Why is the HW95 so bouncy??

[TonyL]

I have 99s and 95s in both the "main" calibres. Only the 95 in .177 seemed more "bouncy". Fitted a V-Mach kit a good few years ago and it shoots beautifully and very accurately.

[Shed tuner]

so TP and stroke are fine, only about 3mm different from an HW99. So what's left ?

A short stiff spring could make it jumpy, or a piston weight. What's inside ?

[maximus]

so TP and stroke are fine, only about 3mm different from an HW99. So what's left ?

A short stiff spring could make it jumpy, or a piston weight. What's inside ?

No piston weight, just delrin washer and top hat. Spring is a HW one, with id guess about 40-50mm of pre-load from memory. Don't get me wrong, it shoots quite nice but according to all theory it should be wonderful at this spec and its not that easy to shoot accurately with. It brought it home to me after having shot the Diana 34s for a couple of weeks just how much sight picture was lost when pulling the trigger.

[TonyL]

A short stiff spring could make it jumpy

Mmm....I know that more contemporary thinking favours "long and soft", but that .177 of mine which shoots so nicely has the V-Mach kit. Virtually no spring proud of the cylinder prior to pushing the end block home, so hinting at a shorter / stiffer spring. It's one of the really early ones with the factory muzzle weight, just stripped, de-burred, Dri-Slided the cylinder and fitted the V-Mach kit.

[ptdunk]

The missus uses her tuned 95 for HFT, where exactly the same hold shot after shot is not always possible due to variations in position. She definitely found it more forgiving after fitting the Parker Hale steel moderator which significantly reduced muzzle flip.
Later she also got a CS600 stock and does pretty well.

Granted shooting off a bench using exactly the same hold every time then muzzle flip wouldn’t necessarily make a difference.

Matt

[charub]

The missus uses her tuned 95 for HFT, where exactly the same hold shot after shot is not always possible due to variations in position. She definitely found it more forgiving after fitting the Parker Hale steel moderator which significantly reduced muzzle flip.
Later she also got a CS600 stock and does pretty well.

Granted shooting off a bench using exactly the same hold every time then muzzle flip wouldn’t necessarily make a difference.

Matt

That’s exactly why shooting HFT with a springer is notoriously difficult. I agree that it isn’t always possible to shoot from the same position, but with a bit of work you can hold the rifle in a similar position and with a similar amount of pressure each time.

I never shoot from a bench, it simply does not replicate real life shooting unless maybe shooting from a hide.
POI even changes from a prone, kneeling, standing. I just try to remember the differences.

[maximus]

Had another session with it this afternoon in the garden. On the chrono it was doing 11.6 with 8.4 jsb and 11.5 with 7.33 jsb. Tad high but well balanced. I did note that it had a bit of twang with the 8.4s but none with the 7.33 or indeed with 7.9 jsb either. Accuracy was mediocre with the 7.3 and 8.4, best were the 7.9 but it was a windy day up here. So, now its in bits again! The spring is 3.1 wire, 225 long with 32mm pre-load. I have a titan no.5 to try which is the meteor one plus a new 95 spring fro SWSchneider. Iam currently scragging this prior to trying as in my experience these springs settle quite a lot. Anyone know how long I should scrag it for without sh*gging it??7

[TonyL]

The missus uses her tuned 95 for HFT, where exactly the same hold shot after shot is not always possible due to variations in position. She definitely found it more forgiving after fitting the Parker Hale steel moderator which significantly reduced muzzle flip.
Later she also got a CS600 stock and does pretty well.

Granted shooting off a bench using exactly the same hold every time then muzzle flip wouldn’t necessarily make a difference.

Matt

Excellent points and many believe that sourcing a stock that suits or customising one, playing with balance / weight and then getting that practice on from all the different positions is far more valuable than a fancy tune.

[Geezer]

Interesting thread. But no-one yet seems to have answered the basic question: why is it generally believed, and many owners report, that the HW85/95 is unusually “bouncy” and hold-sensitive?

Two hypotheses:

1. Compared to, say, the Diana 34, FWB Sport, HW80, HW35, Diana 45, HW99S and similar, there is something particular to the 85/95 that makes it hard to hit with consistently.

2. Actually there isn’t. These days the 95 is by far the most widely-distributed high-quality break-barrel. All of the above (maybe not the 80 because of its weight) are similar. Most of today’s 85/95 shooters cut their teeth on PCPs or 77/97s or TXs and find the shooting characteristics of a light-barrelled springer challenging (see the references above to sticking half a kilo of steel on the muzzle to tame it).

[Muskett]

Because it is so light weight, and has a spring in it. FWB Sports are the same (I've had at least nine, tuned and factory fresh.)
What makes these sporting rifles interesting is finding a way to shoot them straight. When you do they are accurate as anything out there. By the time you do you've done a shed load of shooting and your other rifles just feel easy.
Adding several pounds of weight then just buy a TX.