HW/Weihrauch Weihrauch or Beeman

[stevemorris]

Hello all. New gunner here. I'm planning to upgrade from my Crosman Sierra Pro .177 to an heirloom quality gun.
I love shooting soda cans, but I also want a gun capable of taking squirrels and rabbits at 25ish yards.

I've been looking at the Beeman R7 and R9 which shoot 700 and 935 fps respectively.
I've also looked at the Weihrauch HW30 (620 fps), the HW35 (850 fps) and the HW50 (820 fps).
Also the Diana 34 coming in at 830.

There seems to be a significant following for the Weihrauch brand of guns.
My question is this: with the lower velocities cited for the Weihrauch, wouldn't the Beman or Diana be my better choice since there isn't much difference in pricing?
Or am I missing something else?

Thanks, Steve

 

[Struckat]

Same guns, marketing guys usually don’t know anything about the product.

I have the 30 and 95. Both are wonderful and I will never part with them.

It really hurts, but if I had to pick one it would be the 95. The 30 runs out of gas past 25 yards. Though I do use it for chippers and the occasional grey that thinks they want to live with me.

My 30 pushes AA 7.33 about 680fps with excellent accuracy.
My 95 pushes 8.44 FTT about 880 fps. That one has an aftermarket spring with 3 coils clipped.

I did that to make it more pleasant to shoot as I think they are over sprung from the factory.

Tomorrow the HW30 may be my favorite. LOL, I love them both.

 

[beerthief]

Beeman is a rebranded HW , maybe fancier exterior ? For squirrels or rabbits @ 25ish yards you really only need 600 FPS

 

[stevemorris]

Thanks for your comments...
Let me throw another question into the mix. I've heard some spring-gun hunters recommend the .22 over the .177 for game.
But the velocity goes way down with the .22. Any thoughts on this?

 

[MDriskill]

As others have said...published velocities are largely bunk. The R7 and HW 30 are the same gun (though with many detail variations in sights, stocks, triggers, seal materials, etc. over the years), and get close to 700 FPS only when well-tuned and shooting light pellets.

I would recommend you also consider the current Weihrauch HW 50. Not quite as small as the 30...but shoots much harder. Not quite as powerful as the 95...but smaller and lighter. Many consider it the perfect all-round rifle.

I love the HW 35, but have to admit it's an ancient design! Tons of tradition, elegant looks, nice walnut stocks, and unique quiet manual breech lock But it has about the same power as the 50, and is a big heavy rifle I would not want to carry in the woods all day.

I am NOT a hunter so take this for what it's worth: I'd stick with .177 for the 30, 35, or 50; but would consider .22 for the 95.

PS. Weihrauch Is spelled without a "b" in the middle (sorry to be a jerk!).

 

[Bear-of-Grayling]

HW95/R9 in .22 caliber in my mind is the best overall design that Weihrauch offers today. FWIW. Good luck. Happy hunting.

 

[Struckat]

I have 177 and 22 barrels for my 95. 177 flatter trajectory is about the only difference.
In 22 it runs the 14.66 FTT a little over 700 fps. Plenty good.

I tend to stick to the 177 as I have 22 covered with other guns.

 

[Beeman22]

...I'm planning to upgrade from my Crosman Sierra Pro .177 to an heirloom quality gun.
I love shooting soda cans, but I also want a gun capable of taking squirrels and rabbits at 25ish yards.

As has been said, the Beeman R7 = HW30 and the R9 = HW95. Currently, the only difference I'm aware of is that the stocks might be different.

As far as a good gun for plinking and taking rabbits and squirrels - a HW30 is perfect for that, although I prefer to keep it to a max of 20 yards (and headshots only). As Mike Driskill suggested, a HW50 might be a very good "goldilocks" gun if you want some more power for hunting. I'd argue you can't go wrong with any of these, though.

