Weihrauch 97k wood is a disappointment

i recently received a new 97k from Krale. Humph! After scope mounting I found the barrel to be mis-aligned to the point my new Leopold scope, ran out of elevation adjustment to compensate for the mis-alignment at a mere 60 feet. This is of course not an uncommon problem with airguns and firearms and is easily remedied with shims under the rear scope mount, or an adjustable scope mount. Most scope manufacturers will supply shims free of charge.

The real issue here is the heavy, bulky log of a stock this airgun is fitted with. The rifle is heavy to begin with and this is expected considering the amount of steel in the airgun. But the stock is...how to phrase this? ...”unflattering” to the rest of the airgun. Here’s my critique.

Weihrauch has attempted to design an ambidextrous stock which will sell to both left and right hand shooters. Great. However, two opposing cheek rests add just too much bulk and weight to the aft-stock. This to the point of actually degrading shooting comfort and efficiency. In addition, because of this design, the top of the aft-stock does not (cannot) fall away sufficiently to allow for natural eye alignment with the scope. This all due to the attempt to provide an ambidextrous stock. I find myself forcing my head over the aft-stock unnaturally and uncomfortably to sight the scope.

Also, the pistol grip wood on this stock is huge. Maybe even larger than huge. I wear double -X gloves and I can’t get my hand comfortably around that grip. I cannot understand why the manufacturers left so much wood there. This is not a .50 BMG for heaven’s sake. This is not even a rifle stress point. The pistol grip needs some serious reduction. I plan to thin it substantially toward an oval rather than bulky round. Good bye lazar-burned “checkering.” I actually very much like the crisp sharp detail lazar burning achieves, and this rifle is beautiful in that regard, but it and a quarter-inch of pistol grip are going away.

I hear folks talk about how the weight of this rifle helps with recoil. Recoil? Again, this isn’t a large caliber firearm, it’s an airgun. Recoil I suppose is relevant, but you will never get a bruised shoulder shooting one of these airguns no matter how many pellets you put through the short barrel, your arm will give out first from cocking. Let me say this: this rifle really needs to lose some weight, and paring the entire stock down to fit a dedicated right-hand shooter is the direction I think is the way to go. But before I break out my spokeshaves, drawknives, grinders, and rasps to remedy this stock issue, does anyone know of a source of a replacement stock for this factory saw-log? Maybe I don’t have to reinvent the wheel if I can find a good replacement?

I prefer Walnut, no cheekrest, no thumb hole, Just a sleek, LIGHT, functional stock that shoulders well, and lines up naturally. I like pistol grips, but having shot many firearms sans pistol grip, I could go that way as well to reduce this rifle’s obesities even a bit more.

Any thoughts?
 
If it came with a perfect walnut stock it would be over $1000 and nobody would buy it. And most would still complain about it anyway. You paid less for the rifle than a custom stock will cost. 

Do you think your "Leopold" scope would zero at 60 feet on top of a common center-fire rifle? I don't. 

The rifle is heavy because it's a purpose built target rifle. That makes it more accurate. The weight is mostly in the action, not the stock. The steel end cap alone is near a pound if not that. Remove the action from the stock and compare the two and decide if a new stock will save very much weight. 

If you wanted a lightweight rifle they make several other models. Before you dump the money into a custom stock, you may want to sell the 97 and get a rifle that is lighter. Because lighter it will never be. Most people ADD weight. 
 
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I have a 97kt,,black plastic thumb hole,it to is a heavy pig,the stock fits good and it is hollowed out,just guess it is a heavy no matter what...

It is a great shooter and glad I have it.In time you will get a better feeling for it,,,also make sure your reach to the trigger is proper,I had to use an adjustable butt plate.

Another thing I believe All the German under lever are heavy,,my TX200 is lighter.... think about getting another lighter springer or get use to yours.

97 is one of the better springers...when you can rest it or a stronger guy..

reminds me of these lyrics,she sure is ugly,butt she sure can cook..
 
