I reckon I've had my HW100 for near 10 years now. It's gone through a few changes and iterations over the years, but I think I finally have it where I need it. The HW100 has been around a long time, since around 2004 I believe, and mine is one of those from 2004. The OG precharged gun from Weihrauch LOL! Mine has the superbly block shaped stock, and was originally not even a quickfill cylinder or threaded for a moderator.
These guns have a lot going for them, and are still a viable contender in the PCP arena in my opinion. I haven't shot a gun yet that can touch the magazine system or the trigger. And how many other rifles were regulated right out of the box in 2004?
However, they have a few traits that aren't as desirable that I have noticed. Here are a few:
1) They just aren't great at high power. Face it, they just aren't designed as a high power FAC level gun. When pushed to the limit the shot count really suffers as they only have 175ishCC on board.
2) The earlier .22s had iffy barrels. The bore was oversized, and the choke too tight. Personally I believe that HW STILL can't make a decent .22 barrel, but that's for another day. I bought mine at a good price long time back because I knew it had accuracy issues. The .177s seem to be great.
3) Heavy. Never bothered me, all my guns are heavy. It's built like a tank.
All that said, a modern one should take care of most of that, except the heavy part. But seriously, just man up and we are already down to two gripes.
I sent mine to Allen Zasadny to have a Lothar Walther barrel fitted and a shroud made a few years ago. At the time I also added an FX airtube for 240cc of air VS the 175cc of the OEM tube plus a little weight savings. The gun was set to shoot around 24fpe and was whisper quiet. But, it was very particular about accuracy, and it was pretty long at 45 inches. And the dang airtube adapter plagued me with leaks that would come and go. I wasn't real thrilled with it overall.
So sometime along the way, I removed the shroud and shortened the barrel down to 16 inches (from the muzzle, removing the choke!) and threaded it 1/2-20 for a moderator. Dropped the power to 18fpe, fiddled with the regulator up and down and all around, and the accuracy was pretty good with a couple pellets. Picky, as to be expected due to the lack of a choke. I also scored a factory rifle length airtube and reinstalled it at this time. But I hunted with it for a for a year and it performed alright. I liked it better than the full length shroud setup already.
Fast forward to last week and I decided to get the neglected old HW100 out that had been sitting in the safe for quite some time. I decided to do a little revamp on it. Here's what went down:
1) First order of business was cut and choke the barrel. I had done this a few times with great results on springers but this was the first time on a PCP. I went a little conservative at first, very light choke and only about the first 1/2". Went seemingly very well.
2) Then I threaded the muzzle and made the thread engagement tighter this time around. Also added an 11 degree full face crown.
3) Add three extra grubscrews to the action to retain the barrel. Now this was totally uncalled for, as the single angled screw holds the barrel just fine. But with a gun built like this, and a slightly heavier than factory barrel, I felt that overkill was quite fitting. Easy job:
4) Address hammer bounce. These early guns when turned up and the regulator messed with can develop some hammer bounce. Not any more than any other PCP I guess, and I imagine it can be negated mostly with careful adjusting and chrony time. But I ain't that patient, and don't like wasting pellets. So, I shortened the hammer tip about .125" and reprofiled the tip to match the original. This way the hammer is essentially a "free flying" or "slingshot" hammer. At rest in the uncocked state, it is no longer resting on the firing valve. It smacks the valve the first time and then rebounds and dissipates any remaining energy without having enough to smack the valve to open it again. It actually works surprisingly well, and had no ill effects that I have found so far. It made a dramatic effect on the sound and feel of the shot, and seems to have boosted efficiency a good bit. The slow motion app on my phone shows it reducing bounce greatly.
5) Add an access hole to the rear of the action for easy power adjustments. All this required was a hole drilled in the backing plate, and a slot relieved into the stock with a round file. Now the power goes up or down easily with the turn of an allen wrench:
6) Bring the power down to a level that this gun was born and bred for. I know that most everyone reading this will decide right now that at 13-14fpe I might as well just use this gun to drive fenceposts with. Truth is, I've come to love the high shot count, quiet shooting, and ease of use that a lower powered gun provides. I've hunted with airguns for almost 20 years, and I could have filled a wheelbarrow over the years with squirrels killed by a 8-12fpe .177 which is my preferred weapon. This is more than enough power, and our UK friends prove that everyday. At 14fpe, with this length barrel, this gun is really in it's prime. The new ones may have different hammer springs, and plenum volumes that make them sweeter at higher power, but this one is right at home here. So here she stays. Regulator is set at 95BAR
Accuracy after all these shenanigans looks very promising from the limited testing I have done so far. Lying prone out in a gravel driveway, off a bipod, with a 9X scope at 20 yards I was keeping groups under 3/8" with 4 different pellets on a dirty barrel. With lubed pellets and a scrub I bet it will be fine at longer range. If not, Ill play with the choke till I get it better or ruin the barrel. And the best part? I don't know the shot count exactly, but it's north of 100. And it's QUIET. Really quiet. At this setup it measures 35 inches without the moderator, and 39 1/2" overall with the DonnyFL Tanto. Handles really nice, balance is great. At some point I guess I will paint/blue/polish/let it rust the barrel and get a slightly less ugly moderator. But for now, it's good enough for a crusty old small game hunter like me.