 

[patrikky]

I have many beemans, dianas and others. The only one I would never part with is the R9/HW 95 for plinking and hunting.
Diana makes a good product for lesser $$ When plinking and hunting very small critters at shorter range I usually grab the R7.
All rifles you mentioned are good choices. Just my rambling 2 cents.

 

[Way2fast]

Hello all. New gunner here. I'm planning to upgrade from my Crosman Sierra Pro .177 to an heirloom quality gun.
I love shooting soda cans, but I also want a gun capable of taking squirrels and rabbits at 25ish yards.

I've been looking at the Beeman R7 and R9 which shoot 700 and 935 fps respectively.
I've also looked at the Weihrauch HW30 (620 fps), the HW35 (850 fps) and the HW50 (820 fps).

I love everyones reply. I got my HW30s from Krale, No Tax just shipping about 4 months ago now. Took 4 days to St Louis. So the Beeman R7
The HW 95/R9 Series, that would be a fine Hunting rifle. However the 50s is lighter and more of a hunting gun than the HW 30. I'm going with the HW 57 next. Good luck, it's going to be a good one no matter what you decide.

 

[Way2fast]

Same guns, marketing guys usually don’t know anything about the product.

I have the 30 and 95. Both are wonderful and I will never part with them.

It really hurts, but if I had to pick one it would be the 95. The 30 runs out of gas past 25 yards. Though I do use it for chippers and the occasional grey that thinks they want to live with me.

My 30 pushes AA 7.33 about 680fps with excellent accuracy.
My 95 pushes 8.44 FTT about 880 fps. That one has an aftermarket spring with 3 coils clipped.

I did that to make it more pleasant to shoot as I think they are over sprung from the factory.

Tomorrow the HW30 may be my favorite. LOL, I love them both.

The HW 30 is the only Break Barrel I've ever sat down and actually shot a entire tin of pellets with. They are that fun to me.

 

[dgeesaman]

The best way to compare the power of springers is ft-lb of projectile energy (fpe). Avoid comparing velocities because we aren’t told what weight of pellet was used. Pyramyd usually lists an FPE for each gun and reviews and other sources give additional data points.

Springers are effectively pneumatic slingshots. The pellet is in the barrel while most of the slingshot stuff is still banging around inside, which has direct effects on accuracy. More spring, lighter gun weight, and looser internal tolerances make the gun look good on paper but hard to shoot accurately. Most spring guns leave the factory maxed out on power and can be set up (tuned) to shoot with a bit less raw power but a lot more accuracy and smoothness. I’m not saying you need to pay for a professional tune but the option exists. When it comes to small game hunting the shot placement means more than caliber or moderate changes in power.

I recommend the HW95 in either .177 or .22. First, because it’s a great gun. Second, because it’s a bigger more robust platform that will take on a tune, maybe a softer spring, and still have plenty of power to do what you want, only better. Between those calibers at this power level I think it’s a toss-up. .22 pellets are easier to handle but they cost a bit more and will be dropping faster after 30yards. The 22 will likely hit a bit harder though.

 

[Deerstalker]

I agree with what others have said about the HW95. My 95 averages 17 FPE with H&N FTT 14.66 gr .22 after 4+ years. This rifle is accurate and sometimes I can shoot a 5 shot group for MOA at 25 yards but not always. This is off a table with bags. I believe that you will be pleased with the HW95 if that is your choice.

 

[jkingrph]

If I were choosing one for "heirloom quality" I would go for an AirArms TX200 or Prosport with walnut stock. For starters the metal finish is much better than HW and the walnut stocks I got on my two AA guns are excellent, the Prosport, very nict but the TX200 absolutely spectacular.

I am liking my Feinwerkbau sport, although they did not make many and are discontinued. If you want to go vintage, look at a Feinwerkbau 300, truly a classic match grade springer, I am in the process of restoring a FWB 602 meistergrade, a single stroke pneumatic rifle, Stock on it is a extremely pretty piece of walnut, a lot of tiger stripe and some flame grain in the underside of the forearm.

