Another R9/HW95 caliber choice thread

[Yogi]

Hey Robert,
Bob (Rsterne) is always a good read ... you're not going to find better advice anywhere regarding airguns.

I have an HW95 in .177 and an R9 in .20 caliber.  I found my HW95 is very accurate with CPL out to 80 yards, shooting at roughly 13+ FPE.
I just got my R9 this Summer and get about 16 FPE with JSB 13.72 pellets.  I'm not sure how they compare at 80 yards yet but will find out next Summer after Covid-19.  In my 10 yard crawl space, both guns equally accurate.  Bob's presentation would suggest that .20 should be fine in the R9.

About 3 years ago I switched out my .22 cal. barrel on my HW80 to .20 caliber.  It was an amazing transformation for the gun while shooting the JSB 13.72 pellet.  It's easily became my most accurate Spring gun at 50 yards or better and got me more interested in .20 caliber.  It's increased power and comparable trajectory to .177 caliber are hard to deny.

So ... I'm not sure what to say, except they're both great, but I'd likely recommend the .177 for the R9 and .20 for the HW80 (R1).  If you choose the .20 caliber, don't be deterred by the limited manufacturers making the pellet as there are actually many great choices (I'd start with the JSB 13.72).

Good Luck

Is that the one you call"the God Pellet"?  Do you think it would be equally effective in a HW 50 .20?

-Yogi

[Deerstalker]

I will be 82 soon.  The HW95L in .22, IMO, meets your requirements and I really enjoy shooting mine.  Excellent for taking out the problem squirrel or bunny when necessary.  The quality of the Weihrauch rifles is outstanding.  I put a Hawke 4x16 44 mm compact IR, SF scope on mine and both my wife's and my groups are improving.  I believe that you would like this combo also and .22 pellets seem to be readable available.

I forgot to add that the H&N FTT 14.66 gr .22 pellets seem to give the best groups for us.

[Chouchin66]

Yogi, the 11.42 FTT is the pellet for the .20-HW 50, w/o negating the advantage the .20 has ...11.42 gives a decent velocity, cycle & trajectory...13.73 is too heavy in the 50s platform, if going that heavy shoot a light .22, the gain of a .20 in the 50 is downrange energy w/ a far better cycle & less tax from a heavy .177.

[jason miller]

Also 6’4”, don’t see the big deal with .177 cal pellets. Have R9’s and 50’s in both .177 and .22 cals. Figured if I got one of each, I’d be able to decide which one I liked the most and sell the others. Problem is that I like them all!

John in PA started and ended with FTT’s in my R9. Seems like they pretty much universally like that pellet. And mine does 720 FPS with them. My 50 does 620 FPS.

The main advantages I see with .22 cal over .20 cal are that ammo is cheaper and more widely available, and you also have a couple good lead-free options if you ever want to boost velocity to .177 levels. My R9 does 840 with 11.75 grain GTO’s, and the 50 does 825 with 9.56 grain FTT greens.

[nced]

never going with a .177, but thanks.

LOL....then that DOES limit your choices! 

[airrob]

Being the overanxious OCD person that I am, I just pre-ordered an R7 in .20 from PA...along with a few extras.  It'll ship in January.

I cancelled it already.  So much for being decisive.  I found an article about how wimpy it is.
h**ps://www.straightshooters.com/ourtake/ourtaker7.html

I think an R9 is still in my future, but since everyone is out of stock, I can keep reading for a bit more.

[Denby95]

AOA has a HW95 Luxus in .20 cal if thats what you're after still. The luxus just means the stock is a bit longer in the forearm and covers the breech block where as the standard hw95 does not. The R9 Beeman comes with the longer stock and the gaudy gold trigger.

https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/spring-piston/weihrauch-hw95-luxus-.20/

[Yogi]

Being the overanxious OCD person that I am, I just pre-ordered an R7 in .20 from PA...along with a few extras.  It'll ship in January.

I cancelled it already.  So much for being decisive.  I found an article about how wimpy it is.
h**ps://www.straightshooters.com/ourtake/ourtaker7.html

I think an R9 is still in my future, but since everyone is out of stock, I can keep reading for a bit more.

Krale still has them!

https://www.krale.shop/us/weihrauch-hw95/

-Y

[fwbsport]

"Never the .177" was kinda the way I felt before I got the HW95 .177 unaltered and brand new.  It is the deadliest open sighted rifle I have--and I like having an open sighted rifle for shorter ranges up to 30 yards in the backyard.

I just run Air Arms Diablo Express or regular AA domes down the barrel. 

In "regular power" mode the .20 is perfect for the HW95/HW98/R9--"regular" power for me.  The HW80s are a slice too big I think with most of the sales and popularity going to the HW95/R9.

[SpiralGroove]

Yogi, the 11.42 FTT is the pellet for the .20-HW 50, w/o negating the advantage the .20 has ...11.42 gives a decent velocity, cycle & trajectory...13.73 is too heavy in the 50s platform, if going that heavy shoot a light .22, the gain of a .20 in the 50 is downrange energy w/ a far better cycle & less tax from a heavy .177.

+1,
I'd try the 13.72's, but likely to heavy.

[SpiralGroove]

never going with a .177, but thanks.

LOL....then that DOES limit your choices! 

[Mrblonde40]

If the problem with .177 is manipulating the pellets, just get a pellet pen, that's what I use.  But as far as the 20 being a dying caliber, they said the same about the 16 gauge, and that still hasn't gone away.  I chose .177 due to the variety of pellets available.  I've used .177, 20, and 22 on squirrel, and the 20 is great, worked equally well with both body and head shots.  In my opinion it was the best of the 3.  The HW95 is a great gun, I bought the Field pro with 3-9x40 weihrauch branded scope.  The glass is good, holds zero just fine, but the parallax and focus gets very finicky when you crank the magnification, so I eventually replaced it with a Leupold.   And BTW I don't think the 20 is dead when they're still making plenty of guns "chambered" for it, and plenty of fans out there.

