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Thread: Recent Acquisition HW 35 E

  1. #1
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    W.R.Buchanan's Avatar
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    Recent Acquisition HW 35 E

    Guys I have had an HW35 EB since 1979 and it was my first real airgun. The gun has performed above all my expectations and the fact that I paid $189.95 for it was soon forgotten. This gun was made for Beeman Airguns before he sold the company, and was nicer than other guns from Weihrauch.

    In 1994 my wife bought me an HW77 in .22 cal for my birthday and to reach out further to shoot the Mocking Birds at 40 yards that I had missed at closer distances. I could hit them with the HW35 but there just wasn't much left in a 8 gr. flat nosed pellet at 40 yards. The .22 pellets cured that problem.

    There were literally Thousands of them and I averaged about 10 a week for years and as soon as they were cleaned out, more would invade to take their place. We had them in every tree and bush in every yard in our neighborhood and the incessant random chirping 24 hours a day would drive a wooden man nutz. Not so much of a problem here in Ojai as we have Blue Jays that run them off, but I still to this day won't hesitate to shoot a Mockingbird on sight.

    Anyway I recently found an old HW35E (Export) that was in dire need of some TLC and managed to trade a Pistol airgun I had for it strait across. I only had $60 in the pistol so I figured I made out.

    I got the new gun home and took it apart and cleaned everything up and refinished the stock, it came out really nice and I have been shooting it pretty much exclusively for the last month with only the open sights it came with. Getting better every day and trying to put 20 rounds a day thru it. Good practice for the Silhouette Game.

    It shoots smoother than my other HW35 and I don't really know why but it is just a more fun gun to shoot. It has the longer 19" barrel, (the EB has a 16" barrel.) maybe that's why? It is definitely easier to cock, which I attribute to the longer barrel. It has a slightly better trigger (splitting hairs) and it is better than pretty much all of my firearms. Weihrauch Record Triggers are considered the best of any airgun triggers.

    Anyway I highly recommend this particular gun as it is arguably one of the best airguns ever made, and since they have been in continuous production since 1951 they pretty much have all the bugs worked out. They are made as well or better than most firearms and if taken care of will easily last a lifetime or more. both of mine are 40 years old and both still look like new. (I do tend to take care of my stuff.)

    If you see a used one grab it! I did! You won't regret it.

    Turns out my first gun was made in 1979 when I bought it. The new one was made in 1980. So they are both nearly 40 years old and showing no signs of wear at all.

    New ones are not imported any more, but in Europe they are about $600 new, and they also aren't as powerful as guns exported to the US and the rest of the world.

    Anyway that's what I have been playing with lately. I really do love these guns as they allow you to shoot without leaving home. That allows you to shoot more and get better at it.

    Randy
    Last edited by W.R.Buchanan; 04-26-2018 at 07:21 PM.
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    In my neighborhood there are one or two mocking birds who's life I'd like to cut short. I'm not kidding, these two birds can be heard making their racket/chirping round the clock. I've gotten up at midnight to take a leak and I swear I can hear one or both of these birds going at it.

    This only started within the last year. Before that I can't recall ever hearing a mocking bird carrying on all night long. The worst is when they roost in the trees closest to my window. The funny thing is that I live only a stones-throw away from the rail road tracks. The train can roll by and rattle ground underneath me and it has no ill effects on my sleep but, if the faucets' leaking, a cricket chirping or those mocking birds start making their racket, that will wake me up out of a sound sleep every time.

    I've tried getting a bead on them during the day but they don't stay in one place long enough for me to run in and get my pellet gun. Right now all I can do is dream of the day -or night- when I can put a .22 pellet right through their midnight sonata.

    HollowPoint

  3. #3
    Boolit Master melloairman's Avatar
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    I understand and agree . But let us not forget the legality of shooting them . And confessing to the fact to one and all . As we all know Israel and the US are real close . I belonged to a air gun hunting forum . And the owner was contacted more than once about a post or two . So he did a search to find out were most of his sites hits here in the US were comeing from . To his surprise there were more hits from Israel than the US . 2 plus 2 equals 4 . Now starlings are open game in the US . It is good to hear you have had good results with your trade .GL Marvin

  4. #4
    Boolit Bub
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    The HW35E is imported by Airguns of Arizona

