HW-45

I used to have one, .22 and .177 barrel for it, it was a great gun, but not really practical for much besides plinking

Not sure on the age of yours, but it is not one of the more recently produced ones just going by the packaging. I have a .177 where you can cock it back to two stop points to regulate pellet speed, and I love it as a reliable plinker too. I have used it to finish off rats caught in my traps when necessary.

Not sure on the age of yours, but it is not one of the more recently produced ones just going by the packaging. I have a .177 where you can cock it back to two stop points to regulate pellet speed, and I love it as a reliable plinker too. I have used it to finish off rats caught in my traps when necessary.

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That is how mine was - two power levels, but because of the reverse piston recoil, high power shot lower that low power...

If it's in excellent condition I'd say you got a great deal. Prices on new ones are over 400 dollors. They are very high quality. Best of luck with it.

I had an HW45 in .22 caliber. It was really fun to shoot kinda raucous if that makes any sense. I sold it then missed it so much that I bought a Beeman P1 (same gun) to replace it. You can shoot it quite well with good technique. There are some interesting stories around the development of the gun. It was developed for Beeman by Weihrauch. It's alleged that Mrs. Beeman had the idea to use the "hammer" for the latch. Due to some miscommunication Weihrauch's original prototype was not a spring piston gun but an SSP that eventually became the HW75. At any rate, it's fun to shoot, very nice trigger and a satisfying recoil.

In my opinion, it's about the best spring-piston pistol ever made, that isn't a recoilless match gun (Diana 10, FWB 65, etc.).

Plenty of power, accurate, great trigger, fine sights, very amenable to upgrade grips, dual power levels, trigger you can dry-fire without cocking the action, and built to last a lifetime. What else can you ask for - yeah takes some homework to shoot it well but that's the nature of the beast! I bought one in late 1985 or early '86, about the first year that Beeman sold them, which still looks and shoots like new.

And you stole it for 2 bills in that condition!

EDIT: Steveoo's proper scientific notes below explain why mine shoots so well with JSB Exact 7.3's / Air Arms Falcons...!

Really great air pistols and the triggers have a nice amount of adjustment and can be set up quite nicely. The Beeman equivalent is the P1 and they are identical in all but the name on the side. Scopes can attached to the top rail and a wooden add on stock was offered a long while ago, some modern ones although different can be found on eBay. Pending the age and caliber not all were dual power. My HW45 .22 is NOT capable of 2 power settings but the other calibers of the same vintage are. Any 1911 grips can be attached without modifications. Although it does have 2 way recoil the piston is actually cocked towards the front and pushes rearward when fired! Here is a pic of the stock and scope attached to my P1 (.177) and my HW45 two tone .22 As far as power I have taken starlings out to 45 feet with both of mine.

 

Good gun, I have tuned many in the Uk …usually for casual shooters as opposed to lane shooting…

Yours appears to have a wrap around grip which many look to add, giving a thumb rest which you do not get with std grip and better than the contour grip of the Black star model…..good deal..

Key with the p1/45 is to get the pellet out of the gun fast before the comedy recoil starts. The gun loves Hobby flat heads, or fast Domes like JSB RS, or Falcon, all actually leaving the barrel before the piston bottoms out. Heavy pellets will get recoil affected, as will tight fitting pellets, not leaving the gun before the piston hits down.

The gun is designed to have its internal mainspring guide rod down inside the piston (the opposite to every other gun) in order to add weight to the piston. This is because of the 90 degree bend in the TP creating a restriction to flow and causing the none weighted piston to bounce off the cushion of air and lose power. The guide rod down inside the piston helps to drive on through this cushion and prevent the bounce.

Ok, the TP design is am inefficiency, but you must remember that it allows the barrel over cylinder compactness in the first place.

There is a big benefit to trying to arrest the flailing spring end which is now unsupported by having the mainspring guide fitted in this way. There are a number of ways to do this but get and use the gun first and look at tuning later on…

...but because of the reverse piston recoil, high power shot lower than low power...

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One night soon after I got mine, I was shooting at a target in my garage and decided to try out the low power setting. Not only did I miss the target...but soon I found the pellets embedded in the wall ABOVE the target holder! It took me years to figure that out.

When first released, the spring pushes the piston rearward. The "equal and opposite" reaction pushes the gun forward; which, since the cylinder sits above your hand (which acts as a fulcrum), pivots the muzzle downward. Hundredths of a second later, the piston hits the rear of the cylinder, which pushes the gun rearward, and pivots the muzzle upward. This all happens so fast, that you really only notice the rearward recoil. BUT...the pellet actually exits during that instant when the muzzle is shoved DOWN.

This is why the gun's rear sight sits so much higher above the bore than the front on the HW 45/P1, and the classic Webley pistols. When Beeman sold that nice P1 stock that DMM pictured, it did such a good job of controlling movement under recoil, that they had to include a taller front sight! 

The low-power setting shoots higher at close range, because the weaker spring surge moves the muzzle less; and/or because the slower shot time delays pellet exit until the second stage of recoil has begun.

All that is correct…Originally, it was considered by the early Webley designers that a rearward moving piston would answer many issues with springer recoil…the piston force direct into the hand…and in the case of a rifle (Webley Service air rifle) directly into the shoulder, but they had not considered the secondary recoil that comes with this movement…often more difficult to control than when reverse order in the case of conventionally designed forward moving pistons. With Gamo Centers and much heavier spring BSA Scorpions routinely out shooting Webley pistols and the later BSA Magnum. 

However, in the case of the HW45/P1 all is not lost (unlike the aforementioned) because when a light pellet approaches 520 fps territory, the pellet has actually left the 7 inch barrel before this comical recoil takes place…and thus why a P1 will out shoot a Tempest/ BSA Magnum for fun. Then throw in a great 2 stage trigger and the deal is closed…

From here, you can then add a good sighting aid and off you go to the woods..

Well, contrary to what the internet says, the hw45 can be used on squirrels to great effect, and while recoil is awkward, with practice, the hw45 is a killer. Just don’t put it away, then pick it up months later and expect to be proficient. It is my most challenging air gun I have, but with practice and polymags, it’s a great one.

Nice guns. They are all Weihrauch’s, how can you go wrong. Crow