These guns have a lot going for them, and are still a viable contender in the PCP arena in my opinion. I haven't shot a gun yet that can touch the magazine system or the trigger. And how many other rifles were regulated right out of the box in 2004?
However, they have a few traits that aren't as desirable that I have noticed. Here are a few:
1) They just aren't great at high power. Face it, they just aren't designed as a high power FAC level gun. When pushed to the limit the shot count really suffers as they only have 175ishCC on board.
2) The earlier .22s had iffy barrels. The bore was oversized, and the choke too tight. Personally I believe that HW STILL can't make a decent .22 barrel, but that's for another day. I bought mine at a good price long time back because I knew it had accuracy issues. The .177s seem to be great.
3) Heavy. Never bothered me, all my guns are heavy. It's built like a tank.
All that said, a modern one should take care of most of that, except the heavy part. But seriously, just man up and we are already down to two gripes.
I sent mine to Allen Zasadny to have a Lothar Walther barrel fitted and a shroud made a few years ago. At the time I also added an FX airtube for 240cc of air VS the 175cc of the OEM tube plus a little weight savings. The gun was set to shoot around 24fpe and was whisper quiet. But, it was very particular about accuracy, and it was pretty long at 45 inches. And the dang airtube adapter plagued me with leaks that would come and go. I wasn't real thrilled with it overall.
So sometime along the way, I removed the shroud and shortened the barrel down to 16 inches (from the muzzle, removing the choke!) and threaded it 1/2-20 for a moderator. Dropped the power to 18fpe, fiddled with the regulator up and down and all around, and the accuracy was pretty good with a couple pellets. Picky, as to be expected due to the lack of a choke. I also scored a factory rifle length airtube and reinstalled it at this time. But I hunted with it for a for a year and it performed alright. I liked it better than the full length shroud setup already.
Fast forward to last week and I decided to get the neglected old HW100 out that had been sitting in the safe for quite some time. I decided to do a little revamp on it. Here's what went down:
1) First order of business was cut and choke the barrel. I had done this a few times with great results on springers but this was the first time on a PCP. I went a little conservative at first, very light choke and only about the first 1/2". Went seemingly very well.
2) Then I threaded the muzzle and made the thread engagement tighter this time around. Also added an 11 degree full face crown.
3) Add three extra grubscrews to the action to retain the barrel. Now this was totally uncalled for, as the single angled screw holds the barrel just fine. But with a gun built like this, and a slightly heavier than factory barrel, I felt that overkill was quite fitting. Easy job:
4) Address hammer bounce. These early guns when turned up and the regulator messed with can develop some hammer bounce. Not any more than any other PCP I guess, and I imagine it can be negated mostly with careful adjusting and chrony time. But I ain't that patient, and don't like wasting pellets. So, I shortened the hammer tip about .125" and reprofiled the tip to match the original. This way the hammer is essentially a "free flying" or "slingshot" hammer. At rest in the uncocked state, it is no longer resting on the firing valve. It smacks the valve the first time and then rebounds and dissipates any remaining energy without having enough to smack the valve to open it again. It actually works surprisingly well, and had no ill effects that I have found so far. It made a dramatic effect on the sound and feel of the shot, and seems to have boosted efficiency a good bit. The slow motion app on my phone shows it reducing bounce greatly.
5) Add an access hole to the rear of the action for easy power adjustments. All this required was a hole drilled in the backing plate, and a slot relieved into the stock with a round file. Now the power goes up or down easily with the turn of an allen wrench:
6) Bring the power down to a level that this gun was born and bred for. I know that most everyone reading this will decide right now that at 13-14fpe I might as well just use this gun to drive fenceposts with. Truth is, I've come to love the high shot count, quiet shooting, and ease of use that a lower powered gun provides. I've hunted with airguns for almost 20 years, and I could have filled a wheelbarrow over the years with squirrels killed by a 8-12fpe .177 which is my preferred weapon. This is more than enough power, and our UK friends prove that everyday. At 14fpe, with this length barrel, this gun is really in it's prime. The new ones may have different hammer springs, and plenum volumes that make them sweeter at higher power, but this one is right at home here. So here she stays. Regulator is set at 95BAR
Accuracy after all these shenanigans looks very promising from the limited testing I have done so far. Lying prone out in a gravel driveway, off a bipod, with a 9X scope at 20 yards I was keeping groups under 3/8" with 4 different pellets on a dirty barrel. With lubed pellets and a scrub I bet it will be fine at longer range. If not, Ill play with the choke till I get it better or ruin the barrel. And the best part? I don't know the shot count exactly, but it's north of 100. And it's QUIET. Really quiet. At this setup it measures 35 inches without the moderator, and 39 1/2" overall with the DonnyFL Tanto. Handles really nice, balance is great. At some point I guess I will paint/blue/polish/let it rust the barrel and get a slightly less ugly moderator. But for now, it's good enough for a crusty old small game hunter like me.
