HW 35E or FWB Sport

[Steveoo]

I prefer the 35, due to its perfect lock up and the ability to load it silently by depressing the locking lever on closure….but of course, this from the hunter perspective.
Modern seals and kits now see the 35 match a FWB Sport for power, but it was always a good 2ftlbs down on the FWB back in the day when on its leather seal.
I still favoured it even then however.
The Sport was a great gun however, styled and weighing as a sporter should be.

 

[jimk1963]

jimk1963,

Did the OEM guide fit any of those spring alternatives?

Yes, the OEM guide is undersized, so fits any of the alternatives. However, I wouldn't recommend taking the gun apart just to replace the spring. The undersized guide is actually the main problem causing the twang/buzz. This newer Sport has a permanent "built-in" top hat inside the piston so you can't really mess with top hat mods. But I found it wasn't necessary anyway. The other mod you can make is to add a piston sleeve, which knocks down the spring-slap just a hair further, but it needs to be super thin (like .003" or so) as the springs seat pretty tightly in that piston. I tried an HW80 steel sleeve, sold by CountryStore UK, it worked well. But I eventually removed it as I didn't find that it made enough difference to justify the future maintenance worry.

 

[jimk1963]

I prefer the 35, due to its perfect lock up and the ability to load it silently by depressing the locking lever on closure….but of course, this from the hunter perspective.
Modern seals and kits now see the 35 match a FWB Sport for power, but it was always a good 2ftlbs down on the FWB back in the day when on its leather seal.
I still favoured it even then however.
The Sport was a great gun however, styled and weighing as a sporter should be.

The new Sport has a solid lock-up as well, it's a completely different design than the original ball-detent FWB 124/7. Although some have had issues with the old FWB 124 design, my two FWB 124's (44 and 40 years old, respectively) have never had any lock-up issues. I've never even touched the ball detent as a matter of fact. However as you noted, the ball detent makes a noise when locking up, something the HW35 could avoid by holding down the lever. Anyway the new Sport eliminates any concern with a detent that would support an elephant on the end of the barrel. But will still make a small noise when you close it. It's one downside, as others noted, is that you have to slap the barrel to get it to release, something I am not thrilled with. Not sure a hunter would be either. I was thinking/wondering if there was a way to soften that release a bit, but haven't messed with it (yet).

Re: power, the HW35 is below the new Sport in terms of ft-lbs. The HW35 has a shorter throw than the new Sport. I've had my Sport tuned as high as 17.5 ft-lbs (on accident! trying out an uncut Titan XS spring), pretty sure the HW35 could never put out this much energy with any spring (please correct me if wrong). Also, even with a cut-down HW80 spring I'm comfortably in the 14.5-15 ft-lb range with a decent shot cycle (fitted delrin spring guide to match). If you think you want more power than the FWB 124 / HW35, this gun can definitely support it. This is a little-known detail about the new Sport, as most owners have actually reduced its power to soften the shot cycle. But make no mistake, it has a big-ass power plant if that's your thing.

 

[jkingrph]

I have both and if only could have ne would go te FWB. I have the 35 set up with a diopter rear sight and the FWB with a small Hawke Airmax scope. I guess at 10meters on a 10meter target and off a bench they might be equal in accuracy, but otherwise the FWB shines, and if you want to take the scope and diopter off, that rear sight on the FWB is absolutely the best I have seen on any airgun. Both of mine are completely stock and will probably stay that way unless I have any problems. With the scope on the FWB and shooting off a rest I am easily plinking acorns at about 20 yards, that thing is wickedly accurate.

 

[Steveoo]

Yes the new Sport for your side of the pond is a more powerful gun, but not something enjoyed our side, where the HW35 at 12 is our limit…and no advantage to be had, not being allowed to use the new FWB full potential….I had not consider that benefit of the new model for you.

 

[jimk1963]

Yes the new Sport for your side of the pond is a more powerful gun, but not something enjoyed our side, where the HW35 at 12 is our limit…and no advantage to be had, not being allowed to use the new FWB full potential….I had not consider that benefit of the new model for you.

Ah yeah… likewise, I forget about the 12fpe limit all too easily. We may have more relaxed limits over here, but I sure wish we had all the clubs, shooting ranges, airgunsmiths and overall airgun enthusiasm you guys enjoy in the UK. I’ve dropped a bunch of coin on shipping alone to get parts shipped over from UK (and other EU countries).

 

[KWK]

Ah yeah… likewise, I forget about the 12fpe limit all too easily. We may have more relaxed limits over here, but I sure wish we had all the clubs, shooting ranges, airgunsmiths and overall airgun enthusiasm you guys enjoy in the UK. I’ve dropped a bunch of coin on shipping alone to get parts shipped over from UK (and other EU countries).

Be careful what you wish for. I'd rather pay the shipping and shoot all by myself than have to "Sit-up and beg like a dog" to own a gun.

 

[Steveoo]

Well i never begged no one my whole life, but actually do shoot alone and do all my own gun smithing.
Kind of ironic.

 

[Bear-of-Grayling]

Be careful what you wish for. I'd rather pay the shipping and shoot all by myself than have to "Sit-up and beg like a dog" to own a gun.

