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VALUE FOR MONEY
At a current price of $1,442.99, the Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine is not a cheap air rifle. However…
When HAM tested the HW100 back in April 2017, the price was $1,099 (and it had been near $1,500 before, due to currency fluctuations). If we take that $1,099 price and factor-in inflation since 2017, the value would be $1,408 in July 2024.
So – allowing for inflation – the HW100 is pretty-well the same value today as it was in 2017.
This makes it ideal for those airgun enthusiasts who want an heirloom-grade air rifle that “just shoots”, without the need for specific ammo or tuning. If that’s you, the HW100 remains an outstanding choice in today’s market.
And don't miss out on this update on the new Picatinny scope rail and biathlon-style cocking lever adapters!
BUY FROM AIRGUNS OF ARIZONA
Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine
SPEED AND ACCURACY
The maximum Muzzle Velocity for the Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine tested by HAM was 1,044 FPS with 10.03 Grain H&N Field Target Trophy Green alloy pellets. The fastest-shooting lead pellets were the 11.9 Grain RWS Hobbys with 975 FPS.
Muzzle Energy peaked at 25.83 Ft/Lbs with 21.14 Grain H&N Baracuda Match pellets.
| Pellet | Average Muzzle Velocity | Average Muzzle Energy | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| H&N Field Target Trophy Green 10.03 Grain | 1044.65 FPS | 24.31 Ft/Lbs | Poor. |
| Predator GTO 11.75 Grain | 974.92 FPS | 24.80 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| RWS Hobby 11.9 Grain | 952.42 FPS | 23.97 Ft/Lbs | Good. |
| Crosman Premier HP 14.3 Grain | 897.88 FPS | 25.60 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| JSB Jumbo Exact 14.35 Grain | 889.34 FPS | 25.20 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| H&N Field Target Trophy 14.66 Grain | 886.94 FPS | 25.61 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| Datstate Howler Slugs 20.3 Grain | 717.15 FPS | 23.18 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. Best Tested. |
| H&N Baracuda Match 21.14 Grain | 741.79 FPS | 25.83 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. Best Tested. |
| JSB Jumbo Monster 25.39 Grain | 675.81 FPS | 25.75 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. Best Tested. |
In our initial 10-shot, 10-Yard testing (targets below), the Daystate Howler Slugs gave the best accuracy, followed by the H&N Baracuda Match and JSB Jumbo Monster pellets.
In fact, all three gave 10-shot “one-hole” groups at that range. That’s a better performance than any other air rifle HAM has ever tested!
At 25 Yards, the Howler slugs still nosed slightly ahead of the Baracudas. But again it was very close.
Both 10-shot groups show one hole sightly to the side of the main group (left for the pellets, right for the slugs). Although I have not called-out these two shots as fliers, my guess is that the cause is very likely to have been the shooter in both cases, not the gun or ammo!
So, accuracy for the Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine tested by HAM was excellent. In particular, we were impressed by the accuracy of the Daystate Howler slugs.
TRIGGER AND COCKING EFFORT
“I can’t remember the last time we tested an air rifle with a trigger this light and crisp!” That was HAM Tester Doug Rogers’ comment in his testing notes for this Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine.
Yes, the trigger is VERY light and predictable. The first stage take-up needs virtually no pressure, yet it can easily be felt. There’s a distinct “step” where it’s obvious that the second stage is about to engage. Release is predictable and smooth.
It’s close to perfection and Doug says that this trigger is even better than that on his own gun!
The sidelever cocking mechanism of the Weihrauch HW100 is also a pleasure to operate!
That sidelever is released from its closed position by sneaking a finger under its end. Then the lever swings back under spring pressure. A final pull back with the finger makes the final “click” and the lever is ready to be pushed back forward, loading the next pellet.
Pushing the lever forward requires overcoming pressure as the hammer spring is compressed. However, it’s not a high force and the action is very smooth.
All-in-all, the action of cocking and firing is very pleasurable!
The safety is a manually-operated lever located just below the cocking lever. However, it’s a characteristic of the HW100 family that the safety cannot be set to safe unless the gun is cocked first.
COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS
The manufacturer’s web site makes a number of claims for performance of the HW100 Sporter Carbine (Model HW100SK). These are, Muzzle Velocity of up to 869 FPS, maximum Muzzle Energy 25.8 Ft/Lbs and 42 consistent shots per fill.
The gun tested by HAM delivered a maximum velocity of 975 FPS with lead pellets (1,044 with alloys). Maximum Muzzle Energy achieved was 25.83 Ft/Lbs and 43 consistent shots with an Extreme Spread of less that 40 FPS from one fill of HPA.
The manufacturer also claims excellent accuracy and a match-grade trigger. Check!
As you can see, the HW100 Sporter Carbine tested by HAM matched or exceeded the manufacturer’s specs in every case.
CONSISTENCY
As expected, the Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine delivered commendable consistency on test.
One fill of the HPA cylinder gave 39 very consistent shots using un-selected 15.89 Grain H&N Baracuda 15 pellets, “straight from the tin”, as we can see from the graph below.
The Extreme Spread across those 39 shots was just 15 FPS – equating to a very good Standard Deviation of 4.29 FPS. That compares to the average Standard Deviation of 3.05 FPS across the range of standard HAM test pellets.
In fact, the HAM definition of “consistent shots” is a variation of less than 40 FPS from the highest velocity. Measured in this way, the Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine tested by HAM actually achieved 43 consistent shots. That would equate to three magazines worth of pellets, plus one.
Either way, this HW100 gives very consistent shooting for around 40 shots per fill!
The trigger pull weights recorded on test averaged 0 Lb 12.9 Oz. The highest reading was 13.5 Oz and the lowest 11.7 Oz.
So there was a variation of less than two Ounces between the lightest and heaviest pull weights recorded. That’s excellent and completely undetectable by the average shooter!
An additional aspect of consistency was that the Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine tested by HAM delivered excellent accuracy with a wide variety of HAM’s standard test pellets.
It also shot very accurately with 20.3 Grain Daystate Howler slugs, which will be an attraction to some prospective owners.
This is definitely not a pellet-picky air rifle!
NOISE LEVEL
The Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine is fitted with a silencer that is permanently bonded to the barrel. Although this silencer is unlikely to win any beauty contests, it was very effective at moderating the report of the gun.
Subjectively, I thought it was at least as quiet as HAM’s “Gold Standard’, the Benjamin Marauder. Doug thought it was quiet, but not quite so quiet as a Marauder…
At any event, this HW100 is definitely a very quiet air rifle and among the quietest the HAM Team has tested. It would undoubtedly be considered “backyard friendly” by many users.
SIGHTS AND SCOPE
The Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine is equipped with traditional dovetail scope-mounting rails machined into the breech. Given the very limited recoil of the gun, there’s no need for the fashionable Picatinny rails fitted to many PCP air rifles.
However, the top surface of the dovetail rail is beautifully-machined with a series of marker lines to assist with scope placement.
For this test review, we mounted a 4-16 x 50 Hawke Airmax 30 WA SF scope on the HW using Hawke rings. It balanced well and felt very comfortable to shoot. This was a great combination for practical shooting!
SHOOTABILITY
We’ll say it again. The Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine balances well for off-hand shooting. The Center of Gravity for the gun seems to be perfect. It’s right down through the natural forehand support position – for the HAM testers at least.
Doug Rogers commented: “Very pleasant gun to shoot, but I knew it would be.” Agreed!
It shoulders well and just feels, well, natural…
Although this is a fairly heavy air rifle – it weighs 9 Lbs 15 Oz with scope – it feels lighter than it is.
However that weight did leave me wanting a sling, both for carrying and support in off-hand shooting. While aftermarket front sling swivel studs are available, the HAM testers would like to see Weihrauch include front and rear sling swivels fitted as standard in future versions of the HW100 family.
It goes without saying that the sublime trigger and cocking action obviously aid shootability of the HW100, too.
Another significant benefit of HW100-type air rifles is that they have a double feed prevention system. Unlike many magazine-fed PCP air rifles – even some expensive ones – it’s not possible to double-feed this gun.
The 14-shot rotary clip has an above-average capacity. It’s simple, robust and easy to load. Two are supplied with the Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine.
