Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: HW45 Silver Star

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Sheffield
    Posts
    424

    Cool HW45 Silver Star

    Hi All,

    After 6 months of fairly intensive use, the time has come to post a review of my HW45 Silver Star.

    Initial Impressions

    I had long been itching for a new pistol, and a good couple of months at work left me with no excuse not to take the plunge. I spent countless hours shooting a standard HW45 before uni brought an abrupt end to my shooting, and decided that I’d get another one new. But which one? Initially I was set on a Black Star and thought the Silver Star looked a bit like a toy, but seeing them both in the flesh settled it instantly. The chrome trim on the Black Star looked a bit tacky to me, and the Silver Star’s beautiful, slightly speckled finish obscures the massive and rather irritating Weihrauch safety warning well. It really does ooze quality throughout.

    The laminated grip really makes a difference in terms of comfort and stability over the standard model, but it’s pretty big. I’m 5ft 10in and certainly wouldn’t want it to be any bigger. I was never a fan of fibre optic open sights, but I must say that the HW45’s are outstanding and really help with precise sighting in the low light of a British winter or under an energy-saving bulb.

    My example is a .22. Normally I’d say .177 all the way for an air pistol, but I feel that the HW45 is an exception to this rule. In the past I had barrels for both calibres, and from the same gun the .22 was noticeably less snappy to shoot. Thankfully it absolutely loves RWS Hobby and, as they’re only around £7 for 500, ammo costs aren’t a major concern.

    Accuracy

    With practice, this is an extremely accurate and, more importantly, rewarding pistol to shoot. I have put around 4,000 pellets through it now, and it has calmed down significantly since it was new. I only have an 8.5m indoor range (and a tolerant girlfriend!) at my disposal, and off hand can put 5 pellets into less than an inch at this distance ad nauseum. On a good day my average group size can approach 0.5 inches, which I’m pretty pleased with for a .22 springer. As well as paper, I use a resetting magnetic target gallery to mix things up a bit.

    A major contributor to this pistol’s inherent accuracy is the trigger, which is superb out of the box and even better when set up correctly. Mine is set as light as I dare and breaks very cleanly, with no creep at all.

    As for technique, I’ve read many a forum post that claims that this, that or the other hold is best for the HW45. Most often you’ll hear that you should adopt a loose grip, to allow the pistol to recoil. I’m not sure that this is good advice - the best hold is the one that you naturally use when you first start shooting, as you’ll reproduce it more consistently. For me, this is very firm indeed, and as mentioned I can cut some pretty decent groups with it. I'm right-handed and stick the thumb of my left hand straight up against the 'slide' to aid stability. I only ever shoot it on full power

    Power

    This has always been billed as a powerful pistol, but recently I’ve read about a few underpowered examples producing nearer 4-4.5ft/lbs. This certainly isn’t the case with mine, which was pretty bloody close to the limit out of the box. Now it’s fully run-in and the factory lubricant has burnt off, the output has come down a bit to an average of 453fps (5.42ft/lbs) with 11.9gr Hobbies, with an impressive spread of just 8fps over 10 shots. The dealer I bought it from said that he’d never seen one under 5ft/lbs, but I suppose many examples diesel profusely when new.

    Conclusions

    I am delighted with my purchase, and wholeheartedly recommend the Silver Star to anyone looking for a powerful, self-contained and refined sporting pistol. It’s well made, (relatively) quiet, a pleasure to use and, with practice, surprisingly accurate. More importantly it feels alive and, for me, is far more fun to shoot than a recoilless pistol such as the HW40PCA. If you enjoy shooting springer pistols you simply have to get one, and make it a .22!

    I nearly forgot…when it comes to care you shouldn’t wipe an oily rag over any of the HW45 variants - it will affect the anodised finish. You might get away with it if everywhere gets the same amount of oil and the finish is degraded evenly, but you’re much more likely to get a slightly blotchy look. A fellow scientist (clarky) has also posted about this recently, and he is absolutely right. Use a clean, oil-free cloth.

    Jon

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    aberdare s wales
    Posts
    3,598
    Nice review, 100% agree the 45 is a quality item, but it is an HW after all. Mines a standard 45 but I allso have the shoulder stock and higher front sight unit which makes a great close range plinker. Mines in .177 and allso have a spare .20 barel, very accurate and a delight to use.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    kendal
    Posts
    1,068

    Silverstar

    Mine is .177 and love it hardly use it though.with a scope accurate range is impressive.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Sheffield
    Posts
    424
    Thanks for the feedback chaps. Would love to try .20. Shame the shoulder stock doesn't fit the Star models

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Darwen, Lancashire
    Posts
    1,766
    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    Thanks for the feedback chaps. Would love to try .20. Shame the shoulder stock doesn't fit the Star models
    I would swap a .20 barrel for a .177 barrel if anyone was interested.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Barnsley
    Posts
    607
    Quote Originally Posted by Rampant Rapid View Post
    I would swap a .20 barrel for a .177 barrel if anyone was interested.
    I've got a mint .177 barrel that I would swap for a .20 if your interested drop me a pm

    Cheers
    Rob

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Derby
    Posts
    112
    The Silver Star has a paint finish it is NOT like the original black HW45, and be warned, the paint does not like certain oils, which will attack and dissolve the finish.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    grantham
    Posts
    1,504
    Had the std HW45 in .22 and chopped it in against a silverstar in .177. Much prefer the silverstar but preferred the .22 cal.
    They are really well made and shoot well but i can't hit the back end of a Rhino at 10m with it. Tim

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    mountainash, aberdare
    Posts
    1,824
    nice review, have the older model without the fibre optics in .177 and a spare .20 barell I use sometimes. A quality pistol.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •