Hello everybody,
So I got an HW80 in .22 as a present last week. I'm a complete beginner, but since then I've read almost every bit of information on air guns and shooting that I could get my hands on.
Everybody on the internet seems to agree that the HW80 is a precise, well-made, elegant break-barrel air rifle that is well worth having. However, after noticing that it's really quite hard to "open" the barrel before cocking, and consequently quite hard to close the barrel again (I have to smack it to get it to open and close before and after cocking), I called up a couple of dealers.
What struck me was that they were all quite opinionated. The first dealer I called up said not to worry about it because the gun's new, so it probably needs to be used for a while. But he added that the gun was *&%#, and that I'd be much better off using an HW77. According to him, the HW80 is far too powerful (especially for a beginner like me), breaks scopes all the time, and can't be used for proper target shooting, only for hunting. Then I called up another dealer, and he said the opposite - that the HW80 is an excellent option for my stated purposes; a great balance between accuracy and quality for target shooting, and power and punch for hunting. Then I called up a third dealer, and he said that I'd be better off with the HW77. So I'm stuck with two problems:
So I got an HW80 in .22 as a present last week. I'm a complete beginner, but since then I've read almost every bit of information on air guns and shooting that I could get my hands on.
Everybody on the internet seems to agree that the HW80 is a precise, well-made, elegant break-barrel air rifle that is well worth having. However, after noticing that it's really quite hard to "open" the barrel before cocking, and consequently quite hard to close the barrel again (I have to smack it to get it to open and close before and after cocking), I called up a couple of dealers.
What struck me was that they were all quite opinionated. The first dealer I called up said not to worry about it because the gun's new, so it probably needs to be used for a while. But he added that the gun was *&%#, and that I'd be much better off using an HW77. According to him, the HW80 is far too powerful (especially for a beginner like me), breaks scopes all the time, and can't be used for proper target shooting, only for hunting. Then I called up another dealer, and he said the opposite - that the HW80 is an excellent option for my stated purposes; a great balance between accuracy and quality for target shooting, and power and punch for hunting. Then I called up a third dealer, and he said that I'd be better off with the HW77. So I'm stuck with two problems:
- Am I better off returning this gun for an HW77 in .22, or is the HW80 better suited for my intended use, i.e., target shooting, and once I'm proficient enough, hunting.
- I still don't really know if it's normal for an air gun to be this tough to break open and close (not the cocking itself, that's about as smooth as can be, I'm talking about the first few degrees of rotation required to break the barrel open or close it back up at the very end of the whole cocking cycle).
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My HW80 is not restricted like the ones sold in England or Germany, it's got the full ~19-20 foot/lbs muzzle energy going on.
Some additional information: I'm 6 foot 1 tall and athletic, so I'm not particularly frail.
I really need your help, since this is eating me up!