by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
HW35 Luxus
This report covers:
- Trigger adjustment
- 150 shots
- In the beginning
- Best pellet
- Doubting Thomas
- No target sights
- No scope
- The solution
- Stock screws
- Barrel pivot
- Day two
- What’s next?
Today, we’ll look at the accuracy of my HW35 Luxus. I’m shooting from a rest at 25 yards, and the gun lies directly on the sandbag. I tried holding it with the artillery hold, and it made no difference in group size.
Trigger adjustment
I tested the Rekord trigger before starting and found it was releasing at 2 lbs., 9 oz. That’s a bit too heavy for a Rekord, so I backed out the aluminum trigger adjustment screw as far as it would go and learned something valuable. On the lightest adjustment, the stage-two release of this trigger is just 14 oz. That’s too light for a sporting rifle. It’s almost like a match Rekord that has a lighter return spring. So, I tightened the screw until the release was exactly 1 lb., 8 oz. That feels both safe and right.
This trigger adjustment screw adjusted the pull lighter than other standard Rekord triggers I’ve seen.
I’m pretty sure someone has been inside this rifle, because sporting Rekord triggers do not adjust this light. They’ll lighten up, but they aren’t supposed to get lighter than about a pound. Once the trigger was adjusted, I started the test.
150 shots
I fired 150 shots in this test, not counting sighters. I did that over a period of 2 days. I will not show all the groups — just the ones that illustrate the points I want to make.
In the beginning
On the first day, there were a large number of very mediocre groups. The worst one was 10 RWS Superdomes that went into 2.153 inches at 25 yards. That was shot with the rifle resting on the bag, so I immediately shot 5 more at another target using the artillery hold. Those 5 went into 1.24 inches, which told me that Superdomes were not the right pellets for this rifle and also that there’s no significant difference with this rifle between the artillery hold and bag-rested. Had I completed that group with 5 more shots, it probably would have opened to about 1.80 inches, and I want better than that.
Ten RWS Superdomes made this 2.153-inch group at 25 yards on day one. This is the largest group of the session.
Best pellet
A reader had mentioned that his HW35 shoots the Qiang Yuan Training pellets pretty well, so I tried them and got a 0.986-inch ten-shot group. That was the best group of the first day; though, on another target, I did put 8 out of 10 H&N Baracuda Match pellets with 4.52mm heads into 0.947 inches
Ten Qiang Yuan pellets went into 0.986 inches at 25 yards on day one.
Doubting Thomas
At the end of day one, with seven 10-shot groups in hand and none of them outstanding, I was starting to doubt myself. Several things went through my mind.
• Am I getting too old to shoot with open sights?
• Have I found the best pellet?
• Does the barrel need cleaning?
• Are the sights causing me problems?
• Should I mount a scope?
• Should I mount target sights?
• Is this rifle not that accurate?
• Is there something I should do to the rifle?
I list these things in case this sort of thing sometimes happens to you. You’re faced with an impossible situation, and you don’t know what you don’t know. The rifle you’re testing should be accurate, but it doesn’t seem to respond to anything.
An evening of thought and reflection on what I’d done on day one led me to some conclusions. First, the sights that came on the rifle were not the best. They were a German Perlkorn (tapered) front post and a shallow vee rear notch.
The front sight tapered post (Perlkorn) is too pointed, and the rear notch on the Weihrauch sight is too shallow.
I felt the front sight tapered too sharp for good aiming at bullseye targets, and the rear notch was too shallow. Unfortunately, this Weihrauch rear sight does not have different notches. But a Diana rear sight from the same period (1970s/80s) came with 4 different notches, and that rear sight unit fits the HW35 like it was made for it.
No target sights
I could have just mounted a Weihrauch rear target sight on the rifle and used a target aperture insert in the front, but I didn’t want to do that. I already have an HW55 SF that has target sights, and I didn’t want another target rifle that was so similar (Rekord trigger, breakbarrel, easy cocking, etc.). Maybe I’ll do it one day out of curiosity, but for now I want my 35 to remain as a sporting rifle.
No scope
I also could have mounted a scope. This 35 gives every indication of being a tackdriver that only a scope can bring out. But I already have a Beeman R8 Tyrolean that’s tuned to perfection. This gun would be too similar to that one if I scoped it. I wanted this rifle to keep its sporting sights, so it would be a different kind of breakbarrel springer in my collection. Also, this HW35 is a world-class drooper. Any scope would have to be mounted on stilts on the rear ring to compensate, and I didn’t want that.
The solution
I ended up mounting a Diana rear sight with a square notch selected. Up front, I swapped the sharp Perlkorn for one with a broader, more rounded tip. The result is a sporting sight that’s easy to acquire, yet can also be precise. It’s almost like having a square post in front.
