Weihrauch HW 97 K T Synthetic Stainless, newly arrived

[hendrickotto]

THE WEIHRAUCH HW 97 K T SYNTHETIC NICKEL, A REVIEW.

A few days ago I was offered a 97 KT Synthetic Stainless of, as described by the seller, only two months old and that had been fired for about 50 shots only. It was in
.177 and it came complete with nice double screw two-piece mounts that carried a Chinese FM scope of 4-16 x 44 specification, and in a nice Weihrauch rifle bag.
Having a regularly blued 97 K in a laminated blue stock, my curiosity for a “stainless” version in the latest synthetic thumbhole stock was older than yesterday.
I was delighted that Weihrauch finally had decided to add synthetic stocks to its line and on pictures its nickel finish also looked quite good.

I figured it would be well worth the trouble of a 50 miles detour, driving to relatives that same day.
It looked certainly very well kept and cocking its action told me it was almost new.
So did its obligatory bark, although this was more moderate than that of my blue laminate gun.
The trigger was very heavy and had to take quite a few turns out in order to become manageable.
The matte, nickel finish on this one had a kind of yellowish sheen to it. In full sun light, it does not seem to be a big help in drawing the attention from search-and-rescue planes, so to speak. It would probably not alarm quarry very much, although much more so than its blue finish brothers. The metal and machining was impeccable and so was the stock. Only the synthetic O-ring protecting the cocking handle on latching home into its catch was absent.
At first sight, there was very little bad news to catch my eye.
Balance was not too much forward, although the butt stock is hollow, lighter and 10 mm shorter than on the wood stock version with pistol grip. With my present scope set-up the balancing point is about 10 cm in front of the trigger guard. Length of pull is only scanty, at 35 cm and it would easily accomodate fatter pads.

Since its action finish and synthetic stock would make it particularly fit for Hunter Field Target work, I never understood why HW did not fit the same adjustable butt pad that they chose to fit on the wooden stock thumb hole version. Asking about this, they even had to inform me that neither the OEM pad of the 97 KT wood version, nor that of the HW 98 break barrel, would fit the synthetic stock. Apparently its holes are not lined up with those on the pad assemblies mentioned. While I'm at it, maybe the butt stock configuration would have enabled Weirauch to incorporate an adjustable cheek piece, just like on the HW 98 break barrel. But this is based on the logic that the nickel finish and synthetic stock makes the gun especially fit for FT or HFT work.

However, we have to make do with what is offered, so let's concentrate on what is in front of us. Since it is the stock what really set it apart from the base rifle, we will primarily deal with the new stock here. Although its thumb hole is very big and the pistol grip is not very upright, handling is good.
The finger grooves are fine for leading the trigger finger straight onto its working place and the groove on the opposite side does not obstruct the thumb. Inherent in its ambidextrous design, this often is a problem, since trigger finger and thumb groove normally are required to be different in shape. But to me this stock poses no such problems.


I like to shoot with my thumb in the upward position and although there is no scalloping for a thumb shelf, it is possible to put the thumb upwards and along the top strap of the thumb hole, or in the curved area on top. The thickness of the material here would certainly have accomodated two (ambidextrous) thumb shelves without weakening the stock. The butt and cheek piece have smooth, flowing lines and the whole is quite ergonomic, its profiling edges never catching the face or hands anywhere. Of course, there is no way around putting the shooting hand over the stock to release the safety, unless you are a left hander. The synthetic stock material is nice to the touch, a bit soft or even elastic but not spongy. The checkered panel give a good grip. Its edges, also at the cocking lever slot, and the inletting for the stock screws are cut a bit sharply, but thanks to the material used these edges do not bite. These areas do tend to bite your fingers on wooden stocks, I find. The hole for the rear, smaller stock screw does catch the middle finger a bit when moving the shooting hand around. But generally the stock feels very pleasant to the touch. The cheek piece itself is very skin-friendly and comfortable. The rear edge of the thumb hole is nicely curved and thick, enabling a good hold of this heavy gun at the half-ready, off - trigger, 45 degree downwards, position. This is a sort of waiting position I use with the three smaller fingers in the hole and the thumb and trigger finger stabilizing the gun, ready to move towards the grip.

