Weihrauch HW50

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KibbyY

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Jul 6, 2021
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Montana, United States
New to this forum so bear with me.

I have a vintage HW50 that I’m looking for info on, as I want to restore it. It was purchased in Germany by my uncle and given to me as a young boy. I simply wore it out..has tons of sentimental value.

It has been chrome plated and was extremely accurate. I’m not certain of the vintage but would bet it’s an early 60’s model.

That said, I see that some of the parts on the newer models look similar but I’m unsure if the will actually fit. Parts such as the rear sight, breech seal, piston seal, trigger mechanism and coking lever rivet. FYI it has the leather seal.

I also see that complete piston assembly’s look to be available but am unsure if they would fit in my old HW50.

Any info or contacts for people in the know would be appreciated.

Ill post pictures if need be!

Thanks,

Kibb


 
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Has anyone seen an old Weihrouch HW50 with a Kangaroo symbol on top of the cylinder and the Word Dynamin under it??
 
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The HW 50 ended up being bought many times by me recently and now I have two in .20.

Thing of it is is the rifle is a supreme combination of balance and power making it much more applicable than an R7 or HW30.

My HW30 .177 sits gathering dust while both HW50S's in .20 get all the action for scope or iron sights (I dedicated the first one to iron sights and the second one to a Swarovsky 3-9X 40mm fixed scope).

The HW50 is loved and hated. I hated it in .177 and not so much in .22.

But in .20 I found the "middle rifle HW50S" works best for me in .20 caliber.

Enjoy your historic rifle!

It is a great shooter for many in the available calibers--but in my experience the .20 brings the best out of the HW50 Action.

Kindly,
 
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Welcome to the show Kibby!

Let me start by saying the original HW 50 like yours is a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT RIFLE than the current one of that name (which was introduced in 1999 as the "HW 99," and still sold under that name in the UK at least. Being similar in size and configuration to the original 50, HW saw fit to re-name the 99 for other markets when the old gun ceased production in the early 2000's...causing a lot of confusion. Mr. Fischer is discussing the NEW version).

The classic HW 50 was Weihrauch's first airgun, entering production in 1951 and being made for about 50 years! It's the smallest HW design to have the threaded rear section and as nice a medium-sized sporter rifle as ever was. And what an interesting example - I've never seen an HW 50 that was plated or had the "kangaroo" marking! Danny Garvin may enjoy having pics of it on his "Vintage Airgun Gallery" linked above.

As noted above, both Air Rifle Headquarters and Vortek offer springs and other parts for the old gun. I've not yet tried Vortek's products but have had great luck with Jim Maccari's ARH kits, which include a proper-fitting spring guide and the lubricants you need. Jim also makes a drop-in spring designed to work OK with the OEM guide, but the kit is worth it.

That being said, the breech seal, Rekord trigger module, and rear sight on newer guns should fit though they will have minor evolutionary changes. The piston seal is 25mm, same size as the current HW 30/R7, but NOT the same as the "new HW 50." If you change to a synthetic piston seal, you will need an adapter to fit your piston. I have quite a few of the older 50's (and it's relative the HW 55 target rifle); personally I'd re-condition and re-use the leather piston seal if it's in good shape.

This list will enable you to date the gun by its serial number (scroll down past the FWB stuff!): https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/americanvintageairguns/serial-numbers-walther-weihrauch-and-feinwerkbau-t7279.html

You might enjoy this post, showing the 1959 Weihrauch lineup! The HW 50 was a bit different then; note the Rekord trigger was new at that time, and was used on the HW 35 and HW 55, but not yet the HW 50: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/americanvintageairguns/1959-hw-brochure-t7193.html


 
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MDriskill,

I was thinking 1966 also. I imagine regardless of the outside appearance that the parts needed should be fairly cut N dry!

I found some trigger damage. Needs a dog, or a new trigger assembly although I probably can pull it and weld the crack in the dog. The pins that go through the trigger assembly, originals were cracked.

Need the old style rear sight with mounting screw, front sight (hooded) mine has the single perpendicular dove tail through the barrel. The originals were chrome plated, unfortunately they didn’t survive my shenanigans as a youth. 

A spring kit with guide, piston seal and breach seal.

Anybody have any info on availability of these parts let me know. 
Thanks for all the info to date!!

Kipp


 
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Kipp

I'm not sure what a "dog" is in this context?

Check the JG Airguns (US) and Chambers and Knibbs (UK) sites. They may have some of the trigger components you need, new leather piston seal, etc. I believe JG has a complete new piston assembly available.

http://www.jgairguns.biz

http://www.gunspares.co.uk

https://www.airgunspares.com/home

I'd recommend the Maccari kit for the spring, guide and lubes.

https://www.airrifleheadquarters.com/page/page/251327.htm

The Weihrauch interchangeable-insert tunnel front sight will not fit on the old transverse dovetail; they clamp to parallel longitudinal dovetails. You should be able to find the original post sight, and maybe its snap-on hood, at one of the sources above. I've never tried it (and if you're not fanatic for historic accuracy), but possibly the tried-and-true Lyman 17A front tunnel sight could be made to work (note there is a variant for metric dovetail).

https://www.lymanproducts.com/series-17a-target-front-sights
 
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Kipp

Thanks for the pics! Very interesting. We might more typically call the "dog" a "sear hook," for what it's worth. On newer examples, this piece is made from a single solid piece instead of the triple stamping like yours.

You may know that HW made two different triggers for the old HW 50. Yours is the simpler of the two, called the "Perfect." The nicer, lighter, more adjustable trigger is called the "Rekord." (Gotta love a company that names their triggers, right? 😊). Both types are still used in HW rifles to this day. This diagram from Chambers shows both at the bottom - Rekord on the left, Perfect on the right:

https://www.gunspares.co.uk/products/24565/HW50/

Back in the day, the gun with the Perfect was called the "HW 50," "HW 50 M," or "HW 50 M2" at various times. The Rekord version was the "HW 50 S."

You may be able to get the missing Perfect parts - but here's an interesting bit: these two triggers will interchange. The Rekord is MUCH nicer, and I believe that both JG Airguns and Chambers sell the complete Rekord trigger module - might be a really cool upgrade. The Rekord even has a silver trigger blade...!


 
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