Weihrauch HW97 UnderLever Springer Love Thread

Beautiful rifle and probably my next air rifle purchase. BUT as much as I agree that fixed barrel springers are the way to go (I purchased an RWS model 52 years ago) there is one excellent alternative to side lever (m48,m52) and under lever rifles (HW77 etc) and that is the break barrel HW35 with the barrel lock eliminating droop. These rifles are now frequently overlooked ... but they represent excellent value for the guy/gal that values that "little bit of extra accuracy" over power... they are still a classic in my mind.
 
Great gun, but heavy, yes is why I almost never shoot mine. love the blue laminate and the superb accurary. Mine has a real nice 3-9 Leupold air rifle scope. FS
 
I have been considering selling off some of my air rifles and the one that will never be sold is my HW97kT Blackline in .22. Mine has a PG2 full power kit installed and spits H&N FTT 14.66gn at 15.9 fpe and at 40 yrds, if I do my part, it will put them all under a half inch. It no doubt is a better shooter than I am capable of without a lot of practice. Wish I had a better pic of her but I don't think it would stack up to Helipilots beauty no matter the quality of the photography lol.

 
Very nice!/\

I have to try that pellet. Mine groups 1" at 10 meters with Exact 553 and 554. Already shot about 800 pellets of different brands to practice and break-in. Still no joy.

Keep trying different pellets. At 10 meters they should be going in the same hole.
 
Great gun, but heavy, yes is why I almost never shoot mine. love the blue laminate and the superb accurary. Mine has a real nice 3-9 Leupold air rifle scope. FS

That rifle is very accurate, I regretted selling it a time or two. I eventually replaced it with a 22 caliber Air Arms TX200MkIII.
 
Very nice!/\

I have to try that pellet. Mine groups 1" at 10 meters with Exact 553 and 554. Already shot about 800 pellets of different brands to practice and break-in. Still no joy.

These rifles tend to love JSB and H&N pellets but don't discount other brands if those aren't working for you. How are you holding the rifle? Google "artillery hold". Coles notes, hold the forestock with an open palm or very light grip and pull the butt very lightly to your shoulder again with a light touch (just enough you wont drop it). Springers need to be allowed to recoil. Rests can be finicky as well. Slippery is good, again allowing the rifle to recoil.

Another thing you can check is for pellet clip on the muzzle break. The end cap can be removed with an allen key to check the inside for evidence of this. I agree with Westward1 at 10 metres it should be almost boring to shoot. Have you cleaned the bore? Pellet guns like the barrel leaded up to shoot really accurately but that is not the rule. I will shoot until accuracy falls off before I clean but if you have been having the same results from new maybe a good cleaning is in order.

Hope this helps.
 
A spring compressor would take a lot of risk out of disassembly and reassembly. Like mentioned enjoy your gun and look at aftermarket parts when the factory components fail. In my experience HW springs don't have the longest life span. And the first part that will likely need replacing is the breech seal. Vortek make a superior seal over the HW part.

Hello All............I'm not sure the H&W springs have a lower life expectancy the Diana's on the other hand usually fail by breaking, and I've replaced many of those over the yrs but... NO H&W springs... from breaking >sure a few from spring fatigue but they were always from older well used air rifles...KEN.
 
These rifles tend to love JSB and H&N pellets but don't discount other brands if those aren't working for you. How are you holding the rifle? Google "artillery hold". Coles notes, hold the forestock with an open palm or very light grip and pull the butt very lightly to your shoulder again with a light touch (just enough you wont drop it). Springers need to be allowed to recoil. Rests can be finicky as well. Slippery is good, again allowing the rifle to recoil.

Another thing you can check is for pellet clip on the muzzle break. The end cap can be removed with an allen key to check the inside for evidence of this. I agree with Westward1 at 10 metres it should be almost boring to shoot. Have you cleaned the bore? Pellet guns like the barrel leaded up to shoot really accurately but that is not the rule. I will shoot until accuracy falls off before I clean but if you have been having the same results from new maybe a good cleaning is in order.

Hope this helps.


I used Caldwell Zero rest which allows the rifle to recoil freely. Correction on my JSB 22 pellets. I used Exact and RS both in 552. I probably need to go up 553 and 554, with HNs.

I have cleaned the barrel once, at around 500 shots. I am at 900 now, still grouping 1 inch + at 17 yards

I will check for bullet clipping hopefully on the weekend. Thanks much
 
Can you give us an idea of how many rounds shot before the above springs failed, and which model of Diana and HW please.

Reason is I probably would order springs for my 97s and Diana 34 if they are likely to fail soon.

My 77k in .22 busted a spring after less than 1000 rounds. 50s in .177 after about 3000. 30s in .177 never broke but slow and steady power drop to 500ish fps after about 4000 rounds. 97kt never got the chance since it got a 12fpe Vortek after a couple hundred rounds. Diana 48 in both .177 and .22 lost power after a few thousand rounds but didn't break even after extended use after sag or set took place. Model 34 again both calibers same result as model 48s. The one rifle I have that never sagged or broke is my Diana 24 in .22. Has only lost about 10fps over many thousands of rounds and 16 years of use. CZ springs have be very good for longevity as well in my experience.
 
Hmmmm, i thought German airguns were durable. I splurged on my 97s because I thought they would last a long time, i.e. 100K shots before needing parts. Come to think of it, my FWB 300S broke its spring after only a few thousand shots.

Perhaps I wont sell my CZ630 after all, considering CZs have long life expectancy. Non-Pal but fun nonetheless.

How many shots do the Vortek springs usually last?
 
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