Didn't live up to expectations

[jjjohn]

Thinking about HW rifles and how they are these days, in the late 70's for Christmas I had my heart set on a HW 35 in .177
as this was the calibre the magazines or should I say magazine was bigging up (no pun).My mam paid each week into a Christmas club for £60.
The metal detector /airgun shop ordered one in from HCC. On one visit to pay an instalment I saw a shiny HW 35 on display in the shop window.
That's yours the shop owner told me and I even got a chance to have a hold of it and he even let me shoot a couple of pellets through it.Christmas couldn't come quick enough. A lad I knew was getting a BSA Mercury in .177 ..Well the big day finally arrived ,(remember it was the 70's) lol we both stood side by side aiming at a 3 quarter inch piece of planed pine with a pen drawn dot on it at 35 foot or so . My first shot whacked the wood and left the skirt of the pellet protruding. The second shot, third and fourth did the same.Then it was the Mercury's turn,and straight away the first.177 went straight through.A fresh piece of exact timber was used and every shot went clean through,again my HW just stuck a pellet in .I was gutted I'd lost sleep sweating over this gun I put it back in the box .Anyway as soon as the shops opened after the holidays my dad took it in and swopped it for a Mercury for me,it was great.I shot loads with it and could hit spent shotgun cartridges with open sights at long ranges.Happy thoughts down memory lane,btw the BSA smelled as good as it looked ,that new gun smell......I wish I was 17 again :-)

[rapidresponse1]

i agree with you great guns the mercury,you always have your memeories bud

[SRV1]

How curious jjjohn....you speak of 177's, 17 years of age and within your post count 177. The lottery is a must.....

[laverdabru]

The Mercury passed me by back then. I was aware of the BSA Meteor & Airsporter, Relums. Webleys, some Dianas whose numbers I don't recall, also the exotica of Original & Feinwerkbau. But not the Mercury for some reason
Must do some research, maybe put one on my 'to do/buy' list if my finances improve.

Interestingly, my spell check comes up with rectum for Relums

ATB

Bru

[Neil54]

I too bought a Mercury, mine was an 'S' . Came from Stensby and son, a proper gun shop on shudehill st in Manchester.
With hindsight an airgun shop might have been the better place to have got one from.
I ended up selling it on loot for almost as much as I paid for it. Complete with box and accessories, a 6x40 scope.
Went to Chester if I remember correctly.

[egghead]

I had my first HW35 in 1983 and couldn't really get on with it. I sold it to a lad at school who loved it and bought another HW35 (yes I know) but this time tuned.
That didn't make much difference other than it was more expensive. And I never achieved the accuracy I hoped for with it.

Anyway I kept it and around 15 years or so ago I had it venom tuned. It was notably different but I still couldn't hit much with it.

Last year I made a makeshift hamster for it and took it out the FT club.

In the sitting position, resting the gun on my knee with a kneepad for separation from my knee cap I put in consistent groups, say 3/4 of an inch at 30 yards and could knock down a full size kill and 45 yards repetitively. I'd say it equalled by TX200 in terms of what I could get out of it.

Just goes to prove how my poor technique let the gun down, rather than the other way round.

Quite like the HW35 now.

Dave

[jjjohn]

How curious jjjohn....you speak of 177's, 17 years of age and within your post count 177. The lottery is a must.....

Lol blooming heck ....I'm scared now .Cheers mate.

[Collieman]

I got a Mercury MKII in .22 for Christmas the I was 14.
A mate got a Relum Tornado and invited me over to shoot at his.
A trench filled with water, cans with holes taped up. He was made up with his relum putting holes in the cans, then I tried with the Mecury. It was blowing the cans out of the water.

Still got it 41 years later.

[jjjohn]

I got a Mercury MKII in .22 for Christmas the I was 14.
A mate got a Relum Tornado and invited me over to shoot at his.
A trench filled with water, cans with holes taped up. He was made up with his relum putting holes in the cans, then I tried with the Mecury. It was blowing the cans out of the water.

Still got it 41 years later.

Brilliant.

[craig9mm]

I too bought a Mercury, mine was an 'S' . Came from Stensby and son, a proper gun shop on shudehill st in Manchester.
With hindsight an airgun shop might have been the better place to have got one from.
I ended up selling it on loot for almost as much as I paid for it. Complete with box and accessories, a 6x40 scope.
Went to Chester if I remember correctly.

yep the Mercury was unknown to me too,Stensbys...my god....been gone maybe 6 or 7 years...

[jeff0100]

My first rifle was an A.S.I Sniper in .22. When I was 14 I got my Mercury. It cost me £35 from John Stevens airgun centre. I'd read "The calibre question" article in Airgun World and decided .177 was for me. Trigger is a bit crap, but it seemed I could hit everything I aimed at with the open sights.
I've still got it 42 years on, but it needs work. The breech jaws seem to have spread slightly. If anyone knows a cure for that I'd be grateful to hear it.

[Number3]

My first gun was a 0.22 BSA Meteor which I got for Xmas when I was 10. The smell of the little bottle of BSA oil stayed with me for years. Four years later and my old man drove me to Streatham Armoury in south London to upgrade to a 0.177 Mercury. That was a fantastic gun - wish I still had it. Can’t remember what happened to it now but this thread brought back some great memories. Cheers.

[guitardan]

I got my first airgun, an ASI sniper in 1977, I was 19,i got to try an airsporter and an old relum, the airsporter was the most powerful, but I could shoot more accurate with the ASI
Coming back to the hobby last year, I got an old airsporter, and in honesty, I didn't enjoy shooting it. I got a Mercury and a mk1 meteor which I adore, the airsporter I've sold on
Nostalgia had me get an old sniper, it shoulders great, its accurate at 15yds with open sights, but alot more twangy than I remember..

[TVRGREG]

My Dad bought my 1st air rifle for me in 79-80. A brand new Bsa super meteor in .22, we traveled all the way up to Js Ramsbottom when they were bricks and mortar. £35 new
My best mate had the webley vulcan at the time.
I dreamed about having a HW35E they looked beautiful with that walnut stock and the 22" barrel, but was always out of my price range. So jump forward 40 years and i decided to scratch that itch and bought a 1979 HW35E. Jesus scoped with leather sling it weighs 10lbs i cannot shoot it freehand How i would of coped with it as a 11-12yr old i have no idea.

[laverdabru]

I'm 15, my early '50's Diana 27 on it's last legs. Paper round, b'day & xmas money saved, big bro. a Webley man thru & thru. spotted a Hawk Mk 2, boxed, with both barrels, at a gunshop on the High St in Frome. Nearly new.
What could go wrong?
Bluddy everything. Stock, trigger, piston rings, safety(HA!!!) catch ect.
Fast Forward 40 years. Back into airguns, got 5 u/levers. Fancy an old school - but new - breakbarrel. Fond memories of an early HW77 owned in the '80's. classic looks, & they've been making them for yonks - an HW35, please.
What could go wrong?
Legendary Record trigger fell apart, harsh, twangy...returned under warranty, rebuilt, still don't like it.
But I also bought an early '80's one later, after test firing it, & it's lovely.

ATB

Bru