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    I have an older .177 HW35, purchased new in the 1970's. It had a HW 75th anniversary tag on it. It is one of my favorite air rifles. I purchased the HW match aperature sight along with it for an extra $20. I am glad I did. They have been discontinued for many years, and are quite expensive now to buy if you can find one. The earlier HW 35's had 13mm groove spacing, instead of the now standard 11mm. The long barrel makes this airgun real easy to cock, and I like the thumb latch to unlock the barrel. I did some tune work internally. I put delrin buttons on the piston, and added a Vortek PG-2 spring assembly, plus a setback trigger. The HW break barrels were intentionally given a downward barrel angle to facilitate the use of the factory open sights. I did not like this, as for scope or aperture sights, additional elevation correction is needed. I altered the angle of the breech block to bring the barrel level. Much better.

    I have experimented with leather, synthetic, and O ring piston seals, and realisticly you are still dealing with a 750 fps or so airgun, depending on spring condition and pellet weight. Ballisticly this airgun is obsolete, with it's short piston stroke, you cannot make the high velocity that more modern airguns can. It is the oldest HW airgun still in production.

    In spite of these deficiencies, I have a walnut stock, beautiful bluing, and a smooth firing sequence, that is pure enjoyment to shoot. Apparently enough others feel this way also, to have HW keep making this airgun.

  6. #6
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    Yeah both of mine have Leather Piston seals. The new one actually had a Leather Breech Seal. I replaced that.

    I didn't take the air side apart on either of mine as I don't have a Spring compressor, but both guns have gotten a steady diet of synthetic Air Piston Oil and that's all you have to do to keep them shooting hard. I did have to take the triggers out and clean all the old grease out and re-lubricate and the auto safeties both had to be degreased. I have found that running those dry is the only way to keep them working as any lubricant eventually gums up and makes them stick. These guns have Auto Safeties for a reason and they must function correctly or the gun is dangerous.

    I haven't had a chance to Chrono the new one yet, and it is something I've got to do as I have a variety of pellets I want to Suss out for all 4 guns.(I have a Beeman R1 also) I have shot H&N Match pellets in the EB for most of it's life, and with a scope mounted it is a one hole gun at 10M. The E is pretty much the same with the H&N's but the scope angle is way off to the right and so it will stay a open sight gun. I've got one 10 shot group that is 1/2-3/4" and with open sights that's not bad. That gun also likes JSB pellets which are excellent.

    Both of my .22's have scopes mounted the HW77 has a 4X Burris Airgun Scope from the 1990's, and the R1, which is a relatively new addition, has a Leupold VX1 on it. The EB has a Beeman/Williams Peep Sight mounted for the last 20 years.

    You can see as far as "Practice Rifles" I've got pretty much all the bases covered.

    I really encourage everyone here who wants to shoot better to get a decent Air Rifle. The thing they allow you to do is shoot at home so you don't have to travel to practice shooting. If you get a good Airgun the joy of shooting it will be with you for along time and the practice will translate to your firearms better than if you just go down to Big 5 and buy a cheapo gun. These guns all weigh 8-9 lbs. and they handle like a firearm so you are building shooting muscles while you practice and that's what you are aiming for. The sights on these guns are excellent ans good or better than anything you have now. Good scopes are plentiful and just make sure you get one that is up to Spring Powered Airgun use. Many regular scopes can't take the Recoil of a Springer. My R1 killed one decent scope that had lived on my Mini 14 for thousands of rounds in 25 shots!

    This is a deal where if you give a little more you will get much more in return.

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    Congrats on owning 2 of the finest airguns made, the mid power Hw35 and the HW77, either is enough to make one forget about the .22 LR.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Ironicly, I found that the inexpensive Crosman 7.4 gr pointed hunting pellets shoot pretty well in my 35. I buy them in 1250 rd milk cartons for about $17 each. Out to 60 yards I have minute of tin can accuracy. Minimum fatigue cocking and shooting the 35. I can shoot for hours during warm summer evenings. A neighbor living 1/4 mile away says he can hear the pellets hitting the tin cans. The 35 with the aperture sight is more fun to shoot for me, than my 97k with 6-18X50 scope. I did buy a Gehman 1.5x adjustable aperture eyepiece for the 35. It's much kinder on older eyes, as it sharpens focus up a good bit.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    Here is a picture of my baby. All those empty tins are just a portion of the pellets fired from this airgun. I used to buy pellets in tins, now I buy by the milk carton.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 101-0138_IMG.JPG  

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    My break barrel HW springer is a 95 and really likes the .177 H&N Baracuda Match at 10.65 grs, kinda heavy and expensive, wish mine shot the Crossmans better.

