HW35 or HW50
- Thread starter Bear-of-Grayling
- Start date
All these comments on the finger groove being so awesome.
Surely it’s not very hard to add your own groove?
I sure would add it if I knew it made my gun shoot better for me.
Surely it’s not very hard to add your own groove?
I sure would add it if I knew it made my gun shoot better for me.
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Not everyone likes the finger groove stocks. I'm of those in that minority. I've shot a finger groove 35 and didn't see the big deal about it. It wasn't anymore comfortable or accurate using the finger groove. I actually shot it better holding it more forward. The later model stock would work fine for me. Don't let the lack of finger groove keep you from buying a 35.
Yes. A good wood worker could add a finger groove but the stock would have to be completely stripped, checkering removed and refinished. Not an easy thing for most people.
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I do like finger grooves.
+ I'm an architect. I was paid to obsess over dumb little visual details for decades, and hey I just like the way they look.
+ It's a nod to history. Finger grooves are a traditional German detail, and Germans respect that.
+ I have small hands and scrawny fingers, and like the secure feeling of my grip "sinking in" to the wood a bit.
+ The center the of the grooves's length is invariably near the rifle's balance point. This makes the gun easy to carry, is a good reference for a consistent grip between shots, and gives me just the right muzzle-heavy "hang" when sliding my fingers to the rear of the grooves. (With irons that is...all bets are off with a big scope.)
BUT...it's just a detail. Don't pass on the HW 35 just because finger grooves are absent! It's a classic rifle with many other virtues, the current stocks give it a more contemporary look, and HW is putting some nice walnut on the E these days. I love the oldies (1967 HW 35E w/22" barrel in this shot), but to each his own.
+ I'm an architect. I was paid to obsess over dumb little visual details for decades, and hey I just like the way they look.
+ It's a nod to history. Finger grooves are a traditional German detail, and Germans respect that.
+ I have small hands and scrawny fingers, and like the secure feeling of my grip "sinking in" to the wood a bit.
+ The center the of the grooves's length is invariably near the rifle's balance point. This makes the gun easy to carry, is a good reference for a consistent grip between shots, and gives me just the right muzzle-heavy "hang" when sliding my fingers to the rear of the grooves. (With irons that is...all bets are off with a big scope.)
BUT...it's just a detail. Don't pass on the HW 35 just because finger grooves are absent! It's a classic rifle with many other virtues, the current stocks give it a more contemporary look, and HW is putting some nice walnut on the E these days. I love the oldies (1967 HW 35E w/22" barrel in this shot), but to each his own.
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Have both. The stainless finish being the most recent acquisition, albeit a bit older rifle. Couldn't have had more than a few dozen shots through it. Installed an ARH spring, guides and seal. Picked up the fantastic Gehmann sight from a great forum member. The grooved walnut stock looks elegant and feels remarkable in your hands. It's simply fantastic. One of my favorites to grab and shoot. It's a keeper. I would sell the rifle with the newer style stock as it doesn't provide that same connection. It shoots just fine. Details matter. 
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