HW/Weihrauch Quality Springer observation.

[jkingrph]

HW 57's have always intrigued me , guess i will have to try one now .

I have mine set up with aperture rear sights, front is fixed so no way to alter or change it. I am not about to sit here and tell you it's the greatest thing going, but as far as handy and light, yes. I do mostly plinking, I like soda cans out to 20-30 yards, and stand up and shoot offhand, My days of match type shooting are far behind me, trying for the smallest groups on a piece of paper no longer interests me as it did at one time. I have some of those lightweight soda cans suspended on strings under an old sawhorse and when the breeze makes them dance a little it makes for fun shooting, even as close as 10 -15 yards.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

I was thinking buy the cheap refrrb in spring to rebuild my gas ram vortex failure.. then I can go to arh for future maintenance..lol

I have a Mod 65 comp tube assembled. No trigger. I think it's exactly the same as a 95. It might have a broken spring. The trigger broke and I scrapped the rifle.

Its yours for the price of shipping.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

So tonight I shot my new Cometa 400 in .22. Synthetic stock. Gas spring.

It's a lot better quality than I expected. The metal work is finished well. It locks up good and breaks easily.

The shot cycle is exactly like my vortek tuned D34. It's snappier and less springy than either of my untuned HW's. It's honestly fantastic when it goes off. I'm impressed!

It is light. It handles great. The synthetic stock fits well and has a nice wide grip. The trigger does not have a clean break but it's surprisingly unobjectionable. It's not a model trigger. But it it's very workable.

It's not fancy. It has some plastic parts and the rear sight is not stellar. The butt plate is not soft nor grippy.

It is accurate. After fifty shots I was hitting every target I pointed it at. After 200 shots I was dully impressed. It's no joke.

It seems like it's faster than any springer I shoot. I'm going to chrono it tomorrow and see.

I think it balances quality and cost pretty well. I think it will shoot almost as well as my German rifles on paper. I'm going to find that out tomorrow as well.

 

[Chuck-in-Ohio]

So tonight I shot my new Cometa 400 in .22. Synthetic stock. Gas spring.

It's a lot better quality than I expected. The metal work is finished well. It locks up good and breaks easily.

The shot cycle is exactly like my vortek tuned D34. It's snappier and less springy than either of my untuned HW's. It's honestly fantastic when it goes off. I'm impressed!

It is light. It handles great. The synthetic stock fits well and has a nice wide grip. The trigger does not have a clean break but it's surprisingly unobjectionable. It's not a model trigger. But it it's very workable.

It's not fancy. It has some plastic parts and the rear sight is not stellar. The butt plate is not soft nor grippy.

It is accurate. After fifty shots I was hitting every target I pointed it at. After 200 shots I was dully impressed. It's no joke.

It seems like it's faster than any springer I shoot. I'm going to chrono it tomorrow and see.

I think it balances quality and cost pretty well. I think it will shoot almost as well as my German rifles on paper. I'm going to find that out tomorrow as well.

That seems to be the prevailing conclusion on those rifles, thanks for reinforcing it yet again!
The Brit forums are pretty unanimous in their admiration of the platform as well, they require very little fettling and you have a great rifle.
Good stuff to remember, thanks for weighing in.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

I appreciate that we all have our own personal shooting preferences, and that makes it fun and interesting . That said, I have never seen nor heard of anyone wearing out an HW from shooting too much, beyond the need to replace springs/seals which applies to all springers. Both my R7 and hw50s have well over 50k shots, and they look/function as good as new.
R

Well now you have heard of a guy wearing out an HW! 2 of them!

Can they be repaired? Absolutely. Are they completely worn out? Yes. Do they need more than just a new spring and seal? Definitely.

I'm not sure how you shoot 50k and keep a rifle looking like new. It must be off a bench at a target in a controlled situation. If I shot like that I probably wouldn't have a need for a Hatsan either.

Since I rarely shoot at targets from a bench and shoot about 250k shots a year I don't use the HW rifles for the bulk of my shooting. It's like putting your new mustang on the stock car track.

I invite you to bring your HW shooting with me sometime. I think you will understand why I don't shoot a finely finished rifle with a walnut stock in the New Mexico desert.

