Love/hate relationship with Weihrauch

[oldskoolzzz]

Well the plot thickens with this 100

I always felt the reg pressure was set too low so out with the tools this morning and with my reg tester fitted yep the reg is set quite low circa 65bar.

On a previous thread blackmax advised for the calibre and barrel length it should be circa 82-85bar (.22 FL)

So increasing the reg pressure to around 80bar and it started to leak

Ok it’s got some issues.

So I’ve now stripped the block including reg etc as I’ve got a full service kit for it and it was on the cards anyway

On stripping the block I’ve noticed something not right on the valve housing the two bolts that hold the housing are mismatched one has possibly been swapped by accident by the previous owner or got mixed up as one of the bolts is shorter and the head O.D. is smaller but the head length is slightly longer and just sits a tad proud.

I double checked this with the schematics and as I thought both bolts should be the same so this is certainly an issue.

I’m amazed it never had issues with the mag rotation or even had a leak from the valve area but this could well be contributing to the barrel issue especially if the valve housing isn’t right.

Everything else looks brand new inside can’t see any signs of someone messing with it (apart from the odd valve housing bolt) and the barrel fits like a glove in the breech block so once I’ve got the correct valve block bolt sorted and reassembled everything it could be why I’ve felt there’s a barrel movement issue.

[DeadManDan]

Got me thinking about my 100 now, so far only removed the o ring in the barrel band and not noticed any poi shift from zero and it's had a couple of knocks and hard case fell over couple of times ... DOH

Not done any deburring or degreasing from factory guess it's only worth tuning as skill increases?

All rifles have negatives/downsides, so far the only things I can criticize are weight and the supplied biathlon wiggles loose.

[Muskett]

I once bought a second hand "older" HW77, bog standard, .177, for a friend. It was fantastic and a tac driver. One rifle that I wish I hadn't had to pass along. Never had one as good. Heck even the Venom HW77 I had for a while was different.

A lot of HWs have been sold. Agreed, they should be by now be producing dream machines, both springers and PCPs.

The one I have HW95 fully tuned maybe accurate and smooth but still flighty, a bit too hold sensitive. Its no easier to shoot than a FWB Sport, and it should be. A fully tuned up 77 or 80 has the heft so no reason not to. But other stuff can shoot well too given as much work.
For springers then Air Arms make lovely out of the box rifles, and if you are only going to buy once then you may as well have something thats a pleasure to own.

Those shooting at the top of the league are where rifle fit is as important as rifle make. What you get on with, and what stays on tac drive for a long time. Why it takes a few rifles to find what delivers. People buy what the winners use, until the next winner uses something different.

[TRS1]

Out of interest Steyr,

Is your experience mainly K or with full lengths?

What’s brought this up is on my full length even just standing the rifle in the cabinet it’s extremely obvious there is barrel movement even with the interference fit OEM barrel band and o ring still in situ.

Which makes me wonder why it’s actually fitted in the first place.

The OEM grubscrew is nipped up and I’m aware go too tight and it can cause breech issues so it’s literally small end of Allen key nipped up as per the usual advice just enough to stop any spinning from the usual stuck silencer routine which usually is what upsets them.

But it does not give me any confidence to do a full free floating barrel knowing that the barrel has slight movement.

It’s not a biggy and don’t get me wrong as you mention maybe a storm in a teacup but from many other threads and searches I’ve noticed quite a few back in the day did the extra grubscrew(s) modification for this exact problem.

Maybe I just have a particularly sloppy example or it becomes more obvious once a barrel has ever been spun or removed and refitted etc.

I had this issue with an FSB HW100 7 or 8 years ago.. replaced it with a screw cut K barrel and issue and accuracy probs solved.

However, the ergonomics of it just didn't work for me, and moved it on for an S400.

Shame, I really wanted to like it, and on paper I did!

[TRS1]

Cor Weihrauchs really do my nut in

Don’t want to be outright negative so it’s very much love/hate am I alone is this thought process or anyone else suffering weihrauchitus

For eg.

Springers:

HW30 obviously love the trigger (rekord versions), love the sweet shooting experience but my god is the rifle flawed and riddled with the usual hateful niggles.

