N/A What is your "coolest" springer...?
- Thread starter Kragman1
- Start date
My all-time favorite airgun is Weihrauch's HW 55 target rifle. They've always seemed kinda cool to me, and I've collected them for many years. These four are from the model's early days: cast metal buttplates, short rear receiver sections, and solid steel sights. None of them have a Rekord trigger, which first came along in the late '50's. I don't believe they share any parts with the later 55's that we are more familiar with, from ARH and Beeman days.
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Love that DST Mike!!!! The rest make one of the best HW55 collections around. Thanks for sharing.
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Allot of cool air rifles in this thread, most very beautiful and many very rare, I own a few Weirauch rifles and a whole bunch of budget priced air guns, but my coolest (in my opinion is a very plain not so rare break barrel springer made by Crosman, it sports a plain Birchwood stock, but the bluing and finish on the rifle is excellent, it's a Vantage model in .177 cal.
I purchased the Vantage new a little over two years ago, the trigger was awful out of the box and the bundle scope was junk as is the case with most low priced air gun packages, I was able to modify the trigger from about seven pounds down to one pound four ounces, the barrel was cruddy from the factory but cleaned up well in short order.
The main reason for buying this rifle (I'm normally very picky about my choices) was that I view a video from one of my favorite U-Tubers at myairgunreviews by Kenny Kormondy, he called it a "Gem In The Rough", he usually sold the guns that he reviewed to keep his channel going, but this one was headed for his safe, A Keeper he said of it.
I was so impressed by his video that I found a deal on one at MidWayUSA for $99.00, Well Kenny wasn't far off the mark, the trigger was poor, the scope was junk, and after the trigger was smoothed out and a new optic installed my Crosman Vantage was a winner, after I got it sighted in my adult son and I were shooting on our back yard range at wooden match sticks and playing cards on edge at 35 yds., I was calling my shots and hitting them consistently, my son was shooting his favorite PCP rifle and I was giving him a run for his money, to say that he was impressed is an understatement.
Anyhow, that in my opinion is my coolest special air rifle, which proves to me that you can't always judge an air rifle by the name on it's box.
I purchased the Vantage new a little over two years ago, the trigger was awful out of the box and the bundle scope was junk as is the case with most low priced air gun packages, I was able to modify the trigger from about seven pounds down to one pound four ounces, the barrel was cruddy from the factory but cleaned up well in short order.
The main reason for buying this rifle (I'm normally very picky about my choices) was that I view a video from one of my favorite U-Tubers at myairgunreviews by Kenny Kormondy, he called it a "Gem In The Rough", he usually sold the guns that he reviewed to keep his channel going, but this one was headed for his safe, A Keeper he said of it.
I was so impressed by his video that I found a deal on one at MidWayUSA for $99.00, Well Kenny wasn't far off the mark, the trigger was poor, the scope was junk, and after the trigger was smoothed out and a new optic installed my Crosman Vantage was a winner, after I got it sighted in my adult son and I were shooting on our back yard range at wooden match sticks and playing cards on edge at 35 yds., I was calling my shots and hitting them consistently, my son was shooting his favorite PCP rifle and I was giving him a run for his money, to say that he was impressed is an understatement.
Anyhow, that in my opinion is my coolest special air rifle, which proves to me that you can't always judge an air rifle by the name on it's box.
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That is a nice one, keeper for sure. It would look good with a shrouded barrel as well, like the 98.
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He has some cool videos.Allot of cool air rifles in this thread, most very beautiful and many very rare, I own a few Weirauch rifles and a whole bunch of budget priced air guns, but my coolest (in my opinion is a very plain not so rare break barrel springer made by Crosman, it sports a plain Birchwood stock, but the bluing and finish on the rifle is excellent, it's a Vantage model in .177 cal.
I purchased the Vantage new a little over two years ago, the trigger was awful out of the box and the bundle scope was junk as is the case with most low priced air gun packages, I was able to modify the trigger from about seven pounds down to one pound four ounces, the barrel was cruddy from the factory but cleaned up well in short order.
The main reason for buying this rifle (I'm normally very picky about my choices) was that I view a video from one of my favorite U-Tubers at myairgunreviews by Kenny Kormondy, he called it a "Gem In The Rough", he usually sold the guns that he reviewed to keep his channel going, but this one was headed for his safe, A Keeper he said of it.