If someone was threatened in my family, I would not even consider my airguns as real guns anyway. Begging isn’t even an option in many countries and some of our own states. We need to stand strong against the ones that want us to “conform”.

 

[Steveoo]

Amen to that…
Do gooders will have us living half a life if we let them

 

[rapstarD]

I absolutely love my new 35 E. a fantastic rifle. I can hardly wait to try it in the field

 

[Darchule]

I wanted to use some left over Christmas money to purchase either a Weihrauch 35E or a Feinwerkbau Sport, in .177 caliber. For those of you who own them, or preferably both, which would you choose? Thanks for any help.

I have 2 HW35Es, one in 177, the other in .22 both are tuned. The 22 was tuned by Motörhead , super sweet shooter at 550fps. I also own the FWB Sport tuned by Motörhead excellent shooter, very accurate. The HW35 and FWB are about same power 11 foot pounds. The FWB is very well made, the engineering is first class BUT! for some reason it has bad manners internally , it needs a tune to really enjoy.

 

[flycaster]

I own an FWB Sport and tuned with a Vortek seal, Titan spring and matching delrin guide (thank you jimk1963!). It's a great shooter and is now putting out 14.85fpe. The build quality of the FWB is amazing and the fit of the stock (for me) is perfect. Unfortunately the FWB needs to be tuned to tame it. I do have a fairly new HW95 which was acceptable out of the box (had some spring buzz) but also got a tune kit to smooth it out. The stock fit on the HW is not as comfortable and had a long trigger reach which I solved with a Rowan Engineering set back trigger. Not sure if the HW35e has similar stock dimensions. If your willing and able to tune the FWB or send it to a pro, then that would be my choice.

 

[jimk1963]

I own an FWB Sport and tuned with a Vortek seal, Titan spring and matching delrin guide (thank you jimk1963!). It's a great shooter and is now putting out 14.85fpe. The build quality of the FWB is amazing and the fit of the stock (for me) is perfect. Unfortunately the FWB needs to be tuned to tame it. I do have a fairly new HW95 which was acceptable out of the box (had some spring buzz) but also got a tune kit to smooth it out. The stock fit on the HW is not as comfortable and had a long trigger reach which I solved with a Rowan Engineering set back trigger. Not sure if the HW35e has similar stock dimensions. If your willing and able to tune the FWB or send it to a pro, then that would be my choice.

Whew... glad it worked out! ;-D You're getting similar energy as mine, the Sport can really generate some power with that 30mm power plant. I also added a Rowan setback trigger to my new HW97 (my first HW purchase), same reason (long reach). Love the 97, and all the support HW's enjoy. But that Sport just feels so great, just a joy to shoot once tuned.

 

[flycaster]

I agree, the FWB is a joy to hold and shoot and is dead nuts accurate. The HW's are great guns too, especially with all the available tune options (Vortek, ARH/Maccari/TBT etc) and accessories such stock bolts, triggers, and more. I'm an airgun addict and need a fix soon - maybe another HW95 in .22, HW35E, or HW77!

 

[jimk1963]

I agree, the FWB is a joy to hold and shoot and is dead nuts accurate. The HW's are great guns too, especially with all the available tune options (Vortek, ARH/Maccari/TBT etc) and accessories such stock bolts, triggers, and more. I'm an airgun addict and need a fix soon - maybe another HW95 in .22, HW35E, or HW77!

Having fun with my new HW97, my first HW. Too damn heavy, but love the way it's built and the underlever is just different than all the rest of my break-barrels. Almost got the 77 for the open sights, but caved and went for the 97. Shot a new .177 HW95, didn't do much for me. Not sure I'd buy one in .22, seems people gripe about power in that caliber - but that's just second-hand murmurs. Shot a new HW35, that gun feels absolutely awesome to shoot. Main reason for great shot cycle is because it's so heavy and with 20% lower velocity/energy than the HW95/80. Legendary pedigree though, will probably still be selling 100 years from now.

 

[flycaster]

The HW35E is intriguing with the walnut stock, barrel latch, and linked cocking arm. Reminds me of my first springer I purchased 50 years ago - a Wischo 55N which was more compact, lower power but similar cocking arm design and walnut stocked. My HW95 with Maccari tune kit and Vortek seal is putting out 15FPE which is respectable and I think adequate for .22. The HW35 seems a bit underpowered for .22 IMO.

 

[Sqwirl57]

The HW35E is intriguing with the walnut stock, barrel latch, and linked cocking arm. Reminds me of my first springer I purchased 50 years ago - a Wischo 55N which was more compact, lower power but similar cocking arm design and walnut stocked. My HW95 with Maccari tune kit and Vortek seal is putting out 15FPE which is respectable and I think adequate for .22. The HW35 seems a bit underpowered for .22 IMO.

The 35E is awesome in .22 but its going to be an acquired taste. I find heavy and slow guns to be a ton of fun to shoot with. Mine has ARH kit and a Vortek piston seal and is putting out 13fpe with the FTTs.

The smart choice for that gun is absolutely the .177. I'm waiting for one of the "stainless look" 35Es to pop up to grab one in that caliber.