Stock screws
Then, I checked the stock screws. They were all loose. I tightened them and noticed that, while the groups didn’t seem to get smaller, the rifle became even smoother when it fired — something I wouldn’t have thought possible.
Barrel pivot
The barrel pivot bolt was loose enough that the barrel would not remain in any position I placed it in once the rifle had been cocked. So, I tightened the pivot bolt and then the nut. Weihrauchs with European stocks are so good about this, because the pivot bolt is right out in the open where you can access it with a screwdriver. The stock can remain on the rifle while you tighten it.
Day two
I’m going to cut through all the shooting I did on day two. Since I changed the sights and tightened everything, there were more sighters, and then I shot another eight 10-shot groups on this day. I discovered that JSB Exact 8.44-grain pellets are pretty accurate, and I shot the best group of the session with the Qiang Yuan Training pellets. Ten pellets went into 0.898 inches at 25 yards.
This 10-shot group of JSB Exact 8.4-grain pellets shows the potential for the HW35 to be a tackdriver. Five pellets are spaced just 0.392 inches between centers. Ten pellets, though, are in 1.788 inches at 25 yards, and they’re mostly due to my aiming errors.
This group of 10 Qiang Yuan Training pellets measures 0.898 inches between centers at 25 yards. It shows the HW35 can shoot!
At this point, I am enjoying the rifle. It’s so easy to cock and shoots so smoothly that I simply like the sensation of firing. It almost doesn’t matter where the pellet goes — almost.
What’s next?
Next, I’ll disassemble the rifle so we can all have a look inside. I’m curious about the piston seal material and also to see if there’s been any tuning done. I plan on getting the safety working again, if possible. Hopefully, the rifle will still shoot as smooth when it goes back together.
BB, I doubt if youre getting too old. Shooting opensights also requires the right feel/mood/touch at that particular moment. If the right touch is off… you simply cannot group well…. . The better you get at shooting, the more chance you have something goes wrong…. cos then there’s all those things happening at the same time. So when one thing is off (say youre stance, footing, hold, breath) it will affect youre results. You mentioned the easy cocking of this hw35, ….maybe it has a broke spring.
Those particular opensights dont help either….its not upon the rifle to decide what sights you use…. you should be able to decide yourself. The current Weihrauch sights are much better!
I do not nesserrilly agree with youre decision to refuse using a scope or target diopter sights. Just for the sake of testing accuracy I suggest you do! You have to give this lady a chance. You cannot achieve the best accuracy with those mediocre sights.
This rifle is the grandfather of the rifle you wrote a book about. So please give this rifle youre tuners breathe, and fit it with proper aperture or scope afterwards.
About the Weihrauch brand…..if got to lose some steam here. Ive been shooting this brand all my life. But last 18 months I seem to get all the bad springs and a all the possible failures. Ive had two broken mainsprings in two weeks… both my 80 and 85 had their springs broken, both not a year old. I brought the hw 80 to my gunsmith, cost me 90 euros!!! Thats half thr the price of a new hw30s/Beeman r7! And I was saving up for a hw30s. That hurts. So I disassembled the hw85 myself and Im now waiting for a new spring to arrive tomorrow. I also had problems with THREE hw97 rifles.
Im now in the proces of gathering all the emails to weihrauch and their responses…… gonna print them and also write a letter to Hans Weihrauch himself. Im gonna bundle all the mails, bills ans my personal letter and send it to him. Ill expect to send it to him this week.
Rant goes on…. I cant help myself. My fwb 300s has over half a million shots with the original spring. Yes I know…..less stress. But if you build a high power rifle, like the 80 and 85….. then make sure you put a spring in it that is up to the job. You do not expect a premium brand rifle to break just after warranty has expired. My wife gave me a hard time this weekend…. cos all of the money I spent on the repairs. And she cannot understand that Im saving up for an OTHER weihrauch (the hw30s)…. since I had so much problems with my (previous) rifles. But I just love weihrauch rifles. The trigger, the stock, the looks, the heritage and most important: their accuracy.
DJ,
You are scaring me man! It sounds like Weihrauch is playing the bean counter game. “We can shave three euros off the cost of each rifle if we use these springs.” I have heard a few rumblings about the quality of the new Dianas also. If they are not careful, they will end up with a reputation of being as good as a Crosman or a Gamo and it will take them years to rid themselves of that stigma.
All the weihrauchs of late that I’ve shot had incredible buzz and twang. My hw85 was simply terrible. I replaced the spring and lubed everything and now it’s a tackdriver. Weihrauch does everything right, except their mainsprings imo.