  11. #11
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    Wow! you shoot alot more than I do. Looks like you are single handedly keeping Crossman in business.

    How old is your HW35? Looks earlier than mine with the rounded pistol grip?

    I would really like to get ahold of one of those Weihrauch Receiver Sights. They are kind of rare nowadays Weihrauch could probably sell a bunch of them if they did a run.

    If I ahd known they were a separate item I would have bought one from Beemans back when I got the gun.

    Instead I mounted a Bushnell .22 rimfire scope on the gun which was on there until about 2000, knowing what I know about the Springer recoil impulse it amazes me that that scope survived. My R1 killed a UTG Airgun scope that had lived on my Mini 14 for thousands of rounds in 25 shots! I liked that scope alot too.

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    I bought the 35 new in 1978 for $110, at Jaeger's, in Jenkintown, PA. It was owned by the guy who builds world famous custom German type hunting rifles. I actually got to meet Mr Jaeger himself. It was the last airgun the gunshop had. My buddy bought the second to last one, a week earlier. The salesman had one aperature sight, and offered it to me for $20. I really didn't want it, but I took it anyway, and I am glad I did.

    I just shot about 100 pellets tonight. I have about 10 tin cans of various size, hanging on wires, all around the boundary of my property facing the woods. Distances run from 25 yards to 65 yards. I start at one end and play round the world. I have certain cans I like to beat on the most. Easy to shoot 100 pellets at one outing. The 35 is so easy to cock and pleasant to shoot, the pellet pouch is empty before I know it. I have several pouches that clip on my belt, red for the HW35, containing the Crosman 7.4gr pellets. Light blue, containing JSB 8.4gr Exact pellets for the HW97k Blue Laminate, and finally denim, for the Crosman 140 pump containing 22 cal Crosman RN pellets.

  13. #13
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    I just got some JSB Exacts in both .177 and .22 cals and also some of their Monster pellets in both cals too.

    The Monsters are 13.43 and 25.39 gr!

    The big pellets in the HW35's shoot low and I have to suss out the trajectory on both guns.

    I haven't shot any of the JSB's in the R1 yet, maybe today. I really need to set up the Chrony and record the vels for all the different pellets I have. Probably make a spreadsheet today too.

    The HW35's like H&M Match Wadcutters and the JSB's best and I shoot the H&N's most and always have. The JSB's don't punch nice holes in the targets like the H&N's do.

    On the HW77 and R1 I have also always shot H&N Match pellets mostly, but also have some Barakudas for long range shooting, now with the Monster JSB's it will open up another level, At least for the R1.

    I haven't tried any of the Crossman pellets but I guess I need to. They look like the JSB's so maybe they'll work well. They are certainly easier to get as Walmart and every other Sporting Goods store in the area have them.

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  14. #14
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    So to figure out exactly what the gun would do I decided I needed to mount a scope on it. I had a UTG Bug Buster 3-9x with illuminated reticles that was sitting on the shelf waiting for a good use so I mounted it.

    I wanted to use a UTG one piece mount but the scope is too short so I had to spring for a set of UTG Rings for $11.95! They have a stop screw in the rear ring to prevent movement on the receiver of the gun.

    What I am seeing is that I am still moving around while shooting off my improvised rest. Much more noticeable than shooting with irons. Both pellets H&N Match and JSB Exacts 8.4 shoot nearly one hole and I think if I can get my rest situated a little better I can get into one hole or very close.

    I have to work this out as I think this gun is very accurate and I need to prove it.

    Here's a pic of the mounted scope.

    Randy
    Last edited by W.R.Buchanan; 05-26-2018 at 03:58 PM.
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  15. #15
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    I knew it would do it.. 5 shots 10 yards.<.125

    The Crosshairs on this scope are kind of coarse but they are working just fine and the group might tighten a bit more with finer hairs. Since I don't have anything like that I'll settle for this group.

    Randy
    Last edited by W.R.Buchanan; 05-26-2018 at 03:59 PM.
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check