A friend no longer used his HW55 so I offered to buy it from him. It came with shroud and rebuild kit. Very clean, nice wood, and obviously someone's treasured 10 meter gun at one time. After cleaning it up a bit and changing out the rear aperture from 0.8 mm to 1.1 mm, I sighted it in and shot a group standing. Very pleasant to shoot and plenty accurate enough for me. All I really need to do at this point is drill the original 0.8 mm aperture out to 1.2 mm.
1975 HW55
- Thread starter Michigander
- Start date
I am so very envious. I had the same gun for 35 years and my whole family used it. I was overcome with sadness one day from the circumstances of a young guy and gave it to him. He wept and I still miss it so much but he needed it more.
A treasure. Dibbies if you ever decide to sell it.
A treasure. Dibbies if you ever decide to sell it.
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The HW55 is one of those guns you wish you had bought when they were still available. Pick it up and you imagine yourself in one of those shooting clubs in Germany where a couple evenings a week you and some companions could enjoy a little shooting followed by a lot of beer. Too bad we don't do that here!
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you might what to buy a Gehmann 510 iris, not that much and you can dial in your iris hole size
https://gehmann.com/english/products.php?kategorie=20&id=132
also an eye cup might be in order
http://www.champchoice.com/store/Main.aspx?p=ItemDetailOptions&item=G806
http://www.champchoice.com/store/Main.aspx?p=ItemDetailOptions&item=510
shop around
https://gehmann.com/english/products.php?kategorie=20&id=132
also an eye cup might be in order
http://www.champchoice.com/store/Main.aspx?p=ItemDetailOptions&item=G806
http://www.champchoice.com/store/Main.aspx?p=ItemDetailOptions&item=510
shop around
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I did drill out the aperture to 1.2 mm today, and also pulled the stock to check the internals. I found a good amount of grease still present on the spring and cocking groove. That being the case, I just wiped things down a bit, added a couple drops of spring oil for good measure, and replaced the stock, torqueing the bedding screws to 20 in-lb. Finally, I tightened the pivot bolt to produce just a little drag at that point. I didn't try to lubricate the seal just yet since it is still leaving a bit of smoke in the bore after firing. Should be good for a while.
Thanks for all the comments and tips. There aren't too many people around who appreciate these old guns and it's always fun to share a new acquisition.
Thanks for all the comments and tips. There aren't too many people around who appreciate these old guns and it's always fun to share a new acquisition.
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Wow, that’s a beauty! Great condition, beautiful walnut, and that checkering pattern is my favorite from a handling standpoint.
I enthusiastically echo marflow’s suggestion to obtain an adjustable iris for the sight, which will set you up for any lighting conditions, on or off the target range. These come with additional functions if needed (colored filters, polarizers, and a focusing magnifying lens can be had in any combination of 2, 3 or all 4), but the basic adjustable opening alone is a huge asset and about the best addition you can make to any target rifle. They are used universally by serious 10-meter competitors.
If you will forgive my being picky about terminology, the thing on the barrel is not a “shroud” in the modern sense of a hollow gadget with, uh, “dust collection” abilities. It’s a simple steel sleeve, designed to add weight for target shooting (there is also a void in the fore end wood, designed for adding more weight). The sleeve is a very desirable and rather hard-to-find accessory, too.
I enthusiastically echo marflow’s suggestion to obtain an adjustable iris for the sight, which will set you up for any lighting conditions, on or off the target range. These come with additional functions if needed (colored filters, polarizers, and a focusing magnifying lens can be had in any combination of 2, 3 or all 4), but the basic adjustable opening alone is a huge asset and about the best addition you can make to any target rifle. They are used universally by serious 10-meter competitors.
If you will forgive my being picky about terminology, the thing on the barrel is not a “shroud” in the modern sense of a hollow gadget with, uh, “dust collection” abilities. It’s a simple steel sleeve, designed to add weight for target shooting (there is also a void in the fore end wood, designed for adding more weight). The sleeve is a very desirable and rather hard-to-find accessory, too.
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That's a beautiful rifle. Looks like it responded well to your cleaning job! I'm hoping I can find one like that some day soon.
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.Mike: Yes sleeve, I knew that. That was one of the things that attracted me to this particular HW55. As for the rear iris, I have always just drilled them out to suit my preference, somewhere between 1.1 mm and 1.5 mm. This one actually came out closer to 1.3 mm, since I used a #55 drill. But maybe it is time to indulge myself and buy an adjustable one. I have the adjustable front on a 300s, but never got around to doing the same for the rear for some reason.
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Beautiful rifle for sure!!
best price on the Gehmann 510 iris is creedmoorsports.com - 54.95$ + 5$ flat rate postage.
May I ask where you purchased the front adjustable iris for the 300s? I want one as I have only one single metal insert for my 300s hooded front sight, and it’s not the one I want LOL.
Thanks Ron
best price on the Gehmann 510 iris is creedmoorsports.com - 54.95$ + 5$ flat rate postage.
May I ask where you purchased the front adjustable iris for the 300s? I want one as I have only one single metal insert for my 300s hooded front sight, and it’s not the one I want LOL.
Thanks Ron
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I just love using the rear sight irises, and of course you only need one since the mounting thread size is identical on all the old German sights. It's fun to look at the amazing sight accessories offered by Gehmann, Centra, and AHG Anschutz. Champions Choice and Nikkonos are excellent sources for buying these gadgets.
The colored filters can be fun to play with. They are available as a set of snap-on rear covers for the iris, which is much cheaper than an iris with built-in filters.
On the front sight inserts, a friend recently pointed out the metal inserts used on the 17mm Diana sights, are identical to those used in the 18mm sights on the FWB match springers. In spite of having had both kinds of sights lying around the house for years, I'd never realized that!
The colored filters can be fun to play with. They are available as a set of snap-on rear covers for the iris, which is much cheaper than an iris with built-in filters.
On the front sight inserts, a friend recently pointed out the metal inserts used on the 17mm Diana sights, are identical to those used in the 18mm sights on the FWB match springers. In spite of having had both kinds of sights lying around the house for years, I'd never realized that!
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The front sight on my 300s is an 18 mm and takes standard 18 mm front sight accessories. I have the Gehmann 520 adjustable iris which can be purchased from Champion's Choice.
The HW front sight is unfortunately a 17 mm and I know of no one offering front sight accessories in that size. The HW insert that I have is a 3.2 mm, which is very small for shooting a standard 10 meter target standing. If I want something bigger the best option is probably to buy the acrylic inserts with black ring and machine the OD to 14.6 mm, which will then fit the HW globe.
The HW front sight is unfortunately a 17 mm and I know of no one offering front sight accessories in that size. The HW insert that I have is a 3.2 mm, which is very small for shooting a standard 10 meter target standing. If I want something bigger the best option is probably to buy the acrylic inserts with black ring and machine the OD to 14.6 mm, which will then fit the HW globe.
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Quite correct unfortunately. I've run across an occasional M17 gadget at gun shows - I have an "eagle eye" lens and old adjustable aperture and post sleeves - but they are no longer manufactured.
FWIW, older Anschutz front sights fit the HW rails perfectly, though. Those are M18 sights that can of course take all manner of accessories. An affront to the rifles collectability pedigree I suppose LOL, but no doubt that happened quite a lot in the days when HW 55's were still competitive competition guns.
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