Do you have a long term factory keeper that has evolved over a lot of years

[Barryg]

I have four keepers that I like to improve, one is a over 20 year factory Diana 34s carbine with a firebird stock.

http://imgur.com/6HOFPxS

When I first got this gun it twanged and was not very accurate, it also had some droop and it felt it was not at its best because the TP was not lined up with the barrel bore,
but it still got a lot of use and rough treatment, the barrel got scratched so I just polished it up to the block.

Then I got to like it and decided to sort it out, first I lined up the TP with the bore this also sorted the droop.
I thought that I was pleased with the custom metal guide and piston sleeve, then tinbum sent me a kit and now it's even better.

Its accurate silky smooth and easy to cock and lightweight, what more could I want from a break barrel

Anyone else got a springer that just keeps getting better and that you intend to keep long term ?

[jonnyone]

Morning Barry
I have a 1984 HW80 that I still recall unpacking all those years ago.
Since then I followed the crowd n had the chop ( it's barrel- not me )! Following this I had brass bearing surfaces added to the rear of the piston by T R Robb. Later this has been changed to ptfe bearings. The spring guide is an early one from Bowkett. The cylinder has been honed and the transfer port reamed by the late ( great ) Cardew. It also has a top hat with a cut down Titan spring. It shoots very.smoothly and accurately and has accounted for many squirrels crows and rats plus the occasional bunny. The standard stock went about a decade ago and it now wears a CS sporter walnut stock.
Aside if that the bluing is still original. Pretty thin these days - but original
Will never part with it. Ever.
Dave

[bezzer]

err I'm going to get hammered for this

Up until last week I was the proud owner of a .22 Mk1 HW80 bought new in '81, serial no 909... Stamped Edgar Brothers as they were HW importers then. Over the years it's had loads of mods- polishes, buttoned, delrin bits,trigger work, stock altered here and there, brass bling etc etc. Had thousands and thousands of pellets through it over the years and always sweet as a nut. It's main claim to fame was being number 1 shooter at the first Venom shoot in 81 or 82 ?? . Gerald Cardew was chronographing the rifles, the 80 clocked 18fpe he just said "It must be dieselling put a few down the practice range and it will settle down" and passed it. Those were the days hardly anyone had a chrono as you didn't really need one until the 80 came along. I bought one the week after, cut down the spring to lower it a bit and from then on it continually evolved with all the other bits and pieces being done to it.
Anyway last week I finally came to the conclusion I couldn't really use it properly anymore, age and various ailments have taken their toll and the weight was getting too much. Pondered long and hard about selling it, it was really nothing special except to me, well used but not abused and I decided I couldn't stand the thought of anyone else having it. So I powered up the bandsaw, chopped it up into small pieces including the stock and chucked it in the bin, I just kept the sawn off barrel, Rekord trigger and the sights for projects.
Sacrilege I know but I just didn't want anyone else to have it, shame but I have no regrets about it.

[look no hands]

Anyway last week I finally came to the conclusion I couldn't really use it properly anymore, age and various ailments have taken their toll and the weight was getting too much. Pondered long and hard about selling it, it was really nothing special except to me, well used but not abused and I decided I couldn't stand the thought of anyone else having it. So I powered up the bandsaw, chopped it up into small pieces including the stock and chucked it in the bin, I just kept the sawn off barrel, Rekord trigger and the sights for projects.
Sacrilege I know but I just didn't want anyone else to have it, shame but I have no regrets about it.

Holy crap TonyL is going to go ape shit over this, he wouldn't speak to me for at least two minutes when I sold my custom HW95

Now if you had chopped up a HW35 then I can totally see why

Pete

[clarky]

yeah i have a Walther LP53 which i used for trial and testing all my mod materials and designs for both piston heads, top hats and guides.
Mainly because it has a large diameter piston which is incredibly easily accessible and where one can nip in out in seconds with each change made.
....but this gun evolved in its own right to a 500 fps super smooth shooter with no twang.
Later shortening the barrel to a K version .....
I also have a FWB SPort MK 1 which has been up rated with modern tuning techniques ....a keeper prob for ever.