Thank you all for your kind replies. Member Thumper: I am gratified you and I agree on the weight concerns as I outlined in the second paragraph of my post:”This rifle is heavy to begin with, and that is to be expected given the amount of steel in this airgun.” A quote I read many years ago about trimming weight in general goes, “Be concerned about trimming ounces...the pounds will take care of themselves.” Being a Hunter, shooter, and stock maker for more than 60 years, I do not expect to remove a great deal of weight from this gun. Ounces will be fine. What I do expect to achieve is to either purchase a dedicated righthand stock without all the excess wood plumping-up this weighty factory critter, or modify the existing stock to one which fits the shooter naturally, quickly, and comfortably.

Also member Thumper, your critical thinking ability is good. After running out of elevation adjustment, my first thought was the problem is in the scope. I am fortunate to live in rural Washington State, I often shoot big bores from my back yard, so problem solving the elevation issue was actually fun. I removed the VXII Gold Ring from my Sako Finnlight .300 Win Mag, and mounted up the new Leopold scope. First two shots were high at 75 feet. Of course they were high, I had adjusted the elevation to the limit while attempting to zero the 97K. The scope zeroed easily on the big bore. As a side note here; I mentioned recoil in my original post, shoot my Finnlight .300 Win Mag a few times and you will abundantly understand what recoil is. It reminds me when I forget.

Thank you all once more for your kind input benefitting this new forum member. Spending a little money to make a rifle the best shooter it can be is fine with me. Emphasis, “little money.” I do love everything about shooting sports, and that includes working on gun wood. If I can work the problems out of this factory Beechwood stock, and if I haven’t lost interest in the rifle, I may build a Claro Walnut stock for the 97? (What more can you say about a hand-rubbed oiled Walnut stock?) Thanks again, I welcome input. B
 
The earlier (80s-90s era) stocks on the HW77K were slimmer and lighter than the modern 97 stocks. But, the cheekpiece is still too low, as I imagine it was built for open sights, which those guns came fitted with. They were a little more handcrafted too with hand cut checkering and a slight palm swell. Might be a cheaper place to start than a full custom piece, but it may not solve any of your problems so you'll have to look into the cost vs benefit thing. Somebody may even trade you. I BELIEVE I remember that one should bolt straight up, but I can't be 100%. But if not, it should be damn close. I may have a spare one around here somewhere, I'll have to check.

Here's my HW77K MK2:

1588791408_9039334985eb30870954ed1.61248848.jpg


Also, the earlier versions of the HW97 had dedicated right hand stocks. Again, may not be much better but different at least and may save you chopping yours up. Should be easier to find than option #1. 

1588790833_14039464915eb30631c53b25.15223396.jpg


And lastly, and here's the most far fetched option, search for a decade and find a Venom modified HW77K with a Venom Vantage stock. Heres mine:

1588791508_15974851685eb308d44e6144.25927072.jpg


1588791597_2438102125eb3092d20cac4.40756524.jpg

 
My take is that the European manufacturers, especially for this class of airgun, are heavily influenced by field target when it comes to stock design. Google up field target shooting and you will find pictures showing bulky stocks, high scope mounts, very high cheek rests, and a hand position that uses little to no thumb wrap. All to support a head up shooting style, and of course accuracy. The issue of weight to control recoil is not about shooter comfort, it is about reducing rifle motion that occurs between the time the trigger is pulled and the pellet leaves the barrel. In springers, much of this motion occurs before the pellet even begins moving.

I would shoot the gun as is for a while. You may find that getting the best accuracy, especially from a springer, will require a different shooting style than what you are used to. And that may influence your decisions on stock design.
 
