Haenel 28-R strip - need thoughts

[45flint]

Just striped my Haenel 22 cal. 28-R cause it was well below 200 fps. I may be the first one inside. Leather piston seal was dirty but in good shape, soaked in some SAE 20 ND oil. Interesting to find 4 separate leather seals in this pistol. One on the piston head, two on the pellet gate, one on each side, and one inside the piston sealing the loading rod that goes through the piston. The machining cost would never be supported today. I did improve the performance and got above 200 fps with a old short skirted pellet. These quickly started jaming. That left me with the reliable cycling round balls. At 15.43 grains and a bit of a loose fit I was at about 175 fps. Interesting gun but not a barn burner. Pics of the strip below. Now that I know what I am doing I'm moving on the my 28-R in .177. That calliber probably makes more sense for this pistol.

http://s168.photobucket.com/user/ski...l%2028%20strip

[ccdjg]

Your thread prompted me to dig out my old .177 28-R and give it a try on the chrono. With old seals and no new lubrication it only gave around 150 fps with 4.5mm lead balls and around 180 fps with some wadcutter pellets. So your .22 version doesn't sound so bad. I will test my .22 28-R when I can locate some suitable ammo. I am sure I have some somewhere.

Incidentally, shooting the pistol reminded me what a pain these Haenels are to cock. I know there is a trick to it, which I have mastered, but even so I would rate the Haenel 26's and 28's among some of the least user-friendly spring pistols when it comes to cocking, despite their ingenious design and engineering quality.

[45flint]

Your thread prompted me to dig out my old .177 28-R and give it a try on the chrono. With old seals and no new lubrication it only gave around 150 fps with 4.5mm lead balls and around 180 fps with some wadcutter pellets. So your .22 version doesn't sound so bad. I will test my .22 28-R when I can locate some suitable ammo. I am sure I have some somewhere.

Incidentally, shooting the pistol reminded me what a pain these Haenels are to cock. I know there is a trick to it, which I have mastered, but even so I would rate the Haenel 26's and 28's among some of the least user-friendly spring pistols when it comes to cocking, despite their ingenious design and engineering quality.

I got my .177 28 R and took it out to chrony, right before I read this. I wanted to test it before I took it apart and cleaned and relubed. I just shoot round balls and the best I got was in the 250s. I am finding that round balls load the best but can be pretty inconsistent. They just don't always fill up the barrel. I have had some roll out! Same with the 22. Regular pellets seem much better but haven't realily found one that doesn't tend to hang up. I think these pistols were designed for balls and those old slug pellets.

That 28-R .177 looks about like about a new gun, the 22 no so much.

I really don't mind the cocking? But they are more of a fun collectable than a shooter.

[Benelli B76]

I have never found the 28's produce much power, their lovely quality and appearance belies their performance. All old vintage rifles and pistols perform much better with a polyurethane parachute piston seal, giving better compression and less friction. I turn them up on the lathe from urethane rod.

Baz

[ccdjg]

Your thread prompted me to dig out my old .177 28-R and give it a try on the chrono. With old seals and no new lubrication it only gave around 150 fps with 4.5mm lead balls and around 180 fps with some wadcutter pellets. So your .22 version doesn't sound so bad. I will test my .22 28-R when I can locate some suitable ammo. I am sure I have some somewhere.

Incidentally, shooting the pistol reminded me what a pain these Haenels are to cock. I know there is a trick to it, which I have mastered, but even so I would rate the Haenel 26's and 28's among some of the least user-friendly spring pistols when it comes to cocking, despite their ingenious design and engineering quality.

I found some 5.4mm lead ball to try in my .22 28-R, and like you I found that many of them could roll out of the barrel. I was getting around 160-170 fps with these. (The pistol does not look as though it has ever been resealed and is in a good but well used condition. It seems to be well lubricated so I didn't apply any fresh oil.)

[45flint]

I found some 5.4mm lead ball to try in my .22 28-R, and like you I found that many of them could roll out of the barrel. I was getting around 160-170 fps with these. (The pistol does not look as though it has ever been resealed and is in a good but well used condition. It seems to be well lubricated so I didn't apply any fresh oil.)

I took mine all apart clean and relubed but it really didn't enhance the performance much if any. My fps looks like yours. I managed to load one skirted pellet and got into the 200s. Yes these are not powerful pistol but I think the ammo is the major issue. Gamo is my only source of 22 round balls. H&N makes 2 sizes in .177, one a little oversized. I'm going to try that next time I order pellets. I'm also going to see if any short regular pellets will load?

Actually the lack of power does really bother me, it probably adds to it longevity, 80 years and it's still working with original everything. This is probably one gun they should have kept in .177? I think that was the case for quit a few years. Maybe they thought the 22 would sell in the US better, given our traditions? There seem to be quite a few over here?

[45flint]

I have never found the 28's produce much power, their lovely quality and appearance belies their performance. All old vintage rifles and pistols perform much better with a polyurethane parachute piston seal, giving better compression and less friction. I turn them up on the lathe from urethane rod.

Baz

In taking it apart I was surprised how good the leather seal was, didn't show any wear and was tight. The repeater has a pretty unique seal given it has a hole through it for the loading rod. I'm glad I didn't had to replace it!