Tuning Best Weihrauch HW97 tuning kit?

[BryanH]

I should add every one of those rifles had damaged piston seals ranging from nicked to shredded, even factory parts with a properly de burred gun would be an improvement

 

[Vincent10]

I recently picked up a HW97 in .177 with synthetic stock I plan to use this rifle for target shooting and informal silhouette. I tested it out at 25 yards indoor to see how it groups and start the break in process. The stock spring is rated at 14.7 ft lbs, but for target shooting I prefer 11 to 13ft lbs. 

I have a Vortek 12 lbs PG4 kit in my other 97 and this helped calm down the shot cycle. I tried the preload washers, but the cycle became harsh and there was trouble cocking the rifle. Without washers and using factory seals the rifle is very steady when shot rested and not hold sensitive. Accuracy is on par with a PCP rifle. I am not sure why they went with a metal spring sleeve instead of delrin or other composite. It's a quality kit, but as others mentioned there seems to be unnecessary metal contact created. Not sure if this will cause problems down the road.

For the synthetic stock 97 I ordered an ARH UK 12 lbs kit with OX spring. I plan to keep the factory HW seals. I've used ARH springs in the past on other rifles and they were all good quality. 

 

[Sc0-]

Fun reading on the HW piston seal differences on Maccari's page. General round about number as to which one to get for recently built HW's, or is it a tear apart and measure ordeal? Never been inside a HW but have torn apart many Diana's and used Jim's kits exclusively without any issues.

 

[MEC17670]

Paul Watts tuned my .20 97k. He used Maccari parts. The gun has pcp accuracy out to 55 yards. Very impressed with Watts tune and the material he use.

 

[Humdinger]

I've used Vortek's and ARH. Both gave satisfactory results. If I had to choose one over the other, I like ARH tune kits more. I've used ARH kits for 20 plus years and have never had a spring failure. Every tune kit of his I've used has completely removed any buzziness in the shot cycle and felt smooth as butter in the cocking cycle.

 

[Deerstalker]

Per pellet rifle forums suggestions I installed an ARH kit with a Vortek seal in my new HW95L .22 after I had problems with dieseling caused by the Weihrauch factory over oiling/greasing. I believed this was because the factory had to use inexperienced folks due to the China Virus. The FPS has settled at 720 using FTT 14.66 gr pellets and the rifle is accurate for me. Cocking cycle is soundless until the trigger latch while the shot cycle is a sharp thud with no twang.

 

[Dan25]

You want unbiased opinions based on experience. Here we go.

I have never bought a full ARH kit with spring guides and all, but I have probably installed a dozen of their springs and piston seals in miscellaneous variants of the Chinese B19 springer.


I have never fabbed a spring guide nor shimmed one. Using only an ARH spring, ARH tar, ARH moly, and ARH piston seal and occasionally a shin of dental floss to the breech seal. I did the standard de-bur and lube tube to many of these Chicom guns and every single one cocked and shot smoother and with better accuracy. One of them I literally ran 500-1000 shots per week on it and never harmed the spring. That was an E3650 in a Stoeger X10 and one of the sweetest springers I have shot. On another one, anX20S, I put a Tarantula spring in it and experimented using Pennie’s and other misc coins for piston slugs to add weight and spacing. Up to the point of cool bind that I could not even cock it before backing down.

I learned two things. Maccari springs 1. make everything better and 2. are made to last.


My experience with Vortek, I have installed one PG2 sub-12 tube kit in a RWS 34. Definitely a big improvement there. I bought a Ruger Air Magnum with a Vortek HO Diana 350 spring, not a full kit though. Bought used, he had clipped a coil. Gun was pretty smooth and accurate for a magnum, and about 19 fpe. I received a MM-tuned XS28M in .25 for Christmas from my mom. That one had a Vortek HO spring but otherwise factory parts with some MMM added (Mike Melick Magic). That gun put out nealry 27?fpe with JSB Kings and was the only gun I shot or hunted with for probably 3 years, I could knock the cap off a Gatorade bottle at 40 yards every time with that thing. Or center punch it and blow it wide open if I preferred lol. Killed a lot of critters, even armadillos, with that rifle.



I sold the XS28, the man that bought it told me the spring had broken. So I don’t know.



Some say the Vortek springs are tempered a little too hard and break easier. I think that as long as you’re not trying to attain max power in your springer then you are probably not going to break springs. And if you go for max power or if you like to shoot heavy pellets, you’re going to go through a lot of springs.

Your mileage may vary lol.



edit- one last thing. I deburred a Walther Talon Mag .25 and installed only a ARH piston seal and then a shim of dental floss to the breech seal, honed the compression tube to 400 grit, and lubed very lightly with pure white lithium grease and no thing else. No tar, no moly. Transformed a very twangy changy 26 fpe rifle to a fairly smooth but slightly buzzy 34 fpe rifle with no other special work.



so your mileage may vary.

I managed to break a stone stock factory RWS M34 spring but it took thousands of shots and 24 years to do so.