Can the HW50 be tuned up?

According to Vortek they offer a SHO kit that ought to boost the rifle, 
Specs: 620fps(.22cal)/205 m/s G13.4g


Whether or not it can do it is another matter, perhaps some one here has tried this kit in their .22 cal hw50 and can tell us what they think.

My hw50s is in .177 and it has the Vortek HO kit installed. The kit generated about 12.2fpe with JSB 8.4s and I clipped one coil off to bring the power down to about 11.5fpe. After about 2,000 shots I am very happy with the shot cycle and accuracy.

The SHO kit uses a thicker diameter spring so I would assume that it can generate power levels of 13fpe to maybe as much as 13.5fpe. IMHO, that is about as much as you can ask from the hw50s. The gun was designed to shoot at about 11.5fpe so pushing it higher will likely come as the expense of a harsher shot cycle.

There is zero chance that you’ll get 630fps with JSB 18s. That would be nearly 16fpe. If you want that much power, get an R1 or an hw97k instead. You could probably, however, shoot lighter .22 pellets like the JSB 13s or the GTO 11.8s at speeds of 675-700 with the Vortek SHO kit. That would probably be an excellent setup for small game out to 50 yards.



R

I second EMrider's idea of shooting GTO 11.7g @ 690 FPS it you want to shoot flat out to 50 yards.The HW50 is a short stroke piston limited to 13 FPE maximum and I'm surprised they even offer it in a .22 in the US. Maybe trading with someone who needs an indoor barn rat gun and buying an HW95 or RWS34 would be better in .22.

Thx EM. Any idea which spring kit would fit? I had seen some for the Diana 34,with shims. I just don't know what O.D --I.D & OAL are of the original set-up.

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I don’t know, but am sure that a call or email to Vortek will get you a quick answer. Both the HO and the SHO kit have a 27 coil spring. The only difference is the wire diameter, with the SHO kit obviously being thicker.

FWIW, I hunt with the .22 GTO 11.8s from my PCPs and have found them to be very accurate. These are lead free pellets and they are as accurate as the JSB 16s or 18s in my guns.

The hw50s is a great platform and IMHO 13fpe is plenty for small game hunting out to 50 yards.

Good luck

R

Maybe in this case you would be better off with a JM kit for more power.

Yeah really the HW50S isn't meant for higher power. I bought one in .22 for short range uses. Going to use it in our barns and for close range rats/mice and birds. Anything needing more power I'll grab my Sig ASP20 .22 that thing packs a whallop! If you want an HW that'll do that I think bare minimum a HW95/R9 is probably the smallest you can go for that power level. 

R9 is the same gun as the hw95 with different furniture and a lower price tag. It’s not much more then the hw50s, also have a look at krale website. A bit cheaper to order it from overseas. 

I agree that you are better off going for another rifle entirely. Shooting 18 gr .22 cal pellets with any springer at the speeds you want will probably cost you accuracy.

14gr pellets in .22 cal are more ideal imo.

Another option for you to consider would be a Walther LGU or LGV. Those are some under-appreciated rifles with a lot of very nice engineering features like a rotating piston with delrin spacers. 

or get the 95 in .177 ,