Timothy,
The first time I purchased a HW rifle was 20 years ago and the last spring power HW I purchased was 8 years ago and they ALL twang. I only notice a little buzz.
Ridgerunner, its certainly not my intention to scare off people from the Weihrauch brand. Most certainly not!
I will not go into details here….cos last thing I want is to discredit Weihrauch. But fact remains.. all of the 6 weihrauchs I bought (3x hw97k, 1x hw70, 1x hw85, 1xhw80) had their fair share of problems. In case of the hw97k, the gunsmith twice gave me a replacement, but all the the 97 rifles a some serious problems. So I had to sell back the 97k with quite a loss since it was a “used” rifle. I sometimes ride a bad luck wave…. I guess thats what happened to me. But six guns in a row…..thats a hell of a big bad luck wave to ride.
But the .22 hw80 and the .177 hw85 are super accurate…. if they are not broken. I was saving money for a hw30s. …but the repair of the hw80 was EXACTLY the price of half the cost of a new hw30s/beeman R7. And my wife spoke out the NO GO to get ANOTHER weihrauch. She said….why buy that brand that uou have bad luck with?
Well…..what can I reasonably say? What could I have said? Theres nothing in the world I could have said that would justify the buy of another Weihrauch. She understands that I have to fill the gap in my collection….the gap between the fwb 300s and the 2 powerfull weihrauch springers. The gap needs to be filled with a 6 or 8 foot pound, light cocking springer. We all know that both the 30 and 35 in 7.5 joules are probably the best choice. Those two broken springs didnt help in getting the hw30s!!!
I cannot understand why…..why do they not put springs in it that are up to the task??? Why risk the reputation of your companies name? Why??? They are the last family owned, quality building german company.
Well, I finished my letter to mister Weihrauch. Included all our mails, and also included the hw85 broken mainspring. Ill bring it to the post office today.
Well, I certainly do hope they take your efforts to communicate these issues seriously. There comes a time when you have to tell the bean counters to “Sit down, shut up and hang on!”
Im sure I at least get a polite reply. Wether or not they take it seriously. ….that remains to be seen. Ive posted the letter today, including all my previous email complaints. I delubed the broken spring and included it too. The “good” end was bent and simply cut off with a hacksaw….
But I hope this will not prevent you from buying that nice hw35e!!!
Dutchjozef,
Go secondhand. I always do that and most sellers are honest people who try to give you a straight deal. (or I have been incredible lucky – cross fingers then). It enables me to get quality springers (Diana, HW, FWB) and CO2 match pistols for prices between 70 and 200 euro.
August
Hey DJ
Next time you have a problems with a weihrauch I will gladly tune it for you for half what your gunsmith charges. You can borrow my hw30 sometime but if i may give you a tip; try out a diana panther 21 or diana 240 sometime. I was shocked to find the diana 21 panther outshot my vortek tuned hw30. I dot cube dot I at gmail
I am also in the Netherlands =)
Carel,
Thanks for the offer!
I was planning to do a writup/report about the 30s/r7 If I got one, and then send it to BB. Maybe he could have it posted here. Edith would have to grammar check it though 🙂
Dutchjozef,
You are welcome to write a guest blog. Just email us at blogger@pyramydair.com
Edith will email you the guidelines/
B.B.
BB, I dont think my wife will let me buy another weihrauch. Well….maybe in a few years time 🙂
Im happily married, we have an equal relationship, and we respect another. I could wrestle the buy of the 30s, but man has to pick his battles carefully.
Dutchjozef,
Happy wife — happy life.
B.B.
Yes…thats right!!
So to make sure, please two answers:
Q1:
Im allowed to put grease on the trigger hook and the pistonhook? Both hooks grab each other. Just to make sure we’re talking about the same thing here. Dont wanna have premature firing.
Q2: I only lubed the piston outside. I did not put grease on parachute seal that is on top of the piston, so thats the seal that compresses the air.
I know you dont want grease ON TOP of the seal…..but do I have to lube the sides of that seal? My guess is it will be lubed after the first time cocking.
Thanks
Dutchjozef,
Yes — grease the piston hook and the sear that catches it. It doesn’t hold by friction. I doubt the grease does any good at all there.
I do grease the sides of the piston seal with moly grease.
B.B.
I only used one type of grease. Its called:
Lupus professional ptfe high teflon tech gun grease.
The german gunsmith sold it to me. Its sticky as hell.
Ho much should I put on the spring? I was thinking of giving it just a thin coat…..by applying it with my finger.
Tom, 1-inch groups at 25 yards with open sights don’t seem bad to me. And if it cocks with just 17 pounds of force, then it sounds like a plinker’s dream.
