Reply With QuoteSMK do a budget Snowpeak target pistol which is quite good or look out for a second hand Baikal 46m (Izzy).... Very easy to load and service..
They dare not speak his name in hushed tones
Nowadays for competition, precision counts, so I see the reason for the proliferation of PCP and at the very least SSP.
I used a brand new HW40 a few months ago, but it went back to the shop because of a piston and latch failure.
The power varied from shot to shot, and the latch for closure popped open on a number of shots.
Not impressed, especially because of the reputation of Weihrauch, and the praises sung about this little pistol. I got a dud, it happens.
Now, after the price rise, they're 25% more expensive than my refund!
The actual use of the HW40 was somewhere between soulless and infuriating.
I found the SSP fiddly to load, nigh on impossible with even thin gloves.
Horridly frustrating to cock, forever catching clothing on that final bit of closure.
Then, thanks to the dodgy latch, the entire process slowed down by the anxious extra few pushes to be sure it locked.
All that, only for the shooting cycle to be accurate and boring all at the same time.
(That is, except mine that had the power loss from dodgy piston.)
So, for me (if you get a good one) the HW40 only serves to provide clean groups, if you can tolerate the awful SSP use.
Getting the little Webley Tempest, I was overjoyed. The overlever cocking isn't the best, but it's infinitely faster, and pellet loading is much easier without all the plastic in the way.
Unfortunately it's a plinker, there's only so much accuracy you can expect from it. That said, it's durable, and hardly going to lose accuracy if it gets treated a little rough.
At 5m I can consistently hit within the inch circle targets, until the inevitable flyers from slack tolerances.
Reading around, there seem to be pistols like the FAS 6004, but these are plagued with issues, and parts aren't so available. FWB's are few and far between. Most target pistols went straight to CO2 in the intervening years until PCP, like the various Crosman.
Maybe what I want is the HW45? After the experience of the HW40, I don't think I'd try the HW75 and I'm hesitant about another Weihrauch.
Looking at the photos, and only seeing one in the cabinet at a shop, it looks like the 45 would suffer the same frustrations on pellet loading anyway.
Maybe something old like an Original? Model 6 perhaps? It worries me if the pistols are complicated to work on, or parts are difficult to find, because at those ages they will need new seals and something could go ping...
It's only for informal work, but I'd love to take a step beyond the Tempest, without losing the satisfaction, size, or character of the little overlever.
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SMK do a budget Snowpeak target pistol which is quite good or look out for a second hand Baikal 46m (Izzy).... Very easy to load and service..
Registered User
Never tried one, but the Daisy Powerline 717 SSP seems to be a reasonable step up from a plinker. There is also the Webley/Zoraki Alecto if you don't mind a tactical plastic-fantastic multi-pumper. It is supposed to produce around 3ftlp with one pump.
I used to have a Crosman 1377, but really got sick of having to do a minimum of three pumps to get any decent fps out of it. Currently got a Sig Sauer ASP Supertarget, (FAS6004 under the skin) but it was barely firing at 300fps when I bought it SH, but I have tweaked it up to around 360fps so far, but hope to get it close to 400fps by replacing the breech and piston O-rings with X-ring seals. It is very nicely made, but let down by some minor issues that affected performance.
Too many guns, or not enough time?
Banned
If you found the 40 fiddly to load, then I would rule out the 75/45 or the FAS variants, or the Zoraki/Alecto, or the Gamo Compact etc… all have the same overlever design.
The simplicity of a Diana/Original 6 variant break barrel is hard to beat, but as you said, complicated if they go wrong.
The side lever 65/80/90 are awkward to cock for some, and after a long session can play havoc on the wrist.
I currently own an Aeron Brno Chameleon co2, gives about 80/90 full power shots per 12g bulb and is easy to load with no cocking fatigu. If you don’t want to go for a PCP then it’s a good option.
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Just an observation about loading over-lever pistols, I have always opened the lever, holding the grip in my right (shooting) hand and loaded the pellet with my left hand, which Ian points out is fiddly.
With my Sig Sauer I bought some lead-free pellets to try to improve the fps (to get crisp holes in the target card) the skirts on these pellets are so hard, I needed to deep-seat them to get them to work, so I found myself gripping the top shroud with my left hand, loading the pellet with my right hand and then using a pellet seater. Doing this gave me sufficient leverage to get the pellet in, but I realised that it makes it easier to load any pellet.