I have a pre gold trigger Beeman R 9 and the stock is much too fat. My first airgun was a Winchester 427 (Diana 27) and I guess I was spoiled by the slender and comfortable stock. I also have a Winchester 450 (Diana 50) made in 1968 and a Diana 50 made in 1979, both in .177 caliber. The later gun weighs about a pound and a half more because of a thicker and deeper stock, I guess the manufacturers believe a thicker stock will appeal more to buyers. Sort of like a triple whopper selling better than a basic whopper at McDonalds.
 
Wow! A lot of great participation in this thread today. Thank you all, particularly to those who thoughtfully included links to suppliers of airgun stocks. Wonderful, thank you.

Great suggestions, advice, and feedback from everyone, a few have suggested, “Just shoot it for awhile and...” Good advice. I’m sufficiently uncomfortable with the ergonomics of this airgun to know already it’s acceptability as a keeper as is, isn’t. I will shoot it of course, who can’t shoot a new gun even if it is a bit of a clunker. 

Many have suggested getting rid of this gun, “Sell it and buy something lighter.” This is also advice I’m listening to. Anyone want to buy it? (Sorta kidding of course) Thank you all for the suggested plausible replacements as well.

Member Thumper shared some photos of a gorgeous stock on his rifle. Now we’re talking! Thumper that wood is fabulous, and peep sights as well. Excellent! Please expand the information about this airgun. You indicated it was a difficult piece of hardware to get ahold of? Please tell me some of the backstory on this gun and most importantly the wood. More about the Venom Vantage you mentioned too please. I’d love to hear about it and I’ll bet I’m not alone. Most importantly, does it shoulder well, fast, comfortably? Do you hunt with it (I saw the nice fat bunnie) or just put holes in paper?

Lastly, now I know you know why the title of this thread is “Wood on Weihrauch 97K Disappointing,” and why my new airgun will either go away or have acceptable (shooter friendly) wood installed (like yours?) Also, please do look for that spare ‘77 stock you may have lying around somewhere, I’d love to try it in place of the factory saw log I have. Good information all.

I remain anxiously open to input, thank you everyone. B


 
I had an HW77k and a lot of your issues with the stock are ones I struggled with. I ended up just selling it. 
Take a look at Custom Stocks in the UK. They make a range of walnut stocks for the 97k. Turn around time is about 4 weeks last I checked. 
http://customstock.co.uk/

I've got two rifles outfitted with Customstocks lumber (one on R1, one on HW98) and like them, BUT I can say that these are substantial pieces of lumber to say the least, particularly in the forearm. I haven't seen their stock for the HW97, but I would expect it would be similarly beefy - not what the OP is looking for. That said, if you're comfortable taking some wood off, one of these could make a nice starting point. They are not ambidextrous, have a nice palm swell, and a slightly more vertical grip that makes for an easier trigger reach.



My take is that the European manufacturers, especially for this class of airgun, are heavily influenced by field target when it comes to stock design. Google up field target shooting and you will find pictures showing bulky stocks, high scope mounts, very high cheek rests, and a hand position that uses little to no thumb wrap. All to support a head up shooting style, and of course accuracy.


+1 on this. Many people complain about the long reach to the trigger in Weihrauch rifles. I find the reach is better with a CS or other aftermarket stock, but another thing to consider is a Rowan Engineering set-back trigger. I have an extra set-back in one R1, and an old Jan Kraner straight trigger on a vintage HW97 and like both rifles better for it.
 
The rifle with the peeps is an older HW77K from about 1985. Mechanically the only difference between this gun and a modern HW97 is the lack of the muzzle brake and the piston diameter is 25mm vs 26mm in the later guns. They do feel a little lighter and more trim than the HW97s. That's the typical beech stock that they came with back then. The checkering is hand cut, there is a slight palm swell on the right side of the pistol grip, white line spacers and a plastic grip cap. They are wonderful stocks and very comfortable, but have a low cheekpiece for iron sights. These older guns are getting harder to come by these days, but don't usually demand a great premium. I'm down to two at the moment, not including the Venom rifle.

