GTA
Airguns by Make and Model => Weihrauch Airguns => Topic started by: harry palmer on July 01, 2011, 08:08:36 PM
-
Just thought I`d let you know about quality problems I`ve had with what used to be my favourite airgun brand.
A couple of years back I bought a nice HW35KLS (blue laminate stock) which refused to do no more than 8.5 ft/lbs due to a badly machined transfer port.
next up was my recent purchase a HW99s which first time out got me a silver medal at a club HFT comp.This rifle started galling really badly ,so made up an insert, but then the power went south and the gun became inconsistent,The mainspring had been been roughly cut down with a hacksaw by the british importers to meet our 12 ft/lb limit....without the cut part being tidied up!..so it was bye bye HW99s
Finally I persevered and bought a 0.177 HW30s only to find that when you fired it the barrel flopped loose ,at this point I flipped .I took it back and walked out with a new Hatsan 60s (aka Winchester 850 XS22),Beeman P17 pistol (so far 1700 pellets and no leaks),carrying case and a good supply of 0.177 RWS R10 match pellets/0.22 Hobbies.
I`ve also checked the club HW30s and its barrel lock up could be better.I still have my 20 year old HW35 ,but I`ll be steering clear of new Weihrauchs.seems they are heading back towards these problems. http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread.php?236018-Weihrauch-Engineering-I-m-Disgusted....&s=553fd26a0a00e362e2df63647c6bd387 (http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread.php?236018-Weihrauch-Engineering-I-m-Disgusted....&s=553fd26a0a00e362e2df63647c6bd387)
Regards
Harry
-
Well you can't blame the 99's problem on Weihrauch.
-
Thats really bad I am glad the american ones are not rated at 12 ft pounds, some one needs to let them know whats happening that is shoody work to say the least for such a expensive ag. Thanks David
-
If their quality IS going down, I can't imagine owning one of the better models. I recently purchased an HW97K. I am amazed every time I pick her up. I never would have thought you could get this accuracy and consistancy from an out of the box air rifle. Plus the fit and finish is excellent. I have to disagree with your assessment of Weihrauch on a whole, but you seem to have gotten some lemons. And as ac12 said, it doesn't seem to be a factory issue but quality of the butcher that was assigned to lower the power to meet regulations. Sad...
And as David says, Weihrauch needs to know what is happening to their guns after they leave their factory and before they reach the customer.
Happy Shooting!!!!
Dave
8)
-
Sorry to hear bout ge problems youve had. The hacking of the spring without dressing up the end is horrible. I deff write hw a little letter just lettingthem know about their overall quality and put that exaample in there with as much of the who what when and where of it. I would like to think HW dosnt know somebody is just doing butcher work to their guns and sending them out the door.
Good luck with your future guns. And keep us posteif you do write them.
-
Definitely contact them...
http://www.weihrauch-sport.de/englisch/e_startseite/e_index.htm (http://www.weihrauch-sport.de/englisch/e_startseite/e_index.htm)
I sent them a message and actually received a reply from the president of the company.
-
Thanks for the replies,-I think that the special relationship between Dr Beeman and the Weihrauch family could explain why you don`t often get these problems with Beeman R7 s,R9 s and the like (even though Dr Beeman in no longer involved).
As for letting Weihrauch know ,well it`s already been done by various people on the British Airgun BBS and still problem rifles keep popping up.As for me I`ll be saving up for a HW70 pistol (once I get back from my Florida holiday ;D) , but if I get another new rifle it won`t be a HW!
Take care
Kenny.
-
My HW95 - rear sight has a inclination. Dovetail and front sight on one line, but rear sight on another line, so for comfort shooting i must use a diopter on dovetail. German handmade, yeah...
-
Sorry to hear this Harry, although not the first time I've heard of a import hack job on a spring. i cant remember where i saw it last week, but I saw a butchard spring came out of a HW77. If HW knew just how bad of a hack job their importers where doing, you would think HW would have different springs to go to different country's?...like US gets "full" size spring and UK gets a 12 flbs. one,and so on,,not just a "snip and ship" spring? But with all that being said.....if i where in your shoes, I'd still buy HW and plan on buying a quality drop in replacement spring......yeah this not worthy to have to do but HW make GREAT stuff, just wish they had a better importer who "works on" the spring before it goes to the UK......these are my thoughts on a bummer spring...Bart
-
FWIW, my San Raphael stamped Beeman HW35EB was re-barreled by Beeman shortly after I got it in 1980 because a burr right at the crown would make a very noticeable scar on a pellet. Interestingly, I never noticed a difference in accuracy.
