webley hawke, how do they shoot?

[hwtyger]

Any experiences with the Webley Hawk. How do they shoot? Are they nice to shoot? Accurate?

[Unframed Dave]

In my experience, no.

Dave

[leetrenchard]

Still have my childhood Hawk mk2.

Mine seems harsh to fire and cannot get better accuracy than an inch at 20 yards.

Got some more work to do to it, harshness seems to be caused by metal piston hitting the inside of the tube coupled with poor sealing from ptfe piston rings.

Will try o rings in it sometime soon, bought a spare piston to mod and fit a parachute seal if o rings fail to tame it.

Trigger is also unpredictable and needs some fiddling!

[laverdabru]

Had one of these with the .177 & .22 barrels from nearly new. Had no end of hassle with it. Think it might have been an early transitional model. The stock broke at the pistol grip (replaced free by Webley) & the safety catch was anything but - the gun would fire when it was pushed off. Having said that, I had a similar fault (safety) with a brand new gun of German manufacture a couple of years back.
I don't dislike Webleys - I have 5 of their pistols from the '50's on, 3 rifles from '57 to '71, & another on the way. But I would be very careful with '70's Webleys.
It did have some good points, reasonably light, handled well & had nice - if fragile - micro adjustable 'click sights.
The Mk 1 was made from c. '71 to '74. Mk 2 from '74 to '77, these had the interchangeable barrel option, & the 3 till'79.

ATB

[PaulR]

I've got a Mk1 Hawk with both barrels. It is in good condition as far as the metalwork is concerned but when I got it the stock was an ugly light beige varnish finish (original).

I have refinished the stock with woodstain followed by Danish oil and the whole thing now looks very nice.

But using it - oh dear - this is not the best effort from Webley. I have a couple of Service MK2s, Vulcan, Eclipse, Mk3, Tracker, Ranger and Junior (rifle not pistol) and ALL of them even considering the age of the Mk2s and the simplicity of the Ranger and Junior shoot far better and feel much better made.

My Hawk is more of a static exhibit as it is so disappointing to shoot. I may be doing it a disservice and a good tune up/overhaul might help but, if I am honest, I just don't think it is worth it hence my "lowering the value" by refinishing the stock to at least make it look nice.

[WILBA]

Worse gun webley produced. I had a mk1 hawk with both barrels when i was 15. Stock broke at the pistol grip. Saftey catch was dangerous. Trigger pull was horrendous. Rear sight broke very easily. And the fronts were no better. A gun i would not touch again with a barge pole. Chris

[peddy]

My mk2 was my first rifle when I was 11 and I've just got round to making it shoot ok! Swopped front piston ring with an o ring, l
Machined reduced the pathetic Spring guide and made another longer one that sat in the stump that was left. Cut off the safety catch. Polished everything internally, relubed and tru oil finished the stock. Still wouldn't win any comps but it doesn't diesel anymore and is fairly accurate with super domes. It would be the last rifle I would ever sell!

[peddy]

If anyone has a .177 barrel I'd be interested in buying it!

[Artfull-Bodger]

If it's a mk3,

Vulcan, Victor, Excel barrels go straight on, if your not bothered about the barrel swapping they fit Mk2 as well, not tried it on a mk1.

The transfer port is 4mm, it's too big and needs sleeving to 2.5mm (as per Vulcan) or 3mm, it's a 25mm bore cylinder so a late model Tracker style piston seal can be used, those two changes transform the rifle.

[Hsing-ee]

It would be the last rifle I would ever sell!

Because no-one would want to buy it?

[peddy]

Because no-one would want to buy it?

That's why I put the ! At the end

[harry mac]

I've got "quite a few" Hawks. I love 'em for their character. I'm certain that the Hawk was the rifle that destroyed Webley's reputation and ultimately led to their demise.
Most of mine shoot well, but I've had ones in the past that are horrible to shoot, no matter what you do. Has it got a square section mainspring in it. If it has, change it for an ordinary, round wire spring.

[johnbaz]

I've had quite a few through the years, I've always moved them on, Usually for less than I paid!!

The cylinder thickness is quite thin, Over the years the hole in the cylinder that receives the crosspin elongates, I've had several like this, I don't think I would ever be tempted again!!


John

[Artfull-Bodger]

You tend to find the elongated pin holes are a result of over springing.

[hwtyger]

The Webley book states that the Hawk mk1 had PTFE pistonseal, but that they switched to special O-rings with the mk2 (engine-piston type I believe).
So of those 2, the mk1 will be the best shooter (recoil wise)?
But the mk2 has better trigger (more adjustability), better rear sight, and the barrel exchange is by screwing in which imo is far more secure
IF I'd buy a Hawk for the collection, it would be a choice between the mk1 and mk2