HW99s pretty much as above

HW95 on paper pretty much perfect obvious love for the trigger etc but my god what a hateful shooting experience the most annoying springer to get a nice shot cycle with especially calming that well known hold sensitivity for the sub 12 boys & girls.

HW80 the Daddy much love in every aspect however as we all know sub 12 it’s such a waste of ooomph and being on tick over with that lethargic shot cycle is boring as heck like having a car constantly in limp home mode.

HW77/97 probably IMO the cream of the crop not many negatives at all but usually a little tickle with some spit and polish is certainly needed for that out the box unfinished kick it out the door quick accountants examples

Now the elephant in the room my latest HW100

Owned loads of them but never really gelled no matter what guise be it 101 100 full length and karbine, fister or Sporter variants.

I love many other aspects though like the trigger, mag system and side lever etc.

After some tinkering, I’m even starting to like the split block and the internals setup but my biggest gripe is that barrel security.

Now I’m from the oldschool thought process of a fully floating barrel should be absolutely pukka eg you could do chin ups on a rapid barrel but my oh my I have zero confidence doing the usual floating the barrel stuff on a 100 without beefing up the breech block area eg modification required with additional grub screws through the top.

Yes I know it’s controversial but I know plenty of tuners who agree with that method.

Meh……feel a tad better now so I’ll end on a positive my biggest love though for Weihrauchs is certainly the spares availability for sure even the 100 is so easy with every part available if ever needed not to mention so many after market suppliers now that is probably the biggest positive going

I like HW's, but I view their springers as a chassis to be worked on rather than a finished product.

[look no hands]

I once bought a second hand "older" HW77, bog standard, .177, for a friend. It was fantastic and a tac driver. One rifle that I wish I hadn't had to pass along. Never had one as good. Heck even the Venom HW77 I had for a while was different.

A lot of HWs have been sold. Agreed, they should be by now be producing dream machines, both springers and PCPs.

The one I have HW95 fully tuned maybe accurate and smooth but still flighty, a bit too hold sensitive. Its no easier to shoot than a FWB Sport, and it should be. A fully tuned up 77 or 80 has the heft so no reason not to. But other stuff can shoot well too given as much work.
For springers then Air Arms make lovely out of the box rifles, and if you are only going to buy once then you may as well have something thats a pleasure to own.

Those shooting at the top of the league are where rifle fit is as important as rifle make. What you get on with, and what stays on tac drive for a long time. Why it takes a few rifles to find what delivers. People buy what the winners use, until the next winner uses something different.

I once bought an older 77k off a friend at it was almost recoiless, I sold it on to fund another rifle but it was untouched but well run in.

Pete

[Hsing-ee]

[I]

Cor Weihrauchs really do my nut in

Springers:

HW30 obviously love the trigger (rekord versions), love the sweet shooting experience but my god is the rifle flawed and riddled with the usual hateful niggles.

Come on Pete, two hours with a file and a bit of aluminium oxide paper are well within your skill set - in fact its beneath you to imply you couldn't sort the 30s 'niggles' in half an evening.

HW99s pretty much as above

As above. With a perfect bore/stroke ratio this rifle is all a person really needs sub-12 fpe.

HW95 on paper pretty much perfect obvious love for the trigger etc but my god what a hateful shooting experience the most annoying springer to get a nice shot cycle with especially calming that well known hold sensitivity for the sub 12 boys & girls.

Yup, it's a pair of ladders and a twitchy chumpstick for sub-12fpe, don't know why people buy them.

HW80 the Daddy much love in every aspect however as we all know sub 12 it’s such a waste of ooomph and being on tick over with that lethargic shot cycle is boring as heck like having a car constantly in limp home mode.

Yes, a big lump with a big tube and no real purpose in the UK unless you are the kind of man-mountain with spades for hands that needs something that you won't accidentally bend.

HW77/97 probably IMO the cream of the crop not many negatives at all but usually a little tickle with some spit and polish is certainly needed for that out the box unfinished kick it out the door quick accountants examples

Requires even less time than the 30 to fettle, and only slightly less than the TX200. Come on, you can't really criticise these rifles.

Now the elephant in the room my latest HW100

Yeah, it's horrible, for all the reasons you name.

