New HW35 v Old HW35

[Andy W]

I hope someone can throw some light on this for me.....
I have an old HW35 and I understand that these guns, although marketed as having full 12ft lb power levels in the late '70s & early '80s, were actually 10.5 to 11ft lb guns on a good day. This being a limitation of the design (I understand that the transfer port is rather long and that the swept volume is only just big enough for this sort of power level).
However, I notice that the HW35 is still in the Weihrauch range and it's advertised as having 12ft lbs power. Now, is this the marketing chaps streching it a bit again or have ther been some revisions to the design?

Andy W.

[5thplaceron]

Hi Andy,the diference is most likely that the older ones had leather piston seals ,which varied from good to bad,the more modern rifles use a good quaility plastic ,which can be moulded to size,and they do not need oil to keep them supple,leather unless kept oiled would dry out, and to much would cause violent desieling ,and velocity going up and down like a yo yo ,hope this helps,Ron.

[I. J.]

Point of interest ? An Airgun World pellet test by Rod Lynton & Adam Whaley (dated March 1980) state that the HW35 (.22 std) did 11.96 ft.lbs with RWS Hobby and 9.88 ft.lbs with Wasp.

[Andy W]

Hi Ron,
I thought that maybe that was the reason. However, a few years back I changed my old leather headed piston for the newer synthetic piston and put a nice new piston head on it and changed the spring. It kicked like a mule, truely hateful! I put the old spring back in and it is much better now so the replacement spring wasn't well matched to the gun. That said, I still think that it shot sweeter with the old leather washer. Unfortunately I've mis-placed the old piston so I can't re-fit it and compare it. I'm not sure exactly what power level it's running at because I don't have a chrono but from experience I'd say less than 11ft lbs and not half refined enough for my liking. Maybe I should just buy a stage 1 kit from Venom and see what that does.

Andy W

[Hsing-ee]

My 35E was very consistent with a properly lubricated leather washer (soaked in Abbey silicone oil, then given a smear of SM50 before reassembly). It did about 10.5 with .177 H&Ns. I tried a PTFE washer but it bottomed out horribly.

They were not always at 12 ft/lbs even in .22, but some of them were either by chance or with a bit of tweaking and the right pellet. Mind you, the HW80 was rarely at 12 ft/lbs either when it first came out - getting it DOWN to 12 was the tuner's problem.

The 35 and the Feinwerkbau Sport were the top-quality rifles of their time, comparable with good quality firearms. The FWB was generally more powerful, as was the BSF series, than the 35, but the Weihrauch had that brilliant Rekord trigger, lovely walnut stocks, accuracy and were very easy to strip and maintain. You also have to remember that when the 35 made it's reputation very few people would put a scope on an air-rifle, and it was a great tool with the iron sights. There was a guy at the Thame Air Rifle Club, called Aubrey, who could hit any of the FT targets in the kill zone out to 45 yards time after time (this is before people used anything other than standard hunting springers) using the 'U' notch and small bead on his HW35. But he had been using that rifle for about 20 years and it was almost instinctive shooting.

They are great guns, although I am a bit suprised they still sell them seeing as the other HWs more or less cover what they do anyway.

[manxteddy]

Sold mine to BAR as part of an exchange.HW35E and it was doing 10 ftb with AAField .177 .,8.44 weight.
Spot on for accuracy , regret selling the old girl ,now want another rifle with open sights.
Graham

[I. J.]

Originally posted by manxteddy
Sold mine to BAR as part of an exchange. regret selling the old girl ,
Graham

They have an early (13mm scope rail) HW35E .177 in now.