-
I'm surprised you feel that way. I just bought a HW97K and the quality is every bit as good as my 30 year old R-8. Between all my PCPs and springers, I think my 97 is the most accurate and is a pleasure to shoot. ;D
-
I don't know how many of you seen this. if not, you must see this to have an understanding that, there is no way, they can compromise the quality as everything is under one room and very well defined process.
here we go. http://player.vimeo.com/video/22390851?byline=0& (http://player.vimeo.com/video/22390851?byline=0&)
-
dimitri,
Anyone can make a bad/lesser part.
If it involves more than 1 part it has twice the chance of failure.
With today's bean-counters, it wouldn't surprise me at all, that parts get thrown in, at times, to make the daily till.
I did find it curious that nobody wore safety eye protection, or any shields, at their machines. I found this amusing after the earlier narration ,in the beginning, about the plexglass shields for the protection of the employees.
Steel and eyes don't play well together.
-
Hi!
New on here and this is my first post!
This question on Weihrauchs quality dropping, is at the moment going around the forums over here in the UK as well.
Mostly about internals, but also about cosmetics!
When I was a lad, Weihrach was the name on the top of all airgunners wantz list.
Unfortunatly, its not so any more.
I love them, dont get me wrong, I have two, but reading what I do, I sit and think sometimes if its worth trying out something new.
Ive just purchaced a cheap SMK XS78CO2, my first co2 gun, to see if I can get on without the recoil of my springers, lol.
At the moment it seems ok, accurate, easy to load, etc etc.
Gonna see what Weihrauck has on offer in co2, and compare them.
Mind you, the SMK is on sale over here at 102.00 sterling.
What is the power output allowed over in the States?
Ken
-
Hi KennyK and welcome to the GTA.
I do not believe there is a power output limit here in the USA. Many of us love high power air rifles.
-
Hi!
Right, thats made me grumpy now, lol.
We are stuck with 12lbs as you know, and this allows us to shoot rabbits at the most.
Not much poke for anything much bigger.
-
Harry if the spring was hacked by the importer in England then it is not a HW quality problem. If someone takes any of these guns appart that do not know what they are doing and put them back together you will most likely encounter problems down the line.
Give us your positive report on their accuracy, trigger pull and overall fit and finish. Lets be fair...:)
-
Harry if the spring was hacked by the importer in England then it is not a HW quality problem. If someone takes any of these guns appart that do not know what they are doing and put them back together you will most likely encounter problems down the line.
Give us your positive report on their accuracy, trigger pull and overall fit and finish. Lets be fair...:)
Gene I`ve been busy so I`ve not had a chance to think much about this thread.But look at it from my side; I`ve now had 3 lemons in row ,meaning that I,ve spent over a $1000 on defective kit (the nasty severe galling on my HW99s WAS a Factory fault, even if the m/spring wasn`t) ;so how can I be positive?After the HW35kls ,I gave Weihrauch the benefit of the doubt and bought the 99s and the 30s, now I call that fair,but enough is enough.
I got back from Orlando last week and bought a really nice Birmingham made Webley Stingray 0.22 and cleared out my old HW35!
Take care
Kenny.
-
Springs get chopped in the HW factory. I live in Germany and even I get the chewed off 5.5ft/lbs springs. But it isn't a "recent quality drop" they do it for quite some time. But supposedly they have fixed the problem at the beginning of 2011.
To cosmetics I can add these images of a newly bought HW80.
(http://www.abload.de/thumb/cimg0086bjd7.jpg) (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=cimg0086bjd7.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/thumb/cimg0087qj25.jpg) (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=cimg0087qj25.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/thumb/cimg0088djjt.jpg) (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=cimg0088djjt.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/thumb/cimg0089zkgn.jpg) (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=cimg0089zkgn.jpg)
Brown stains on the bluing, inner part of the stock isn't 100% finished, mangled breech bolt...
The stains are on the barrel, breech and cylinder. I would say the bluing pretty much s***s as it comes out of the factory. The stocks are made in Italy though.
-
Springs get chopped in the HW factory. I live in Germany and even I get the chewed off 5.5ft/lbs springs. But it isn't a "recent quality drop" they do it for quite some time. But supposedly they have fixed the problem at the beginning of 2011.
To cosmetics I can add these images of a newly bought HW80.
(http://www.abload.de/thumb/cimg0086bjd7.jpg) (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=cimg0086bjd7.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/thumb/cimg0087qj25.jpg) (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=cimg0087qj25.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/thumb/cimg0088djjt.jpg) (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=cimg0088djjt.jpg)
(http://www.abload.de/thumb/cimg0089zkgn.jpg) (http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=cimg0089zkgn.jpg)
Brown stains on the bluing, inner part of the stock isn't 100% finished, mangled breech bolt...
