Break Barrel Need help with HW50S ( the cocking mechanism will not engage )

[ernroe]

Yesterday I was shooting my HW50S and everything was going great but then all of a sudden it would not cock. I am going to explain this the best I can with my limited knowledge. I fired a pellet down range and began cocking the rifle for the next shot. I pulled the lever down as usual but did not hear or feel it it cock. The spring is engaged because it is under pressure and the safety came on. So I put the barrel in the locked position and broke it again to see if in fact it was fully cocked and I just was not paying attention. It broke as usual but was under pressure all the way down. Then I decide I would load a pellet and fire it, put the pellet in, locked the barrel, disengaged the safety, and the changed my mind. I opened the barrel and removed the pellet but could not get the safety back on. So now I have a springer under pressure with the safety off.
Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Sureshot]

Strange situation? You mean when you cocked the barrel you didn’t hear that click at the bottom of the stroke? The piston latch must not have engaged with the sear in the trigger. I was going to mention that perhaps the bottom of your spring guide broke and it blocked it from going in or something but that is made of steel so that’s not the case. if it did engage why couldn’t you just hold the barrel tight , put the safety off and pull the trigger releasing the spring and slowly ease the barrel back to its locked position?
Also, I’m just wondering, how did you ever get a pellet back out of the breach once you insert it?Maybe you stuck a cleaning rod down the front of the barrel and pushed it out? just wondering? i’ve accidentally put them in upside down or backwards and that’s the only way I can get them out.
I have the same gun and straight out of the box it would not cock because of server gaulling. I learned from experience to never ever send a gun back to warranty, especially here in Canada, so I basically learn from trial and errorhow to fix them myself and I’m very un mechanical.I had to take it apart and thinks of all the YouTube‘s out there on this I managed to fix it. At that time, a year ago, it was the worst HW gun I ever purchased. I had seven other HW springers. Now about two years later, it is my favourite rifle and probably one of my most accurate.
I hope you got your problem straightened out because they are fantastic guns.

 

[ernroe]

First of all, Welcome to HAM, you will find a world of knowledge on this site relating too airguns. Like you I am not very mechanical but a lot of the members on here are and willing to help when asked. As to my problem, the barrel would no go that last step to cock the rifle. Danman, a member on here, suggested that I try adjusting the trigger. I turned it 3 turns clockwise and the problem was solved. I have since backed off thoes 3 turns times 2 and it is working beautifully and the the trigger is great. I recently added a Hawke 2-7 x 32 Vantage scope and a Muzzle brake. The only thing I can find that the Muzzle Brake does is reduce the cocking effort. I have 3 PCPs and 2 Springers HW50S and a HW30. If you don't have a 30 your should put it on your wish list.

 

[Sureshot]

Hey Ernroe, Thanks for the greetings.
Great tip about the trigger being adjusted to loose. That would certainly do it. I should’ve thought of that myself. Your Hawk 2 to 7 x 32 is a great addition to your gun. I have a 6 to 24×50 Helix Elements on mine making the little 50 a big beast. The weight added to the gun is not a problem as previously mentioned ,I am purely a bench shooter.. The accuracy of the gun still astounds me. I have two Diana 54’s, both modified.. The HW 50 can stay with them up to about 46 yards and both Dianas are incredibly accurate especially the one in .22.
Do you get as much fun shooting your PCPs as a springer? I’ve never owned one. I guess my shooting goals have evolved to the point where I work to get a gun shooting great and then just basically leave it alone. That’s the challenge. I think pellet choice is a big part of it.
You mentioned the HW 30.. well, I have two of those right now. One with a 4 - 12×50 Airmax on it and the other one, open sites, which I really enjoy.
I’m gonna explain this in a little bit of detail as it might help somebody else in the same situation.
The first one ,purchased about a year ago , was a complete disaster of the box. I had read every review I could find and didn’t hear one complaint.It was the perfect rifle for short to medium distance shooting and PCP accuracy. Great ,I’m in! It didn’t work out that way at all. Open the box , clean the barrel ,mounted a Airmax 4-12x50 scope ,went out to my 23 yard range, put up a piece of cardboard , first 10 shots , 18 to 20 inch spread ,top to bottom. Yep!I couldn’t believe it. I think I went into a minor depress depression over that one. How could a brand new HW 30 shoot so bad?
Anyway, forgot to use part of my brain and went all in, the wrong way. I took the one 2 hour old new gun apart, put in an Vortek spring and piston seal , cleaned all the factory grease , then properly greases it and put it back together , shot it, same results. Tore it apart again, took out the Vortex seal and put the OEM seal back in, put it back together , fired it , same results. I did send a text to HW warranty and as expected they would have nothing to do with it because I took the gun apart, which I knew anyway. I was just looking for some technical help but got none.
I then went on another Airgun form , explain my situation and ask for some help. I was fortunate to stumble across an article written by somebody very knowledgable that said if your breech seal is too thick, your gun will not close properly meaning it will close at a different point every time causing stringing . Pull out the seal ,gently run it over some sandpaper to a specific thickness, which I can’t remember right now but it wasn’t much taken off. I pulled out the seal ,rubbed the back over a piece of 400 sandpaper , put it back in and boom!! Problem solved. This HW 30 was everything they said it was and even more. It was so accurate that I decided to buy another one just for shooting in my basement with open sites. I learned that lesson the hard way.
Take care,
Al