Break Barrel Back to basics: HW95 .177

mcoulter

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There's something refreshing about walking out into the backyard with nothing more than a break barrel and tin of pellets.

I've done this for years with my 1st "real" airgun - a RWS 34. But this year has been different. It's been a year full of challenges and with much less shooting than normal. So with the changing seasons, I'm also making some time to shoot again. I've been fortunate enough to purchase my first Weihrauch rifle and this used HW95 Luxus that I picked up so far is great motivation for me to spend some quality time in the backyard again (y)

In the spirit of keeping it simple, I'm resisting the urge to throw a scope on this gun for now. While I don't intend for this to be a "shootout" between my 34 and the 95 it will be really hard to NOT make comparisons between the two. My immediate feeling shouldering the rifle was "We're going to get along just fine". It feels a bit shorter and lighter than my 34 which for me as someone who's 5'6" is a plus.

I am probably the 3rd owner of this particular gun. Fortunately the person who I bought it from was not only meticulous with the rifle, but he also kept very good notes from the person he purchased it from. This 95 is .177 caliber and has a JM spring from a HW50 that is 120 wire, ASA piston seal, and a TR Robb extra set back trigger. (I've had to replace the spring in my 34 and had used vortek products so I'm not familiar with the Maccari or the seal.)

Anyway, the rifle is a pleasure to shoot! It's about the same power as my 34 (just under 12 fpe) but feels snappier. The trigger is definitely on the light side for me but breaks with a good feel. What I really like on it (and miss on my 34) are the open sights. My 34's rear sight self-destructed being made out of some pot-metal just like every rear sight did on the RWS 48s, 350 and 54 I've owned so I really enjoy having some VERY nice open sights to shoot with again!

Now onto the pics :cool:

1697562037139.png

1697562060649.png

1697562075402.png

1697562111730.png


Here are some groups from my 2nd time shooting (using front rest). I had done an initial sight-in using CPHPs and they were pretty bad. Here I shot AA 8.4s and found that they could be decent when I did my part. Those small 1/2 inch stickers at 20 yards are pretty hard to see:

1697562303568.png

I also wanted to get a feel for the trajectory. Here are shots and 7, 20, 27, 35 and 50 yards. I have to admit by the time I shot the 50 yard group, my eyes were really tired and I'll want to repeat that again!

1697562433765.png


Again, there's definitely something special about keeping it simple. I can't wait to get out and do it again :)
 
There's something refreshing about walking out into the backyard with nothing more than a break barrel and tin of pellets.

I've done this for years with my 1st "real" airgun - a RWS 34. But this year has been different. It's been a year full of challenges and with much less shooting than normal. So with the changing seasons, I'm also making some time to shoot again. I've been fortunate enough to purchase my first Weihrauch rifle and this used HW95 Luxus that I picked up so far is great motivation for me to spend some quality time in the backyard again (y)

In the spirit of keeping it simple, I'm resisting the urge to throw a scope on this gun for now. While I don't intend for this to be a "shootout" between my 34 and the 95 it will be really hard to NOT make comparisons between the two. My immediate feeling shouldering the rifle was "We're going to get along just fine". It feels a bit shorter and lighter than my 34 which for me as someone who's 5'6" is a plus.

I am probably the 3rd owner of this particular gun. Fortunately the person who I bought it from was not only meticulous with the rifle, but he also kept very good notes from the person he purchased it from. This 95 is .177 caliber and has a JM spring from a HW50 that is 120 wire, ASA piston seal, and a TR Robb extra set back trigger. (I've had to replace the spring in my 34 and had used vortek products so I'm not familiar with the Maccari or the seal.)

Anyway, the rifle is a pleasure to shoot! It's about the same power as my 34 (just under 12 fpe) but feels snappier. The trigger is definitely on the light side for me but breaks with a good feel. What I really like on it (and miss on my 34) are the open sights. My 34's rear sight self-destructed being made out of some pot-metal just like every rear sight did on the RWS 48s, 350 and 54 I've owned so I really enjoy having some VERY nice open sights to shoot with again!