The grip could do with some fatter palm swell, without compromising the ambidextrous use, I think. The top strap of the thumb hole is very fat and invites you to use it as a lifting point of the gun. This comes in handy, since my set-up weighs around 11 pouns in its present configuration. The bottom strap is very thin and the grip itself could do with some flaring outwards at the bottom where it joins the strap.
The base of the grip could also do with a flared out shape all around. The medium large trigger hand just floats a bitt too much free from the grip. It reminds me too much of the standard M16/ M 4 grip, although the trigger finger lines up with the trigger much better here. Shooting from the bench, my trigger finger makes a bit of an outward curve when it is on the trigger, suggesting that the groove could be a bit deeper.
A very positive point is that because of the scalloping of the trigger guard area, I can stretch my trigger finger easily forwards, in the safe position. A nice curve on the back strap of the grip would improve things considerably and even a groove at the front strap to support the middle finger would be nice. Trigger reach is fine for me. The butt comb is all right, but could be a bit higher. After all, this is a scope-only rifle. Many combs for scoped - only use still are lower than the top edges of the fore end, while they should be just a bit higher. The bottom of the butt is very wide and grippy when shooting from bags, with the non – shooting hand reaching to the rear to support the toe area. The pistol grip is not very deep, but still easily touches the bench or rear bags that support the gun, which is bad for a spring rifle's accuracy.

The butt pad is not curved, unlike the other 97 KT versions, and this takes some getting used to.
On shouldering it also sounds a bit hollow and cheapy.
I find that Weihrauch should really install the adjustable version that the wooden stock carries. This would at the same time alter the balance, because this stock is again shorter than its predecessors, by 10 mm. This forces you to move the scope more forward for getting the right eye relief, which again moves the balancing point even more forward. I find that making the butt stock out of solid material would probably have resulted in better balance. No doubt fitting a heavier (custom) adjustable pad would also have a beneficial effect on balance. Since the butt stock is hollow, the user may opt to weigh it down with some filling. Filling material could also be chosen such as to damp out shot cycle sounds.

Generally, the moulding seams are visible and at some places they can be felt, but they are not disturbing, neither to the eye, nor to the touch.
Unfortunately, HW follows the trend towards slimmer fore ends like the latest Air Arms stocks, but on this gun it does not bother me too much. The fore end is narrow and undeep, more so than the standard 97 K wooden stock with pistol grip. This makes it of course less stable in the over-the-arm postion and on bags. I am glad to have the synthetic version of the new model stock, in view of the very narrow strips of material at the sides of the cocking slot, because the wooden stocks are very vulnerable at this area. Probably the synthetic material is much more flexible and resistant to pressure and breaking. I will try this out, pinching it when the rifle is out of the stock.
Also, the shape of the butt is such that the non-shooting hand had difficulty in finding a spot to grip it for stabilisation. Strangely enough, in the over-the-arm position, I could fit my left hand thumb inside the thumb hole, on its rear strap, though. Deep and short as it is, the butt does not seem to be the best “bag rider”, either.

I do have a few suggestions as to the butt stock. It would be nice if it would be lengthened by 10mm and if the bottom, in front of the toe, be fitted with a sort of curved bulge or a scalloping resulting in a sort of “hook”, to grip when shooting from bags. The inside of the butt where the pad is should be made compatible with the fitting of one of HW's adjustable butt pads. I think you would agree that this would seem to be a fully reasonable marketing and standardization policy. Fitting a sling swivel stud or a tapped aluminium insert at the heel would be another point.

The present butt stock layout is at least very characteristic, incorporating a typically German “hump back” cheek piece, reminiscent of the hog back configuration of many German hunting stocks. It seems Diana are following suit with some of its later thumb hole models. Not very pleasing to everyone's eye, but far from impractical. The fore end could also do with finger grooves at the top edges, forming a sort of wider, beaver tail. The factory layout makes the KTS version very much a hunter-only carbine, with some possible use in HFT competition.

A word on the gun's action here. Since it is the same on all other 97 's it is not my main point of attention here since it was described very extensively by me and elsewhere, so we won' t use too many words.
Its new finish looks nice and matte, contrasting with the blued muzzle piece/ moderator and the black stock. Comparing this pre-owned gun with other 97 K's, this action felt very new. Nevertheless, it was a bit less harsh, loud and dieseling than others that I have shot. Not the big fumes produced by new guns that I encountered before. The trigger is still a bit rougher than on early rifles of the 77/97 class. Function of the safety catch is perfect, with just enough resistance and silence on disengaging.
The cocking lever was well aligned and did not have side play. It latched and unlatched nicely.

A great relief was that using the scope I first mounted on this gun, there was no sign of barrel droop or other mis-alignment of the mounting dove tails and (or relative to) the barrel. The scope did not need any excessive adjustment of the knobs nor any shimming and the standard two-piece mount just worked fine.
My first session on the range was to zero the scope and adjust the trigger. Preliminary accuracy testing results were some groups with H & N FTT pellets, giving one-hole groups for 3 shots at 25 meters, indoors. By the way, FTT pellets gave a very tight fit in the breech. Geco Match pellets went into one hole.
Off course, more accuracy testing has to follow.