I did some work on this one including making an oring piston seal head for it, enlarging the transfer port, setback trigger blade, and made some brass screw cups and sleeves for the stock screws. This one is a .22 and it's identical twin wears a scope in .177 and has the same internal modifications.

The Venom rifle is a MK2 HW77K just as above but it was modified by a gunshop in the UK called Venom Arms back when it was new. It was originally sold and modified in the UK and somehow ended up here over the years. The stock was supplied by them as part of the tuning package back then. It has a vented muzzle brake and underlever catch assembly built in house as well as their custom tuning parts and work done inside. I pestered a guy monthly for a few years to get this rifle from a huge bb gun collection for a great price. 

The stock is fairly hefty, but fits well and I really like the more vertical thumb position it provides and the higher cheekpiece. Checkering here is hand cut as well. Overall it is heavier than a standard HW77K but balances better. Works very well offhand. It still has a stock trigger blade and is comfortable so I'd say the reach to the trigger is improved over a factory model. 

I hunt small game exclusively with air rifles and have since I was about 12. I have PCP guns and other springers but the HW77K and the Venom do 90% of my hunting. I spend a lot of time in the woods with them. Every now and then I'll get a chance to sit down and shoot paper, or sometimes get lucky enough to go to a field target match with some guys in Pulaski, TN but haven't in a long while. I'm not a collector by any means, I just have too many guns I like to shoot and take in beat up orphans that need work. 

In my opinion the HW77K is the finest and most versatile air rifle ever produced. You can set them up with factory open sights for plinking, diopters for precision target work and 10M stuff, or a scope for whatever. I've had all the others including the walnut TX200s and still come back to the Weihrauchs. 

Take some time to see how yours performs. If it's accurate for you, I certainly think it would be worthy of a stock more to your liking and a good tune kit. There is nothing you can't do with a HW97. Whether it be a Field Target Championship or hunting or plinking, it's the one gun that can excel at all of them.


 
I'm sitting here with my Beeman HW97K Woodstock. 22 splitting playing cards in two from a bench rest, which is what the rifle is designed for. I'm more than satisfied with it.

My thoughts are, if you are displeased with it, put it up for sale in the classifieds on this forum. I'd be surprised if it lasts for more than a few hours if you price it right. They seem to go out of stock pretty quickly at the major retailers. In fact. I had to really search to find the one I bought about a year ago. 

I didn't buy it with lugging it around. I did my research and knew that it was a heavy rifle before I bought it. Its a purpose built unit, and it suited my purpose exactly. 
 
Hi Yarddog,

Thank you for your interest and for your reply. It sounds like your airgun is just right for you. That is super and very good to hear. What pellets do you find work best in your airgun? My last, now well worn Marksman 55 was finicky and liked Meisterkugeln 8.2gr wadcutters the best, it was of course a .177. I think I would like to have that old rifle rebuilt, it has no barrel drop that I can tell, but I’ve used it hard for many years and it looks like the old woods rifle it is. It has become an inconsistent shooter though. Know anyone who rebuilds Marksman 55 rifles?

I May indeed sell this new 97K, as you suggest, yours might be sage advice, but not until I put a couple cans of lead through it. I also want to first mount the adjustable scope mount I have on order from Pyramid. Are you interested in buying the 97?

While I am waiting for the mount, I have installed an old Beeman scope I had lying around. The scope wasn’t an expensive optic but it shoots well enough, has a great deal of elevation adjustment, and I am slowly applying some lead residue to the inside of the barrel. Already the rifle is shooting well enough for dealing with the destructive ground squirrels we have in this area, but nothing like the outstanding shooting you are doing cutting playing cards. What distance are you cutting cards from? I imagine you can cut the entire diamond out of the center of the ace of diamonds without hitting white paper too? How many shots does it take you to do that? It is inspirational to hear someone is shooting as well as you are, keep up the good work.

Thanks again for your reply. B