HW35, a few questions

[pigeondave]

Hi all,

First post on the forum, this appears to be the correct section.

Back story
I've recently decided to pick up the old mans air rifle again and start plinking in the garden.

To start with, the safety wouldn't set itself when cocked and the twang noise was horrific.

I went to my local shop in Brighton and enquired about getting it serviced, I had also read and watched a lot on tuning. The local shop put me onto Sandwell field sports, if i wanted something extra as in tuning.

I emailed SFS and ended up speaking to Tony on the phone. He said that due to the breech being scored by the barrel lock there's no point in spending any money on the rifle as it will be difficult to get it to seal correctly.

With this disappointing news I decided i had nothing to loose having a fiddle myself. I picked out the old original leather breech seal and replaced with a new one from the internet (£4). This made the pellets penetrate the 22mm ply target holder rather than bounce off.

Next up i decided to knock out the pins on the trigger and pull the spring/piston out. It was full of what looked like old axle grease, I broke out the citrus degreaser (used on MTB) and cleaned it all up. While it was all apart i bought 120 to 3000 Assorted Grit Sandpaper, 23 x 9 cm, 36-Sheet off amazon (£5.97) and polished the piston (leather seal got some connolly hide care cream), the ends of the slightly bent main spring and the bottom of the spring guide. The next morning I went to the local gun shop and bought some Moly Grease (£6.99) and painted it on and reassembled. The gun still twangs as the metal spring guide is loose in the spring, but the pellets are now in the ply to a point where you can't just brush them out.

So far I've spent under £20 and it's working well and the safety click on when cocked now.

Questions

Is it worth getting a guide kit to tune the gun a little more, or will it not really make any difference in the grand scheme of things.

I'd like to buy a new scope, but would like to retain the ability to use the iron sights which are true. Current 4x Kassnar original with rifle in 70's is bent we think, it shoots 10" high and i cant wind the adjustment down anymore.

Which scope would people recommend for £100-120. should i be looking at 32 or a 40? will a 40 be too big and obscure the iron sights? should i go 4x or 2-7x ?

Finally will the current scope mounts fit a modern scope or will i need to buy new mounts too?

Sorry for the long post

[Micky Spillane]

Dave don't worry about the long post it gives people a lot to work on. As I recall the HW35 was not well suited to a telescopic sight. If you look at the guns profile you will notice a decided droop from the cylinder to the barrel. This was a design feature, God knows why, but unless you use a particular type of scope mount your '35 will always shoot low. The open sights are mounted on the barrel its self therefore are aligned with that rather than the cylinder and will shoot accurately. do not be tempted to over power the gun it was designed around the 7 joule power limitation in Germany and is not suited to go much higher, I had a certain affection for these but they are a Marmite gun.

[Bellycrawler]

I know very little about the 35's but do know the early ones had wide scope rails compared to the more recent ones & if your piston seal is leather I'm guessing it's an early one, if it has scope mounts already fitted they should be for a 1" or larger 30mm scope tube & either will be fine as most modern scopes will fit depending on make / size etc. I've got 3 35's myself that need a refurb or more correctly worded I'm hoping to make one half decent one, a rougher one with what's left & have a few spares, sadly one stock is cracked beyond repair. Enjoy your plinking.

[TonyL]

Hi Dave,

Welcome to the forum.

Lovely guns, the HW35.

Personally, with the spring also being a little bent, I'd go for a new spring that comes with custom fitted rear guide and top hat, which should result in a much more refined firing cycle.

I'd prefer to keep it on opens for that proper "classic" feel, but if going for a new scope would lean towards a nice 32mm scope in low mounts, due to the low comb of the 35.

Enjoy and feel free to shout up with any further questions and to get stuck into all the fun on here.

[look no hands]

Lovely guns, the HW35.

Still having mental problems I see

Don't worry Dave, just an on going "thing" me and Tony have

The 35 will certainly be good for target practice, just buy yourself a decent rifle and the 35 will make an excellent target

Pete

[TonyL]

Still having mental problems I see

Don't worry Dave, just an on going "thing" me and Tony have

The 35 will certainly be good for target practice, just buy yourself a decent rifle and the 35 will make an excellent target

Pete

Lovely guns, the HW35s.

