Well, more examples of poor build quality have surfaced. Having finally got the 35 shooting nicely, I noticed that the action was moving around in the stock with every shot. A 2mm gap would open up between the rear of the action and the stock regardless of how tightly the stock screws were fastened. On inspection, the issue appeared to be with the locating lug on the action. The lug is about 8mm in diameter and sits in a recess approximately 12mm in diameter.

Unfortunately, with a single front stock screw, the HW35 is totally reliant on an accurate fit of this lug to properly secure the action in the stock, which is never going to happen with 4mm of slop.

My solution was to machine up a spacer which fits closely over the lug and also firmly within the stock recess. The net result is that the action is now firmly secured in the stock. Indeed, it's so much better that I'm now wondering if there's meant to be a factory fit spacer in there that's simply missing from my rifle?

pics here

However, fixing this highlighted another issue: With everything properly located the 2mm gap between the rear of the action and the stock is now permanent. The stock simply does not fit properly. To add insult to injury, Weihrauch have placed a Quality Control sticker inside the stock right at that point!

How Weihrauch get away with turning out such dross while charging top dollar is beyond me. I've bought 3 new Weihrauchs over the last 5 years and every one has had issues. Don't get me wrong: I like the HW35 and it is a stupendously accurate rifle (thank the barrel and trigger for that) but I remain distinctly unimpressed by the overall build quality.