It seems that Weihrauch are flirting with the sub-100 cm total length for its carbines but just does not get there. Since there are different butt stock layouts for the same model 97 series, it might be a thing to consider to shorten the barrel by 5 cm, in order to keep all different stock versions below the 100 cm total length mark, at around 97 to 98 cm. This would not make it too short to cock the rifles with undue force, certainly when they are below the 12 fpe limit and when fitted with a cocking aid on the cocking lever. Since 25 cm of barrel length (compared to the factory 30 cm) does yield all power in spring piston rifles as demonstrated in the AirArms TX 200 Hunter Carbine, it would make the 97 even more versatile than it is already. This would also improve its balance. In this connection, remember that all balance variations could be fine-tuned by filling out the butt.

Talking about aesthetics, many find this new HW 97 version outright, litterally “butt ugly”, or, as you like, “hog” ugly. To some the nickel finish would only be pearls before swine. This however does not do the functionality of the hump back full justice.
For me, I think I will get used to it over time without a problem.

For future moments of a more conservative mood, I plan to try it in a very nice Blue Laminate 97 K factory stock that I recently refinished with a double coat of composite clear finish.
Notwithstanding my personal comments on the new TH stock layout, for a mass market product I think it is a real success.


Summary of review points

General impressions


general aesthetics: different, but nice and very catchy

fit and finish: very good

metal to wood/stock: very good, a small gap at the action end cap

metal polish and finish: good

anodized parts: good

muzzle finish + configuration: very good

light reflections: not too bright

corners, edges and beveled surfaces: nicely finished

screws and fasteners used: slotted and unfortunately, no hex /Allen screws

sounds/noises on handling: acceptable


handling and stock


ambidextrous stock: fully ambi

chequering, stippling: very effective

palm swell: none

thumb shelf: no

thickness of butt: nice

cheek piece: well shaped ergonomically, smooth low/high surfaces transitions

comb shape: very typical and effective

comb hight: about right

butt pad: should be improved

shouldering: OK

standing position: very well suited

grip fit: acceptable

grip angle: a bit flat

trigger reach and fit: a bit short

hand palm fit: a bit loose

palm swell: none, could be better

trigger finger groove: OK

thumb groove : none

fore end depth and width: is shallow and very slim

any finger grooves: yes, are OK

fore hand fit and grip: is OK

cocking slot: not beveled at the sides but do note bite

weight and balance: not very heavy, feels lighter than actual

balance could be more neutral, more towards the trigger guard.

tilt and cant: no problems detected

grip on shoulder: not very positive

quickness to shoulder: OK

anti slip: could be better at butt pad

muzzle heavy: a bit

pointability: good

stays on target: yes

eye alignment: depends on type of scope and mounts, but no problems encountered

stock material: pleasant to the touch, comfortable

sling swivel studs: none

stock finish: is nice

stock grippyness: is good

stock sounds: a bit hollow

stock solid/ heavy: no flex, does not seem heavy

solid or hollow: medium, butt is hollow

hollowness and empty sound/hollow ringing on shot: not disturbing


handling in three positions and FT position: not tested..... ?


handling on bags from the bench: a bit difficult


handling on upward and downward shots: OK


mounting a scope

any droop compensation needed: no

any scope mount stops: 3 stop holes on action


Action

cocking: good

trigger:good

safety: good

spring twang: yes, but acceptable on new gun

action cycle smoothness: less acceptable

action quickness: moderate

recoil: harsh, as typical for new HWs

dieseling: not too harsh

mount and scope used: FM 4-16 x 44

rails / dovetails: good

scope alignment: good

cant or droop: none detected

scope adjustment 10 yards optical center test: positive

[usal]

very informative review.

Looking at the getting the HW 97KT myself, though still unsure if the prosport is the way to go..

[lucky trigger]

Very good review. Im a powder burner shooter mainly but still enjoy shooting airrifles and really like the look of the 97 KT..

[Microtia]

As above I am a dyed in the wool powder burner user.

I bought a synthetic stainless KT in 22 recently. Utterly superb.
Just collected a special order 177 stainless in the wood KT stock. Equally excellent, both make 11.7ft lb out of the box, able to hit drawing pins at 35 yds without trouble. Very pretty.

I also have a 177 prosport which has recently been back to AA as it disappointed in terms of ME and accuracy.
They gave it a complete internal refit at a very reasonable price as it had been like that from new a couple of years ago. It is now similarly superb, a bit smoother than the HWs to shoot, but very little in it.

Finally also have a 77k in 177, bought from new. Same story.

They are a great pleasure to use. I am in the process of testing them for group size on the range out to 61yds. That will be extremely interesting (or sad if this is not your thing). Luckily the 177s all like JSB exacts. Have a couple of PCPs which are of course wonderful, but there is something about getting great accuracy out of a finely engineered springer which fascinates me..