HW97

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I took a yard bunny yesterday morning at 20 to 25 yards with my sweet 97. It was very low light and I was standing, resting support hand on corner of house. I remembered to hold the rifle where she likes to be held, aimed for a spot just behind and above the eye, and squeezed off the release. WOW!! That little .177 popped that bunny exactly where I was aiming and it was lights out!

I don't yet have a full tin of pellets through the rifle. If it gets better than this, I doubt I will notice. It's near perfect now. I haven't taken it down to clean and re-lube yet. Thinking I will just send it to AoA for the Vortek tune and call it good from there. I am remembering to keep the stock screws tight and as some of you warned, they do tend to work loose. I did finally get the Bisley sling swivels in 13.5mm for it yesterday. No place I could find in the US carried them and it took a little searching to find a place in the UK would ship them to US.
 
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MEC17670, I have been looking at getting the rifle tuned. I went to Paul Watts' site last night. Man! That guy likes to type and I still can't figure out if he takes in work or not! I'm not opposed to being without the rifle for a reasonable amount of time as I own a Daystate and should be getting my Impact pretty soon. However, Watts' seems to have more work than he can handle and makes that point clear in nearly every sentence.

I guess I'll give Watts a call and find out if he wants my business or not. If it wasn't for your recommendation and that of others I've read in my "tune research" I'd be inclined to leave Mr. Watts to his retirement based solely on the position he conveys on his website. Come to think of it...I saw the same type of rambling on the "Charlie da Tuna" site when I bought a trigger for my break barrel Gamo a year or so ago. Completely sick of the stock Gamo trigger, I forced myself to send the required money order and was extremely pleased with the product. By the way, after reading Paul's shipping instructions, I am totally lost. Don't send it in a hard rifle case. Don't send it in a soft rifle case. Whatever the hell you do, don't send it in Styrofoam popcorn! I'll have to call him to get straight on that too I 'spose. What is it with airgunsmiths?
 
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Top tuners are a different breed, but they are the best for just that reason.
If I might make a suggestion to your approach, get rid of the attitude "if he wants my business", to more of an attitude of " I really would like you to tune my gun, you came highly recommended ". You might find a door opening.
He has been one of the best for years .
Do you know of Russ Best? If you see his post, read them, he was there before Paul.
Have fun.
 
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Just got off the phone with Mr. Watts. My first question after introducing myself was "Are you still taking work?" His answer was "Nah..." I then replied "I guess that would preclude any further questions from me. Have a good day, Sir." He then said "Well that depends on what you've got." I told him I have a new HW 97, that his work came highly recommended and that I was interested in having him do his ADV tune on the rifle. He then told me he had too much stuff on his bench that had been there for months. He also stated that he had one for sale on his web page. I told him I had seen the rifle he had for sale and then told him if he had stuff on his bench that had been there for months, I wasn't interested in putting my rifle behind it all and bid him a good day. He may be good...I'm certain I'll never know.
 
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What exactly does a Sunne hone do? The mechanics of a take down don't bother me. My inexperience in the workings of a spring gun is what pushes me to a pro. AoA has that VGlide kit for $450.00. If I can't get a good tuner, I will probably buy that and drop it in myself after putting another tin or two through the gun. But when I read about seals and their proper fit, etc...I have to admit ignorance. Admitting ignorance is something that took me a lot of years and money learning to do comfortably. In my 60 years, I've learned much the "hard" way. I prefer not to track that particular learning curve with my new gun.
 
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"dannyshoots"What exactly does a Sunne hone do? The mechanics of a take down don't bother me. My inexperience in the workings of a spring gun is what pushes me to a pro. AoA has that VGlide kit for $450.00. If I can't get a good tuner, I will probably buy that and drop it in myself after putting another tin or two through the gun. But when I read about seals and their proper fit, etc...I have to admit ignorance. Admitting ignorance is something that took me a lot of years and money learning to do comfortably. In my 60 years, I've learned much the "hard" way. I prefer not to track that particular learning curve with my new gun.
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For a drop in tune kit, $450 is crazy expensive. For that amount, go with a pro tune instead. I have two Rob Hawkins tuned springers and after 50,000+ shots they remain very smooth shooters. I have replaced the springs twice in each gun.

I have used many Vortek kits and they do improve the shooting characteristics of any gun for a reasonable price. If you want to try a drop in kit first, give Vortek a try.

IMHO, the improvements provided by a pro tune are noticeable, but also expensive. I find them worthwhile. But a quality drop in kit provides 50-70 percent of the "improvements" from a pro tune. 

Good luck choosing.

R
 
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Danny,

So far you haven't asked about pellets. Try AA 10.34 grain field heavies (similar to JSB's). They shoot very well at 890 fps from my PCP and very well at 670 fps from my 11.5 fpe HW97 with a drop in JM kit and the factory seal. I'm pretty impressed with them. I haven't been able to try any yet, but H&N makes a similar shaped pellet called the Sniper that comes in 3 weights. I'd like to try the mediums which are in the 8.5 grain range for a little more fps and flatter trajectory than the AA field heavies offer.

My 97 likes a light hold and shoots very accurately rested on a bipod directly under the loading port. Try a lot of different holds but be consistent. Pressure, even which side of the stock you exert that pressure on, can affect your groups. I expect groups of 3/8 inch c.t.c. at 23 yds from my gun with the AA's, but they're often 1/4 inch and sometimes 3/16 inch.

It is super sweet shooting with a 12 fpe kit. I did read where another member bought a factory 12 fpe gun from Krale and it twanged. Kind of surprised at that. I guess even at the 12 fpe level an aftermarket spring and guide is an improvement.

Good luck.
 
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