It felt a bit counter-intuitive at first, but it seems quite natural now, I have yet to try this technique on my HW45, but I think it will also work, although I don't think it will on Webley springers as the barrel is too thin to hang on to securely!
Too many guns, or not enough time?
They dare not speak his name in hushed tones
Realised that I forgot a really important bit of info!Originally Posted by Modski66
I was hit by a car in 2010 and have nerve damage from the ulner/radial nerves being nearly severed (full break in middle of the humerus), so my left thumb lacks some dexterity and feeling. When tired, I lose focus and forget how to operate my fingers. Difficult to explain or believe, until you watch me just of a sudden drop things that I thought I had a secure grip of.
As a result loading pellets on a break barrel is fiddly but possible with the left, but only with a fully exposed breech.
It's the break barrel/overlever style that I like, but maybe a side-lever could provide some satisfaction as a next step.
Likes to wear driving gloves in the bedroom
For targets you need something decent, I went through half a dozen pistols before I bought a Steyr LP50 and it was excellent, so good in fact I actually had two, one for the wife and I.
I no longer shoot pistol targets, but if I was, it would have to be a dedicated target pistol, and most likely another Steyr
Making a mockery of growing old gracefully since I retired
Surrey's Anglo Saxon
Not being a pistol man myself but, surprised nobody praised the Hammerli?
I bought one in a job lot recently and had it sealed and serviced by the legend Lawrie Armatruda, mainly to sell on but, it is growing on me and may not make it to my table at KP Sunday.
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Hammerli Master CO2
https://www.google.com/search?q=hamm...id:vGXUdisaTbM
They dare not speak his name in hushed tones
Small update. Thanks to Kempton, I handled a significant number of pistols.
Somehow I didn’t spend the £120 on a FAS, mostly because of parts availability, and didn’t walk away with a Diana 6 … parts, condition, price.
There were loads of others, some classics like the Benjamin. In the end I went almost completely against my initial complaints and specifications.
I will report back once I have decided if it was money well spent…
Registered User
It's a pity you had issues with your HW40. I bought a S/H one of these about five years ago for £50 and found it a joy to shoot, never having owned an SSP before.
In terms of target shooting I suppose it depends on what your interests /aspirations are because moving up to 10m match shooting for instance you will really need a Steyr, Hammerli, FWB etc PCP - I shoot a FWB P44 for match but I have also owned in the past a Morini 162ei and before that a Tau7 CO2.
Good luck with your search to find a pistol that suits you!
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My guess is you got yourself an HW75!
Too many guns, or not enough time?
They dare not speak his name in hushed tones
Correct!!
It was bought from the chap in the middle of the room at Kempton. He told me it came from a collector who had piles and piles of boxed unused guns. This one was decades old, and came with the original test card, manual, hang-tag, pellet tin, and some gun oil. He said it was way down on power so his gunsmith fitted new seals. It came with the old dead seals in the packet along with the TWC receipt for the £30 of bits.
Xcortech chrono. RWS Superdomes.
(346.8)
356.6
353.1
355.3
359.8
358.1
356.7
356.8
355
356.9
356.9
355.5
(347.8)
357.7
351.4
354.2
(348.7)
356.4
357.6
Apart from the odd dodgy pellet, the pistol definitely seems to be consistent. At least one of the 340's was my inconsistent cocking effort. I was happily hitting a tight group around 10 yards, and plastic bottles past 15. The HW75's larger size makes loading pellets and cocking the pistol much less of a chore than the HW40. This should keep me quiet for a while until I decide on a proper match grade pistol.
Grips are very comfortable. Would love target grips for it, just because.
Registered User
Very nice looking bit of kit!
I thought the HW75 was a 400+fps gun? I shot an HW40 (same innards?)last week that was noticeably more powerful than my Sig Sauer ASP that is currently running at 360fps. The HW40 was punching clean holes in target cards, but the Sig was only managing ragged holes.
Too many guns, or not enough time?
They dare not speak his name in hushed tones
I wondered the same, but doing some searching online, it looks like the HW75 is known for 'low' power. If you ignore the couple extremes (bad pellet/cocking), the spread is narrow enough that I won't worry.
The grip has had some layers of Tru-Oil, and a final bit of pure carna wax on top. It's a little bit too shiny, usage should bring it back to a matt finish in time.
Of course... I also went and bought Mickson's Gamo Centre, so maybe these pistols breed like rabbits.
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