Which springer for squirrel hunting?

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Surprised you ended up with a side lever, would think a barrel break or underlever would be easier to load. ARH used to have a "heavy" spring kit for the Diana's, settled my T01 .177 48 down a bit for 10.5gr CPH. I enjoy my RWS/Diana sidelevers and have .177 T01 48, .22 T05 52, .22 T06 54. About the only issues I have with these is occasionally smashing a pellet in the loading port when it falls out during cocking and loading operation, and if I let someone else shoot it and they forget to press down the beartrap and try to close the lever.... both are easy fixes but are an annoyance. The pellet falling out was corrected by changing my process of loading. I have to admit I grabbed a few HW's after my Diana start but, I still have and shoot both.
 
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SteveV said:
As far as hunting with springers, most of my experience has been with Diana/RWS springers, the 48 and later the 34.

I'm a lefty and the 48 stock is ambi, no issues there. The 48 is heavy, but easy to attach a sling to.

Both of my guns have/had Vortek kits, really smoothed them out.

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The 34 is a TO5 Panther version, and the 48 stock has been "bed linered" makes the stock very scratch proof.
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Is your stock wood under the bed liner material I have been looking for a composite replacement . also what scope are you using my 48 has had a tuning kit but still kills a scope
 
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thebull said:
Is your stock wood under the bed liner material I have been looking for a composite replacement . also what scope are you using my 48 has had a tuning kit but still kills a scope
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Yep, regular ole' beech under the bed liner.

I almost always used Bushnell 1" tube scopes, Trophy's, Banners, and Legends. My 48 wasn't an uber magnum, it shot just shy of 20 fpe, but was very smooth, no twang, just a solid thump. I always used 2 piece mounts, but the trick was to use rings with recoil pins on the rear and the front.

hth


Vines
 
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cjtamu said:
Yes. And I don’t believe the 48 has ambidextrous stock. I know my 52 doesn’t. I love my HW95 Luxus .22. Similar weight to my HW35E but a little more power. Luxus has an ambi stock. One thing to think about if you want a sling is how to mount on a break barrel. Not a great idea to attach to the barrel. Other than the HW35 which has a locking mechanism and comes with swivels installed. HW50 is probably the best all rounder of the HW break barrels.

AGN is basically a HW fanboi forum so I’ll probably get in trouble, but another gun to consider would be the Diana Model 34/36 Classic. I have one and it’s a tremendous gun for me. It’s long and forward balanced and some don’t like that but it works for me. 12-14 FPE in .177 don’t know about .22. You want the Classic, not the EMS version. Actually one for sale in Classifieds. Has it listed as a 36 but I believe it’s a 34. Only difference is 36 has a nicer stock with checkering.
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As a matter of fact, the 48 does indeed have an ambi stock. I hunted with one for years and I'm a lefty.
 
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Mycapt65 said:
Fwiw a Hw35 with a 2-7x32 AO scope is 9.5 pounds. It's not light or even close to it. My Hw50 with the same amount of power and same scope is 7.53 lbs. Basically two lbs lighter.
My R9/Hw95 scoped with a 3-9x40 Airmax is around 9 lbs flat. My R1 with a 3-9x40 Airmax is 10.38 lbs. These are actual scaled weights, Not advertised.
Everyone has their favorites these are the facts regarding actual weight if it matters to you. It might not. I like a light and handy rifle.
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I hear what you are saying but up until I got my First HW35 in 1978 my primary Squirrel hunting Rifle was my Mauser ES340 B .22 made in 1929.

I paid $50 for it and traded in my Rem 514 for $15. This was in 1968, and it is my most prized possession. I added a Weaver K4 in 1976 on an Anschutz Mount. The gun was sighted in dead on at 75 yards in 1976 and has maintained zero over the last nearly 50 years while being taken off and back on literally hundreds of times. (I like shooting it with the stock Iron Open Sights best.) That gun weighs 9 lb. 10oz,,, exactly 2 oz. more than my HW35 with scope at 9lbs 8oz so I'm used to carrying a 9 lb+ gun.

I might add that I shot my Best Rimfire Silhouette Score of 31/40 with this gun with the scope removed. I also shot a 26/40 with my R1 that same day and the sun was behind us so you could easily see the pellets flying down range, Hold over for the 100M Rams was about 6". Cocking and firing the R1 40 times in less than an hour did get pretty tiring! The Mauser is easy to shoot and since it is a "Real Mauser" with "Controlled Round Feeding" you simply drop a cartridge into the receiver and close the bolt and it automatically picks up the round and puts it in the hole. ! love that gun and it has been my best friend since 1968!

Randy

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