Now onto the pics :cool:

View attachment 2428

View attachment 2429

View attachment 2430

View attachment 2431


Here are some groups from my 2nd time shooting (using front rest). I had done an initial sight-in using CPHPs and they were pretty bad. Here I shot AA 8.4s and found that they could be decent when I did my part. Those small 1/2 inch stickers at 20 yards are pretty hard to see:

View attachment 2432

I also wanted to get a feel for the trajectory. Here are shots and 7, 20, 27, 35 and 50 yards. I have to admit by the time I shot the 50 yard group, my eyes were really tired and I'll want to repeat that again!

View attachment 2433


Again, there's definitely something special about keeping it simple. I can't wait to get out and do it again :)
I like simple as well. My HW30 is a joy to shoot.
 
There's something refreshing about walking out into the backyard with nothing more than a break barrel and tin of pellets.

I've done this for years with my 1st "real" airgun - a RWS 34. But this year has been different. It's been a year full of challenges and with much less shooting than normal. So with the changing seasons, I'm also making some time to shoot again. I've been fortunate enough to purchase my first Weihrauch rifle and this used HW95 Luxus that I picked up so far is great motivation for me to spend some quality time in the backyard again (y)

In the spirit of keeping it simple, I'm resisting the urge to throw a scope on this gun for now. While I don't intend for this to be a "shootout" between my 34 and the 95 it will be really hard to NOT make comparisons between the two. My immediate feeling shouldering the rifle was "We're going to get along just fine". It feels a bit shorter and lighter than my 34 which for me as someone who's 5'6" is a plus.

I am probably the 3rd owner of this particular gun. Fortunately the person who I bought it from was not only meticulous with the rifle, but he also kept very good notes from the person he purchased it from. This 95 is .177 caliber and has a JM spring from a HW50 that is 120 wire, ASA piston seal, and a TR Robb extra set back trigger. (I've had to replace the spring in my 34 and had used vortek products so I'm not familiar with the Maccari or the seal.)

Anyway, the rifle is a pleasure to shoot! It's about the same power as my 34 (just under 12 fpe) but feels snappier. The trigger is definitely on the light side for me but breaks with a good feel. What I really like on it (and miss on my 34) are the open sights. My 34's rear sight self-destructed being made out of some pot-metal just like every rear sight did on the RWS 48s, 350 and 54 I've owned so I really enjoy having some VERY nice open sights to shoot with again!

Now onto the pics :cool:

View attachment 2428

View attachment 2429

View attachment 2430

View attachment 2431


Here are some groups from my 2nd time shooting (using front rest). I had done an initial sight-in using CPHPs and they were pretty bad. Here I shot AA 8.4s and found that they could be decent when I did my part. Those small 1/2 inch stickers at 20 yards are pretty hard to see:

View attachment 2432

I also wanted to get a feel for the trajectory. Here are shots and 7, 20, 27, 35 and 50 yards. I have to admit by the time I shot the 50 yard group, my eyes were really tired and I'll want to repeat that again!

View attachment 2433


Again, there's definitely something special about keeping it simple. I can't wait to get out and do it again :)
I’ve been a squirrel hunter since I was a kid and now I’m 61 lol. Agree with you on the simplicity of springers being a enjoyable way to plink or hunt. I confess that I have 2 PCPs but the springers are used much more than the PCPs. You have a wonderful rifle and good shooting.
 
Thanks for the kind words guys. I've been playing with the different rear sight choices and so far the "V" notch feels the best.

1697735416134.png

I do have a set of front sights to play with too, but I've not touched what what on the gun when I purchased it. There's probably a specific name for it, but I'll just call it a tapered post because that's what it is... ;-)

Here's another target shot at 20 yards with the V notch and 4 different pellets (me seated resting elbow on table). Yup, I'll be doing further testing with the H&N FTT 4.50 soon!

1697735538126.png

Oops, I just noticed that I took the picture with the AA tins in the wrong locations. The heavies are bottom right and 8.4 top left.
 