J.
That’s how I feel.
B.B.
I’d love to see you put the diopter set up off your HW55T on this as you once bemoaned Weihrauch dropping the HW55 and I made the point that they probably did it because the HW35 could fulfil the same role, there was a Tyrolean option and dioper fitment.
I’ve got an 82 mod 35, an 85 mod 77 and a 2014 77, and all the older Rekords can be adjusted lighter and are smoother, as that return spring sets and the surfaces polish themselves together the trigger goes from great to sublime….only takes 5 years or so, but its lovely to know the great trigger you have will improve with age 🙂
I do wish you got RWS Superfield over there, instead of the cheaper Superdome’s my older Weihrauch’s really like them.
Up to about 25 yards H&N FTT are always good too, it’s what they use at the factory and sell under their own branding….open up after that range but my old 35 will single hole 5 of them at 20 yards if I’m on my game
Prepared to eat my hat if it’s not bone stock and standard inside (with maybe a mainspring change as a service part)
And clean that barrel, half a dozen CP’s and my Germans all shoot everywhere until I clean it again….those old springers have an antimony allergy!
BB and All,
For those of you who made it to the GTA Fun Shoot this weekend, WOW! For those of you who didn’t, you missed out big time! It was AWESOME!
I do not know the exact attendance number, but I believe there were over one hundred in attendance for two days of plinking and shooting and swapping lies and eating barbeque. Shooters came from all over the Country, North, South, East and West.
And let us be sure to mention the absolutely drop dead gorgeous air rifles! And I was able to play with any of them I wanted! There was one dude who had a table of about a dozen top shelf sproingers that we all dream of owning, all dressed up with custom stocks. Can you say “eye candy”?
Also, big bores can shoot. There was a Bulldog in attendance that Crosman had sent down which did decent. I was playing with Lloyd’s Rogue quite a bit and managed to ring the cow bell at 80 yards a few times with it. Our host had an Evanix Sniper in .357 also.
There were also two prototype big bore air rifles that are supposed to be hitting the market soon. One is a .30 that is being built by Wicked Air Rifles that though it has the Mattelomatic look to it, I just might have to break down and go for it. It was ringing the cow bell and making the 88 gram CO2 cylinders at 80 yards swing all weekend long.
Then there was this .357 bullpup that was the terror of the cow bell. It kept that bell swinging all weekend long. Let me try to describe to you what I saw. It rained on and off on Saturday. The long range targets were hanging from the beams of the shooting range shelter they had just erected at the fair grounds that was 80 yards down range from where we had our shooting pavilions set up. When the bullet from this bullpup hit the cow bell, the concussion from the impact was so great that it caused a spray of water to jump up about three feet along the entire length of the shelter. This is one very powerful and very accurate honker!
They are supposed to be doing this again next year around this same time. I for one will be doing my best to once again attend.
RR
Glad you and Lloyd had a good time and that I was able to get you two hooked up for the weekend. I had a friend that was going and asked me to go and would have except for the wife’s knee issues and upcoming surgery.
Do you know if that 30 cal of the wicked air rifles is on their website Yet and can you state who is making the 357 you so highly praised as of now our is it to soon to reveal the maker. Is it wicked air rifles as well.
Did Crosman have any of the new Camo marauder 25 cals at the fun shoot to check out and shoot as I am very interested in the Camo xtra model.
I wish I could have been there and will be next year for sure,
BD
BD,
I have not had a chance to check to see if Wicked have their .30 on their site. I did not see any camo Marauders there. I have not heard anything about them.
Here is a link to a forum talking about that .357. It is rumored to hit the market in June.
RR
I checked the wicked air rifle sight and no mention of the 30 cal yet or at least I could not find it.
Here is the link to the 3 new 25 cal camo marauders
http://www.ammoland.com/2015/05/benjamin-airguns-limited-edition-air-rifles/?utm_source=Ammoland+Subscribers&utm_campaign=442bd800ba-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6f6fac3eaa-442bd800ba-20587261
The link to the 357 did not show up or was deleted but you can repost it or send it to me at
bul;dawg76 at cableone dot net.
BD
RR
Should be
buldawg76 at cableone dot net without the semi colon in between the l and d
BD
OK, let’s try this again.
http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=82367.0
RR
I want one as that is a very cool gun and is just the right size and power. The big companies need to take heed as to what is really out there that the masses actually want and will pay well to own as I would pay what he want to own one myself.
Then one day I will have my dream gun as well just to say I own one and that is a Quigley 72.
