HW97K .177 Pellet Recommendations

[Mycapt65]

I made it out for some 50 yard groups at sundown. I could barely see the reticle since I was losing daylight. Managed four groups from the tailbed of my truck. I shot 3 with JSB Express and one with FTT. On my last group I lost track and shot only 4 instead of 5. I plan to do some more testing with other pellets when the weather improves.

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Very nice shooting. When switching brands the barrel needs time to season with the different brand lead. Always shoot at least 25 or 30 shots (5 or 6 groups) before judging a pellets accuracy in that gun. Doesn't always take that many shots but sometimes it does. Keep up the great shooting. Those are fantastic groups.

 

[Frogy]

My much enjoys AA Diabolo field 8:44 gr. An. HN Baracuda Hunter extreme. 9.57

 

[Deleted member 49222]

Crosman Premier Hollow Point, hits what I need it too and available locally.

 

[readyfisher9]

After shooting many different pellets, and in varied weight types, the HN Baracuda Match pellet in 10.65 grains is the most accurate in my HW97K. As a result, I have on hand a supply. Will Europe ban lead use? It is possible. Therefore I am stocking up on the pellets my guns operate best on.

 

[Lt.Dan]

My HW97K like the AA Diabolo field 8:44 gr. best.

 

[Henzo]

My experience with HW barrels is Crosman hard lead fouling screws with accuracy of good soft lead pellets. Crosman high antimony content can lead to excessive barrel fouling. This depends on the individual barrel. Some barrels will need a good brushing after a few tins of Crosman pellets. Some will stay shooting Crossman fine forever without cleaning. Neither will get the best accuracy from a soft lead pellet until you aggressively brush out the hard lead.

After switching to soft lead brands I haven't needed to clean a barrel in any of my personal guns for years and tens of thousands of shots. Quality soft lead pellets seem to perpetually clear old soft lead. Only real rough crap barrels might have excessive fouling from quality soft lead pellets. In that case you've got bigger problems.

If Crosmans meet your standards, go ahead shoot the Crosman. Just don't rave that you get better accuracy from Crosman than JSB or H&N if you're switching back and forth between hard and soft lead. In order to do a fair comparison. You'd have to brush out the hard lead from the barrel and season the bore for 50 shots or more with same pellets you're testing for accuracy. Proper fouling or seasoning is very critical for squeezing out your best accuracy. Fwiw when switching between soft lead pellets no brushing is necessary. Depending on soft lead brands and the individual barrel it will likely group true within 25 or 30 shots.

I've explained this a hundred times and every time I catch crap from people who refuse to believe their beloved 6 dollar Crosman pellets aren't the best. Sure some guns will shoot some Crosmans great. Unless they've changed in the last three years Crosman QC is terrible and there's no way to get consistent accuracy from inconsistently made pellets. Even if they were consistent like the great old Brown box Crosmans you still have the hard lead fouling to deal with. I don't understand running six dollar pellets through a five or six hundred dollar fine piece of German machinery. It's like when I was master BMW tech and people would complain they weren't get the same performance from their car as the one they road tested. Only to scan the car to find out the cheapskates running 87 octane when the cap is clearly labeled 91.

Thank you Mycapt65 for the insight and suggestion of cleaning out the barrel when switching from Crosman HP to soft lead pellets ,like JSB and H&N.

After purchasing an HW97k I really wanted it to like Crosman pellets because I shoot high volume, and realized that the pellets cost more than the rifle in the end. The rifle shot impressively but not like I had read about. I would occasionally try JSB and H&N but they were no better and cost way more. I was sort of happy that my Weihrauch HW97 seemed to like the cheap pellets.

Following your sugestion of cleaning out all the graphite, or what ever the Crosman pellets have on them; it took about 100 shots of H&N FT 9.57 pellets. The rifle shot noticably better every 20 shots. Another member wrote a similar sugestion as yours; to clean the barrel before switching to the expensive stuff and just "shoot through" any innaccuracy that crops up. That's why I perservered to 100 shots. Or else I would have shot 2 or 4 five shot groups and concluded that H&N pellets suck.

Now my 97k shoots like you read about. My favorite is H&N FT 9.57 in 4.50

I found out what a guy on the YouTube meant by "stupid accurate". I was having a grand old time shooting table spoons at 60 yards with my Crosman Hollow Points. But after cleaning the barrel and shooting 100 rounds of H&N FT, it became stupid to shoot them. It was too easy!

Now I shoot table spoons at 80 yards. Tons of fun!

Thank you for sharing your experience. It helped me out big league!

 

[Mycapt65]

Thank you Mycapt65 for the insight and suggestion of cleaning out the barrel when switching from Crosman HP to soft lead pellets ,like JSB and H&N.

After purchasing an HW97k I really wanted it to like Crosman pellets because I shoot high volume, and realized that the pellets cost more than the rifle in the end. The rifle shot impressively but not like I had read about. I would occasionally try JSB and H&N but they were no better and cost way more. I was sort of happy that my Weihrauch HW97 seemed to like the cheap pellets.

Following your sugestion of cleaning out all the graphite, or what ever the Crosman pellets have on them; it took about 100 shots of H&N FT 9.57 pellets. The rifle shot noticably better every 20 shots. Another member wrote a similar sugestion as yours; to clean the barrel before switching to the expensive stuff and just "shoot through" any innaccuracy that crops up. That's why I perservered to 100 shots. Or else I would have shot 2 or 4 five shot groups and concluded that H&N pellets suck.

Now my 97k shoots like you read about. My favorite is H&N FT 9.57 in 4.52

I found out what a guy on the YouTube meant by "stupid accurate". I was having a grand old time shooting table spoons at 60 yards with my Crosman Hollow Points. But after cleaning the barrel and shooting 100 rounds of H&N FT, it became stupid to shoot them. It was too easy!

Now I shoot table spoons at 80 yards. Tons of fun!

Thank you for sharing your experience. It helped me out big league!

You're welcome! I'm happy for your success. The 97 is a great rifle and deserves decent pellets. BTW it's not the graphite that's the problem. It's the extra antimony Crossman uses. It makes their lead harder to reduce shipping damage.

Most brands use different proprietary alloys of lead. They usually add a bit tin and or antimony. They'll even change it a little bit between models. Crosman uses much more antimony than the European brands.

Properly fouling or conditioning a barrel with similar metal is critical to true accuracy. Sometimes accuracy is improved initially by switching brands and sometimes it gets worse. True results (good or bad) IMO takes around 50 shots of the same pellet to clear the previous lead and assess accuracy. That's when switching between softer lead brands like RWS, H&N and JSB.

When a rifles had even a few dozen Crosman pellets the harder lead can't easily be cleared by softer lead. Without a good brushing, it might take a few hundred shots plus to clear the harder lead from the rifling. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it takes a long time for soft lead to clear hard lead.

Anyway I'm glad someone has finally benefited from my advice. Be well and enjoy your 97!