[EMrider]

The hw95/R9 platform is an excellent choice and it will give you decades of shooting enjoyment.  Most everyone on this forum has their spring guns DIY or professionally tuned.  But we are not typical owners, and HW springers shoot very well out of the box too. 

All of my springers are .177 and I hunt often.  With JSB 8.4s or 10.3s, they are deadly on small game out to 40 yards. 

Enjoy!

R

[airrob]

So my research just hit the nitro gas ram thing.  Reading more...  I'm try to find how these are inferior to springers and they don't seem to be.  What am I missing?

[EMrider]

So my research just hit the nitro gas ram thing.  Reading more...  I'm try to find how these are inferior to springers and they don't seem to be.  What am I missing?

The vast majority of “nitro pistons” are put into lower cost guns that are built to a lower spec than the Weihrauch, Diana or Air Arms spring guns.  IMHO the nitro piston power plant itself isn’t as inferior as the materials used and the manufacturing tolerances.  I’ve owned a few of these guns (i.e., Gamo, Crosman, etc...) and they we nowhere near as accurate as my HW spring guns.  The vast majority of high quality Weihrauch, Diana or AA spring guns are built with steel springs and most competitive field target shooters also use steel springs.  One of the advantages of steel springs is that they never leak and they are very easy and cheap to replace and/or adjust.  Not so with most nitro piston guns. 

The nitro piston guns often have a very snappy shot cycle that some shooters say impairs accuracy.  I think that Weihrauch still makes one model that still uses a gas ram (i.e., nitro piston) powerplant (hw90).  But the gas ram they use is a very high quality design and the gun is pretty expensive.

Another thing to keep is mind is that steel spring guns can also be left cocked while hunting for hours and hours with no ill effect on power. 

Nothing wrong with nitro pistons per se, but they are very different than most of the spring guns we discuss here.

R

[airrob]

Thanks EMRider.  Good reply.

The only one I've found that looks good to own is the Diana 340 N-tec Luxus.  Sadly, it is discontinued.  If I could find one, I'd buy it.  I'm not sure where to look for good used air guns.

Back to my Beeman/Weihrauch research...

Robert

[Denby95]

HW90 if you're after gas ram but its expensive.

I still think that since you have said you won't consider .177 caliber (the mainstay pellet caliber), and has concerns of some guns being 'too wimpy', that you might be best served by PCP offerings. They're not going to have the unique hold of a springer, its going to be more translatable to firearm shooting/practice, they shoot anything from a .177 cal, .20, .22, .25 etc up to .50 caliber, so you can really pack a wallop with the FPE. Longer range, better accuracy, easier learning curve than many springers (depending on what you buy).

Many of us like springers because they're all unique beasts, and a different type of shooting from all other forms, but if I was switching it up from firearms just due to ammo availability, inflation costs of ammo etc, I'd want to select the thing closest to a firearm experience.

[Nate the airgunner]

As already mentioned. “Nitro Pistons” are generally marketed on lower end guns as a marketing ploy vs the HW class rifles. Your first choice of a Beeman R9 in .20 you will not go wrong with. There are currently very few pellet options, but all with exception of the Benjamin Cylindrical pellets, they are all quality options. My .20 R9 will shoot any pellet with easy amazing accuracy between 13 and 15 FPE. Even the lower quality Benjis. We all start somewhere and I almost would bet it wouldn’t be the last AG you buy.

[Arch_E]

Newer, but not inferior, technology.

Just different.

Archie

[airrob]

HW90 if you're after gas ram but its expensive.

I still think that since you have said you won't consider .177 caliber (the mainstay pellet caliber), and has concerns of some guns being 'too wimpy', that you might be best served by PCP offerings. They're not going to have the unique hold of a springer, its going to be more translatable to firearm shooting/practice

I saw the HW90 listed but it was a little heavy for me.  That Diana 340 N-tec Luxus really looked sweet - walnut stock and all. 
I don't want to dive neck deep into PCP land, but if I did, that Daystate Huntsman Regal looks dang sexy.

Your first choice of a Beeman R9 in .20 you will not go wrong with. There are currently very few pellet options, but all with exception of the Benjamin Cylindrical pellets, they are all quality options. My .20 R9 will shoot any pellet with easy amazing accuracy between 13 and 15 FPE. Even the lower quality Benjis. We all start somewhere and I almost would bet it wouldn’t be the last AG you buy.

You are probably right.  I may end up buying more.

I have quite a collection of regular guns.  I normally like things to be "useful" though, and I don't mean that as an insult to anyone else.  I have a Japanese Katana over my fireplace.  It's not a cheap wall hanger or prop, but a real one.  'tis part of the reason I like my powder guns too.  It's also one of the reasons (not the only one) why the .177 doesn't appeal to me.  "Black" rifles don't appeal to me either.  Wood stocks and timeless quality are my style.

So anyway,  I ordered (reordered?) the R7 in .20 and some basement target stuff.  This will hold me during the Winter.  If it turns out to not be good enough for longer ranges in the Spring, I can revisit.  In either case, I have a 17yr daughter excited about the prospect.  She's my shooting partner and we didn't get to do much in 2020.

Thanks to everyone who replied.  I'll keep my eyes peeled and keep learning.  Just when I thought I had enough hobbies, I learn something new.