BD
BD,
That is one shootin’ big bore. It is pretty light also. It has a special valve that uses the air pressure in the tank to help open the valve so that it uses a lighter hammer and spring. There is some real awesome engineering in that thing.
I have looked at the XP site before. As far as the .72 is concerned, yeah that is pitching one big slug out there, but you have to feed that thing a bunch of air. When I was shooting 170 grain bullets in the Rogue, I had to refill it with air after every three shots. You will be doing real good to get two shots out of that thing.
I was thinking more along the lines of a real long .308. It is a small enough caliber that you can use some light bullets for plinking and you can get some pretty massive honkers to do some real serious damage and reach out there pretty far. You have a real large selection of bullets to choose from to find THE bullet for it. .357 would be another real good one.
If you just had to sling a massive chunk of lead OK, but you are really limited on your choices. Perhaps the .458 would be better?
RR
I definitely like the look of that 357 air gun and now that you say it has some new engineering inside as well makes it even more appealing
Yea xp-airguns makes many different calibers and the most flexible to me from what I saw would be the 458 cal ranger since there are many different bullets available for it.
The Quigley 72 is as I said more for plain old bragging rights and it get exactly two shots with the 735 grain slug on high power from a 4500 psi fill. It also has three power levels so you can get up to 10 shot on low power with a 250 grain slug at around 600 fps with around 200 fpe and about 5 shots on medium power so you are not just limited to the two shots. I have always had a need for speed with cars and bikes so now that my hobby has turned to air guns I guess I have a need for the ultimate power as well and just to be able to blow up stuff at 100 yards is just way to much fun.
BD
RidgeRunner,
Where was it held. Sounds like you had a great time. I’d love to get a chance to shoot at 80 yards. I’m jealous.
G&G
G&G,
It was held at the fair grounds near Glencoe, KY.
They have already scheduled next year’s Fun Shoot on the 13th, 14th and 15th of May 2016. Actually, they will start arriving and begin setup on the 10th. The 13th and the 14th will be the main days and the 15th will be get together and shoot some in the morning and tear down.
BB,
I expect to get the new hw85 mainspring tomorrow. I dismantled the whole gun, degreased it and put spring lube on the pivotpoints, pivot screws. I also lubed the piston very lightly with the same lubricant. I did not lube the parachute seal.
Do I have to put lube on the part were the trigger grabs the piston? I rekon not.
Dutchjozef,
I always put moly grease on that spot. But it seems to make no difference to the performance, because that is not a high friction contact.
B.B.
B.B.,
I find your decision-making process regarding sights vs. scope for this rifle particularly interesting.
I’m “only” 52, but my eyes are already too bad for anything beyond 10 meters with open sights. I need some kind of optics, even just 2x magnification, for anything beyond. Even at 10 meters, I know that my groups would shrink appreciably if I had just a smidgeon of magnification. I use Eagle Eye inserts on my target sights, which helps, but that is only for a few rifles.
Removing my no-line bifocals doesn’t help, either, as I have astigmatism in both eyes (and yes, I am shooting with my better eye). I am due for a new prescription, but even after that I expect to have this issue.
It is only getting worse, of course, and I fear it is beginning to lessen my enthusiasm for the hobby. The past year I have shot less and less, often choosing other things to do to relax.
Any advice from anyone, barring spending a couple thousand dollars on optics for my collection?
Michael
Michael,
My suggestion is to buy one good, inexpensive scope (look at the leapers brand but buy one with AO, Adjustable Objective), mount it on your favorite gun and see if that increases your enthusiasm for shooting.
kevin
Kevin,
I have an AO Bugbuster on one of my air rifles, and shooting it is a pleasure. But I have a bit of a collection — I’m not a collector of anything but good shooters — and I could go broke scoping ’em!
Michael
Michael,
Have you considered one nice scope in quick detachable rings so you could easily move it from gun to gun?
It will take re-zeroing and maybe mount adapters for each gun but a small price to pay for ease of transferring the scope from gun to gun and avoiding buying scopes for each gun.
Kevin
Kevin,
That sounds like excellent advice. I am aware of that kind of ring but never really thought about it. I’ll look into that as a possible way to go.
Thanks,
Michael
I’ve been swapping my Tasco Pronghorn 4×32 around for going on 25 years,it’s not a top of the line scope but came with a slotted/knurled finger knob on one side. Makes a nice transition from open ssights to a duplex reticle, especially beyond 50 yards! The only two guns I haven’t had it on are my 392 & RedRyder and that’s just because I didn’t have the mounts.
