Huben Hammerless K1

Thanks Logan for your feedback. Ouch on the fill probe...glad it only resulted in a broken probe. I had a cheap quick connect fail on my unregulated, unrestricted SCBA tank while filling my Evanix Max and it would have liked to beat me to death whipping. I managed to get the main tank valve closed with only a bandaid and shorts change required. Promptly purchased a valving system for my tank with a flow restrictor or orifice as yours.

Hi,
Any long range shooting have been made? If yes how far and how is the accuracy ?

Thanx.

Thank you for a fascinating review. I am unlikely to own one of these rifles since I live in UK but ever since seeing the Huben video I have been curious as to how they work. For years I have been experimenting on hammerless airgun systems myself as I have always believed that the Sharp Innova and the Sportsmatch GC2, despite their drawbacks, pointed to a future in which the Giffard type hammer valve would become obsolete.
Your description of the venting problem gives a clue as to how the valve works. Those who have studied the Brocock air cartridge will know that the valve contained therein has a baffle that serves to aid the opening of the valve by deriving a force on the valve due to the Venturi effect of high pressure air flowing through a gap between the baffle and the valve housing. 
I believe that the Huben valve works in a similar manner but in reverse, that is to say that that the Venturi effect is used to derive a force that will suck the valve shut. This explains why the Huben needs such high air pressures, because of the need to generate a force sufficient to close the valve. I assume that the valve adjustment wheel opens and closes the gap between the valve and the valve housing and thus varies the Venturi force that closes the valve. That is why the valve does not close when the pressure is too low and the gap is too large and venting occurs.
I would still be interested to see a working diagram of the Huben valve, however. 
Tony

The Huben looks interesting. I for one would like some long term testing on reliability and one in .25cal would be Righteous! 

Tony, very nice remark, I was thinking the same thing...But I guess we will see how it actually works.
I for one am glad it is in .22. You have to keep in mind that it is a semi-auto air gun and big bore (ob just bigger bore) consumes the air just too fast. Besides, do you know of any air gun in .25 that delivers this amount of energy? There are custom airguns that are capable to deliver more energy but they have very few shots per fill and are definitely not regulated. That being said, you can use the same weight of pellets (bullets) as you would with .25 caliber (ore even heavier) and the bullet will have a lot better ballistic coefficient and it will be less sensitive to wind because it will be small diameter and heavy (less friction - better downrange energy). In my opinion this is this gun biggest advantage (and is also the reason that I have it ordered) because it does what no air gun has done before: small caliber heavy bullets, high velocity (which in air gun is usually not desired because usually it comes with light pellets) and it is REGULATED! Maybe I appreciate this more because I am from Europe and it is a little harder to own firearms here than in US. In my opinion the fact that is semi auto is just a bonus or even a downside for someone - sorry about that Tony
Gregor

I was just about to say something very similar to Gregor, above, until I read his post. I concur. I also have one on order. The FPE on this gun, even in .22, can be significantly more than the .25's that I've seen simply due to its ability to propel a much heavier projectile at the same velocity (or greater if you want to go supersonic-not desirable usually due to stability and audible concerns). 
Nutshell: much more energy imparted downrange and great hunting potential!
Yeah, I think I repeated some of above by Gregor ...

"wlbryce"33 grain .22 LR slugs through it at 1275 fps

Click to expand...

Jeezus.

"pulps"The pressure gauge sitting practically next to your neck is pretty scary.

Click to expand...

Designed for a lefty.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I would buy one in a heartbeat if I had an extra $1500 to blow. I just thought that in .25cal you could dial the velocity down and keep the energy up and get a comparable number of shots. It seems to me that the really heavy .22 pellets are somewhat inaccurate, maybe pushing them "supersonic" will squeeze the accuracy out of them but that somewhat defeats the silent airgun idea. My 2¢

Logan, thank you for your complete post, complete with pictures, on the Huben. I agree with others that this gun could be a game changer. A few questions:

- Is the barrel supported/cantilevered only at the back or is there another support?
- Is it a fairly ridged barrel attachment or is it on the flexy side like the Marauder?
- Roughly what is the barrel outer diameter?
- Does the shroud have baffles?

Thank again!

Thanks Logan for the further information. Some further questions. How long is the chamber in the cylinder? Eley Wasp Magnum solid 30 gn pellets might be suitable but these are 9.5mm long so might not fit.
Is there any seal between the cylinder chamber and the barrel and action, or is it just a metal to metal fit like a powder burner? Does any air appear to escape from around the cylinder when firing?
Tony

Hi Tony. I have already asked these question, it is 10.25mm, so Eley Wasp should fit just fine. I intend to try Piledrivers as well, they are approximately the same weight, but they should have less friction (although this might be a bad thing for accuracy). So far, I have tested piledrivers and in my gun they were quite accurate unlike other heavy pellets like JSB monster or H&N rabbit magnum II, but that might be because I only tried them in choked barrel. They might preform better in un-choked barrels. Can you tell me where are you buying Eley Wasp pellets? I tough they are not available anymore.

I am curious about other two questions that Tony asked too: "Is there any seal between the cylinder chamber and the barrel and action, or is it just a metal to metal fit like a powder burner? Does any air appear to escape from around the cylinder when firing?"

Hi Gregor, I didn't know that they had stopped making the Wasp Magnums that is a bummer. I bought off the shelf in a local UK airgun shop about a year ago and still have the unopened pack waiting for a home build that I have in progress in my Spanish Holiday Home. May be I shall have to make a mould to cast or swage something similar if I need them.
Tony

I am not from UK, but I was trying to order them online and could not find a store that sells them anymore. The only web store I found is: http://www.pelletperfect.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=272, but they sell them for 4 pounds per 20 pellets!!! If you know of a web store that still sells them internationally please let me know, I would very much like to order some... Maybe they are only selling them locally now...
Gregor

Sorry Gregor I can't help with that. The only links that I have found on line seem to indicate that Eley no longer make the Wasp Magnum. It seems that I was lucky to find some old stock in a shop. The seller that you mention is obviously also searching for old stock and then breaking up the tins and selling at a high price because of the rarity.
I am in Spain for the winter or I would go back to my local shops and see if they have any more left.
Tony

Any news regarding when will Huben factory ship their K1 to the dealers ...? I have been waiting for months...