a little more energy.
So many guys have both of them.
 
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This may help you decide. Specs for my HW95L.
Rifle/scope weigh:

7.5 lbs,120 oz = rifle. Spring Piston: Airguns of Arizona

4.4 oz = Hawke Tactical 30 mm 2 piece medium rings Hawke | Tactical Ring Mounts 1" 2 Piece 9-11mm Medium (hawkeoptics.com)

21.9 oz = Hawke 4-16 x 44 mm SF, IR, compact scope Hawke | Airmax 30 SF Compact 4-16x44 AMX IR (hawkeoptics.com)

Total HW95L rifle = 146.3 oz which is 9 lbs 2.3 oz, 4.15 KG

LOP = 14.25” trigger to center butt. WIN M70 30-06 = 13.875", CVA Accura V2 50 BP = 14.5". Note - LOP = length of pull measured from trigger to center butt.

The Hawke tactical medium rings put the center line of the scope 1.5” above the HW95L .22 caliber rifle bore. Rifle twist rate is 16:1. Hawke objective lens is 8.25” to safety end of receiver.

Rifle was received on 8/11/2020 from AoA.

Moderator weighs 4.32 oz, 122.6 g, 1892 gr. Moderator is 6” long and female threads start 2.1” in from beveled end of Moderator. The thread is 3/4" long & 1/2" diameter with 20 threads per inch.

Barrel length = 15.75” from end of moderator to breech block end.

Barrel without moderator = 12.188”, (12-3/16”, 309.575 mm), from thread end to breech block end.

HW95L total rifle length = 41.875” from end of moderator to butt center.

Rifle is 29” from end of moderator to end of compression tube, receiver action.

Installed a ARH kit with a Vortek piston seal, cleaned/polished, re-lubed with GPL-205 on 5/21/2021 due to POI changing & lower chrono numbers in early 5/2021. This problem was caused by the Weihrauch factory over oiling/greasing the rifle which allowed dieseling that damaged the piston seal.

The .22 rifle is accurate using the H&N FTT 14.66 gr 5.53 mm pellets with a 10 shot average of 720 FPS (5/21/2021), Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 gr at 617 FPS, 3/21/2021. FPS is 720/725 after about 5K shots.

Weihrauch factory spring = 11.25”, 285.75 mm.HW95L26

Bore Diameter Piston
Seal Size (mm)		85

Piston Stroke (mm)		45.13

Piston Swept Volume (cc)		3x15

Transfer Port x Length (mm)		0.106

Transfer Port Volume (cc)		426:1

SCR		254

Piston
Weight in Grams (g)
SCR = Static Compression Ratio, Note - this is irrelevant for a pellet rifle and should be ignored. Swept Volume formula, Bore radius squared x Pi(3.14159) x stroke = cubed mm. Convert to cubed centimeter by moving decimal point 3 positions left. Example Bore radius 13 squared(1/2 diameter) = 169 x Pi(3.14159) = 530.929 x Stroke 85 = 45,128.9 mm cubed. Convert to CC(cubic centimeter) = 45.128 or 45.13 CC for Swept Volume.
 
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KWK said:
He said he's been pointed towards an HW50. Why would you try to talk him out of THAT? Fabulous gun. Everybody's loving them. I wouldn't take 4 big heavy XS's for mine. The '50 is a do anything gun.
And I have an HW50, two R7's and an HW30. And some of the "bigger/heavier" HW's. Admittedly, I really like the '30 platform but........
The '50 has something the littlest HW gun will never have. Very useable and accurate POWER. Still a nice compact gun too. Both exceptional carry and offhand shooters. Size and weight typical of .22 rf sporters.
Wouldn't be long after getting an R7/30 you might desire a little more energy.
So many guys have both of them.
Click to expand...
So, you're selling him your HW50S for $350? If not, that's why I recommended the HW30. OP set his ceiling at $350. I know about Krale. They don't have any in stock, which means even if he were willing to order from them it's a non-starter. And I don't think he'd get it here from Krale for under $350 . That's my line of reasoning for recommending HW50 over HW30. Can't speak for anyone else.

And yes, the HW50 is an excellent gun. If you take money out of the equation I'd take it over the HW30. More cocking effort than the 30 if that matters. More than my 95L actually.
 
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cjtamu said:
So, you're selling him your HW50S for $350? If not, that's why I recommended the HW30. OP set his ceiling at $350. I know about Krale. They don't have any in stock, which means even if he were willing to order from them it's a non-starter. And I don't think he'd get it here from Krale for under $350 . That's my line of reasoning for recommending HW50 over HW30. Can't speak for anyone else.

And yes, the HW50 is an excellent gun. If you take money out of the equation I'd take it over the HW30. More cocking effort than the 30 if that matters. More than my 95L actually.
Click to expand...
They're $290 at Krale. Under$350 with shipping
 
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KWK said:
They're $290 at Krale. Under$350 with shipping
Click to expand...
Could be $5 at Krale and still wouldn’t matter because they’re still out of stock in .22 you referenced. He could wait, but who does that with their first air rifle? And then you have to assume he’s comfortable providing a copy of his ID to a foreign company. If he is and he’s willing to wait then yes, he can get a HW50 S .22 for under $350. Or just order the 30 State side, get it in, and buy a 50 later. He’s going to end up with both anyway!
 