I do have two of the late model HW35e rifles, and like everyone says they are heavy, the Walnut they use is nice. Also a walnut stocked HW 95, but the wood is rather plain so I would not call any of them heirloom

I also have a HW 77 with an aftermarket walnut Tyrolean style stock by Custom Stock, The rifle is equipped with a globe front sight and an Anschutz diopter rear sight and is absoltely fantastic to shoot and nice on the eye.

 

[Vana2]

Weihrauch makes really fine airguns, I have a R7/HW30 in .177 and a HW50 in .22.

If hunting squirrels and rabbits, I'd recommend one of the larger Weihrauchs in .22 caliber.

.22 pellets are a bit more expensive than the .177 but have the advantage of being easier to handle and transfering energy better. The trajectory is slightly more pronounced but would not be a problem at sub 25 yard ranges.

For tins and general plinking the HW30 is great in .177 and underpowered in .22 caliber.

Cheers!

 

[boscoebrea]

--Without reading others' comments, I have ALL those springers; without a doubt, my best is my .20 R-9,then a HW97 or 77,then the HW50....I would most always take .22 over .177. why=big fingers, bigger holes and I care more about hard-hitting than say penetration.
Now, with a less powerful rifle, .177 may be the way to go.
So then HW 95 or R-9,in.22 , check out the big HW97 also,it is a bigger springer,but a great one.

 

[EMrider]

Thanks for your comments...
Let me throw another question into the mix. I've heard some spring-gun hunters recommend the .22 over the .177 for game.
But the velocity goes way down with the .22. Any thoughts on this?

I prefer the flatter trajectory of the .177 pellets as that helps with my accuracy when hunting. Out to 25 yards, the hw30s/R7 is a capable hunter, and it is probably the most enjoyable can plinker of any spring gun. That said, my favorite springer is the hw50 in .177. More powerful than the hw30, and lighter than the hw95. It is hard to make a bad choice between the hw30, hw50 or hw95, and you'll likely end up owning more than one gun, so don't over-think the decision.
R

 

[Sawney Bean]

The thing to keep in mind about the Beemans is that most are not particularly high quality guns anymore. The R series are made by Weihrauch or HW and are excellent, while most of the others are lower end Chinese guns. Beeman was always an import company that mostly rebranded other companies products as its own, but back when Robert Beeman ran it he was pretty particular about what he would put his name on. That hasn't been the case for a long time now, though.

 

[maxtrouble]

I love everyones reply. I got my HW30s from Krale, No Tax just shipping about 4 months ago now. Took 4 days to St Louis. So the Beeman R7
The HW 95/R9 Series, that would be a fine Hunting rifle. However the 50s is lighter and more of a hunting gun than the HW 30. I'm going with the HW 57 next. Good luck, it's going to be a good one no matter what you decide.

ALL STOP. I do not recommend the HW57. It looks awesome. Great concept. Shiiite for accuracy. I could not get a decent group at 30 yards let alone 50 yards. Tried every pellet in .177 that I had and then some. The poppet is the weak spot in the rifle. The pellet has to jump from the poppet to the barrel and has a horrible success rate of making it. There goes all the accuracy. The ONLY Weihrauch rifle I do not recommend.

Best all around Weihrauch rifle is the HW95 in .22. The true "Goldilock" of the lineup. Loves the H&N Field Target Trophies 553 head size pellets. Will shoot CPHP's in a pinch. Accurate and reliable power. All day shooter. Iron sights are very impressive out of the box accuracy and customization is impressive. Dead nuts accurate at 35 yards from factory.

 

[thumper]

As has been said, Weihrauch and Beeman are the same guns. I'm either, you'll likely find better accuracy and the gun to be MUCH less pellet picky in .177 vs .22 caliber.

Weihrauch barrels in .22 tend to be oversized and can be pretty bad to useless in my experience.

If you're only going to have one, get the 95/R9 in .177 and it will do anything you want to do.

The only reason to buy a Diana is if you don't have the cash for the Weihrauch. There is no advantage other than price.