The clip locates quickly into place before the securing slide is pushed forward. This engages the clip feed mechanism to enable the clip to be indexed for every shot by operating the cocking lever.
True, the magazine securing slide represents an additional step to operate, each time a magazine is loaded. However it rapidly becomes second nature.
The relatively low maximum fill pressure of 2,900 PSI is another shootability attraction of the Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine. This makes filling by hand pump a practical proposition or, alternatively, allows for more fills from a large capacity tank that is possible with PCPs that use a higher fill pressure.
APPEARANCE AND FINISH
Of course, looks are a subjective thing. But the HAM Team feels that the Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine is a great-looking air rifle.
Fit and finish of all parts is extremely high, as you would expect from this German manufacturer. Make that flawless!
All external metal parts look to be perfectly finished. They’re treated with a deep black surface that’s glossy on the breech and has a very slightly matte effect on the barrel and air tube.
Unusually for a rotary magazine, repeating PCP air rifle, the magazine does not protrude above the top of the breech. This makes for very clean lines and also means that magazine location does not impact scope positioning to the same extent that it does with many other PCP repeaters.
The walnut stock is both comfortable to shoot and beautiful to look at. It’s carefully sculptured for fit and the matte oil finish is pleasing, particularly with the dark cap on the pistol grip and the checkering there and on the forend.
Below we have a close-up of the engravings on the breech. It’s all so clear, precise and perfectly executed!
Overall appearance of the Weihrauch HW100 PCP Sporter Carbine is that of a sophisticated, quality product. There’s nothing fancy, flashy or unnecessary, just the beauty that comes from great design engineering and huge attention to detail in manufacturing.
BUYING AND OWNING
The Weihrauch HW100 PCP air rifle is not widely available. You’re most unlikely to find one in your local “Big Box” shooting goods store. However, it is easily available online from specialist dealers such as Airguns of Arizona and Precision Airgun Distribution dealers.
The instruction manual is very comprehensive, although you REALLY need to read it thoroughly to appreciate all the points it makes. It’s in German and English, with the diagrams and photographs in a fold-out section at the rear of the book.
The relatively low maximum fill pressure of 2,900 PSI is another attraction of the Weihrauch HW100 PCP air rifle. This makes filling by hand pump a practical proposition or, alternatively, allows for more fills from a large capacity tank than is possible with PCPs that use a higher fill pressure.
The HPA air cylinder is easily unscrewed and can be replaced even when fully-filled. This makes it possible to compensate for the limited HPA capacity by carrying a spare, filled, cylinder with you in the field. Just swap over for more air.
In addition to the two magazines, the HW100 is supplied with a fill probe. As this has a threaded end, you’ll probably need to buy a Foster-type adapter to connect to your tank or compressor’s whip. The adapter is the “bare metal” part in the photograph below.
The HAM testers would prefer a non-probe “Foster-type” filling connection. Or – at least – a probe with a male “Foster fitting” instead of the threaded connector, thus making the additional adapter unnecessary.
Other accessories supplied with the gun include an enormously-substantial brass degassing device that allows pressure to be removed from the HPA tube once removed from the gun. And there’s an equally-substantial brass tube fill adapter included too.
Warranty of the HW100 is of the “limited lifetime” variety. This outstanding warranty coverage is a clear indication of the long-term reliability of the gun, as expected by both the factory and Airguns of Arizona, the US service center.
However the removable HPA tank has a factory requirement to be re-tested every 10 years.
TEST TARGETS
BUY FROM AIRGUNS OF ARIZONA
Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine
This entire article including scoring, test targets etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.
The post Weihrauch HW100 Sporter Carbine Test Review .22 Caliber appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.
. Are you seriously considering it?
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(Jsb, Crosman, H&N) But find the best pellet and push that one out to a farther range 30Y MINIMUM for a pcp rifle to verify. If a gun were to shoot one pellet and only that one pellet well, I'd want to know that
! Testing will always be subjective with variances and that's OK as long as it's relevant. Shooting a premium precision match pellet out of my $150 Slavia...not a good representation of what that pellet can do. Shooting a 25gr heavy pellet out of an 18fpe springer....not valid either.
