Those of you that have followed my posts over the years know that I periodically run methodical maintenance tests of my rifles over the chronograph and utilizing my indoor range.
Over the last few months I have sold several airguns and used the proceeds to purchase a significantly less number of even more higher end airguns. As a result, the performance data targets lining my vault were getting really outdated, so I decided to shoot all new performance targets over the chronographs to document the performance of the current rifles in house.
When I got to the .22 Weihrauch HW77 Long, purchased in January of 2023, while the groups were very good, I noticed an extreme spread of over 200 fps and a horrible SD (see included problem discovery target). The velocity would be around 670 for a shot, and the next five or six would shots would be in the 400s, followed by another one in the 600s. And as the groups (18 yard indoor range) were very good - this didn't make sense. The FPE had dropped from my original tune of +/- 15.5 FPE to less than 10.0 FPE. The report and recoil appeared to be nearly identical between shots. It was really a surreal experience.
The same day I had ordered the rifle last January, I ordered a Vortek PG 4 - Steel HO spring kit with Vortek Vac Seal. I installed the kit before I ever shot the rifle, which is my typical pattern because I have never been satisfied with the performance of any spring rifle right of the box. The original post Vortek install target is attached, showing that I had trimmed one coil.
I knew I had one of two problems. Either my trusty Pro Chrono had gone bad or I had a broken spring.
My chronograph is now several years old (more than a decade) and has had tens of thousands of shots over it. As I have used Vortek kits over the years in probably 50 plus rifles, shooting who knows how many thousands of shots, with never a problem, and with this rifle less than a year old and not even a full tin of pellets through it since I installed the kit, I elected to believe that my chronograph had crapped out.
So I purchased a new Caldwell G2 Ballistic Precision Chronograph (and wow, what a step up from what I was use to - a great instrument). After it came in, I repeated the test, and somewhat to my surprise, the test results were nearly identical to those experienced with my old Pro Chrony. I now had confirmed a rifle issue.
So next, I got on line and ordered a new spring kit from Tom at Vortek. And no, I didn't complain or request a free replacement. Tom has provided me with terrific service over the years and I was willing to let this one go into the category of #%#& happens.
The kit came in promptly and within a couple of days. I disassembled the rifle Thursday evening, inspected the seals (looked like new) and lubrication, and installed the replacement spring kit. I did try to disassemble the old kit but I couldn't get it apart to see if I could confirm the failure. I think the spring broke within the steel guide and the sections were bound together. I didn't think it was worth hurting myself doing something stupid trying to get it apart, so I let it go.
Upon reassembly, I was immediately right back to the terrific performance this rifle has provided from the beginning. I decided to repeat all of the pellet testing to determine if I wanted to stay with the HADES or change pellets. The test targets are included for your review. It is very interesting in that while the resulting groups are very good, my final groups are not as good as they were with the broken spring in terms of overall size - just goes to show that as we push pellets to higher velocity, they just don't shoot as tight as they do at slower speeds. I settled on the H&N FFTs in 5.53 diameter because of the lower SD and the way they fit perfectly into the breach seal.
I want to reinforce that I am totally comfortable with Vortek spring kits and believe in them because of the great performance results I have had with them over many years. I have four HW97s that are now close to a decade old each that are incredibly accurate and among the most dependable rifles I own, all with Vortek kits, all having had countless hours of shooting and shots through them with never an issue.
The real point to this entire post is that I never would have known I had a problem if I hadn't tested the rifle over the chronograph.
Hopefully this experience report my be of assistance to some of you down the way. Thanks for looking. DZ
Over the last few months I have sold several airguns and used the proceeds to purchase a significantly less number of even more higher end airguns. As a result, the performance data targets lining my vault were getting really outdated, so I decided to shoot all new performance targets over the chronographs to document the performance of the current rifles in house.
When I got to the .22 Weihrauch HW77 Long, purchased in January of 2023, while the groups were very good, I noticed an extreme spread of over 200 fps and a horrible SD (see included problem discovery target). The velocity would be around 670 for a shot, and the next five or six would shots would be in the 400s, followed by another one in the 600s. And as the groups (18 yard indoor range) were very good - this didn't make sense. The FPE had dropped from my original tune of +/- 15.5 FPE to less than 10.0 FPE. The report and recoil appeared to be nearly identical between shots. It was really a surreal experience.
The same day I had ordered the rifle last January, I ordered a Vortek PG 4 - Steel HO spring kit with Vortek Vac Seal. I installed the kit before I ever shot the rifle, which is my typical pattern because I have never been satisfied with the performance of any spring rifle right of the box. The original post Vortek install target is attached, showing that I had trimmed one coil.
I knew I had one of two problems. Either my trusty Pro Chrono had gone bad or I had a broken spring.
My chronograph is now several years old (more than a decade) and has had tens of thousands of shots over it. As I have used Vortek kits over the years in probably 50 plus rifles, shooting who knows how many thousands of shots, with never a problem, and with this rifle less than a year old and not even a full tin of pellets through it since I installed the kit, I elected to believe that my chronograph had crapped out.
So I purchased a new Caldwell G2 Ballistic Precision Chronograph (and wow, what a step up from what I was use to - a great instrument). After it came in, I repeated the test, and somewhat to my surprise, the test results were nearly identical to those experienced with my old Pro Chrony. I now had confirmed a rifle issue.
So next, I got on line and ordered a new spring kit from Tom at Vortek. And no, I didn't complain or request a free replacement. Tom has provided me with terrific service over the years and I was willing to let this one go into the category of #%#& happens.
The kit came in promptly and within a couple of days. I disassembled the rifle Thursday evening, inspected the seals (looked like new) and lubrication, and installed the replacement spring kit. I did try to disassemble the old kit but I couldn't get it apart to see if I could confirm the failure. I think the spring broke within the steel guide and the sections were bound together. I didn't think it was worth hurting myself doing something stupid trying to get it apart, so I let it go.
Upon reassembly, I was immediately right back to the terrific performance this rifle has provided from the beginning. I decided to repeat all of the pellet testing to determine if I wanted to stay with the HADES or change pellets. The test targets are included for your review. It is very interesting in that while the resulting groups are very good, my final groups are not as good as they were with the broken spring in terms of overall size - just goes to show that as we push pellets to higher velocity, they just don't shoot as tight as they do at slower speeds. I settled on the H&N FFTs in 5.53 diameter because of the lower SD and the way they fit perfectly into the breach seal.
I want to reinforce that I am totally comfortable with Vortek spring kits and believe in them because of the great performance results I have had with them over many years. I have four HW97s that are now close to a decade old each that are incredibly accurate and among the most dependable rifles I own, all with Vortek kits, all having had countless hours of shooting and shots through them with never an issue.
The real point to this entire post is that I never would have known I had a problem if I hadn't tested the rifle over the chronograph.
Hopefully this experience report my be of assistance to some of you down the way. Thanks for looking. DZ
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