I totally forgot my HW97KT .20 which came before any HW .20 in my own life!
Well it's a pistol grip that requires your thumb to be in the "right" place so target shooting or bench shooting where you use a rest is the best purpose for the HW97 KT.
However, if you want to shoot and reload faster with better accuracy in "the field" the KT stock is nothing but an anchor to get into a solid sitting rest and pretty much nothing else!
I've had a few scopes on my HW97 KT .20 and now I have something there I don't remember but if it's a scope I'll most likely put THAT scope on another RIFLE with break barrel instead of underlever--the most painfully obtrusive and slow type of spring to own in any brand. Even worse than a sidelever.
So I ordered an HW80 .20 some years back after the HW97KT and realized I was missing out on a LOT of power with the 97 compared to the 80! And as far as accuracy the HW80 held properly in offhand standing makes groups identical to the sidelever .20 I have by Hector Medina in D54. Well that sidelever from Hector is totally specialized and cannot be compared to a stock rifle like the HW80. But to me the HW80 is the most beautifully operating break barrel to shoot over and over so many times well after another type of air rifle is worn out. That's what they are to me the HW break barrels--indestructible. You cannot "break one" that easy if you know the BASICs of how it operates. There is never a problem with the first shot out of the cold barrel--it will land about where the next 200 shots will.
After the powerful and LOUD HW80 .20 I ordered from Hector the D54 .20 in LW configuration and also the HW98 .20. The HW98 .20 came first and as I shot it I realized it was a rifle of "ultimate" precision in .20 to use, lacking the power of the HW80 but having well enough power to do fantastic hits and kills on some marauding squirrels at the SAME RANGE as the higher powered HW80 could reach with accuracy sufficient to know the wall.
So today, only the HW98 .20 and the HW50S .20 get shot (the HW50 is open sighted and is always on target with pleasure to shoot over and over and over again!).
I save the higher power option (Hector's .20 in D54) to really cross over into .22LR realm where pellets are much more dangerous than normally seen.
I would recommend an HW80 to anyone interested in an R1 built today pretty much better with better machinery and forging/casting than the real ones that were phased out.
I would recommend the HW98 in any caliber to anyone willing--never a disappointment you'll see! (I have the HW98s in .177, .20, and .25).
I have an HW97KT in .20 on the rack where it will have to stay--just so I can keep up with anyone else who bought one in any caliber. They are sandbag guns though. Not for the field.
These are gleanings on my comparisons with rifles I have owned for quite a while now and trust completely for what they are and how they were made.
I hope it charms discussion!
Well it's a pistol grip that requires your thumb to be in the "right" place so target shooting or bench shooting where you use a rest is the best purpose for the HW97 KT.
However, if you want to shoot and reload faster with better accuracy in "the field" the KT stock is nothing but an anchor to get into a solid sitting rest and pretty much nothing else!
I've had a few scopes on my HW97 KT .20 and now I have something there I don't remember but if it's a scope I'll most likely put THAT scope on another RIFLE with break barrel instead of underlever--the most painfully obtrusive and slow type of spring to own in any brand. Even worse than a sidelever.
So I ordered an HW80 .20 some years back after the HW97KT and realized I was missing out on a LOT of power with the 97 compared to the 80! And as far as accuracy the HW80 held properly in offhand standing makes groups identical to the sidelever .20 I have by Hector Medina in D54. Well that sidelever from Hector is totally specialized and cannot be compared to a stock rifle like the HW80. But to me the HW80 is the most beautifully operating break barrel to shoot over and over so many times well after another type of air rifle is worn out. That's what they are to me the HW break barrels--indestructible. You cannot "break one" that easy if you know the BASICs of how it operates. There is never a problem with the first shot out of the cold barrel--it will land about where the next 200 shots will.
After the powerful and LOUD HW80 .20 I ordered from Hector the D54 .20 in LW configuration and also the HW98 .20. The HW98 .20 came first and as I shot it I realized it was a rifle of "ultimate" precision in .20 to use, lacking the power of the HW80 but having well enough power to do fantastic hits and kills on some marauding squirrels at the SAME RANGE as the higher powered HW80 could reach with accuracy sufficient to know the wall.
So today, only the HW98 .20 and the HW50S .20 get shot (the HW50 is open sighted and is always on target with pleasure to shoot over and over and over again!).
I save the higher power option (Hector's .20 in D54) to really cross over into .22LR realm where pellets are much more dangerous than normally seen.
I would recommend an HW80 to anyone interested in an R1 built today pretty much better with better machinery and forging/casting than the real ones that were phased out.
I would recommend the HW98 in any caliber to anyone willing--never a disappointment you'll see! (I have the HW98s in .177, .20, and .25).
I have an HW97KT in .20 on the rack where it will have to stay--just so I can keep up with anyone else who bought one in any caliber. They are sandbag guns though. Not for the field.
These are gleanings on my comparisons with rifles I have owned for quite a while now and trust completely for what they are and how they were made.
I hope it charms discussion!