HW 90 performance?

[zzyzx]

I have a nice Crosman NPSS. It shoots well and is a nice rifle. Am considering a HW90 - the gas ram model as a result of having this NPSS.

Anyone out there have the HW90 who can give a heads up on how it performs in the field? I lile the idea but know from experience that sometimes the rifle in hand doesn't live up to the hype. So real world shooting is what I am looking for. Is it worth getting this one?

[Mark 611]

This is my opinion on this rifle, no hate mail please! They are nice guns but their very heavy and don't shoot any harder than a good tuned HW80/R1 or Diana 48 or 460mag in .22cal now the 20cal has better performance , the 90 has some stout recoil and again very heavy gun to be lugin around in the field.

[patton1]

That is a well made, gas ram hunting rifle...big,heavy and tuff to cock..... it's definatley not a plinker. It does shoot harder than R1/ 48/460 (tuned or untuned).

Check out straight shooters for the results.

good luck

[samTN]

I ordered my HW90 on April 8th, 2011 with the interchangeable inserts from PA and I had it for just short of a month now.  I put through it through it around 250 pellets but had been nothing but headache for the following reasons:

1- Very loud, will hurt your ears, so ear protection is a must.
2- Cocking effort is very hard and I have yet to be able to cock it with one hand from a sitting position.
3- The recoil is very heavy and pronounced.  It kicks much harder than both of my HW80.
4- Very picky with pellets; it does not like RWS pellets (pointed, hollow point, domed) or JSB exact 15.9 gr so I have to go with the very expensive copper plated pellets since H&N FTT are not available.
5- I can never get it to group at 20 yards with a very inconsistent pattern that I’m not happy with at all. Left and right; up and down (shot gun pattern).  I’m shooting open sights.  I have no problem at all hitting bull eye time after time open sights with my HW95 and HW80’s at the same distance.

The weight is 8.8 lb which makes it about the same weight of the HW80 but lighter than AA 200, Pro sport, and HW97.

[Mark 611]

George S

How fast does the HW90 shoot and with what weight of pellet? in your personal experience.

[Mark 611]

Well I checked out the SS site and it shows the HW90 in .22cal aving 823fps with 14.3gr CPHP's my untuned 460mag with the same pellet ave's 850fps and my RWS 48 in untuned ave's 840fps with the same pellet, my HW80 in .22cal with a tune with a Vortek kit in it ave's about 825fps with the same pellet, so I can't see where theirs any benefit other than the gas spring to this rifle having any advantage over any of these other rifles, JMHO

[geewhiz380]

Its the same rx2 only difference is stock and price ,but as being pellet picky same ,weight same ,power same ,gas rammed equal ,both are hunters ,made in the same factory ,trigger 2lb pull ,same velocity,fpe,same length...even though i like the tiger stripes on the rx2 but i would rather buy the hw90 only cause i like having open sites and 100 plus dollars cheaper ...one problem with magnum rated ags and that is the hold can take alot of time to adjust....it took me 4 months to find the proper hold cause they are very sensitive ...zzyzx a good gas ram is the theoben anyone i have shot the eliminator in .22 and its very ,very accurate on the .22 it has a anschutz barrel which is match grade the .20 and .25 has the walter barrel .the trigger is a light pull of 1.5 but when i shot it i could ralely feel the pull ,its not as loud as many others howevr i was in an open field of about 100 plus yds and you hear the impact of the pellets hitting there targets ....check them out at straight shooters a gas rammed repeater is the slr98 falls in the medium powered section

[Progun]

Sam, I know how frustrating it is to have what's supposed to be a fine rifle and then not be able to get the satisfaction of having it shoot like a fine rifle. I have an RX-2 but it's in .177 so my numbers won't help you but I can tell you my rifle is awesome. A good HW barrel that shoots as good as all my other HW guns but with more power. Your rifle woes may be cured by something as simple as 1) finding the "right" pellet, or 2) bleeding off a little gas from the ram. Some shooters with your model claim that when the ram is set at maximum power that the gun shoots too harsh and accuracy suffers. (Sounds like yours) But when the pressure is relieved just a little the accuracy is superb without the harshness and slightly less cocking effort. HW used to have a manual pump that you can buy or borrow from someone who has one that would allow you to tailor the pressure in the ram to suit your needs. You would need a chronograph to check velocities as you tweek the gas pressure in the ram to get it at the level you desire. Sam you might contact David Slade@ Airgunwerks for his insight to your problem. He knows.

[geewhiz380]

samTN i saw the gas ram pump at straight shooters in the pcp supply section for the theoben gas ram which will include the rx2 and yours as well ..price is 148.95 it comes with pump and hose to lower the pressure in ag like progun was talking about ...hope this info can help ...jorge

[samTN]

Thank to all of you guys who responded to my problem.  I'll write more shortly.