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I use the u and the lolly.. the v is fine but really what post matches to it . Maybe that tapered one ? Idk. I only prefer lollt on target 6oclock hold. Them others maybe ok for hunting ..

Added a spot of glod flake to mine
front1.jpgfront2.jpg

Oh.. the 4.5 heads did do better of the h&n ftt for me in the R9. Overall tie with cphp . Well cphp won on just cost and everyday walking local buying them ..lol
 
I am excited to give HAM readers a early nugget of HW exciting news. Look forward in the next few days to a new option for the HW95 luxes. To my knowledge never to be offered before. An AOA world exclusive as well.

Rob.
 
Looks like they listed a hw95 "N"

It's a walnut stock 95 at $650+/-

There picture of it looks plain Jane vs beech stock ..

Seems it be better to make a more affordable 95 like I said in a nice synthetic stock priced under the luxus that folks like me would be more apt to buy then something else more expensive that I'm not ../ no sale

Go figure?
 
The picture does not do the rifle justice. They are nice with a darker finish. The cost of walnut is always going to be higher of course. Walnut is also more responsive to finish repairs and dings. We think most folks will choose the walnut over the beech but i may be wrong. Not the first time.

Rob
 
The picture does not do the rifle justice. They are nice with a darker finish. The cost of walnut is always going to be higher of course. Walnut is also more responsive to finish repairs and dings. We think most folks will choose the walnut over the beech but i may be wrong. Not the first time.

Rob
Ya, AoA is in bad need of improving the items picture gallery , heck can't even do a simple click on , expand/ explode view a for any closer looking
 
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Thank you for the kind words here, everyone. And @AOA ROB, the HW95N looks beautiful! Thanks for the early peek at it. (Just got the AoA "Airgun Holiday Specials!" email with it featured there.)

I've since broken down and scoped my 95 with a UTG medium one-piece mount and moved a SWFA 16x42 SS onto this springer. It's a really, nice combo! However, I've run into one hitch here - but not with the scope... I found that with the colder temps that the gun is shooting really slow.

Here are some records:

10/13/23
50f, AA 8.4, 799 fps, ES 6 fps (11.9 fpe)

10/25/23
69f, FTT 8.6, 762 fps, ES 9 fps (11.1 fpe)

11/11/23
34f, FTT 8.6, 725 fps, ES 22 fps (10 fpe)

11/11/23
34f, AA 8.4, 747 fps, ES6 fps (10.4 fpe)

And subsequent shots on that same day showed the gun getting even weaker. Life got busy again and I have not re-tested it since November. I expect during the holidays I'll be spending some quality time with it and I'll do more warm and cold weather testing.

My gut feeling is that it might have been tuned with some more traditional lubricants that get thick as the temps drop. My other favorites springer (RWS 34) is one that I "tuned" with a Vortek PG2 kit. That gun has remained pretty stable in cold temps and I know that I was VERY light with any lubricants when adding the kit.

We'll see if this particular gun might benefit from a degreasing and possibly a PG4 kit...

1702930554816.png


Oh, one more thought on this... I really appreciate that the ProChrono DLX's app automatically includes the temperature when recording shot strings. Super handy!

1702931641601.png
 
Thank you for the kind words here, everyone. And @AOA ROB, the HW95N looks beautiful! Thanks for the early peek at it. (Just got the AoA "Airgun Holiday Specials!" email with it featured there.)

I've since broken down and scoped my 95 with a UTG medium one-piece mount and moved a SWFA 16x42 SS onto this springer. It's a really, nice combo! However, I've run into one hitch here - but not with the scope... I found that with the colder temps that the gun is shooting really slow.

Here are some records:

10/13/23
50f, AA 8.4, 799 fps, ES 6 fps (11.9 fpe)

10/25/23
69f, FTT 8.6, 762 fps, ES 9 fps (11.1 fpe)

11/11/23
34f, FTT 8.6, 725 fps, ES 22 fps (10 fpe)

11/11/23
34f, AA 8.4, 747 fps, ES6 fps (10.4 fpe)

And subsequent shots on that same day showed the gun getting even weaker. Life got busy again and I have not re-tested it since November. I expect during the holidays I'll be spending some quality time with it and I'll do more warm and cold weather testing.

