Ruger AirHawk?

[Ken13]

What are yalls thoughts on this gun?

[Paul68]

Nice copy of the RWS 34. Seems to have a better success ratio than some for out of the box shooters versus returns or repairs. Definitely benefits from a lube, seal upgrade, and removing the piston liner and replacing it with a tophat. Plenty of power and very accurate.

[VAFarmer]

As mentioned Ken,

They clone the RWS 34's action.   The wood stock is not as ergonomic as the 34's.   The synthetic stock is a dead-ringer for the 34 though.   From 20 feet away, hard to tell a BLACKhawk apart from a 34 panther, least the 5yr old version with the T05 trigger group.
The biggest obvious differences are a metal trigger instead of polymer on the 34, and the arm on the clones usually are 2 piece, where the 34 is one solid.  Bluing and wood is nicer on the 34 versus the Ruger.

The synthetic version is the way to go with the Rugers,  IMO.   Not that the wood is bad, it is actually nice, but just dont like the lower lines of the wood version.
The Ruger line of clones is reported to have some better QC, which is encouraging.   They tend to like superdomes, best I remember.
Most have very good accuracy, but shot cycle can be a little rough.
A lube tune yeilds very good results usually.

God bless,

Farmer

[Random Plinker]

I had a wood version I scoped with a 3-9x32AO that I was very happy with.  After a few hundred pellets it settled in quite nice with CPL's, without any tuning.  I picked it up to have a springer with a little more power than my B26 shortly before I found myself the proud owner of a tuned Big Cat with a Tuna trigger that filled this role better.  I gave the Airhawk as a gift to spread the addiction.  I thought the T05 clone trigger was great.  It broke clean and did not creep.  The barrel felt a little long, but other than that minor criticism I thought it was a great value.  If I could justify another springer in this class to myself, I would buy another.  But my next springer is going to be an underlever.

[longislandhunter]

I think they're a great bang for the buck.  A real nice clone of the 34

Jeff

[pappa]

I have 3 Blackhawks which are identical, except for the stock, to the Air Hawk. One converted to .22 with a Xisico B25 barrel.
I adore these rifles. They are beautiful clones of the RWS34 and very well made and extremely reliable and accurate. The 2 that I use the most often have been finely tuned and I lost count long ago of the number of nutters, possums, raccoons and crows they have brought down.

[Lambchops]

I was eyeing a refurbished one from AGD. Honestly I would have gotten one, but I wanted free shipping, so I got the Mod 95 .177 & $50 in pellets.

[Kailua]

What I hear and like is that it will or can use after market  springs and seals.

[Bigbuddha74]

I picked one up at Wally world a couple weeks back. Decided to drop the cheapie scope on the daisy 953 I have, so I only shoot it open sighted. I can honestly say that it is a nice gun for the money, and pretty much hits everything I'm aiming at. I will say that after the first 100 or so rounds, EVERYTHING was loose! Nothing that a little loctite 242 didn't cure, and now she's back to shooting great! I was expecting the gun to be rather twangy, but honestly it seems like maybe the factory might be employing some of mikes knowledge because it never dieseled, and shoots with I nice thud. That being said, I haven't ever shot a true tuned springer so I really don't have anything to compare it to. Hope this helps a little.


-Sean

[Paul68]

The Airhawks have a normally built reputation for accuracy and performance that's come from some satisified buyers(Not hype, Heavy Promotion, Media Marketing, Planted Reviews). In the case of the Rugers, I can only guess that a little more emphasis is being placed by Ruger on Chinese QC, which when combined with the guns origins, (good clone of a classic RWS 34) has resulted in a truly affordable springer that actually works close to as advertised.

Since they are an RWS clone of the 34, there is a lot of aftermarket improvements and stock upgrades available as well. Seals, springs, guides, tophats, even barrels.

I have twice ALMOST pushed the submit button at AGD for a BlackHawk refurb but had to change my mind since I really don't need another Ruger. IMO, 59.00 is practically a steal for an AirHawk.

[Bucky badger hunter]

I think it's a good value for what you get although a little on the heavy side. The only thing I would suggest is swapping the scope it comes with for a 3-9 power scope.

[Kailua]

In the vendors gate under Flying Dragon he has a referral to get a .22 ruger barrel.  So if you have a .177 you could change it over to .22.

[pappa]

RE. Flying Dragon:
Mike no longer has access to Xisico rifles or parts. Xisico pulled out from under him and he can no longer sell their products except what he already had on hand when they made the announcement. He definitely has no .22 barrels for sale for these.

[mikeiniowa]

available through Adventures in Airguns...

[microsalmo]

At $108 at Walmart, its hard to beat.  Mine came with a torn seal right out of the box, and the spring broke after a few hundred shots.  After a Vortek seal & spring, and a good home tune, its an absolute tack driver. At 35 yards, it shoots .50" groups with Baracuda Matches.  I really love the gun ... now.  The quality of materials is very good, less the improperly installed seal, and premature spring failure.  I would buy another one.

Oh yea... and they have a pretty good barrel droop too. Mine needed a compensating scope mount.