HW50 with HW moderator

[Mark 611]

Guy, sorry for the late response, for 1 air guns in these power ranges don't benefit from a long barrel unless your going to use the iron sites? also IMO unless you also need the extra length to aid the cocking, HW rifles IMO are not hard to cock anyway, most all air guns from the HW50 on down really only need 10'' of barrel length, the extra 5.5'' on a 50's barrel length does not add any velocity, air guns do not work like firearms, where barrel length is need to burn powder, PCP air guns are another story, spring piston air guns in this class I have over the year's done a lot experimenting with to see what works and what doesn't, Si Pittaway a youtuber from England is where I got a lot of the info to start off with, The HW50 is a 12lb gun in .22caliber, my .22cal HW50 runs 11.9ftlbs with a 10.5'' barrel, so there's no velocity loss vs the factory 15.5'' barrel, same go's with both of my .20cal 50's I have a factory built 50 in .20cal with its factory barrel length and a modified .20cal 50 with an 11'' barrel both are tuned exactly the same and both shoot identical velocity's, short barrels aid in accuracy, theirs less time for the pellet to be effected by shooter error, back to the OAL of the rifle, short barrels are louder, but adding a moderator of proper dimensions you reduce the report down to very quiet, the rifle pix I posted with the moderator is only 1.5'' longer the rifle with its factory barrel length and still retains its full power!

[Mark 611]

Kirk, the no choke theory came from a proven air gun tuner who long retired 10yrs ago or more, RIM, years ago when I had him installing LW barrels, he told me a good barrel does not need a choke!!! it needs a good cut and crown, OC and I tested this theory over and over again on mine and his work on his own guns, I have seen no I'll effects to any of the things we did, accuracy has always been outstanding!!

[Tom1340]

Deerstalker, your rifle has the same overall dimensions as my R9 and the HW95's available from Krale.  But yours has the moderator while the others don't.  I guess you bought a special HW model that has a shorter barrel to accommodate the moderator length, or it was modified aftermarket.  It seems a nice configuration, and it has apparently not diminished your gun's performance.   So I have a question.
I read in an older post that the HW break barrels are not specifically designed with a choke, but that the choke most people have observed is simply a side effect of forming the front site dovetail at the forward end of the barrel.  If this is true, then your rifle won't have a choked barrel.  Have you ever checked?  If so, what did you find?   Thanks, Tom

[braskaboy]

Guy, sorry for the late response, for 1 air guns in these power ranges don't benefit from a long barrel unless your going to use the iron sites? also IMO unless you also need the extra length to aid the cocking, HW rifles IMO are not hard to cock anyway, most all air guns from the HW50 on down really only need 10'' of barrel length, the extra 5.5'' on a 50's barrel length does not add any velocity, air guns do not work like firearms, where barrel length is need to burn powder, PCP air guns are another story, spring piston air guns in this class I have over the year's done a lot experimenting with to see what works and what doesn't, Si Pittaway a youtuber from England is where I got a lot of the info to start off with, The HW50 is a 12lb gun in .22caliber, my .22cal HW50 runs 11.9ftlbs with a 10.5'' barrel, so there's no velocity loss vs the factory 15.5'' barrel, same go's with both of my .20cal 50's I have a factory built 50 in .20cal with its factory barrel length and a modified .20cal 50 with an 11'' barrel both are tuned exactly the same and both shoot identical velocity's, short barrels aid in accuracy, theirs less time for the pellet to be effected by shooter error, back to the OAL of the rifle, short barrels are louder, but adding a moderator of proper dimensions you reduce the report down to very quiet, the rifle pix I posted with the moderator is only 1.5'' longer the rifle with its factory barrel length and still retains its full power!

How short can I go before velocity/accuracy is affected?

I would like to chop my barrel to say 7" plus a 5" moderator.  Will be harder to cock, sure, but not a big deal.

[Mark 611]

The rifle's I have with the short barrels 98% of them the barrels were chopped and recrowned by OC Bolding, AKA, WHITEFANG, I have also purchased a few factory 12.2'' HW barrels from Chambers, the chokes you refer to on the HW barrels is a pinch choke that is caused from forming the front site grooves into the barrel, The barrel lengths I chose to cut my barrels were proven lengths, or spec's use from what the factory or other air gun smiths have use and were proven successful, I would stick to those lengths if I were chopping a barrel off, HW on their barrels, the shortest I have seen offered on a spring gun is 12.2'' on their K models with moderators, Our friends across the pond have proven a 10.5'' barrel on an HW50 size power plant works, I also think the twist rate somewhat dictates an optimal length for power and accuracy on different size power plants,

[Yogi]

Guy,

If you really want a short barrel, think about either a Bullpup PCP, or the Diana LP-8 Magnum Carbine.  5-6" barrel, accurate and only 100 fps less than a normal HW 50.

-Y

[hdrk1111]

OCG, Joanie, I had a triple last April. So I missed last quail season and lost lots miles on the Harley. Happy to say I’m shooting again , both air and powder and riding the hog. Good on you girl and I agree. It makes you realize that sitting around thinking about stuff ain’t the same as getting it done. Get living or get to dying. I chose to get living 😁 and I got a new HW35E today.
Bob

[north country gal]

And good for you Bob. Yeah, really have to live through that kind of experience to fully understand and appreciate how it can stop you in your tracks if you let it. We didn't, so we're still shooting. Congrats on the 35E. Love mine. Let us know if you have any questions on it.