[jonnyone]

err I'm going to get hammered for this

Up until last week I was the proud owner of a .22 Mk1 HW80 bought new in '81, serial no 909... Stamped Edgar Brothers as they were HW importers then. Over the years it's had loads of mods- polishes, buttoned, delrin bits,trigger work, stock altered here and there, brass bling etc etc. Had thousands and thousands of pellets through it over the years and always sweet as a nut. It's main claim to fame was being number 1 shooter at the first Venom shoot in 81 or 82 ?? . Gerald Cardew was chronographing the rifles, the 80 clocked 18fpe he just said "It must be dieselling put a few down the practice range and it will settle down" and passed it. Those were the days hardly anyone had a chrono as you didn't really need one until the 80 came along. I bought one the week after, cut down the spring to lower it a bit and from then on it continually evolved with all the other bits and pieces being done to it.
Anyway last week I finally came to the conclusion I couldn't really use it properly anymore, age and various ailments have taken their toll and the weight was getting too much. Pondered long and hard about selling it, it was really nothing special except to me, well used but not abused and I decided I couldn't stand the thought of anyone else having it. So I powered up the bandsaw, chopped it up into small pieces including the stock and chucked it in the bin, I just kept the sawn off barrel, Rekord trigger and the sights for projects.
Sacrilege I know but I just didn't want anyone else to have it, shame but I have no regrets about it.

There's method in the madness in there somewhere
Jokes aside I can see how you would become attached to a gun that you have history with. Many hours out on range or across fields and through woodland. One especially raw frosty morning I lost my footing and came top to bottom of a 30 odd foot high embankment. But, er... on top of the gun n scope.
I bounced better then than I do nowadays but it still woke me up good n proper. The gun and scope had the scars for many a year after!
Dave

[derekj]

I have four keepers that I like to improve, one is a over 20 year factory Diana 34s carbine with a firebird stock.

http://imgur.com/6HOFPxS

When I first got this gun it twanged and was not very accurate, it also had some droop and it felt it was not at its best because the TP was not lined up with the barrel bore,
but it still got a lot of use and rough treatment, the barrel got scratched so I just polished it up to the block.

Then I got to like it and decided to sort it out, first I lined up the TP with the bore this also sorted the droop.
I thought that I was pleased with the custom metal guide and piston sleeve, then tinbum sent me a kit and now it's even better.

Its accurate silky smooth and easy to cock and lightweight, what more could I want from a break barrel

Anyone else got a springer that just keeps getting better and that you intend to keep long term ?

Mine: 1993 .177 Theoben 90. Quick action thanks to its gas ram piston, heavy solid build German quality, excellent barrel with long series moderator, great trigger, quiet and extremely accurate and consistent. Last chronograph at 760fps with AA Field. Combined with its Simmons scope smacking lemonade bottle caps at 50 metres. My most favourite rifle to date.

[tinbum]

My HW45, it was bought as a birthday present and will never be sold. It was my love for the gun, but dissapointment in its real world performance that led to the only kit available for it worldwide!

I had it in its latest guise at this weekends bash, it's almost recoiless firing cycle shocked many who shot it.

[deejayuu]

yeah i have a Walther LP53 which i used for trial and testing all my mod materials and designs for both piston heads, top hats and guides.
Mainly because it has a large diameter piston which is incredibly easily accessible and where one can nip in out in seconds with each change made.
....but this gun evolved in its own right to a 500 fps super smooth shooter with no twang.
Later shortening the barrel to a K version .....
I also have a FWB SPort MK 1 which has been up rated with modern tuning techniques ....a keeper prob for ever.

Have you shared the secrets of the internals on these anywhere? Many of us would love to know/see!

[derekj]

I have four keepers that I like to improve, one is a over 20 year factory Diana 34s carbine with a firebird stock.

http://imgur.com/6HOFPxS

When I first got this gun it twanged and was not very accurate, it also had some droop and it felt it was not at its best because the TP was not lined up with the barrel bore,
but it still got a lot of use and rough treatment, the barrel got scratched so I just polished it up to the block.