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cjtamu said:
Could be $5 at Krale and still wouldn’t matter because they’re still out of stock in .22 you referenced. He could wait, but who does that with their first air rifle? And then you have to assume he’s comfortable providing a copy of his ID to a foreign company. If he is and he’s willing to wait then yes, he can get a HW50 S .22 for under $350. Or just order the 30 State side, get it in, and buy a 50 later. He’s going to end up with both anyway!
Click to expand...
I never mentioned .22 pellets, my dear friend. Looks like the gentleman can't buy till next year. If he's like us he will end up with both. And many more at least in my case.
 
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Shinkers said:
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.
Click to expand...
I have an RWS 48, .177 caliber I’d sell for $300 + shipping. I don’t know the exact shot count but it’s very low, under 200. I got into pcp’s…
 
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Deerstalker said:
This may help you decide. Specs for my HW95L.
Rifle/scope weigh:

7.5 lbs,120 oz = rifle. Spring Piston: Airguns of Arizona

4.4 oz = Hawke Tactical 30 mm 2 piece medium rings Hawke | Tactical Ring Mounts 1" 2 Piece 9-11mm Medium (hawkeoptics.com)

21.9 oz = Hawke 4-16 x 44 mm SF, IR, compact scope Hawke | Airmax 30 SF Compact 4-16x44 AMX IR (hawkeoptics.com)

Total HW95L rifle = 146.3 oz which is 9 lbs 2.3 oz, 4.15 KG

LOP = 14.25” trigger to center butt. WIN M70 30-06 = 13.875", CVA Accura V2 50 BP = 14.5". Note - LOP = length of pull measured from trigger to center butt.

The Hawke tactical medium rings put the center line of the scope 1.5” above the HW95L .22 caliber rifle bore. Rifle twist rate is 16:1. Hawke objective lens is 8.25” to safety end of receiver.

Rifle was received on 8/11/2020 from AoA.

Moderator weighs 4.32 oz, 122.6 g, 1892 gr. Moderator is 6” long and female threads start 2.1” in from beveled end of Moderator. The thread is 3/4" long & 1/2" diameter with 20 threads per inch.

Barrel length = 15.75” from end of moderator to breech block end.

Barrel without moderator = 12.188”, (12-3/16”, 309.575 mm), from thread end to breech block end.

HW95L total rifle length = 41.875” from end of moderator to butt center.

Rifle is 29” from end of moderator to end of compression tube, receiver action.

Installed a ARH kit with a Vortek piston seal, cleaned/polished, re-lubed with GPL-205 on 5/21/2021 due to POI changing & lower chrono numbers in early 5/2021. This problem was caused by the Weihrauch factory over oiling/greasing the rifle which allowed dieseling that damaged the piston seal.

The .22 rifle is accurate using the H&N FTT 14.66 gr 5.53 mm pellets with a 10 shot average of 720 FPS (5/21/2021), Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 gr at 617 FPS, 3/21/2021. FPS is 720/725 after about 5K shots.

Weihrauch factory spring = 11.25”, 285.75 mm.HW95L26

Bore Diameter Piston
Seal Size (mm)		85

Piston Stroke (mm)		45.13

Piston Swept Volume (cc)		3x15

Transfer Port x Length (mm)		0.106

Transfer Port Volume (cc)		426:1

SCR		254

Piston
Weight in Grams (g)
SCR = Static Compression Ratio, Note - this is irrelevant for a pellet rifle and should be ignored. Swept Volume formula, Bore radius squared x Pi(3.14159) x stroke = cubed mm. Convert to cubed centimeter by moving decimal point 3 positions left. Example Bore radius 13 squared(1/2 diameter) = 169 x Pi(3.14159) = 530.929 x Stroke 85 = 45,128.9 mm cubed. Convert to CC(cubic centimeter) = 45.128 or 45.13 CC for Swept Volume.
Click to expand...
And we finally got a budget stretcher. Don‘t make me retract my first statement guys.
 
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KWK said:
Size and weight typical of .22 rf sporters.
Click to expand...
Ahh, my bad, mis-read this portion of your post. My apologies. I still can’t point anyone to shopping where you’re sending account or ID info off to a foreign company, but if he’s willing maybe they’ll have the 50 back in stock by the time he’s ready to buy. Great gun.
 
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athlon_oved said:
I'd say go pcp. once you do you'll never go back :) gauntlet or something along those lines.
Click to expand...
Well that's just not so!! :cool:

I purchased a couple of PCP's last year, and 4 Springer's this year. Springer's are fun, simple and accurate. I don't want to shoot the PCP's now!! I just picked up a HW80 shoots H&N Baracuda FT's at 915fps. Rack it, load it and shoot it. Perfect
Z
 
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Zut said:
Well that's just not so!! :cool:

I purchased a couple of PCP's last year, and 4 Springer's this year. Springer's are fun, simple and accurate. I don't want to shoot the PCP's now!! I just picked up a HW80 shoots H&N Baracuda FT's at 915fps. Rack it, load it and shoot it. Perfect
Z
Click to expand...
I would rather an air compressor fill my gun up and then me shoot a hundred or two hundred times. pcp's are jsut so much more accurate than a KrZy springer. 🍿
 
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