If you’ve been on the standard American diet most of you life (and who hasn’t?), you will likely become a candidate for cataract surgery, even if you’re not a smoker. When I had my cataracted lenses replaced with artificial lenses, the ophthalmologist made some strategically placed slices in my astigmatic corneas designed to correct, at least partially, astigmatism. I wear/prefer trifocals but am legal to drive without correction now for the first time in my near-sighted life. Sweet. Now if my maculae will just last a lifetime…working on that one. Being sighted…what a blessing!
John,
I’ll probably need cataract surgery eventually, but the last thing I would ever do is have my eyes operated on unless it was medically necessary to save my eye and/orvision in an eye.
I cannot elaborate for legal reasons, but someone close to me had semi-elective/semi-cosmetic, “routine” surgery on a healthy eye with good vision, and the surgeon was one of the “best in the country” and had performed the procedure “hundreds of times,” and my loved one came out of surgery with permanent, 100 percent vision loss in the eye. Vision going under, blindness waking up.
Michael
Michael,
I’m with you. If it saved my life or I was in misery, that’s another story. I’ll soon be 67, and the only surgery I’ve ever had was when I had my tonsils out at the age of 5. In New Jersey, it was mandatory surgery in order to attend public school in the early 1950s. I thank God I’ve been blessed with good health.
Edith
Edith,
And now the irony is that tonsils are not generally removed anymore! But you are correct, you have been blessed with unusually good health.
I have had a couple medically-necessary surgeries, and if it is necessary, well, then it is necessary, but this experience has taught me that the statement, “All surgeries are invasive and carry risks.” That’s not just “lawyer talk” on a form at the hospital. I know feel that a patient should be very cautious when it comes to any procedure that is optional.
Michael
Michael
Have you considered contacts?
I have astigmatism and have been extremely near sighted since I was a small child. For shooting you could get some toric contact lenses and only corrective for distance vision. If need be use readers to load pellets. That would keep the costs pretty reasonable, surely not thousands of dollars.
I first tried Torics when they were a new thing, back in the mid-1980s. They didn’t correct my vision (nor did regular soft lenses). Then, about 13 years ago I heard they had improved, so I tried them again, and they failed me again, just as miserably.
Michael
Yes please try a good optometrist. Tell them what you want to do. Find a proper frame for glasses and have them ground for the sweet spot on your point of sighting. It’s not hard especially when the eye doc is a shooter. My wife used to work at an opticial lab and they did it rarely but had excellent results from customers patients. Then you have a pair for all your rifles shotguns…pistols. bout the cost of a decent scope.
Heh… I don’t pay that much for Leupold scopes for my firearms…
$506 for two sets of lenses — NO FRAMES (I provided my last unused 3 year old lens inserts for my old Gargoyles shooting glasses). One set of lenses set for distance vision both eyes (for scoped guns), and one set using my current “daily wear” configuration (left eye distance, right eye about 22-24 inches — distance to my computer monitor, but works out well with pistol sights; though next year I’m going to just break down and go with four pairs: sun, distance, computer, reading — as the split distance vision is starting to get painful).
No special adjustment for “sweet spot” in that price.
Baron Wulfraed and Mister Rob,
If I were to decide to get a single-vision pair just for shooting, I would include the benefit of having them be safety glasses, so I wouldn’t have to wear shooting glasses over corrective glasses — a pain in the posterior. My brother-in-law has special prescription/safety glasses for work — he’s a cabinet maker, and bits of wood can fly out of a tool as fast as can a lead pellet. I’ll ask him about how he likes those.
This summer I’ll have a vision exam and get a new pair (actually two, as I always get prescription sunglasses as well) of no-line progressive vision lenses.
From the very beginning the no-line bifocals (really more like trifocals as there really are three distinct distance corrections, close, medium and distance) have worked out very well for me for everything except shooting with open sights.
I’ll inquire about getting a special single-vision pair that would be appropriate for shooting.
Michael
I don’t think anyone could put my prescription into wrap-around safety/shooting glasses… I have 6-diopter prisms. Even with high refractive lenses (higher than the polycarbonate used for safety glasses), and with a smaller frame than I used to use, my lenses are 3/8″ at the corner — the /same/ lens is less than 1/8″ on the opposite edge.
My Gargoyles were chosen (20 years ago) explicitly because they accepted snap in prescription inserts (the model has been discontinued, hence my concern about my last unused inserts)… My regular glasses have lenses ~1.5″ top to bottom and 2 1/8″ wide. The Gargoyles inserts are 1 3/4 tall, and 1 3/4 wide (each). As a result, the thickest part is only 1/4″
Michael, the traditional “half-way house” between “notch” open sights and scopes, of course, is aperture sights.
I also suffer from older eyeballs, but have great luck with target-type diopter aperture sights, and the great high-quality adjustable irises and other accessories that are made for them.