Then I got to like it and decided to sort it out, first I lined up the TP with the bore this also sorted the droop.
I thought that I was pleased with the custom metal guide and piston sleeve, then tinbum sent me a kit and now it's even better.

Its accurate silky smooth and easy to cock and lightweight, what more could I want from a break barrel

Anyone else got a springer that just keeps getting better and that you intend to keep long term ?

What calibre is this rifle Barry? Cheers.

[TORNADOS7]

err I'm going to get hammered for this

Up until last week I was the proud owner of a .22 Mk1 HW80 bought new in '81, serial no 909... Stamped Edgar Brothers as they were HW importers then. Over the years it's had loads of mods- polishes, buttoned, delrin bits,trigger work, stock altered here and there, brass bling etc etc. Had thousands and thousands of pellets through it over the years and always sweet as a nut. It's main claim to fame was being number 1 shooter at the first Venom shoot in 81 or 82 ?? . Gerald Cardew was chronographing the rifles, the 80 clocked 18fpe he just said "It must be dieselling put a few down the practice range and it will settle down" and passed it. Those were the days hardly anyone had a chrono as you didn't really need one until the 80 came along. I bought one the week after, cut down the spring to lower it a bit and from then on it continually evolved with all the other bits and pieces being done to it.
Anyway last week I finally came to the conclusion I couldn't really use it properly anymore, age and various ailments have taken their toll and the weight was getting too much. Pondered long and hard about selling it, it was really nothing special except to me, well used but not abused and I decided I couldn't stand the thought of anyone else having it. So I powered up the bandsaw, chopped it up into small pieces including the stock and chucked it in the bin, I just kept the sawn off barrel, Rekord trigger and the sights for projects.
Sacrilege I know but I just didn't want anyone else to have it, shame but I have no regrets about it.

Uhhhhhhhh, dude, WTF !...

[clarky]

Have you shared the secrets of the internals on these anywhere? Many of us would love to know/see!

Yes i have several times on here, incl my initial development which was used by John to drive the Protex kit.
However, i have improved that kit by a considerable margin, rendering the kit obsolete.
Essentially the 2 mainsprings of the Walther which collide with each other, twanging and boinging is replaced with a single spring.
A cut down Cometa or HW30 both fit beautifully with no slop inside the piston but are too big in diameter when fitting on the exsisting guide rod/ grip cap arrangement.
This ofcourse is the intentional guide for the inner mini spring.
So its a case of cutting down a HW30 spring, squaring the end up with a blow torch and grinding flat.
Then machining a guide rod of a nice sliding fit inside the new spring.
This can be made of Delrin and the entire unit makes for a nice thruster unit spining round over the exsisting guide. Springs sits on top perfectly guided and torque minimised.
Vibration and twang is none exsistant....480 ish with most wadcutters.

[hangman]

I have an Air Arms Shamal I bought second hand back in the day, put a second hand 24x Simmons scope on it and started FT shooting with it. Beat some well known​ names with this combo and never want to sell it.

[johnbaz]

Of the 146 guns that I've collected over the years, I think I have four or five that won't be leaving!!

Some i've had many years, Some not as long but are definite keepers!!

This Airsporter mk1 will always be with me!, I think i've only had it for eight or maybe ten years but it's so gorgeous, I'd rather get rid of a limb!!

The second from bottom of these Webley mk3's as it's the first decent rifle that I bought years ago! Bonus is that it's .177, Only cost £69 too!!

There's also an early 1980's Daystate Huntsdman (Mk1) as it was my first precharged, It developed a leak, I stripped it and repaired the valve which is still good today!! (It's .177 too!)

Also, I couldn't sell any of the freebies that i've been given, It would feel wrong to do so when they were gifts! (I've had a few too!! )

By thew way, I've not had this HW35 for very long but it's deffo a keeper too!!



John

[clarky]

wish i could add pics x