The stains are on the barrel, breech and cylinder. I would say the bluing pretty much s***s as it comes out of the factory. The stocks are made in Italy though.
Thanks HWnut ,I was beginning to think I was being seen as a nit-picking brit!
Regards
Kenny.
-
Harry it is sad that even HW has lost some quality control and now are falling in the ranks of company's like RWS. I guess myself and allot of others like me have been pretty lucky to get some very prestine air guns from HW. Myself would cry if I had experience what you and HWNut have experienced.
Fair is fair and I guess I will have to be extra weary of my next HW purchase.
-
Thanx Gene, but we have another thread on the BBS started by U.K Neil who makes custom air -strippers,moderator adapters etc and is well respected in the U.K. airgun community,-Weihrauch really need to sort themselves out- http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread.php?549302-Another-Example-Of-Weihrauch-Quality.................. (http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread.php?549302-Another-Example-Of-Weihrauch-Quality..................)
Take care
Kenny.
-
This was a sad momment.
I'm glad I like the Beeman rename of Weihrauch.
It seems they have more control on their quality.
I have never heard anything bad about a German Beeman.
-
Hello all,
For what it's worth I own a HW77K from I think the early to mid' 1980's. I also own a three year old HW80K. Comparing the two I'd say the '77K is a much better finished airgun and reflects something made nearly thirty years ago. However the latter 80K is still nicely made and shoots well and is very consistent with a FPS spread of10FPS over ten shots.
I am very happy with the newer rifle. At the moment I am deciding whether to buy a new Air Arms TX200 or a Weihrauch HW97K. I will of course pay close attention to what you say Kenny.
Good luck,
Alan
-
I used to own a HW 85 Luxus,,Don't No more.The gun only had 50 shots through it and the barrel dropped due to a bad lockup.Had to tear it down because the liner buckled and almost ruined the compression tube.The trigger screw which I never touched was seized,(As per the 2nd owner),so I tuned it,Vorteked it and got rid of it as fast as I could.It was OK for me after all that,,But the guy that bought it only got a tin through it and the cocking arm started digging the guide.
Air Arms for my next time for a springer,,or a Diana,maybe if they start rifling the barrels on center. Too bad the 2 most popular MFG's have chosen poor QC over their customer's.Thank Goodness I have a 8 groove 350 Vortek'd and a decent 12 groove 34P,(Which I still wish was a 8 groove).Oops,,maybe I shouldn't say that as that will probably cause the all knowing Guru to get upset,lol.
-
Well, I can only speak for MY personal experience and I have a fantastic rifle in my HW97K. I bought it a few months ago from AoA and it is the most accurate gun I've ever seen right out of the box. And the fit and finish couldn't be better. But there is also enough chatter about bad quality that I have sent Hans Weihrauch an email with links to both this thread and the one above. He may not be aware of quality issues and I can only hope he will read these and take action. We will see.
I'll be sure to post his response.
-
But there is also enough chatter about bad quality that I have sent Hans Weihrauch an email with links to both this thread and the one above. He may not be aware of quality issues and I can only hope he will read these and take action. We will see.[/font][/size]
I bet he will, ezman. His name is on the guns, after all. He may not post about it here, but I bet he will do something. I know I would.
-
Well Dez,I am Happy the HW 97K you got is a good one.I was actually going to buy one myself,,but after the fiasco with the 85 Luxus,,I think I'll go with the TX if I buy an under lever.I'm sure Happy my 350's a proper 8 groove and she's an all around beautiful rifle,but it seems the T06 Models are suffering from off centered bores and low velocities. Figures,,my 2 favorite MFG's are going south on the QC,,,and then to read all the negative posts lately, shows they are doing just that.
What I don't understand is,,''Air Arms has rifles that are like they have been tuned right out of the box'',and HW and Diana can't put the same quality out? I'll tell you one thing,,(the prices they want for them),they should be like a tuned rifle out of the box!
Then we've got guy's,(make that singular) telling us we're supposed to be Happy with it, and just shoot it!! Seems that's easy to say when your not paying for it.
Anyway,,Hopefully some of these posts will make them rethink their QC!
JMHO,Thanks
P/S: And btw,,from now on at least for me,,(I think Ed's got the right idea),,Why pay Big Bucks for a brand name rifle that needs to be tuned to be decent,instead pay less than half and tune a Good Chinese rifle and have just as good in the end.
JOMHO
-
I just received a HW50S yesterday and it's my first Air Gun since the early 80's when I was a kid and got a plastic pump action Crossman. So I am not up to speed like a lot of you on here. But taking a look at mine, my stock isn't completely finished near the inside break action area either (underside of stock) and both trigger guard screws were loose enough to move with my finger nail. But everything else was pretty quality like my rimfire and centerfire guns. The red paint on the safety could have been applied a little better though.
