HW57 Appreciation Post

I love mine. I really do. I bought this gun a couple of months ago knowing full well that it was the weak link in the Weihrauch lineup but after seeing it online for the first time I knew I had to have one. There was just something about the way it looked and the way it functioned that wouldn't let me stop thinking about it.

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My expectations were pretty low for it but after playing with the gun for some time now, it has become an absolute favorite of mine. The gun shoulders very well and after getting accustomed to the pop up breech, loading a pellet has become a breeze.

Out of the box the gun was very twangy with a lot of vibration. It really didn't group well as a result. The best I could manage was about an inch at 35 yards with most groups sitting around an inch and a half. I decided to pop her open and see what I was dealing with.

Sure enough, it was your typical HW power plant. A spring sitting on a loose fitting guide, with a 5mm washer for a bit of extra preload in the piston. I did the typical clean, polish, and relube job using moly paste on the piston and lightly on the seal. I used some spare Vortek grease on the spring and guide, and I removed that 5mm spacer from the piston. I slapped it back together, and while it still had some twang to it, the gun was much smoother shooting. I haven't touched it since. I'm sitting at 11fpe with JSB 8.44gr pellets.

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https://youtu.be/xh-1_jwqQKs



After testing pellets pretty thoroughly, I settled on the JSB Exact 8.44s in 4.53 head size. I am very particular in my method of loading pellets because I found even a little deviation from the norm could result in a flyer. Most importantly I verify the skirt is proper. The fact that the pellet has to jump a small gap into the barrel from the breech makes me think that any pressure anomaly will throw the pellet into the barrel wrong, leading to some seriously thrown shots. 

Once I figured out what the gun liked, it was easy shooting from there. Here are some 5 shot groups I shot with it at 35 yards over the weekend. 

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Anyway, I just wanted to make a positive post about this gun because it seems pretty rare that anyone has anything nice to say about it. I love mine and it is easily one of the happiest purchase I have made in this sport.
 
Nice! I'm very intrigued by the 57 as well. I know it had a spotty reputation to start, but it's been in production a long time now. Your very fine shooting seems to confirm they have worked the bugs out, lol...

That loading system is intriguing to me. Like the classic tap-loaders of yore, it makes for an action that's much slimmer and lighter than any fixed-barrel springer with a telescoping-breech design.
 
Nice! I'm very intrigued by the 57 as well. I know it had a spotty reputation to start, but it's been in production for a long time now, and you seem to be confirming they have worked the bugs out, lol...

That loading system is intriguing to me. Like the classic tap-loaders of yore, it keeps the mass of the gun down quite a bit compared to the typical telescoping-breech system.

It's the perfect weight for a walk around plinking/rabbit gun and it balances well and it shoots better than most. The pop up breech makes it so much fun to shoot just because it's so different from most guns on the market these days. The groups I posted were in some fairly decent crosswinds so I know it can do better than I did today.

I'm debating dropping an HW50 PG4 kit into it. I'm fairly certain the upgrade will really bring out the best in it. I dont think it will ever quite measure up to the 77/97, but for what it is, it really doesn't have to.
 
I too was intrigued by the design. I tried to buy one last year but could not find one. I tried to put in a special order at AOA and was told by a rep they don't want to handle them anymore due to problems with the breech block mechanism. I ended up going with the HW50s in .20 caliber, which I'm thoroughly happy with. But I still... well after all, I opened this post didn't I ;- } 
 
I find pop up taps to be fumbly to load (Gamo Stutzen). Gamo/BSA dropped them and went to the RB2 tap for their underlevers. RB2 works nice (BSA Stutzen, Superstar,and Gamo CFX)

Weirauch should make the tap open so the port is .125 short of flush with the top of the barrel. Then mill a ..90 radius slot for .177 in the top of the barrel .125 deep and an inck long.. A little ramp to guide the pellet to the port. Fixed. You could easily load it even from a horse back.

That's why the RB2 tap works so well. Open the tap and the pellet glides right into the ramp to the port. Slick. But too complicated. All they had to do was modify the pop up as described above.

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One more thing. Allow one to remove the front sight! They should know by now considering the Mk1 HW77.
 
I really don't find the pop up all that fumbly these days. When I first got it I had to get used to turning my hand a different way than when I load my 97s or TX, but once I got that down it was a breeze. I would imagine if you have larger hands it may be more difficult to load though.

That RB2 tap is a pretty cool concept too. I'll have to add one of those guns you mentioned to my "need to get" list!

Agreed 100% on the removable front post. It really wouldn't be too difficult to just put a dovetail and slide on post up front.
 
I have one in .22, and my experience was similar to OP's. Most of the criticism comes from people who don't own them, but "they heard X and so"

It's accurate and a treat to shoot!

I've heard its actually a smoother shooter in .22 versus my .177. I'm debating getting a second one just to see for myself. What kind of muzzle energy can I expect out of a .22?