Weihrauch HW 40

[Dan Latham]

So I have bought myself a HW40 following the great advice i got on this forum (thanks to all who replied).

First off. The advice was excellent and it is clear to see that the HW40 is a wonderful bit of kit that is well worth my investment.

I have been practicing over the weekend and have come up with some questions which i was hoping some of you might have some input on...

Firstly, it is a newer model so has the Fibre Optic sights. Although i do find them handy when shooting against the darker target backgrounds i kept finding myself losing focus. Would a Red dot sight help me with this and if so are there any reasonably priced ones that anyone could recommend? (below £50)

Secondly, this is the first air pistol I have owned so any shooting/consistency tips would be greatly appreciated. Specifically how to zero the pistol accurately would be massively helpful. If anyone shoots from the Oaks and is up for some tutoring let me know, i will supply the drinks & snacks of course!

Dan

[Aimstraight]

You can obscure the front and rear FO elements. A tiny amount of matt black paint does the job (easy/reversible mod) - threads on here.

If you want a red dot, a Hawke RD25 works well, secure with two mounts, not too large/heavy, inexpensive.

The auto safety can be converted to manual if desired (easy/reversible mod) - threads on here.

You can make the grip less slippery by various means - threads on here.

[Dan Latham]

Thank you for the info,

Looks like I have some threads to check!

[Geezer]

I am a bit old school, and opinionated, but here goes:

1. How to zero? With an SSP, like the HW40, just get the most solid rest you can. Both hands, on a cushion on a table, you on a chair or kneeling behind it. Anyway, the strongest position you can find. Spring pistols don't like rests. Everything else does. Yes, the gun will shoot to a very slightly different point of aim when you are standing up rather than rested, but only very slightly, and if you are a newcomer to pistols, you will not be able to notice that until you have refined your standing approach.

2. Fibre-optics are the enemy of accuracy. They are designed to give a quick, but crude, sight picture on big targets at close range. They do that. But they are not suited for precision (if they were, the competition shooters would use them - they don't). Black them out, with a marker pen, or carefully cut bits of black electrical tape to cover them up.

3. Shooting black sights on a black bullseye is hard. Do one of these: (a) paint a white dot on the front sight; (b) use a "6 o'clock" hold; (c) use a plain bit of paper as a target, as your eyes will automaticallly find the middle. You won't believe me on (c) until you try it. It works.

4. Do not buy a red dot hoping that technology will cure an issue. You should learn to shoot with iron sights before you move to optics (personally I hate optics on pistols, but that's a prejudice - they can do good work, they just look stupid). Most red dots have the same issue as fibre-optics: good for quick shots close up at big things, less good (especially given the big fuzzy dots on most cheap ones) at shooting small groups. Sorry to be blunt, but if you are a poor shot with iron sights, you will still be one with optics.

5. Maintain the same grip and hold every shot. Focus on the front sight, Accept that the gun will wobble, but ignore it. Focus on the front sight. And slowly press (not pull, not squeeze, not yank, not jerk) the trigger straight back until the pistol goes off, ideally surprising you when it does. And focus on the front sight (have I said that often enough?).

6. Don't waste shots. If something feels wrong or off, stop and start again. If you start feeling tired, rest. Never pop off a shot for the heck of it. Set yourself a standard that makes every shot count - "I will shoot a 9 or better". If you don't feel you can on that shot, stop and start again. To be honest, I don't always do this, but it is good advice, so I pass it on.

7. Perservere. Pistols are really easy to shoot badly, hard to shoot well, and very hard to shoot brilliantly. But that's why they are rewarding.

[Aimstraight]

I am a bit old school, and opinionated, but here goes:....

Not at all, I'd go along with all that.

[Dan Latham]

Thank you for the detailed reply!

Reading all that just has me itching to go out and shoot again. Lucky for me I have friday off so will be spending a good amount of time zeroing and getting to know the pistol. I think i will be taking the advice with blacking the optics as i am not looking to speed shoot. I want to shoot accurately and consistently and from the sounds of it my technique would be best improved by sticking with the stock sights for the time being.

Thanks for all the tips. Its very much appreciated!

[peteswright]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rEA_qfUlcM Watch his 3 segments on precision shooting. Gunblue490 is the guy! youtube vids. ATB. Pete.

[Planemike]

Very good YT link, above. Thanks