Hw70

[Nikkormat]

I posted these questions on the Collectable airguns board a couple of days ago, but got no replies (I suspect because the HW70 contains no walnut for them to pore over), so I wonder if anyone on here can help...

Working abroad, I'm missing my guns, and so have been considering buying a HW70 to keep me occupied. A quick bit of googling suggests that it was introduced in 1970; I want an early one, 1980 or earlier, to fit into my collection.

I've seen three grip styles, all plastic: the first a walnut effect, the second brown with artificial grain, and the third (latest) black. I also note that earlier pistols lack a safety catch.

Can anyone give me some dates on when the grip changes took effect, please?

Also, does the serial numbering follow the usual HW sequence (so I can date it from the same list used for dating rifles)?

Any other tell-tale signs that a pistol might be an earlier model?

Thanks in advance,

Matt

[coburn]

From an HW brochure from 74 showing the new 70 I reckon they came out about then.

The earlier one with the brown grip and seperate HW medallion in the grip is the one to go for, the grips are less prone to cracking and the metal finish is better.

The black grips crack on a regular basis (I've got a black gripped one on its second grip). I bought mine new in 2006 and it was fitted with a safety which sets each time you cock the pistol, overkill really as it also has a beartrap. I ordered a new grip from Chambers after a few years and the one they sent had no provision for the safety! but I removed the safety bar and it fitted perfectly. This second grip has also cracked.

They are a good pistol but I feel the later grips do let it down, HW also do a version of the 70 called the Black Arrow which has a different grip shape, is scope only and comes with a barrel weight.

[Nikkormat]

Thanks Coburn. This one still needs some though.

Matt

[eyebull]

Have you used one before? The triggers are very vague IMO (I have a brown plastic grip/medallion version).
Otherwise nicely constructed though.

[Iain K D]

I bought one in 2000, mail order from Kranks - and as it happened, they had to get one in from HW for me.

It had the safety catch on the left hand side of the grip, which may have come as a surprise to me - bear in mind my knowledge of this gun came from Walter's The Airgun Book - and a horrible, cheap, brittle feeling plastic grip, medium brown with a moulded-in woodgrain effect. The grips had the HW logo moulded into them, not a separate medallion inset.

Maybe I didn't persevere with it as much as I should've, already having a HW75 and '40, but I found it a bit of a disappointment. And yes, the grip started to crack - if you're familiar with the HW40 and the material used in that, the '70 simply bore no relation.

Regards,

Iain

[coburn]

Iain

I ordered my 70 thru Uttings in 2006 and despite the add showing a brown gripped version, a black one duely arrived!. However as yo say even the later brown gripped version (molded in logo) is fragile compared to the earlier 70 with the seperate medallion.

The earlier grip is a better coloured and "grained" bakelite style of plastic, the later is far thinner and more brittle.

[diabolo]

Hi. I have an HW70 serial no.027462 which I am informed by Weihrauch was delivered in 1974. This is my favourite pistol which I use extensively at my club for practice and competitions. It is very accurate after plenty of practice and the trigger I find excellent. The original stock has not cracked and is well balanced. This is the stock with the separate medallions.

[webman]

As you thought, this pistol was introduced in 1970. The first models up to SN 66000 were considered unsafe, as the chamber cap could fly off and hit you in the face! The gun was modified after this SN in 1976, so be careful what you buy if you intend to use it. The optional safety catch was introduced in the late 1990s and the black version in around 2000. This data is from John Griffiths's Encyclopedia, but I can't find any info when the brown stock design changed. I had one of the first models and always found it to be disappointing. It wasn't really a target pistol, and didn't have enough power to give tin cans a good clatter.

[D R Hughes]

Hi,

I had one of the pre-production models from Edgar Bros years ago and we announced it in our mailing shots in May of 1971. That doesn't mean it wasn't introduced in 1970 and the name would suggest that (or 1969!).

Regards, David

[hwtyger]

https://i.postimg.cc/624Dfswb/487401...46023262-n.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/5QwTDwXw/487827...83475200-n.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/47cShzbr/486054...47321384-n.jpg

Heres mine. With medaillon. With box and leaflet. Pretty rare as set?
Compared to my Black Arrow. SN in the 72xxx so should be safe to use.

[abellringer]

I'm currently servicing a n early one with the separate medallion in brown grip. It does have slight deformities around the 4 screws in the grip, but no cracks. I've never heard of an end cap coming out as there's about15mm of thread involved, plus a locking grubscrew. To be fair I've only ever had to work on a couple in 50 years of experience. Oddly I own one, which wouldn't cock, so I fitted a new sear, nothing else is faulty but it still won't cock ??? so it sits in a drawer with other ''odd'' models. Good luck with your search, I confess I now know more of it's history and variants, as I'm not that much informed on this pistol.