One of "Your" air rifles..

[Mortblanc]

This summer has been unusually warm. Too warm even for my "back porch shooting". The thermometer out there has hovered between 90f and 110f (that would be about 35c-45c for the metric crowd) for the past month with hardly a break and the humidity has been equally as bad.

I decided to move the shooting indoors where there is AC for summer and heat in winter, but to do that I had to make an adjustment in the requirements of the air gun needed, and I had none that would meet those requirements.

Not being restricted by any power ceiling over here we have plunged into a race for speed and power and it has been to the detriment of most other features of the air gun genre.

Yes we have .177 spring powered guns that send pellets blazing away at 1400fps. They will shoot clean through 8mm plywood and dent your pellet trap at closer than 50 meters.

They also require up to 50# effort to cock the gun, and when fired they jump and buck like a wild mule. The example I own actually hurts when fired. The spring slap is torture. Even the best scope will fall to pieces after 25-50 shots and their accuracy is HORRID!

I do not care what happens on You-tube or what doctored targets they offer, or what bogus ranges they claim to be shooting from, the accuracy is unacceptable and most of the reviews are faked so that supplier will continue to send the testers rifles to shoot.

So, I was in a spot where I needed a good quality, highly accurate, well made, low but adequately powered air rifle.

Not only did I drop to your 12# power limit, I went well below it. I was looking for an indoor rifle and power was not really an issue, accuracy was my main goal with ease of cocking the second requirement, right behind a good trigger.

I ordered a Weihrauch HW30 in .177, paid my money and waited.

What arrived was not an HW30 in .177, but an HW30 in .22. I had ordered the .177 for its slightly falter trajectory and the lower cost of the pellets, since this rifle is going to be shot a LOT and pellet cost will become a factor.

I immediately called the firm and reported the problem. They issued me a return form and told me to have UPS pick the rifle up. That was on a Friday.

I also told them that I had not fired the rifle and they could still honestly sell it as a new rifle only test fired at their facility. They told me that they would have to sell the rifle as an un-boxed product at used gun price anyway.

BAD MISTAKE!!!

I shot the holy crap out of that rifle for two days and it was a dream to shoot. Even with open sights is was doing less than one inch groups at 25 yards and everything about the rife was exactly as I had desired.

The only real problem with the rifle was that the HW30 in .22 only gets 450fps from a 14 grain pellet. You can almost see the pellet arch to the target. Still, it shoots wonderfully and proved incredibly accurate.

I boxed it up on Sunday night and shipped it back on Monday morning.

To weeks latter and I get a second UPS truck at the door. This time the HW30 is in .177, and just as nice as the previous one. So yesterday all work was suspended.

I did to things immediately, I installed a BSA air rifle rated scope and adjusted the trigger. I had done neither of those things to the "loaner" rifle. I looked down the bore to insure it was not obstructed, checked the internals to insure everything was lubricated from the factory, grabbed a tin of pellets and proceeded to terrorize some cardboard from my perch on the back porch.

My first group at 20 yards was three shots touching. No attempt was made to zero the scope, I was simply shooting for group. I closed in to 10M (my inside the house down the hall and through the kitchen distance) and the pellets simply stacked on top of each other and widened the first hole slightly.

Sine I had purchased this rifle as an indoor shooting range rifle I was quite pleased that it was as accurate as it proved at 20 yards. It is a blast to shoot and has done one inch groups at 20 yards with every pellet in my bin. That makes it lethal on all the spinners and flapper targets I use for my PCP rifles.

It even shoots the horrid Crosman flat nosed pellets from the discount store into an inch, but will not abide their pointed nosed type. The pointed nosed Crosmans still produce a wide flier every 4 or 5 shots, even from this fine rifle.

The chronograph says it is giving 625fps with the 7 grain RWS hobby pellets for a whopping 6 f/p energy. That speed might increase as the gun breaks in. I do not really care. It shoots where it looks consistently, has the excellent trigger I was looking for, takes only 20 pounds effort to cock, and it is built like a bank vault, or a German peasant girl, whichever analogy you prefer.

This is one rifle in my battery that I expect will outlast me, and probably out last my son and grandson. Some of the early Weihrauch products ate still out there shooting, and their target trigger is famous in the industry.

I am pleased with this purchase and will do my best to wear it out.