An adjustable aperture with a focusing magnifying lens (typically they are 1.5x) is what I use the most. These gadgets are relatively expensive, but cheaper than a good scope. And the European sights all use a standard eyepiece thread size so you just need to buy one, and can swap easily between rifles.
Gehmann even makes this amazing unit which both magnifies, and can be adjusted to fit just about any corrective prescription.
http://www.gehmann.com/english/products.php?id=679&kategorie=20
MDriskill,
Thanks for your advice. I’ll definitely look into a magnifying iris + a bunch of affordable aperture sights as an option/alternative. There are serviceable peeps out there for reasonable prices. That I can move the 1.5 magnifier around from rear sight to rear sight just hadn’t crossed my mind.
Thanks Again,
Michael
B.B.,
10 shots into less than an inch at 25 yards with open sights is very respectable.
I’m getting the impression you’re disappointed. I’d be pleased. Maybe I need more practice?
kevin
Kevin,
Not disappointed. Maybe underwhelmed. As smooth as this 35 shoots I expected groups of 3/4-inch but they were a little larger. They didn’t meet my expectations.
Nice rifle though.
B.B.
B.B.,
Did you try jsb rs and/or air arm falcons?
I need to go outside now and practice with a gun that has open sights. Thought that ten shots into less than an inch at 25 yards was good shooting. Sigh.
kevin
Kevin,
I did try JSB RS, Falcons, other Baracuda match head sizes, Hobbys, Premier lites and JSB 10.3. I showed the best and worst.
B.B.
Kevin,
Tom spent more pellet-testing time on this gun than any gun I can remember in recent times. Back and forth from the bedroom to the target in the garage then to his stash of pellets in the cabinet in his office. Over and over. He tried everything. Sometimes, things just don’t work out the way you hope.
Edith
Edith,
It’s all relative.
From where I sit things worked out well. B.B. May not be content with 0.898″ ten shot groups at 25 yards with open sights but I’m willing to bet 95% of shooters would be very happy.
Oh, I’m one of the 95%. 😉
Kevin
Use that Pelletgage to establish proper bore size and try again. 🙂
Reb
B.B.
You mentioned that you tried shooting just from resting the front of the gun directly on the bag, not using the classic artillery hold with your hand underneath the fore cheek, why would this make a difference? If you just rest the gun on the bag you are still letting the rifle’s recoil do its thing. I guess I am lazy and just rest the gun on the bag, 70% of the time….
Yogi
Yogi,
I did try the classic artillery hold. There wasn’t any difference.
B.B.
BB,
OK, it sounds to me like you are just not going to be happy with this HW35. You are already changing out the sights and still having difficulties with it. Just put the original sights back on, box it up and send it to me and I will pay you what you have in it. That way you won’t have to worry with it anymore and we can get on to something else.
Hi folks,
I would really like to see another test with a scope on this rifle. I think we all want to know how accurate this thing really is and whether it can beat the Diana 34 at 35 yards 🙂
It would also be interesting to see whether a GSG Diana is as accurate as the old ones. Considering that they seem to have scrapped the old equipment in Rastatt, I think this is a valid question.
Given that here in Germany, the HW35 is priced very similarly to the Diana 34 and the Walther Terrus, the question of ultimate accuracy is very interesting.
Stephan
Stephan,
I will probably have to scope the gun — just to satisfy the curious folks like you.
B.B.
Mine was awful scoped. Kept shooting strings until I went back to open sights. I don’t believe the lock is as magic as some would believe, that’s where my string shooting came from. Shoots from the rest just fine. Superdomes also work very well in mine. The trainers are outstanding up to 20 yds for me. I did have to tighten up the rivets in the sight with a hammer.
Rob,
I was thinking I might try target sights after we take her apart.
B.B.
Sounds good. As always I really enjoy these vintage rifle tests. Discovering their max potential is fun for me and the journey is the reward.
I have two recent acquisitions a 1956 diana 27 and a nice 1960 hw 50. I noticed in an old post you had recommended mineral oil for the 27.
Or am I mistaken?
Rob,
I don’t remember recommending mineral oil for anything. Petroleum-based oil, yes.
B.B.
B.B.,
I seriously doubt your shooting with open sights has deteriorated very much. I couldn’t hold a candle to you with open sights. We all have bad days sometimes that we just have to shake off. I’m sure that’s all it is. Besides, many people would probably be very happy with these groups on open sights.
Incidentally, I noticed on another web site that Beeman is now selling Industry Brand rifles under their name. What in the world is that all about? I was practically shocked. Does P.A. plan on carrying these do you know?