I was so impressed by his video that I found a deal on one at MidWayUSA for $99.00, Well Kenny wasn't far off the mark, the trigger was poor, the scope was junk, and after the trigger was smoothed out and a new optic installed my Crosman Vantage was a winner, after I got it sighted in my adult son and I were shooting on our back yard range at wooden match sticks and playing cards on edge at 35 yds., I was calling my shots and hitting them consistently, my son was shooting his favorite PCP rifle and I was giving him a run for his money, to say that he was impressed is an understatement.
Anyhow, that in my opinion is my coolest special air rifle, which proves to me that you can't always judge an air rifle by the name on it's box.
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He did, unfortunately Kenny passed away a couple of years ago from Cancer, he is sadly missed by his fans.
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I always wanted to try a gun with a double trigger, but never had the chance. I do have several with single set triggers, 3 CZ centerfire rifles, from .22 Hornet up to .375 H&H Mag. and 3 Ruger #1 single shots with Kepplinger set triggers.
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Both Weihrauch and Walther offered double-set triggers on their guns back in the day. The Walthers seem more common, I've only ever seen a few of the DST HW 55's.
The DST is a self-contained unit, really made for firearms but adapted for air rifles. It is entirely suppored by the stock, and has a hammer on top that flies up to strike an extended sear protruding down from the receiver. There is no permanent connection to the action - it's not an item you could have bought separately and stuck onto a standard gun.
On my HW 55 DST, the rear trigger is pulled back to set the front blade, which then becomes a true "hair trigger," firing the gun with a extremely light touch (these triggers were eventually banned for "official" competition). Some DST's are made so that the front trigger will work (with a heavier pull) without being set; but mine doesn't do that. The blades are solid steel with a case-hardened finish, and the trigger guard is different from any other 55 I have too.
Note how short the threaded-on rear section is on this gun (same as the other early HW 55's in my pics above). This was later lengthened to fit in an improved multi-lever standard trigger, and then later the famous Rekord. There were a few "long-block" guns made with DST's whicn were quite different in detail from the "short block" ones.
The DST is a self-contained unit, really made for firearms but adapted for air rifles. It is entirely suppored by the stock, and has a hammer on top that flies up to strike an extended sear protruding down from the receiver. There is no permanent connection to the action - it's not an item you could have bought separately and stuck onto a standard gun.
On my HW 55 DST, the rear trigger is pulled back to set the front blade, which then becomes a true "hair trigger," firing the gun with a extremely light touch (these triggers were eventually banned for "official" competition). Some DST's are made so that the front trigger will work (with a heavier pull) without being set; but mine doesn't do that. The blades are solid steel with a case-hardened finish, and the trigger guard is different from any other 55 I have too.
Note how short the threaded-on rear section is on this gun (same as the other early HW 55's in my pics above). This was later lengthened to fit in an improved multi-lever standard trigger, and then later the famous Rekord. There were a few "long-block" guns made with DST's whicn were quite different in detail from the "short block" ones.
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would love to shoot (have) a DST . i have a 55 plain jane which had a "broken lever " , later i figured out it was cut to clear the bell of a scope .
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This HW35 presafety standard from 1971 may not be the coolest, but was a prize at a shooting contest in Coburg, a German town. The fellow on the badge is Saint Mauritius, an African serving as commander of the Roman army stationed in the area, the patron saint of Coburg, and also of menstrual cramps.
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Maybe not the absolute coolest rifle ever, but that 35 is still oozing cool all over my screen!
Finger groove fore end, just the right amount of character, interesting provenance..... that rifle is ticking a lot of boxes in the cool column.
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For offhand shooting the DST is the cats meow. Set the rear and hair trigger front trigger when you roll into your X ring. Besides air rifles for over 50 years , I shoot Schuetzen for near 25 years. Use my Air rifles indoors in winter to practice. Heres a pic of a couple of my Schuetzen rifles. I will be making a Schuetzen style stock to put on my Thomas. I shoot my FWB 300 S Tyro mostly for indoors shooting.....A pic I showed earlir in this post
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Pulling the rear trigger "sets" the front one for a super-light release. Scroll up to post #111 just above for a more thorough description.
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Mike
That's about as good as description of a DST as one could want. Thank you yet again for your expertise.
Here's my LG55 DST Tyrolean. Got a great deal on this one on ebay.
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