I gotta do something with this HW98, it's a bloody scattergun

This is at the least part of the problem. I blew the image up in paint. That is as bad a crown as I have ever seen from a factory gun.

How in hades did that get past your tuner?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b43odFm0mrI

An alternative method:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y9fr-3Wy5M



You DO NOT want to shorten the barrel as is done in the video, just crown it.

Hole on hole accuracy at 50 yards from a Springer?? I think you need to lower your expectations some.

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+1 I agree

Not quite 50 but 46 yards close enough for you? This was shot while standing and grasping a door frame with my hand then resting the rifle on my hand, outdoors with 20+fpe break barrel, 5 pellets, AA Pro Elite. 1 hole!

Wow that’s excellent shooting. What rifle were you shooting...I want one. 

Yes, it's an Athlon Helos.

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I don't think that scope is springer rated. 

I think the only Athlon scope that is springer rated is the Talos BTR.

I emailed Athlon and they told me this.

That 98 could have killed the scope.

Pivot bolt is another thing to check as was suggested, the pivot bolt on my HW30 is very sensitive.

I have to use a torque screw driver to make sure I get it just right.

Are you the original owner?

My HW98 shoots great but the barrel does dirty up quickly. I have to clean it up every couple hundred pellets, sometimes more often. Your crown could fine, but looks to me to be covered in tons of lead exhaust, suggesting the barrel is really dirty. 


You can’t really complain about accuracy issues without trying a different scope. But I’d clean that barrel first pulling some patches with a patchworm or crownsaver, then get about 25 pellets through it before focusing too much on accuracy. Also check the stock screws.

The video is not a way to really crown a gun, just de-burr a crown. There are only two ways to properly cut a crown. On a lathe or with a cutter and pilot. 

Definitely clean up that crown. As also stated check barrel pivot bolt tension and do the tissue test. Lay a piece of tissue over the breach block after its been loaded. Rake a shot and see if the tissue moves. If so then you need to shim your breach sealnor need another one

The video is not a way to really crown a gun, just de-burr a crown. There are only two ways to properly cut a crown. On a lathe or with a cutter and pilot.

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Yes that is true. Look at that crown. It is rough as a cobb. He should just deburr it as shown in the video. The top video DOES explain how to crown using hand tools and a piloted cutter with an 11 degree slope. He doesn't need to go that route but the video shows him what he can do with hand tools.

That crown is very bad and should NEVER have passed through the hands of a tuner without mention to the customer.

Hole on hole accuracy at 50 yards from a Springer?? I think you need to lower your expectations some.

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Pretty much what has already been said. Clean it up, adjust the pivot, tighten the screws, install a scope you know to be good, and check the pellet fit. And I think there is a good chance the rough material at the muzzle is just some lead accumulation.

Regarding expected accuracy, I only know what I have been getting from my two .177 springers. At the end of last fall my groups were running between 1/2" and a little over an inch at 50 yards, with those 1/2" groups being very rare. On a fairly calm day average group size was running right around an inch, with most groups between 3/4" and 1 1/8". All these from sitting with sticks. As for accuracy, as opposed to just group size, I was keeping about 80% of 25 shots within an 1 1/8" circle at 50 yards. Actually hitting a 3/8" piece of chalk reliably at 50 yards with a springer would be a real challenge for me.

Fix that filthy crown. No wonder it won’t shoot. What pellets have you been using?

What pellets are you using?

Just put a few drops of WD40 or Ballistol on a rag and rub that crown clean so folks will see it is debris and not a bad crown  

That's a shame about your tuned .22. I have a HW98 in .25 calibre with a cheapo 2-7x32 Hawke scope. I got a .25 springer just for grins to shoot like 15 yards or less because I read all the posts saying "a .25 springer, you might as well just throw the pellets". I anticipated it would shoot like a mortar at 35 yards, lucky if I even hit the object. Nope, I can get clover-leaf groups at 35 yards on a steel target with JSB 25 grain. I just aim for the centre of a 4-inch round target, not even on a precise dot or anything because the scope doesn't have the clarity to see a dot at 35. I don't even know what the group looks like through the schidtty economy glass. I walk up to it and it's freakin clover leaf 90% of the time, every time. I wonder what kind of groups I can get with good glass. I hate the buzz and harsh firing cycle out of the box. I have a HW97 .177 with a sub-12 kit that I shoved in there, it's so smooth and sounds nice after the kit.

I have an R-1 that performed really well. Then during one shooting session it got progressively worse really fast.

After looking at all possible causes, I discovered that the bore had a lot of lead buildup.

I gave it a thorough cleaning then used some JB bore paste to remove the lead and polish the bore.

There was a lot of lead on the patch with the JB bore paste treatment.

In the end, the problem was solved.