G&G
G&G,
The Beeman company is a dichotomy. The company is owned by the Chinese and Pyramyd AIR handles the high-end guns that carry the Beeman name.
B.B.
B.B.,
I meant to add above that I would be one of those people happy with those groups under 1″ with open sights.
I haven’t mentioned here yet that I now have a R.A.W. BM500 LW. Today was my first day really getting down to business with it. Up till now I’ve just been getting acquainted with her. This rifle is one great shooter. Best group today at 25 meters was .274″. No groups over 1/2″. Very happy so far. I couldn’t stop myself from boasting a little, sorry.
G&G
G&G,
Congratulations on your new airgun. There are so many guns that I haven’t yet seen! The market is really hot these days.
B.B.
Mr. Pelletier. In my opinion (not an authority, but just a little enthusiast…) i think that your problem comes to the fact that maybe we are setting very high expectations on this setup given its performance. remember that you are still shooting a gun that shoots in the low 600s at a distance of 25 yards. For any rifle at that power level, shooting with open sights, grouping under 1 inch can be challenging. The pellet is taking a while to get there, if the test is outside, wind could come into play as the pellet is in flight a while. The fact that the pellet may be following a loopy trajectory (given a 8 gr pellet going about 610 fps and sighted at 25 yards, the pellet would be almost 3/4 of an inch above the sight line in its apogee…). That 35 is shooting barely faster than a 10 m. gun and we are expecting it to do well at 25 yards… I bet with a scope that the groups will shrink… but if you do want to see what it may do open sighted, i would drop the target at 10 to 15 meters and try that.
Gabe
Do you shoot in the MCAFT club here in Alabama and if so then glad to see you here on the blog and if not then welcome here as well. This is Mike
if it is you how is that firepower stock working out for that trail for pest control around your work as I do really like the trail stock with my firepower action in it.
hope you had a good time at the fun shoot and hope you got my message as to why I could go with you and now regret that I did not since RR said how well it went.
If it is not you then just ignore all of the above as just ramblings of an old geezer.
BD
Gabe,
I have shot 10-shot groups at 25 yards that were smaller than 1/2 inch with other guns of this same power. It’s true those guns did have target sights, which I suspect would also tighten the groups I’m getting with the 35.
I guess I will scope it, just so everyone can see what it is capable of.
B.B.
BB,
I tend to agree with Gabe, that power level seems to top out at 20 yards, for me at least. I think it is less a case of drift than a loopy trajectory combined with cant errors. With a post front sight, maybe try a square sighter and level it, to align with the rear sights consistently. I’m shooting a .40 caliber chunk rifle, which at 60 yards may not be as different from this gun at 25 yards as you might think.
I get about the same 25 yard groups offhand with the d34p, but 5 shot only, so you can add a bit! It in turn is stressed at 50 yards, but I’m using it as a flintlock simulator, so it all works out :)…
Burke, thanks for the kind words about our recent annual GTA Fun Shoot/Airgun Show. I was very glad to meet you and that Lloyd twisted your arm to come along with him. LOL
This was our first time at this venue and it proved to be an outstanding event. I HAD anticipated more attendees but hey, we have room to grow for next year. And I promise to make it bigger, better and a bit more organized next year.
As for the 357 Slayer, it is one fantastic piece of engineering by one of our outstanding members QVTom,. It should go into production in July. Read more about it here http://americanairarms.com/
And we’re talking power and accuracy out to 300 yards with an airgun!!! I will be on the list to own one.
Tom, I had spoken with Rick Eusler about attending the Fun Shoot this year. He had said he would try to get the production crew and you guys rounded up to attend. It would have made a great segment on the AA show. Unfortunately I did not see Rick there or get to meet you guys. I was looking forward to meeting you, Rick, Jim and Rossi in person. Jim is an active member and contributor on our forum. I hope you guys can make plans to attend next years event.
Thanks again for all you have done and continue to do for the airgun community!!!
Dave
Executive Administrator
GTA International Airgun Forums
http://gatewaytoairguns.org
BB, meant to add this to my earlier reply: THANKS for reminding everyone that the point of the Rekord trigger’s adjustability (or any other adjustable trigger for that matter), is the ability to make it safe; predicable; comfortable; and appropriate to one’s hold and shooting task.
The number of folks who think the point is to “make it as light as possible no matter what” always scares me. A hunting/sporting rifle really does not need a 2-ounce match trigger…!
Mike,
I got my lesson on a used HW77 that was given as a gift. The trigger was set to go at mere ounces. I assumed whoever did it knew what they were doing, but a friend saw me load the rifle without holding the underlever and he nearly had a heart attack. His explanation of what could go wrong awoke me to the dangers of improperly adjusted triggers.
B.B.