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Thread: Rutten Winstar HS550 Pistol - First Impressions

  1. #1
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    Rutten Winstar HS550 Pistol - First Impressions

    My friends on here know that I have been after one of these pistols for a long time. I just missed buying one new back in the late 1990s when they were on sale, left it a little late only to find that the importers had stopped handling them. Then I found that Rutten had quit manufacturing airguns altogether, so I've been looking ever since for a second-hand one. I really liked the look of the pistol, it seemed like an updated, developed and improved Webley Hurricane, with more power.

    I'd read a couple of reviews that were quite complimentary, although these pistols were quite expensive. I seem to remember that they went for £160 new, which was a fair bit, probably around what HW45s went for in those days.

    The format of the pistol is a lot like a Webley Hurricane. It's an overlever design, with a sprung sleeve on the barrel that locks into place under a pair of steel teeth, rather than a stirrup like the Webley. The barrel lock works well, it seals well and clicks shut positively. The ribs on the sleeve feel a little sharp, but other than that the bluing and finish is generally very good. Another departure from the Webley is that the Rutten has a cocking link either side of the barrel rather than a single link that resides between the barrel and the cylinder. This design seems more robust and although there are two links, it is simpler as the links are not articulated. It also means that the barrel and cylinder are closer together than on the Webley design, and in turn, the transfer port must be correspondingly shorter, probably one of the factors that helps these pistols develop more power. The "550" in the name is a reference to the power. Rutten reckoned that these pistols will chuck an average pellet at about 550 feet per second. The links between the barrel and cylinder are nice, thick metal and should last almost indefinitely with reasonable lubrication. They're triangular in profile so that when the barrel is shut they hide the slots in the cylinder sides, which helps the pistol look neat and tidy. Slightly disconcertingly the barrel goes "over centre" if you continue past the point where the sear engages. The pins that connect the cocking links to the piston contact the ends of the cocking slots as the barrel reaches the end of its travel, not enough for you to feel that the pistol is being damaged or strained in any way, but it does feel disconcerting. With a little practise thought, it's easy to listen for the sear engaging and stop moving the barrel at that point.

    The spring looks to be a typical gauge of wire for a pistol, and the cylinder seems surprisingly narrow for a pistol this powerful. I haven't measured it but I'm sure that it's narrower than a Webley Tempest or Hurricane cylinder.

    Firing the pistol is a pleasure. It's a medium weight pistol, the wood grip and finger notch on the frame are comfortable and seem ergonomic. The sight picture is good (it has a proper all-metal adjustable rearsight) and the pistol balances well in the hand. On my pistol, there is a little bit of creep on the trigger but the let-off is predictable and clean. The firing cycle is very nice. There's some recoil, but the lock time seems very short. There's no excessive noise and it feels smooth. Despite pistol feeling quiet, the power is there. It's noticeable in the way that the pellets seem to hit the target very soon after the trigger breaks. It's clean and snappy. The safety catch works well and feels nice and positive. It's automatic, comes on by itself as the pistol is cocked and can't be set when the pistol's uncocked.

    Though I only time for a quick plink in the back garden last night as the light was beginning to fade, it does seem accurate. I managed a reasonable group on the paper target with some old and slightly oxidised Meisterkugeln flatheads, and was able to hit the pendulum targets in the Gamo box target almost every time.

    So, despite the fact that it's taken me seventeen years or so to finally get my hands on one of these, I'm not disappointed. I'm well pleased with this pistol and genuinely at a loss to explain why they weren't more popular when they were originally sold, unless they were more expensive than I remember. I'm really happy to add this to my collection.

    Pros:
    Overlever format
    modern design, compact for a powerful pistol
    Looks good (certainly better looking than the HW45 by a long shot!)
    Seems high quality
    good finish
    Seems robust and built to last
    Accurate
    Fun to shoot

    Cons
    Barrel goes over centre on cocking if you're not careful
    Automatic safety

  2. #2
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    Sounds good, Rob. Couple of pics of a Winstar...

    Please forward some more pics when you have time.
    Vintage Airguns Gallery
    ..Above link posted with permission from Gareth W-B
    In British slang an anorak is a person who has a very strong interest in niche subjects.

  3. #3
    harvey_s's Avatar
    harvey_s is offline Lost love child of David Niven and Victoria Beckham
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    Quite a find and thanks for sharing
    It'll be interesting to see what it manages over a chrono and whether it lives up to its '550' moniker...

    Out of interest where did you find it in the end?

  4. #4
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    It was on Egun, a friend that knew I was looking out for one told me. I had a job creating an account on Egun but managed it in the end and bid on it.

    It might be a while before I can chrono it, I do have a chrono but am very busy at the moment.

  5. #5
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    Hi Rob,

    I believe the 550 is rarer than the 500, but as you are fully aware both are pretty thin on the ground. According to the John Griffiths encyclopedia. the 550 does fall short of the 550 fps suggested in the name, but still goes quite a bit faster than the Hurricane.

    Regards

    Brian

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