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Goodbye Old Friend - HW100T FSB .22

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Mick-VA

Mick-VA

Member
Jan 27, 2017
550
28
VA, United States
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Finally had to say goodbye to my old HW100 .22 that I purchased a few years ago after reading about it and watching too many U.K. YouTube videos depicting excellent reviews of sub 12fpe versions. Things I loved:
  • Nice craftsmanship, high build quality, reliable, never failed after 10s of thousands of rounds. Only one o ring at cylinder connection needed replaced over several years
  • The wonderful smooth cocking lever and magazine system holding 14 rounds
  • The thumbhole walnut stock was handsome, nicely shaped, ergonomic, and decent grain dark walnut
  • Iconic status and weirauch flagship
  • Chrony at 28-30 FPE for 18-21gr
  • Its 3rd favorite pellet was the Crosman Premier Domes 14.3 gr - which @ $9.99 and buy 3 get 1 free supported a LOT of cheap plinking out to 90 yards
  • 200 Bar fill
Things I could no longer live with:
  • .22 OEM barrel was not accurate - consistent (to my standards) with any pellet head size or weight. Always an occasional flier and never stable beyond 90 yards with any combo of MV, head size, or weight. Best pellets were 5.53 Barracuda match, JSB 18gr and CPD 14.3gr in that order. It would shoot 1.75 inch groups at 90 yards.
  • The OEM air cylinder was very heavy steel and small capacity with low shot count, max 30 rounds on 200bar fill. Alternatives were available with Alu and Ti cylinders but very difficult to source dropping nearly a pound from gun. I could live with the 30 shot count but the extra weight was unnecessary.
  • The shroud was skinny and long as well as ineffective. Had a significant high frequency crack easily resolved by LDC at the expense of additional length on an already long gun. Used a NC LDC on it for a while that was effective. Purchased a full Huggett shroud and LDC that I never installed permanently that added 3 inches overall compared to OEM and with a nicer thicker shroud that included a new cylinder band to free float the barrel. I tried it out and it looked and functioned and sounded great. But did not adddress the marginal accuracy of the barrel. 
I ended up trading it in for a new rifle that had a proven track record. If I had addressed its shortcomings thru mods, it would have been a very expensive rifle and I could not justify the investment. Auf weidersehen old friend! You'll be missed.

Research reveals the .177 version when tuned to 18-20 FPE is wickedly accurate.

Note: That is not my favorite runt squirrel that hangs out on my fence daily while I'm shooting over its head.
 
I had a similar problem with a HW 100 KT in 0.22. The OEM barrel was replaced by Weihrauch but accuracy/consistency problems continued. IMO both barrels were excessively choked.

Even though in every other aspect it was brilliant, it had to go. Replaced by a 35 ft-lb 0.22 Daystate Pulsar which has exceptional accuracy but maybe not quite so good looking as my old HW100.
 
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I have one also in .22. Same gun as yours Mick. I would add to the list of things I love that it has a fantastic trigger! I've spent a lot of money on mine. It has a LW polygon barrel now and a ratworks cylinder. Very accurate and 60 shots at 30fpe. Still to heavy and is like carrying a javalen around! But I set it up on a bench and really enjoy shooting it! It was my first pcp (now have 2) and don't think I'd sell it. Owes me to much money! 
 
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@airsupply - yes that trigger! A perfect example of a well tuned 2 stage trigger straight from the box. A light 1st stage that comes up to a well defined stop, and a crisp, light second stage. You can feel every aspect of that function through your fingertip.

The ratworks cylinder looks great. That's what I meant by hard to source - very little info on the web and an announcement on Facebook. 

LW polygon - what made you select that specific barrel? Nicely done.

Honestly - this great platform has been around for many years now and HW is missing out on market potential that could easily be resolved with a few modern tweaks!
 
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The ratworks cylinder was an easy conversion and I could potentially get more shots if I and put a regulator in the tube that would allow 250bar fill. You just swap out the gauge and valve on the original tube. Very easy but yes not that easy to find!
You would think with so many of these guns out there and there short comings so well known someone would have would have made a really good solution and marketed it well$$$
Choose the polygon barrel because of what I'd read on line about them and because I could get hold of one relatively easily. It's 16mm OD like the original. 
It shoots the 18g jsb' around 860fps and on a Calm day I can consistently hit my 10cmx12cm steel gong at 100m. 
At 50m it shoots the16g jsb very well but of course they do get blown around a bit at longers distance. 
It also shoots the hunter extremes very well. 
. 
I would like to be able to push the 18g pellets fast as I'm sure they would stay stable but it runs out of puff at around 860fps. 
It is a different gun than it was originally and I really like it now. I pick it up to shoot with conifidence that it's accurate. 
It use to live in the gun safe and I wouldn't won't to even look at it. Now it has a nice new case and I smile when I open it😊
 
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Yes Jamie, I understand the .177 version is incredible. When I originally bought the .22, my initial intent was to buy the .177 version but I learned that they came out of the factory tuned really hot for the 10 grain class of pellets.

Had I bought that .177, I would have had it tuned to about 19 FPE. I'm certain it would still be in my line up. What are you using to moderate your .177? Is it the FSB version or Carbine?
 
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@sirk - no I did not sell it to an individual person and "pass on a dog." .I traded it back to the dealer I bought it from at 1/3 the price I paid for it which was about $1450 new. I did tell them why I wasnt enthusiastic about the gun; before and during the trade. I lost about $1000 on the ordeal. They happily sold me a new gun.

So, they serviced "the dog" and sold it for a little over twice what they gave me in trade about two weeks later.

For me to have been happy with the gun, I would need to purchase a barrel, an air cylinder, and a decent shroud/LDC and pay for someone to install everything and tune. Much more money than I wanted to sink into the gun when there are plenty others that suit my criteria out of the box.

Thanks for sharing your concern. Also, it is salient to note my original post clearly stated I traded the gun in for a new one. - not sold and "passing a dog" to an individual. My assumption was an authorized dealer would service the gun to OEM specs before selling. Especially with the clearly written note and sample targets I sent them when I shipped it to trade.


 
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Sirk - an authorized dealer who is qualified to sell and service the gun would bring the gun back to factory specs before selling it again. Why should they destroy the whole gun if it is the marginal OEM barrel that is causing the problem?

Because I was open and transparent in writing when I traded the gun back to the original dealer - I have no qualms at all about the deal. The dealer was happy since they made a fantastic profit margin after service. I was happy because they took the gun back in trade for one that met my expectations - albeit at the cost of $1000 to "try out" the HW.

 
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