I had skipped over the .22 mainly because I have the Long Range Hunter HW80K with silencer and the scope they had on it I replaced to make the HW80K .22 Long Range Hunter with Vortex Viper 30mm rings with 1-6X or there abouts the easiest way to send a .22 pellet to a steel reactive target from 25 to 35 yards easy as pie.
The HW80K .22 isn't your "regular" HW80 and let me end that there; because if the HW80K was made in .25 or .20 I'd be ALL OVER IT!
However;
The HW98 is really a souped up HW95. And the HW95L is a step toward the HW98 but it's step isn't ever going to be near the final step:
The HW98!
The first one I bought in anticipation of receiving Hector's custom made .20 to me in the D54 with muzzle device to wash out vibration and sound (call it a personalized silencer for the D54 that is longer than the L-W Barrel balanced with washers).
I received the HW98 .20 from AOA shortly and began firing it. Keep in mind I already had the left handed version of the HW80 .20 with Zero Recoil Mounts and I had Zero Recoil Mounts mounted upon the HW98 .20 with a Hawke scope that I asked them to install as well. The whole rifle came assembled in an intricate well made inner and out shell of packing and air bags. It came out of the box still shooting close enough to where AOA technicians installed it and gave velocity results.
I found stepping "down" to HW95-HW98-R9 power in the HW98 system with the adjustable stock and cheekpiece to become a wonderful offhand rifle to shoot and from that time on I sought another HW98 and then another HW98 to fill in .25 (first!) and lastly .177 (of course the .177 is the TARGET caliber!).
Well I learned in 1969 to shoot the W. Germany Springer in .177 offhand at lath stakes using open bead front sight and u notch rear.
It turns out it is more challenging to shoot offhand than the bench rest. But if you shoot a springer air rifle offhand and master it at close range you will find shooting at 100 yards with .22 LR is "lazer" shooting so so easy compared to the hollow pellet trying to get 60 yards or 30 yards or 10 yards.
I had to have the .25 in the HW98 and ordered that after the .20 HW98 because I felt the .20 "had an advantage" and I wanted to see what a SLOW pellet of MASS would do with the same rifle! Everyone orders .177 and .22 but I had ordered .20 and .25.
The HW98 .25 is more accurate than the HW95L .25 I have and that is a reasonable outcome there; however, I have shot the HW95L .25 at a branch floating in a lake way over 100 yards to see the pellets hit the surface.
The HW95L was shooting .25 pellets beyond 100 yards with consistency to group pellets to the right of the branch only 4 inches left!
Well the HW98 .25 is better and the reasons are the obvious ones:
The modifications the HW98 has to adjust to the individual shooter of any style for supreme air pellet accuracy--in any caliber of YOUR choice!
So the last addition was the .177 and that truly is a FINE rifle that never misses with that tiny tiny .177! The HW98 .177 has reborn me to embrace my "starting pellet caliber .177" once again for supreme work accomplished on the touch of a trigger.
The HW80K .22 isn't your "regular" HW80 and let me end that there; because if the HW80K was made in .25 or .20 I'd be ALL OVER IT!
However;
The HW98 is really a souped up HW95. And the HW95L is a step toward the HW98 but it's step isn't ever going to be near the final step:
The HW98!
The first one I bought in anticipation of receiving Hector's custom made .20 to me in the D54 with muzzle device to wash out vibration and sound (call it a personalized silencer for the D54 that is longer than the L-W Barrel balanced with washers).
I received the HW98 .20 from AOA shortly and began firing it. Keep in mind I already had the left handed version of the HW80 .20 with Zero Recoil Mounts and I had Zero Recoil Mounts mounted upon the HW98 .20 with a Hawke scope that I asked them to install as well. The whole rifle came assembled in an intricate well made inner and out shell of packing and air bags. It came out of the box still shooting close enough to where AOA technicians installed it and gave velocity results.
I found stepping "down" to HW95-HW98-R9 power in the HW98 system with the adjustable stock and cheekpiece to become a wonderful offhand rifle to shoot and from that time on I sought another HW98 and then another HW98 to fill in .25 (first!) and lastly .177 (of course the .177 is the TARGET caliber!).
Well I learned in 1969 to shoot the W. Germany Springer in .177 offhand at lath stakes using open bead front sight and u notch rear.
It turns out it is more challenging to shoot offhand than the bench rest. But if you shoot a springer air rifle offhand and master it at close range you will find shooting at 100 yards with .22 LR is "lazer" shooting so so easy compared to the hollow pellet trying to get 60 yards or 30 yards or 10 yards.
I had to have the .25 in the HW98 and ordered that after the .20 HW98 because I felt the .20 "had an advantage" and I wanted to see what a SLOW pellet of MASS would do with the same rifle! Everyone orders .177 and .22 but I had ordered .20 and .25.
The HW98 .25 is more accurate than the HW95L .25 I have and that is a reasonable outcome there; however, I have shot the HW95L .25 at a branch floating in a lake way over 100 yards to see the pellets hit the surface.
The HW95L was shooting .25 pellets beyond 100 yards with consistency to group pellets to the right of the branch only 4 inches left!
Well the HW98 .25 is better and the reasons are the obvious ones:
The modifications the HW98 has to adjust to the individual shooter of any style for supreme air pellet accuracy--in any caliber of YOUR choice!
So the last addition was the .177 and that truly is a FINE rifle that never misses with that tiny tiny .177! The HW98 .177 has reborn me to embrace my "starting pellet caliber .177" once again for supreme work accomplished on the touch of a trigger.
