Crosman 2240 or HW45

[macmerc]

Hi, have been thinking of buying a pistol for garden plinking and close range ratting, have narrowed it down to the two above pistols, while I realise the HW is probably the better quality pistol I do like the Crosman for its recoilless action and is so much cheaper. Anybody have any thoughts on this and which would be the more accurate.

[Bazmati2020]

Not specifically on accuracy, but for the garden do you need it quiet? A 2240 can have a silencer, can a hw45

[Starblood]

Shouldn't this thread be called - three 2240s or just one HW45

The 2240 is an awesome pistol, no cocking required - easy to strip and customise. the HW45, in all round terms, is one of the finest air pistols ever made.

[droid]

For the same money as a HW45 you can upgrade the 2240 to your specific requirements. You can't really beat the personalisation that is possible with the 2240s.

HW45s are excellent pistols but take a little getting used to.

[clarky]

For the same money as a HW45 you can upgrade the 2240 to your specific requirements. You can't really beat the personalisation that is possible with the 2240s.

HW45s are excellent pistols but take a little getting used to.

I wouldnt hesitate really. HW45. Its true that there are lots of little mods you can do to the 2240, inparticularly chucking out that horrid plastic breech for one of the all metal custom jobbies but you will never escape the ease of use a Springer brings. Absolute nuisance running out of Co2 bulbs.....youll soon get tired of it. Also the promised 5.5ftlbs can turn out to be optimistic at best on cold days. Recent weather sees these things doing barely better than 3.5ftlbs and even less in .177.
You can plink all day long with your 45 at 5ftlbs regardless of weather.
Also with the 2240 ....what they do not tell you is where you are with your shot count when taking aim at the rat that presents. They dont tend to wait until you have a fresh bulb in with 2 shots through it (for the ideal in accuracy/power terms) Remember the tail off of gas after your 40 shots or so. Losing a good 1ftlb to temp or shot count isnt fair on the Rat.

[droid]

I wouldnt hesitate really. HW45. Its true that there are lots of little mods you can do to the 2240, inparticularly chucking out that horrid plastic breech for one of the all metal custom jobbies but you will never escape the ease of use a Springer brings. Absolute nuisance running out of Co2 bulbs.....youll soon get tired of it. Also the promised 5.5ftlbs can turn out to be optimistic at best on cold days. Recent weather sees these things doing barely better than 3.5ftlbs and even less in .177.
You can plink all day long with your 45 at 5ftlbs regardless of weather.
Also with the 2240 ....what they do not tell you is where you are with your shot count when taking aim at the rat that presents. They dont tend to wait until you have a fresh bulb in with 2 shots through it (for the ideal in accuracy/power terms) Remember the tail off of gas after your 40 shots or so. Losing a good 1ftlb to temp or shot count isnt fair on the Rat.

That's fine as long as you can shoot a HW45 accurately and there is also a little more to 2240s that you can do than a few little mods. Is any pistol fair on rats ?

[gingernut]

No -that's why they make the Ratcatcher.

[clarky]

That's fine as long as you can shoot a HW45 accurately and there is also a little more to 2240s that you can do than a few little mods. Is any pistol fair on rats ?

To be fair i was not suggesting any pistol was fair on rats. You cant beat 3 holding points!
Its simply that our cold weather has such a dramatic effect on the otherwise excellent variety of Gas pistols..
As regard 45s.....i can happily kill zone all day long at about 12 yds. Couldnt really recommend much further out.
Of course if you want to start discussing ultra modded 2240s...or rather stocked semi 2250s... being more accurate, then sure.

[macmerc]

Thanks for all the comments so far and definitely plenty of food for thought so far.
I seem to be changing my mind daily, I was set on the HW45 but then discovered the Crosman and was swayed by the cost factor, but now reading all your comments it would appear the crosman is sensitive to temperature while the HW is slightly hold sensitive and as you all point out by the time you buy Co2 bulbs,silencer, wooden grips, and any other mods, you would be at or approaching the same cost as a HW45, I do like both guns they each have appeal,
I am a big fan of Weihrauch but still not sure which to buy yet, have also been reading and watching all the reviews on YouTube and looks like the HW45 does diesel a lot. Actually thinking about it most of my pistol shooting would take place shooting from inside the house out to the garden, so the temperature thing may not matter so much.
Oh well decisions decisions .
Probably end up with both .

