lol what do I know , I bought a 85 in 1989 tbo my limited memory thinks it had a pro=nounced cheek piece , is my booze haggled memory correct?
rgds
craig
Correct take any prize of the top shelf.
The top stock is current 80 and not a year old.
The lower stock is off the 1986 first issue of a MK1 85k, which as Wally Pope tested in November 1986 Airgun World listed that the stock is beech, stained and oiled, all I have done this week is give it two coats of beeswax oak polish, leave to dry for two hours and buff with a brush believe it or not.
I prefer the old stock shape myself
Nice things happen to nice people.
lol what do I know , I bought a 85 in 1989 tbo my limited memory thinks it had a pro=nounced cheek piece , is my booze haggled memory correct?
rgds
craig
You wouldn't have a drop of whisky up there would you? I remember the front page of Airgunner of the 85k launch. Front on shot at some kind of a doorway if I remember. Big scope.
I like the early 85 with that stock best of all. There is one not 100 yards from where I'm sitting now. Everything I pick it up , I wonder why I carried a HW80 round for years. As you know, I have the later 85k. Very nice to shoot but not the same gun.
BTW- did you use water based stain then oil or oil based, a long wait and then the oil?
Last edited by Drew451; 09-01-2017 at 09:18 PM. Reason: Oily questions
Guess it's a personal taste thing but IMO the very early 99 plain stocks were very basic with zero chequering and with the front end cut off too short exposing the breech block very much like the non Luxus stock on the 95 which I think just looks wrong and makes it look really old.
Then they went to a 99 full length stock which was just as plain but a little nicer than the shorty.
The newer 99 modern Weihrauch 'Logo' Minnelli stock is much nicer all round IMO and also being full length at the front it also has nice chequering to boot.
Same here I think they look pretty good.
Never touched the stock Drew, it came like that from the shop really, it was just a little faded so I added the beeswax, it still got all the little character lines where buttons touched it, etc , no scratches or dents though, maybe due to the finish they used wasn't a lacquer on this model.
Nice things happen to nice people.
I'd be loving a laminate stock for my 95. Like the stock they do the 77 - would be perfect. Keep dreamin i guess...
Ah, I see. Picked you up wrong there. Stained and oiled from the factory is a rare finish. Easier to keep as well.. Saying that, I believe I have an Original 50 like that. No lacquer on it certainly.
I think the 85 is a very interesting model.
Odd, isn't it, our preferences?
My 1980s HW85 has the "Luxus" stock, looking a lot like the stock for the Beeman Weihrauchs.
So it must be better, right? It's a Luxus. It was designed by Gary Goudy. It is like the stock on a 77. It is elegant. It's a classic.
But I still find myself mildly preferring the early HW80-style of the standard model. I think that's because it reminds me of both the iconic early 80 and my old FWB Sport. But it may also be because a shorter stock with what feels like a slimmer fore-end makes the gun feel a bit lighter, handier and pointier (like my old FWB).
I agree. The first thing I noticed about the standard 85 is the slimmer forend sitting in the cupped hand nicely. And very pointable. Very un-Weihrauch like. A bit like a Diana break barrel. Kind of sn Anschutz 335 but sturdier feel.
You may find this slightly disturbing but I've never owned a FWB Sport.
Would like the "Americanized" stock updated slightly
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c54/R6j6B/th_R1Goudy20thanniversary_zpsdgz1zem0.jpg
Glad someone agrees with me!
The FWB was my formative airgun. At an impressionable age, I clearly decided it was awesome and that all that needed improving was the trigger/safety, the breech lock-up, and maybe a fuller butt to help scope alignment. Some of which the 85 seemed to offer. And which may explain my liking for the Webley Omega, Tomahawk, Longbow, BSA Supersport, and some Diana 34 variants.
Basically my airgun archetype is a high quality, accurate, 7-8 pound break barrel 12ft/lbs springer.
If you have not owned an FWB, you need to. They aren't perfect, but they are special.
I do own a FWB600! I also learned to shoot with a 300 but strangely never chose a Sport for the field. I will get my hands on one some day but, again, I prefer the look of the non deluxe/ Luxus 124/127. I blame Walters book 3rd Edition for this, I think.
My MK1 HW85K has the same finish as my other standard HW's.
The HW stocks I've seen with factory oil have been the Walnut Tyrolean versions of the 80 & 77 & the much later HW35E new version.
In one of the write ups in 1986 the 85 tested was said to be a prototype, shame the pics weren't colour & clear back then.