Tune a Beeman R7?
- Thread starter readyfisher9
- Start date
Good point. I think that for most of us here it's not an issue, but when you're talking about an HW30 you're talking about the gun that women, kids and first time shooters get handed and for them cocking effort is an issue.
Upvote 0
I sort of disagree. If I could only have one airgun it'd be my 177 Hw50. However I enjoy shooting my 177 hw30s much more. Any one of them gets used more than my 50. Only thing the 50 does better is pest. Even then my 30s have killed more incidental Gray squirrels out to 25 yards than my 50 has deliberately out to 40 yards. Those are my self imposed range limits for each.
The 50 is a wonderful does everthing well gun but it can't replace a 30. The 30 is just a pure joy to shoot and at least as accurate. My 30s usually best my 50 and they can hang with my 97 out to 25-30 yards. Amazing little guns.
Upvote 0
Good point, they are indeed a bit easier to cock, but I reckon most men can manage a 10-11 fpe HW50s with just their pinkie, so that's not a huge selling point for me personally.
Upvote 0
Well, I agree with you—they are wonderful little rifles, and you basically summed up the "unless" points perfectly!
Upvote 0
Maybe a ten fpe and under hw50 you might cock with a pinkie. I run mine close to 12 and I don't think you or I are cocking it with a pinkie. I've tuned bunches of these and at this power level and the cocking effort on mine is pretty normal.
A full power 50 is as hard to cock as a full power 95. It's about the only thing that could be considered a downside to the 50. Again I've tuned bunches of these so ignore the published cocking weights. In real life a 50 needs to be cocked quickly because the effort grows exponentially through the stroke due to the articulated linkage. If you cock it slowly, it gets very stout towards the end. A 95 has a more linear increase in effort. It's easier to cock for the power output.
Again the 50 is a great gun but I think you might be exaggerating a tad on the pinkie thing. I do think a 50 knocked down to nine or ten pounds would be a very sweet plinker. Especially for those that feel the 30s are too small. I'm 6'4" 250 and I'm ok with the size of the 30s so I never felt the need to run a 50 at anything less than full power. In reality a full power 50 isn't hard to cock, but the 30s are much easier and for me more enjoyable to shoot. That's just me, some people enjoy cranking magnum springers. To each their own.
Upvote 0
As Mycapt65 notes, the 50 is relatively hard to cock for its power. Much of this is due to the 2-piece cocking linkage, which has less efficient leverage than a single link. But...you gain a shorter cut-out under the stock fore end, which in turn is secured by a proper bolt in a steel seat, in lieu of screws in the sides. It's one of my favorite details on the older HW designs (HW 30, 35, "old" 50, and 55). To me it imparts a solid, "real gun" feel, and I really appreciate that HW retained it for the "new" 50.
Upvote 0
Thank you both for sharing your expertise! My HW99S (50S) at 10.5 fpe is a breeze to cock, pinkie easy, but then again, I’m a big bloke who never skips arm day. Mine's been tuned (not by me, of course), so perhaps that makes a difference.
I didn’t mean to start a debate about the HW30 vs. HW50S—I just wanted to give the poster a heads-up. Personally, going from a 50 to a 30, unless you're after a short-range plinker, seems like a step down?
Maybe there’s a cultural difference at play here. In my neck of the woods, the HW30 is considered a junior’s rifle, the sort of thing you buy for your kids as a starter. Honestly, if I showed up at the range with a 30 and told the lads I’d swapped it for a 99/50, they’d have a field day taking the mickey out of me for the next 12 months! But we're just a bunch of ignorant English countryside lads, so what do we know, aye?
Upvote 0
I think that cocking effort probably isn't something that bothers you, until it suddenly does. For me the gun that starts to bother me is the Gamo Magnum Swarm. I can cock a Hatsan 135 all day, but that Gamo leaves my elbow feeling like it got hit by a hammer if I don't use two hands.
Upvote 0
Ha, I hear ya. Here in east Tennessee, Daisys are toddler toys and grade-school kids get rimfires as their starter gun - seriously. My "BB guns" are guaranteed a contemptuous sneer wherever I go.
BUT...a friend of mine put an adjustable buttplate and diopter sights on his tuned HW 30, with which he can shame me offhand at 10 meters no matter what rifle I use. That might give the fellows at your range something to think about!
Upvote 0
Ha, I hear ya. Here in east Tennessee, Daisys are toddler toys and grade-school kids get rimfires as their starter gun - seriously. My "BB guns" are guaranteed a contemptuous sneer wherever I go.
BUT...a friend of mine put an adjustable buttplate and diopter sights on his tuned HW 30, with which he can shame me offhand at 10 meters no matter what rifle I use. That might give the fellows at your range something to think about!
Lol, I feel your pain! I wish I could, but those cheeky blighters at the range aren't going to be impressed by an adjustable buttplate and diopter sights, even if I could shoot the wings off a fly at 30 meters. It's a bit like when they roasted me for ordering a cosmopolitan at the pub instead of a stout. I do fancy a girly drink, but I never dared to order one until I saw David Beckham sipping one—he's a proper bloke’s bloke, isn't he? But even that didn’t help my case. Secretly, though, I’d still order one!
Upvote 0
Well, at least that's something no one has to worry about on this side of the pond. None of the people here that look down on airguns see any difference between 6 and 12 foot pounds. So far as they're concerned they're all just BB guns.
Upvote 0
Cultural differences or not. I'd never worry if people consider a 30 a junior gun. I have 113 acres in Arkansas and shoot anything I want shoot off my back deck to 625 yards. I shoot my 22LR out to 320 yards almost daily. My 223s and my 6.5 creedmore go the rest of the way several times a week. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I don't care how anyone might perceive me shooting my little 30s. That's saying alot here in Arkansas where there's no gun restrictions and kids usually skip air rifles entirely.
In the end all my Weihrauchs are BB guns to me too. I still enjoy shooting them no matter how they're perceived. I learned a long time ago a real man never worries about proving it to anyone. He's his own person. Oh BTW I'm man enough to admit that I couldn't pinkie cock my 50 without chancing it slipping away from me.
Upvote 0
I think everyone needs to own a HW30 to understand what a cool little, accurate plinker it is.
That aside, I would much rather own a HW50 ........ a more versatile gun and not too heavy, but powerful enough for many tasks.
I've never thought about the cocking effort of any springers except my maxed out Hatsan 135.
Maybe when I'm 75 (now 65) I'll be whistling a different tune ....... assuming I get there
.Upvote 0
Having a HW30 and HW50 in .177[the HW50 acquired 1st], I'm finding the 30 filling a niche for my arthritic hands[surgery next month on my left]. The decreased cocking effort hurts less. Both are lasers with AA 7.33s but til my hands are better the 30 will be primarily used. FYI,I'm 71.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
I have a tuned R7, HW30, HW50 and many of the rest of the HW line. The R7 is a shrouded barrel rifle with ARH internals. It can either drive absolute tacks, or frustrate. It's a shooter, but usually seems to be under some degree of calibration. The HW30 has a Vortek PG4 kit, Corcoran walnut stock and it's lights out all day, every day. Just a benchmark for the platform. The HW50 sports a pretty ARH walnut stock and drivetrain, and is perhaps the best of the bunch. So easy to shoot, light weight and pretty enough to stare at.
Upvote 0