A few days ago on AGN, a newbie inquired on a post (always very subjective) something to the effect of what is the best break barrel rifle balancing accuracy and power. I have owned several models and calibers of the different Weihrauch rifles over the years. Most of them were really great and accurate rifles in their own right. And even though everyone says the 98, R9, and 95 are basically the same rifles, in my experience, the R9s and the 98s are the best day in and day out shooters of all of the models, on a consistent basis. Find a good older R9 to purchase on line, and you will likely get a rifle that will shoot. If you want a new rifle, to me, the safe bet is the 98. Between rifles I have purchased new and those I have helped friends acquire and tune, I have probably had my hands on six to eight 98s, and they all shoot.
This particular rifle was acquired new from AOA in March of 2021. Truthfully, it shot pretty well out of the box, but had too much "buzz" for me and I thought I could improve on the accuracy and the smoothness of the trigger. So disassembly began after having only shot maybe 30 shots with it out of the box. I did a complete tear down of the rifle and the trigger, hand polishing all of the "working" metal surfaces on both. I went back with a Vortek PG4 Steel HO kit, removing coils to the point it would shoot somewhere in the 14.5 to 15.5 fpe range, which I typically find is the max power limit in a springer to have a good energy output for killing tree rats while maintaining accuracy.
This rifle turned out like all of my other 98 experiences, it just shoots lights out every time. It is smooth and the trigger breaks like glass. Testing all of the available .20 pellets, this one shows a preference for the H&N 11.42 gr pellets. After the initial tune, it was consistently shooting 10 shot groups of +/- 1" at 50 yards.
Pulling it out of the vault yesterday, upon careful inspection, not much had changed. I haven't really shot this rifle very much, so the barrel was nearly spotless from the last time I cleaned it. The scope and stock screws hadn't moved. And at the first shot at 18 yards on the indoor range, it missed dead center by maybe 1/8" inch.
The final test results can be seen below. For someone wanting a consistent, well built rifle, that will stand the test of time, an HW98 is hard to beat.
BTW - the .20 is absolutely my favorite springer caliber. Every .20 rifle I own is extremely accurate. While I am not sure that is universal, it just happens to be my experience.
) I am shooting 177 cal from 6 yards (I am trying to keep in sync with the NRA targets I use which are 15 feet/5yds.)
