Looking for an HW95 or RWS 34

I'm new to the forum. I recently purchased a $80 Gamo rifle with a scope and thought it was a great buy until I realized the scope wouldn't stay sighted in and I couldn't hit anything the day after sighting it in. I returned the Gamo and decided to buy a nice gun I can pass down to my kids one day. I would like to get a HW95 in .177 and a RWS 34 in .22. I should be fine with open sights for the time being. Does anyone know where I can get a good price on these guns? It seems like there are good deals out there when the rifles are on sale.



Thank you in advance for your help.


 
Welcome to the forum. 

"I returned the Game and decided to buy "a nice gun I can pass down to my kids" one day."

Famous last, or is that first words.

How many kids do you have?😉

Welcome to Hotel Airgun.

Full disclosure:

About 5 years ago, I started out same as you. I purchased a Beeman dual caliber air rifle from Wally World. And then a Gamo Whisper...

To date, last count...I think I own 15 or is that 16 PCPs. (I know, not everyone is OCD like me -- my wife diagnosed me, by the way.) But air gunning can be addictive. AND A FUN HOBBY.

Again, welcome aboard.
 
I'm new to the forum. I recently purchased a $80 Gamo rifle with a scope and thought it was a great buy until I realized the scope wouldn't stay sighted in and I couldn't hit anything the day after sighting it in. I returned the Gamo and decided to buy a nice gun I can pass down to my kids one day. I would like to get a HW95 in .177 and a RWS 34 in .22. I should be fine with open sights for the time being. Does anyone know where I can get a good price on these guns? It seems like there are good deals out there when the rifles are on sale.



Thank you in advance for your help.


I think you’ve made a wise decision and that you’ll get decades of enjoyment out of either the hw95 or the RWS 34. Both guns come up for sale a lot so a WTB add on the classifieds may turn up something good for you.

https://www.krale.shop/en/weihrauch-hw95.html

As mentioned Krale has the best prices on new HWs.

R


 
Pyramid Air will ship the RWS 34 to my door for $251 and also throw in a free RWS soft case. Does that seem like a decent buy?

I really wanted the HW95 but it is looking like the lowest price I can find right now is around $360 shipped. 

I think Airguns of Arizona has pretty much matched Krale's pricing on the HW95 when you consider shipping. They claim that the guns sold by Krale have no warranty here in the US.

The best prices on a Beeman R9 I can see right now is $400. I would almost rather pay extra for the Beeman and avoid the possibility of having to send my gun to Airguns of Arizona for repair. When I spoke with the salesman at AOA today he said for them to repair something like a spring on the HW95 would run about $250 and for them to open up a rifle costs $180 (if it isn't under warranty). I'm not sure what Beeman support is like but I'm assuming they would be less expensive.

I think I should order the RWS 34 in .22 and wait to catch the HW95/R9 on sale later on. I know the HW95/R9 is a better rifle but I'm not sure if is really worth the extra $110-150 to have one right now. 

Thanks for all the help so far. I wish I would have come here for advice earlier.
 
I thought it would be nice to have two legendary air rifles. I was familiar with RWS but I didn't know about Weihrach and the HW95 until recently.

I was surprised at the lack of quality air rifles when I last stopped by Bass Pro shops. I remember several years ago they stocked RWS and other nice guns but from what I can tell most of what they have in stock now is just lower end rifles. 
 
Pyramid Air will ship the RWS 34 to my door for $251 and also throw in a free RWS soft case. Does that seem like a decent buy?

I really wanted the HW95 but it is looking like the lowest price I can find right now is around $360 shipped. 

I think Airguns of Arizona has pretty much matched Krale's pricing on the HW95 when you consider shipping. They claim that the guns sold by Krale have no warranty here in the US.

The best prices on a Beeman R9 I can see right now is $400. I would almost rather pay extra for the Beeman and avoid the possibility of having to send my gun to Airguns of Arizona for repair. When I spoke with the salesman at AOA today he said for them to repair something like a spring on the HW95 would run about $250 and for them to open up a rifle costs $180 (if it isn't under warranty). I'm not sure what Beeman support is like but I'm assuming they would be less expensive.

I think I should order the RWS 34 in .22 and wait to catch the HW95/R9 on sale later on. I know the HW95/R9 is a better rifle but I'm not sure if is really worth the extra $110-150 to have one right now. 

Thanks for all the help so far. I wish I would have come here for advice earlier.

Those are reasonable prices for an RWS34 and an HW95. Totally subjective call as to which one is the better value. Both are extremely well made and accurate German springers with a cult following. The Beeman R9 uses the exact same action as the hw95 and comes with a somewhat nicer stock (checkering), a cocking aid and no open sights. IMHO the HW springers have better fit and finish than RWS, hence the higher price. Get whatever gun best fits your budget and just start shooting.

FWIW, I don’t care about warranty coverage on high quality springers because I always immediately void the warranty by opening them up and cleaning out any excess lube and checking the spring and seals. Servicing these guns is very easy and I’d never send it back to the dealer for service......especially at the prices quoted by AOA. There are lots of good video tutorials that will show you how to service them yourself if you like. Fortunately, the best thing about springers is that they need little to no maintenance. Just cock and shoot.

Good luck choosing.




 
I’m pretty sympathetic for the dealers. The profit margin isn’t all that great ( I would expect) the over head and expence of running a business off the wall. When you undercut the dealer to save 10% on a purchase just consider where we would be without them . 

