Break Barrel My first Weihrauch; HW 77 circa 1987

[Awl In]

I couldn't be more thrilled to find this listed in my local craigslist "for sale" pages. I had to snap it up because I've always wanted one. Its a Hull Cartridge import to the UK, and the seller inherited it from his uncle. Shoots fantastic; best trigger ever.

 

[Roamin Greco 1]

What a lucky find. I need to redo all my Craigslist searches. All I ever found so are are rusty Red Ryders, but you never know.

 

[Awl In]

I paid $225 for this. Did I do ok?

 

[PapaT]

Yes, I'd say so.

 

[Hoppalong Doc]

A little love and TLC, and you"ll have a real jewel. If you can, shoot it by a chronograph before you do anything to it and then again after you get into her internals and get it all cleaned up with the proper lubricants. Thinking of doing a tuning as well? Orv.

 

[Awl In]

I did run a string, and it is pretty consistent around 11fps, from 8gr to ~10gr. Its the UK tune from back in the day.

I have stripped and refinished the stock, and I will thoroughly clean and polish (where appropriate) the exterior and internals. I have the Vortek delrin glide parts coming, including the 25mm piston seal. I do need more power out of a .22 than the UK tune delivers.

I am very pleased with this rifle. It is really an heirloom piece for me, and I will pass it to my grandson.
The stock needs to cure for a week or so, before I condition it, wax and reassemble. This will give me time to complete the rest of the project!

 

[Awl In]

Great news! I finished the stock,and rebuilt the rifle with a vortek delphin HO. I got it back together today; ready to break in the new seal, which was very tight in the install.

 

[Awl In]

And the chrono data . . .. I really expected more power, but thats ok. Shoots great, cocks smooth (more on that), and it was fun watching the SD settle in a bit.

I set up at 20 yards, with the open sights, and started my session. First 50 shots with CPHP 14.3:

Max 679.8
Min 581.4 (one weird shot skewed this string; made a funny sound)
Spread 98.4
SD 15.1
FPE 13.8

Second string of 50:

Max 675.9
Min 629.9
Spread 45.9
SD 8.5
FPE 14.0

Third string of THIRTEEN (13):

Max 665.7
Min 634.5
Spread 31.2
SD 8.1
FPE 13.6

I have read that the vortek 25mm piston seals are tight, and will loosen up with break in. I understand that velocity should increase, and if it doesn't, the seal would need to be mechanically narrowed. Having NO experience with springers, I can only attempt to educate myself by reading what others have posted.

Now, why a 13 shot string? Isn't the number 13 unlucky? Why yes, it is. Not only did I break the cocking lever, as cautioned by TinBum Tuning online, I also buggered the stock a bit inside the lever groove.

I should have known. The lever didn't quite close correctly, I assumed the new breach seal had to seat, and that it would settle in with a bit of use. But no, it broke.

It looks the the delrin sheath may obstruct the lever from going in properly? Any ideas?

I will now be ordering a new cocking lever arm, and probably the rivet/stud as well, so I am sure I will have hat in hand with some advise on that repair. I would also appreciate any input as to the FPE numbers my first few shots generated. I am all ears!