[clarky]

Been using 45s for field target pistol side shoots. See the field target shooting section on here. They need to be run virtually dry, or go for Nylon guide rods and run them totally dry. The cost of the Crosman with all those add one will be much more than a 45 if you shop around. Seen them decent s/h for sub 200 quid but some shops doing them fro 235 brand new. Ive seen steel breeches for crosmans at up like 40 to 50 odd quid. Trigger jobs/shoes..bulb costs etc....no brainer really

[blooregard]

The Crosman is nice and cheap, buy it now to scratch the itch and maybe move up to a HW45 after a bit.

I have both, the Crosman is what I am shooting a lot at the moment, the HW45 has not been out in a while. Both are great pistols but the Crosman is so much more accessible as a first pistol. If you do start buying pistols then you will end up with an HW45 eventually anyway.

I don't find the Crosman totally recoilless though, there is a distinct muzzle flip straight out of the box. Any mods that up the weight soon sort this out (though it might be psychological or bad form on my part).

[eyebull]

The Crosman is nice and cheap, buy it now to scratch the itch and maybe move up to a HW45 after a bit.

I have both, the Crosman is what I am shooting a lot at the moment, the HW45 has not been out in a while. Both are great pistols but the Crosman is so much more accessible as a first pistol. If you do start buying pistols then you will end up with an HW45 eventually anyway.

I don't find the Crosman totally recoilless though, there is a distinct muzzle flip straight out of the box. Any mods that up the weight soon sort this out (though it might be psychological or bad form on my part).

/\ This, they're not really in the same league but both have their charms.
Don't know what your situation is regarding neighbors, but the 2240 is LOUD. However you can put a mod on it easy enough. The HW45 is less obnoxious for back garden shooting, and as above the better pistol. You can spend well in excess of the price of a 2nd hand HW45 on buying and modding a 2240. I shudder to think what mine has cost me...
By all means if you like to tinker 2240s are great, an end in itself really, but as above I have not found them to be recoiless either - as well as the muzzle flip, the weighty hammer seems to play a part too. When modding mine I gained as much efficiency as possible elsewhere so that I could lighten the hammer spring. All a bit pointless now it's got a stock on it but hey ho
The famed hold sensitivity of the HW45 is much overstated IMO. As long as you don't hold it any-old-how, they are not difficult to shoot.

[clarky]

/\ This, they're not really in the same league but both have their charms.
Don't know what your situation is regarding neighbors, but the 2240 is LOUD. However you can put a mod on it easy enough. The HW45 is less obnoxious for back garden shooting, and as above the better pistol. You can spend well in excess of the price of a 2nd hand HW45 on buying and modding a 2240. I shudder to think what mine has cost me...
By all means if you like to tinker 2240s are great, an end in itself really, but as above I have not found them to be recoiless either - as well as the muzzle flip, the weighty hammer seems to play a part too. When modding mine I gained as much efficiency as possible elsewhere so that I could lighten the hammer spring. All a bit pointless now it's got a stock on it but hey ho
The famed hold sensitivity of the HW45 is much overstated IMO. As long as you don't hold it any-old-how, they are not difficult to shoot.

Good comment, pretty much agreeing with my own findings. All things being equal the 2240 should be a lot better on paper but it just does not stack out that way. Effects creep in that you have no control over during a given shooting session. Cooling from gas shot after gas shot....daily air temperature fluctuation altering vel by upto 2ftlbs at extremes and gas running down when your not always expecting it.
Sort the 45 dieseling issue out and you have control

[TonyL]

I own both.
Love them both for different reasons.
If I had to choose just the one, however, it would be the HW45.
Findings / experiences as above.

Tough one, isn't it?........Buy both!!