 

[BurneyCA Dennis]

Started with a Diana 350 twenty years ago. When a wildfire took our house I never replaced the RWS.
Been using a high end 22 LR to control the ground squirrels, but with California ammo prices, plus extra tax and the background checks ive switched back to the air gun. Ordered a Weihrauch HW 97. Am hoping this will give the squirrels a reason to go away, or else. My property borders the forest so I have no close neighbors. My range for effective kills is between 25-40 yards. There’s the occasional shot out to 50 plus yards. Wish me happy killing.
I also plan to hang targets around the forest for field shooting.

 

[Mycapt65]

Started with a Diana 350 twenty years ago. When a wildfire took our house I never replaced the RWS.
Been using a high end 22 LR to control the ground squirrels, but with California ammo prices, plus extra tax and the background checks ive switched back to the air gun. Ordered a Weihrauch HW 97. Am hoping this will give the squirrels a reason to go away, or else. My property borders the forest so I have no close neighbors. My range for effective kills is between 25-40 yards. There’s the occasional shot out to 50 plus yards. Wish me happy killing.
I also plan to hang targets around the forest for field shooting.

What caliber 97?

 

[BABz58]

Started with a Diana 350 twenty years ago. When a wildfire took our house I never replaced the RWS.
Been using a high end 22 LR to control the ground squirrels, but with California ammo prices, plus extra tax and the background checks ive switched back to the air gun. Ordered a Weihrauch HW 97. Am hoping this will give the squirrels a reason to go away, or else. My property borders the forest so I have no close neighbors. My range for effective kills is between 25-40 yards. There’s the occasional shot out to 50 plus yards. Wish me happy killing.
I also plan to hang targets around the forest for field shooting.

Should perform perfectly for that purpose .

 

[BurneyCA Dennis]

What caliber 97?

.22

 

[maxtrouble]

Whenever I miss it is because I have mashed the trigger. Practice bringing your trigger finger and thumb together when pulling the trigger. A light hold with a slippery bag and let the rifle do what it wants. I still miss but they are a hoot to shoot.

 

[Mycapt65]

.22

50 plus yards? A 22 HW97 gets pretty loopy quickly. It's not impossible but you'll need excellent ranging and hold over skills. Depending on elevation it's roughly a 700fps gun with lead pellets. That's if you're allowed to use them for hunting in CA. I haven't looked into it yet but JSB tin pellets might help flatten your shots. I believe they're the only ones with a decent BC. Most lightweight pellets have terrible BC and you lose the additional velocity quickly.

I'm not trying to be a jerk. I'm just trying to inform you the 97 doesn't have the power of a 350 to drive a 22 nearly as flat as you're used to. A 177 97 would be about 900fps. I lt'd have half the drop at 50 but would drift a bit more. You may have much better ranging and holdover skills but for 50+ I would have went 177. Well unless it's usually windy and 50 yard shots are uncommon.

No matter what, I'm sure you'll love the gun. IMO a 350 is a Cadillac but a 97 is Benz.

Best of luck to you.

 

[beerthief]

Whenever I miss it is because I have mashed the trigger. Practice bringing your trigger finger and thumb together when pulling the trigger. A light hold with a slippery bag and let the rifle do what it wants. I still miss but they are a hoot to shoot.

Max ,try pulling the trigger as slow as you can move your finger, if its a 2 stage you will feel that wall just keep the same slow pressure till the release.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

I have the HW97kt in .22. It shoots about 670fps and has enough horsepower to go through a can of ranch style beans at 60 yards. Enough accuracy to hit a shotgun shell at that range every shot.

No problem shooting squirrels out to 60-70 yards with that gun. I do it often. Your not going to get headshots at 70 yards but 50 is no problem at all. The HW97 is one of the most accurate spring guns made.

Hit them in the shoulder at 50 yards on out and you will stop 80% in their tracks. They aren't going far if they go anywhere at all.

It's heavy to hunt with. It's best rested rather than shot offhand. I much prefer the HW95 for hunting. But the 97 will certainly get it done.

I chronographed my gas ram Cometa 400 .22 at 745 fps yesterday. It keeps them under an inch at 50 yards and hits like a sledgehammer. I think it will make a better hunting rifle than either of the HW rifles mentioned. Its lighter and hits harder. It's right up there with the D350 on power and shoots as smooth as my Vortek tuned D34. Accuracy is comparable too. It's just not quite as pretty.