Owned loads of them but never really gelled no matter what guise be it 101 100 full length and karbine, fister or Sporter variants.

I love many other aspects though like the trigger, mag system and side lever etc.

After some tinkering, I’m even starting to like the split block and the internals setup but my biggest gripe is that barrel security.

Now I’m from the oldschool thought process of a fully floating barrel should be absolutely pukka eg you could do chin ups on a rapid barrel but my oh my I have zero confidence doing the usual floating the barrel stuff on a 100 without beefing up the breech block area eg modification required with additional grub screws through the top.

Yes I know it’s controversial but I know plenty of tuners who agree with that method.

Meh……feel a tad better now so I’ll end on a positive my biggest love though for Weihrauchs is certainly the spares availability for sure even the 100 is so easy with every part available if ever needed not to mention so many after market suppliers now that is probably the biggest positive going

It seems you left a few off the list, including your bete noir, the HW35. I wonder why? You can't bear to name it in public? Or 'doth the Pete complain too much?'

[oldskoolzzz]

[I]

It seems you left a few off the list, including your bete noir, the HW35. I wonder why? You can't bear to name it in public? Or 'doth the Pete complain too much?'

Think you might have got a tad mixed up old bean, I’m not Pete and I’ve never owned that munter called the 35

[Muskett]

HW35, and specifically HW35E, was because it didn't perform gave reason for the tuning craze to start. Heck, the reason for the likes of Venom.
I.J. might disagree but its ugly. Its heavy. But it had all the right parts. An accurate barrel, a fantastic trigger, and a whopping chamber, piston, piston head and guide. Well all the chunky bits to work on to make better as factory was all a bit hit and miss. The quality was there too to put all the effort into. Though mighty frustrating at times to get it to do what it should. 12ft/lbs didn't help as they probably could easily run 14 to 16ft/lbs.
Did I say it is a lump. (A tiny Webley Vulcan MKI could do 12ft/lbs; ten ton trigger though.)
Its redeeming feature was that it made the competition produce the Original 45, which in turn forced HW to produce the 77 and 80. Two more whoppingly big rifles for the tuners to put "smooth" right.

Says a lot when many consider a factory HW a base rifle to then work on. Why I'd recommend to those who weren't fed molly grease at birth an Air Arms, as factory they are better. Even tuning have less far to go.

[Travis299]

Several K shots through mu HW95L .22, (2018/2019 year), and this is a 5 shot group at 25 yards for this 82+ year old redneck. I use Caldwell bags and a soft but firm hold if that makes any sense. The rifle is MOS out to 35 yards for me. I found the H&N FTT 14.66 gr 5.53 mm give the best results.

[TonyL]

Yes, all the HWs that I own that I've tested with love the FTTs and it's the 5.53 (stated size, anyway, I haven't checked) that I've put through my .22s.

Gary Chillingworth has just kicked off a new series in Airgunner. Taking a standard HW95, fitting a Hawke SF scope and seeing how he fares in HFT competition. Should be interesting.

[oldskoolzzz]

Cheers for the replies chaps and Travis nice shooting tex

Would you all believe in the world of oldskoolzzz it’s never a dull moment

I’ve just taken back in PX my HW30STL

FFS

I imported it around this time last year from Mundilar it was a pricey bugger but I so wanted the bling bling STL HW30 at the time.

Sadly it didn’t last as an old bell target friend was looking for something suitable shortly after so passed it on to him to enjoy.

Then I bought it back when my friend decided to stick with Co2 and it was looking for a new home.

Then another friend bought it from me as he always wanted the STL version as well.

This time during my friends ownership as he’s a tasty engineer he’s remedied it’s flaws and also fitted a guide and gave it some spit & polish.

But now it’s come back to me again for a 3rd bleeding time

Crikey this is ending up like a Rapid MFR that I once owned at least 4 times

Reet mr Tony bloody L

I will give this one time to see if the 30 really is something I want to keep or end up ditching in the Trent

Ball bearing lockup and all

[mickson]

Chuck it in the Trent & i'll be their with a net to catch it.

[oldskoolzzz]

Chuck it in the Trent & i'll be their with a net to catch it.

Haha I think Tony L is probably on the banks waiting already

[Muskett]

Magnet fishing!