Oops; did I say that already?

Lovely, classic rifles which can still compete favourably with many newer rifles.

Enjoy, Dave; and discount the naysayers' comments.

[tinbum]

Still having mental problems I see

Don't worry Dave, just an on going "thing" me and Tony have

The 35 will certainly be good for target practice, just buy yourself a decent rifle and the 35 will make an excellent target

Pete

The main problem with a 35 and sub 12 is that it's not enough power to kill it humanely. I carry a battery angle grinder to supply the coup de gras where necessary.

[buttloaves]

Still having mental problems I see

Don't worry Dave, just an on going "thing" me and Tony have

The 35 will certainly be good for target practice, just buy yourself a decent rifle and the 35 will make an excellent target

Pete

My Relum Tornado would protect it..

[Ticker 64]

Dave don't worry about the long post it gives people a lot to work on. As I recall the HW35 was not well suited to a telescopic sight. If you look at the guns profile you will notice a decided droop from the cylinder to the barrel. This was a design feature, God knows why, but unless you use a particular type of scope mount your '35 will always shoot low. The open sights are mounted on the barrel its self therefore are aligned with that rather than the cylinder and will shoot accurately. do not be tempted to over power the gun it was designed around the 7 joule power limitation in Germany and is not suited to go much higher, I had a certain affection for these but they are a Marmite gun.

I see this is an old thread, but I thought I would add my experience with a .22cal 1978 HW35. It had been in a cupboard for 25 years, so during the Corona virus lockdown, I thought I would give it a service for something to do. Firstly, I had to watch numerous Youtube vids and read forums to familiarise myself with the gun as I haven't picked up a rifle of any type since that time. Tried my hand at a target at 15 metres and it was all over the place. I noticed the breech seal looked a bit pitted so I ordered a new synthetic one which is red in colour and it certainly improved penetration, but not accuracy. So I stripped the piston down, it has a leather seal but looked fine so I cleaned and then regreased everything as shown on youtube and reassembled. It was still erratic. I then purchased an assortment of four brands of pellets and tried them in groups of 5. I found the RWS superdomes to be the most accurate I could now get them in a group within 1.5 inches standing with open sites still at 15 metres.

I have a friend who belongs to a gun club with a large garden. So i went over to his place and we set a target at 25 metres and I could group them at about 50mm with open sites sitting down with a gun rest. He owns a scoped HW100PCP, which he let me have a shot of, it was night and day. I felt to improve I would need a scope.

I purchased a Hawke 3-9 x 40 AO fastmount, and some separate 13mm dovetail mounts, as that's the size the old HW35's require, modern guns I have learned are 11mm or 20mm.

Back to my friends garden range and I can now group them within an inch at 25metres sitting down with scope.
I find the gun a bit heavy to use standing unsupported. I obviously need some sort of exercise regimen to strengthen my arms. I don't know what the muzzle velocity is I'm going to get it chronographed this week. What should I be able to achieve in terms of grouping all things being equal?

Thanks for reading my blatherings.

[maximus]

Hi, the 35 is as capable as any other spring rifle given a pellet the barrel likes and the power plant being in good condition. Do the chrono check to see how consistent it is. Also remember that you can't rest a spring rifle on a solid object when shooting or Accuracy will be poor. If the power is low it could have a porous breech which some of the older models suffered from. Don't worry though, it is fixable and there are a few threads on here detailing how to do it.

Regards Max

[TonyL]

Hi Ticker; welcome to the forum.

Tips as above.

Most HW35s love the RWS Hobby so well worth giving them a try too.

Take the time to get that practice in and honing your technique; you'll find it so rewarding.

Enjoy your lovely 35.

[Frog]

What should I be able to achieve in terms of grouping all things being equal?

All things being equal I would expect the rifle (in 'A1' condition) to be capable of groups around one minute of angle - i.e 1/4inch group at 25yds. Shooting it that well is very far from easy so I would just practice, practice, practice and I'm sure you will see your groups shrink slowly from the current inch.
I enjoy shooting mine:-)