And I now have a fine little air gun I could take to GB without legal problems.

[Straight Shooter]

Yes they make fine rifles MB .....a friend of mine still swears by his Airsporter over the Weihrauch to be honest Weihrauch is top for a springer end of, however the Daystate i had took some beating (gas)

[Mortblanc]

I bought a Diana Stormrider a while back and enjoyed it so much that I followed up on it with a Umarex Gauntlet.

Both were cheaper Chinese made rifles carrying the parent company's name but I was fortunate that quality control was good and I have had no issues with either rifle. Both are accurate beyond expectations and powerful for their type.

I have become a dedicated back porch shooter and the Umarex is quiet enough to not disturb anyone around and I have been shooting it like mad. It is quiet enough that the impact of the pellet on the steel targets is louder than the sound of firing. Still it produces 25 f/lb energy and keeps its shots inside a dime @ 25 yards.

I would love to have a Daystate, but I do not want their digital model. Too many bells and whistles to break at an odd moment. I am happy to count my own shots and watch the little analog air pressure gauge on my own. I especially like their adjustable power settings that allow a full range of use from indoor shooting to hunting level power.

I really like some of the products coming out of Air Arms right now. I also like the company, their attitude, and business model.

Perhaps I will eventually justify trading in a half truck load of cartridge firing guns for a Daystate or Air Arms product.

[Talon]

The hw30 is a cracking little rifle .Ive been a fan of weihrauchs for over 20 years now.I currently own a .177 hw99s .I made a delrin Spring guide and top hat.made a barrel sleeve for it and gave the cocking slot and piston a polish.It can keep up with the pcp crowd on my local 25 yard range if I do my bit and is very smooth at just over 10 ft lbs.
I've also recently acquired an air arms T200 mk2 with the 10 shot magazine conversion.
It only gives around 40 good shots in its sweet spot.My problem with it is it's so accurate it's actually boring to shoot.It would be a fantastic rifle for hunting or field target,but for the 25 yard range it's pellet on pellet and takes very little skill to do that.Its whisper quiet though and for a budget air arms I have no issues with the quality,though it's made by CZ so l would expect a good standard of build.
I think at heart I'm a springer fan though and will probably pass the air arms on in a few months .For backyard plinking I can't think of a better rifle than the HW30.

[Pete Grey]

I have an old BSA meteor 177, bought in the 80s, i saw it down the range and the guy wanted £30 for it.

Being cocky i said put a scope on it and i’ll have it, he pulled an old second hand scope from under the counter, optics very good but it needed new fixing screws, as he called my bluff the deal was done at £30 with a tin of bsa pellets.

I originally intended to fit a stronger spring but it shoots nice so i left it as is.

[Mortblanc]

The "boring accuracy" is a very real factor when shooting good quality air rifles.

Even my little Diana Stormrider, which cost me less than 200 pounds your money, is capable of shooting 6-8mm groups at 25 meters.

The Gauntlet is rock solid and does even better, shooting a ragged hole at that range. Now bear in mind that I have a 20x scope on the Gauntlet and the whole rig probably weighs 6-7 kilo. That Gauntlet, using JSB 18.5 grain pellets is producing more then 25 ft/lbs energy and is capable of more if I tinker with the regulator. I sill not do so since if I need more power I can always move to the .22 rimfire guns. The Gauntlet only has a 6 fps variation shot to shot and I do not want to mess with that performance. It also gives me 35-40 shots before dropping off the regulator.

I was wearing my poor 68 year old back out with all that pumping, so I bought a compressor. That sure makes things easier. It is out in the workshop and rattles the entire shed when I turn it on.

I have also discovered that pellets have as much variation in accuracy as bullets do. The discount house fare put out bu Crosman and Daisey is practically worthless. JSB pellets will pull the best performance out of anything, even the worst guns will show improvement though they may still remain unusable. BSA and Beeman are both good in .177 but I have not had good luck with either in .22.

Due to the mix-up in ordering, the company that supplied me the rifle included three tins of RWS hobby pellets in .177. I already had one tin barely opened so I have an ample supply of that particular brand. I zeroed the scope on the HW30 to those pellets and worked out the trajectory and verified it on the target. They are "good enough", and most important they are consistent and no fliers are evident.

I would dare say the accuracy is "good enough" to keep one fed on birds and small fare in an emergency, and it is quiet in the extreme. "Backyard friendly" really means the neighbors can not hear it when you pop a pidgin for the pot.