My gut feeling is that it might have been tuned with some more traditional lubricants that get thick as the temps drop. My other favorites springer (RWS 34) is one that I "tuned" with a Vortek PG2 kit. That gun has remained pretty stable in cold temps and I know that I was VERY light with any lubricants when adding the kit.

We'll see if this particular gun might benefit from a degreasing and possibly a PG4 kit...

View attachment 3453


Oh, one more thought on this... I really appreciate that the ProChrono DLX's app automatically includes the temperature when recording shot strings. Super handy!

View attachment 3454
Hey Mcoulter beautiful gun you have their! Did you end u resolving the slower speeds from it? I had purchased last month a new TX200 that i had sighted perfectly for 30 yards. I had it out over Christmas (just above freezing) and it was shooting low at same distance and same ammo. I corrected the scope and kept shooting it as normal. It definitely is not broken in yet and I am wondering if cold weather is slowing her down! I love it to much to shoot in this miserable weather. I also have that chrono as well.... absolutely love it but it's fussy about bad weather too 🤭
 
Well.... Ijdk

I seen a few posts/ threads on new just bought hw guns the past several months that " shoot slow" . Just about the time they got hard to get and started trickling in ... Seemed my latest R9 .177 when fresh out of it's box shot cphp 7.9 at 920 hot new and settled through break in to about 880 or so..
 
Hi @Danman, thanks for the nudge on this. I don't have any answers - but I have not been looking that hard either. Things have just been busy. My gut tells me that the gun is still breaking in. While used, the previous owner (or maybe the one before that...) put in a new spring and I suspect some sticky grease on the spring which is still being dispersed. I'll admit that I have not even taken the action out of the stock yet to see what I can see...

But I did shoot it a bit during the holidays and chrony'd the shots. I've spent a bit of time this morning graphing them and pondering the results.

String #1 - 12/25/23
Pellet:
H&H FTT 4.50mm
Temp: 41f (15 minutes for rifle to acclimate to outdoor temp)
Notes: As the gun cools, the velocity drops
Max FPS756Min FPS724Avg FPS741
SD8.21ES32 (4.31%)Avg FPE10.6

1706369849210.png
String #2 - 12/25/23
Pellet:
H&H FTT 4.50mm
Temp: 44f (gun acclimated to outdoor temperature)
Notes: More of a spread than I want, but the graph is more or less "level".
Max FPS744Min FPS712Avg FPS728
SD6.54ES32 (4.39%)Avg FPE10.2

1706370106625-png.4128



String #3 - 12/26/23
Pellet:
Air Arms 8.4
Temp: 44f (gun acclimated to outdoor temperature)
Notes: OK, this is the next day where I left the gun outside for a couple of hours to make sure it was acclimated to the outdoor temps. I also switched from the H&N FTT pellets to AA pellets which are a little lighter and softer. And I was more than a little surprised that I saw an *increase* in velocity here. (?)

Max FPS785Min FPS757Avg FPS772
SD7.61ES28 (3.62%)Avg FPE11.1


1706370987976.png

String #4 - 12/26/23
Pellet:
H&H FTT 4.50mm
Temp: 46f (gun acclimated to outdoor temperature)
Notes: This is the last string from that session. I went back to H&N FTT for a short 10-shot string to compare it to the previous day's session. The temps were similar to the previous day, but the gun was shooting stronger. The average fps increased from 728 to 756 as compared to the previous day's "acclimated" average.

Max FPS764Min FPS749Avg FPS756
SD4.28ES15 (1.98%)Avg FPE11.0

1706371202672.png
 

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Depending on what seal was used and someone else did it could be just a poor fit . Hard to think a guy buy this gun then try to tune it / new spring, seal then quickly sell it off being you day it's 2ed hand .. his loss your gain .. I would think you should be in the 825-850 mark with the h&n .
 

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