My '77 .22 HW 35e shot lovely at 11+ft/lbs on the original spring that had barely any preload but was as stiff & thick wire as an ox, still had original leather washer too, all i did was relube it after reblueing & add a lube sleeve, I've cut down a good few ox's for mates in the 80's usually in hw 80's & got them to shoot a lot better too.