Ive listed several guns on the classified section and the hassle dealing with the buyers on just a couple guns is enough to make me feel almost sorry for anyone who has to make a living at it. Questions questions and an almost paranoid idea that I’m trying to take advantage.

I’ve been treated very well by several of the businesses and we should maybe be a little more willing to try to accommodate their needs as well

NOW having said that it works both ways too. 

Perhaps I’m the odd ball out but I’ll pay a little more to keep these guys in business . I tip well at restaurants too.

That’s how I see it. If AOA needs 20% to take a gun back I realize that’s tough to take but let’s consider their situation as well. Some of you guys are impossible to please and if they didn’t charge something can you imagine the outcome of that? 

Think about or not as you see fit 
 
I like sticking with one vendor as long as they are treating me fairly. Pyramid has impressed me so far with their service. I just got an email saying that my RWS has already shipped. 

I run a service business. I work hard to have competitive prices and go out of my way to fix problems when they arise. I'm not always the cheapest but I make sure people are happy. If I was sold a gun that wasn't up to par and I wanted to return it, having to pay shipping both ways on top of a 20% fee would upset me.
 
I like sticking with one vendor as long as they are treating me fairly. Pyramid has impressed me so far with their service. I just got an email saying that my RWS has already shipped. 

I run a service business. I work hard to have competitive prices and go out of my way to fix problems when they arise. I'm not always the cheapest but I make sure people are happy. If I was sold a gun that wasn't up to par and I wanted to return it, having to pay shipping both ways on top of a 20% fee would upset me.

I agree and it would me too but having sold some guns I’m more sympathetic to their plight. Just saying. The point I was trying to make is there is reasonable and unreasonable on both sides. I try really hard to be reasonable and rarely does that not work. Some times it doesn’t. I’m dealing with Petney Bowes right now trying to get out of their postage machine business. If I could reach over the phone line and smack some one it would. So it does happen. No disagreement. I’m talking about people who hold you on the phone for 45 minutes and then quibble about $10 give or take. You have experienced that I’m sure.
 
AOA charges for shipping on the used guns, but that's still a pretty good deal for the 95. If I didn't already have too many guns, it would be tempting....who are we kidding, I'm still tempted anyway!

AOA also has a used RWS 34 carbine in .177 (no provision for open sights on this one) for $189.

https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/usedguns.html/rws-diana-34-pro-compact-.177-no-scope-used/

That's a good deal too, but my vote would be for the Hw95 in .22. At that price, you'll probably be able to sell it and only be out the cost of shipping (which is really quite nominal if you think of it as a "gun rental" cost.) if you later decide you want something else. But my guess is that, once you try it, you'll be keeping it (and probably adding to your collection as well like the rest of us....)

I'm curious what drove your caliber selection. Personally, at the typical factory power levels of either gun, I prefer .22 over .177. Pellets are bigger and easier to handle and offer considerably more smack when they hit a target, whether you're plinking or hunting. But the "which caliber is better" question is really a matter of personal taste - arguments can be made either way.

Come to think of it, what is driving your choice of airguns? In other words, why only consider the medium-high powered HW95 and the RWS34? You mention you're new to the forum and tried a Gamo, but are you new to airguns in general? It's very easy to get sucked into the power/velocity numbers that are advertised because we all want more, more, more! But what you'll quickly find out (at least with respect to springers) is that more power comes with a tradeoff : higher power guns are generally harder to shoot accurately. Many people really like the HW50 (currently about $280 to your door from Krale) as a good "Goldilocks" gun - enough power for hunting small game but trim and easy to shoot. If you're really looking for a plinker that might be called upon occasionally to defend the bird feeder, the HW30 is an excellent option. It's smaller and lighter, but don't mistake this for a "youth gun": it has a full, adult-sized length of pull and the same Weihrauch quality as its bigger brothers, but cocks super easy and they usually shoot like a llaser. And it will absolutely take out a squirrel up to 20 yards no problem with well-placed headshots. I have two of these (one scoped, one open sights) and they are the guns I tend to pick up most by far. Currently, those are about $250 shipped to your door from Krale, which is pretty great!

Good luck and welcome to AGN!
 
I don't have a whole lot of experience with airguns. I grew up playing with a cheap Crossman single pump pellet rifle in woods behind our house. When I got a little older I saved up, bought a Ruger 10-22 and forgot about the Crossman. I had heard about powerful break action pellet rifles but never used one. I live in town now and started having problems with this crazy squirrel that keeps eating our siding and trim. I read a few forums where people said to stay away from the Gamo guns but I didn't listen after comparing the velocity for the money between the Gamo and RWS. I now realize that velocity is useless if you can't hit your target.



From what I have read on forums the consensus seems to be that the HW95 does better with the .177 and the RWS 34 does better in .22. I thought getting a .22 and a .177 would be the best of both worlds. I could have open sights on the .22 and a scope on the .177. People say the HW95 is a laser when using the .177. If I was shooting a squirrel or a bird accuracy seems to be more important than the size of the pellet.

This is just what I've gathered as I don't have any first hand knowledge yet. I should have my RWS 34 on tomorrow so I'm looking forward to shooting it over the weekend.
 
I will never use Pyramyd Air again, those that have had good luck, more for you. Everything that i have bought from them has been defective, the new Gamo Swarm Fusion was a piece of junk, returned it, a month later they credited me my $. Next purchase was a scope, turrets wouldn't adjust, i ended up taking it apart because i wasn't going to wait a month it. At least with AOA, they test it before they ship it.