I zeroed at 10 meters for use on my indoor range. At that starting point I am almost one inch high at 25 yards, which is my outdoor range distance. The pellet drops back across the cross-hairs at around 35 yards but I will only be shooting at that range occasionally with this little rifle. I am being tempted to set up a set of spinner targets down at the corner of the lot and that range is a measured 35 yards.

Lord only knows how slow those little pellets are going at 35 yards. They are only a bit over 600 fps at the muzzle!

That one inch elevation at 25 yards is very consistent also. I can aim at the bottom of my one inch steel targets and insure a hit and aim at the middle of my 2.5 inch targets and still hit a bit high.

I bought some 3/4" wide strip metal so I can make some spiners that are a bit smaller. I have discovered that is a good answer to the problem of "boring accuracy", smaller targets!

Anybody have any Lifesaver candy, we will shoot through the hole in the middle. First guy that breaks a candy buys the drinks.

[Talon]

I can hit those coloured plastic drawing pins (thumb tacks) with boring regularity with the pcp. Extending the range would certainly help with the difficulty and I'm looking for somewhere with a 50 yard range . That would definitely prove more challenging . The rifle is much more accurate than I am so extending my range would be fun .
I can hit drawing pins with the weihrauch at 25 yards but it's more of a challenge due to the nature of a spring rifle, and more satisfying when I hit them. If I do keep the pre charged a bottles a must . I'm using a pump and though it's great exercise any extended practice is a pain as after every 40 shots I have to top up the reservoir . The novelty quickly wears off with the pump and I'm starting to envy my shooting partners 12 litre bottle. The adaptor for my rifles different to his quick charge probe so I can't even sneak a quick fill off him .He shoots a .25 . It's got a trajectory like a rainbow and you can see the pellets clearly through the scope . They still hit with authority though at the range we shoot,and I have to admit if I could find a .25 for bargain money I'd have it just for the fun factor .

[Mortblanc]

I am not inclined to stretch out the range on the air guns past the 35 yard mark since that is the limit of my garden space and I am using the air guns as the source of unlimited shooting in climate controlled conditions.

The little .177 pellet makes more noise when it smacks the steel plate I use as a target backer than the rifle makes. The Gauntlet is almost as quiet but not quite and the Diana cracks like a .22 rim fire, so I shoot it very little, only when the close neighbors are gone from home.

The local shooting range is still handy for using the cartridge rifles. But there is no air conditioner, or heater, and sometimes the rain blows under the shelter, and I have to unload all that gear, rifles, ammo spotting scopes, tripods.

It is a whole lot of work being retired and devoting our entire life to keeping up your toys.

[Midnitemo]

I have owned an HW80 since the early 90's in .22 calibre , i have since changed my views on calibre and now prefer .177 for its flatter shooting hence me finally putting my money where my mouth is and buying an HW99s in the calibre , the 80 is a far better built and more substantial rifle but that was its drawback weighing in at nearly 10lbs scoped , the 99 is some three pounds lighter and boy does that tell when you are out for a walk with it, I'm keeping the 80 out of habit and respect as it's the longest resident in my gun cabinet

[Mortblanc]

Getting the flatter trajectory of the .177 at the low power level of the HW30 was the reason I returned the .22 and waited on the .177.

I can see how you guys with a power limit would prefer the lighter, flatter shooting choice when ranges vary and the trajectory of the .22 at 12 pound limit is so steep.

However, I did find that the .22 HW30 was extremely accurate, even with the heavy JSB 18 grain pellets. You coud see them traveling through the air, probably no more then 400fps, but they hit in the same spot time after time.

At a set range where there would be no estimation of distance involved it would not matter much.

Right now I am shooting the .177 at 11 yards and at 20 yards and the trajectory listing on the computer seems to be dead on. I am an inch high at 20 yards and my zero path crosses back down at 35 yards.

I am awaiting a set of scope rings with a stop pin so I can use my preferred scope on the HW30. At that point I will have a scope with graduated adjustments so I can click in and return to zero at will. I will also have parallax adjustment down to 6 yards.

At the moment I am using a long eye relief low power scope abducted for one of my scout rifles and set out on the barrel. It is not ideal for this application and I am not getting the best out of the rifle.