I did however, fully oil the exterior 3 times with Slip2000 http://www.slip2000.com/general_info.html (http://www.slip2000.com/general_info.html) and wiped down then applied a 4th coat and let it soak overnight. The blueing looks really deep and nice now. (I double checked on the slip2000 website and it is safe for airguns.)
So for someone like me it was pretty nice for a $380 gun, but from what this thread says I guess quality was even better at one time!
-
Very nice Firewire.It's nice to hear you've received one in fine shape.It's very hard for me to speak poorly of those 2 mfg's,but I guess it has to be done to ensure they realize exactly what's going on.I do understand things have to be done to help cut the costs of an AG,but I really don't see the sense in cutting QC on two of the finest airguns,(Or at least they used to be),just to save a $,and then leave the customer to bear the brunt.
I hope my next HW turns out OK as the people I buy from gives them the once over,,but sometimes it's what's inside that a person can't see at first glance.
I love this sport way to much to ever give it up on it, so lets hope this doesn't fall on deaf ears.
Anyway,I still have hope that Weihrauch may fix this problem as Dave's HW97 proves that they can still turn out Quality rifles! Lets hope this is just a short term problem,and it's fixed asap,because, I still want my HW97K in .177,so I'm hoping I might be able to hold off on the TX200 and try a 97K yet.
Thanks
-
Bandit, if I were you and can afford it I'd get the Pro Sport over the TX JMO, I also hope that theirs no issues with the next batch of HW's that come into the states because I intend to buy a new HW77k! I've had nothing but good luck with HW/Beeman guns! I have about 10 or so I've bought new and have had several used ones and have not had any problems with them at all! :P
-
I have picked up a 30S, 50S, 77 and 95 in the past year. The only problems other than being over lubed and one slightly nicked piston seal; the 30 & 50 have lighter finish in some recessed areas of the inletting. The 30 also has a discoloured 1/4" stripe across the tube. Maybe tape residue when blued or shortly afterward. No other internal or external problems or flaws. These are "tools" not works of art, and as long as they put the pellets where I want(and they do), I can live with these minor flaws.
-
With All DUE Respect,Perhaps they are tools for you,,But for most of us they are also collectables and it matters to me if they are marred up or nicked here and there.You might not take Pride in what you shoot,,But I know I do,so Please don't Dictate to others what's exceptable,and what's not.
Thanks,,but I've already had one Dictator try and tell me what I'm supposed to be satisfied with when I pay as much as I did for the guns I own.
Some aren't fussy,(And that's their choice)But when I go to sell anything I own,Anyone who knows me personally will buy anything they want that I have to sell.I'm always a bit leary of some,(And I said only some) who hide who they are,their email address's, and don't even share their real name's,(But also their Choice).Opinions can always vary,,but I don't tell anyone what, or what not, is acceptable,so it's a personal choice in my books.
Thanks
P/S: Thanks Mark,,I am going to do just that as it looks like a nice little rifle,but,After hearing what some thinks of the AA's internals,and the problems with their guide rings,,I may have to rethink that choice as well.I just wish Diana and HW would start turning out guns with Quality like my 350 on a regular basis.It's seems the Quality they've always had is becoming a thing of the past,,,and that's just Sad!
-
I did find it curious that nobody wore safety eye protection, or any shields, at their machines. I found this amusing after the earlier narration ,in the beginning, about the plexglass shields for the protection of the employees.
Steel and eyes don't play well together.
No eye protection at all is odd for factory setting...
Travis T
-
I've only owned 1 Weihrauch rifle. It's the HW97K in stainless. I don't have a complaint about the rifle as it's extremely accurate after I learned how to shoot a springer. My mean woman is with their customer service.
I recently sent an email to their Customer service department asking if the adjustable buttplate that's on the wood thumbhole model would fit on my synthetic stock and if there was a parts distributor here in the US. After 2 weeks without a reply, I resent the original request telling them I had not heard from them and this was a second request for the info. Within a day, I received a reply from a guy named Maxim Doos in Customer Service saying, AND ONLY SAYING, that they did reply. No info, nothing other than they did reply. Naturally, I had to send a follow up telling him in no uncertain terms that he was an idiot and why would I request the same information if I had received it. Another email from Maxim followed telling me that the buttplate would not fit my synthetic stock but still no information of a distributor of parts here in America.
Another email concerning the HW101, a single shot version PCP rifle, asking when it would be available here in the US has still gone unanswered.
I realize that a big company gets tons of email but reasonable requests for information should be answered. This type of Customer Service will make me look very hard at a different brand of rifle for my PCP rifle purchase.