Best caliber for the HW95?

[Kragman1]

Disclaimer - I'm stuck at home, miserable with some kind of eyes/ears/throat deal.  And I think of weird stuff between fever spikes, etc. 
So please, humor me...

I love the 95/R9, and it seems to be just as good in .22 as .177, favoring neither.  IMO, this isn't really all that common.  Most of the rifles I own would be "better" in one or the other, for example.

So I'm curious, seeing as how the 95 has been available in .177, .20, .22 and .25, how people feel about the performance of this rifle in each of them.

If you have experience or insights into any of them, please speak up.

Thanks all!

[Iguana15]

Well I’m a bit biased because I’m a Sheridan guy…. But I love .20 cal…. It shoots a little flatter than 22, hits a little harder than 177. And while pellet choices are not vast, you are pretty much all  set with JSB exacts and predator poly mags. And squirrels hate it ..

[Iguana15]

I have a couple R10s in .20 . Pretty similar in  performance to R9s… and I’m very happy with its accuracy and …rodent elimination… capability you might say lol

[Robert 5mm]

I would say the R9/HW95 would good in all calibers, if you tune the spring to fit your desire.

For Me:
The .177 would have a de-tuned spring for a smooth shooter at 800 FPS
The .20 ( that is what mine is ) is maxed out with an ARH spring shooting approx. 17 FPE
The .22 would also be using the ARH hot setup ( just me )
The .25 may be too much pellet weight ( again just me )

[Mark 611]

I kind of lean on the .22cal in this power plant, it just works for me! even at 630fps with 14.3gn or 605fps with a 16gn AA fields, my carbine length 12.25'' barrel, the .22cal will do just about anything you need it too!

[Kragman1]

Well!  A lot of early praise for .20 cal, and one caution on the .25 (which I share, despite having no experience).

I will say two things - the first is that I have generally preferred .22 in all the medium and larger guns, but I've been at least as pleased with .177 in my R9's and my lower powered HW35.  I may have to vote. 177 as "best caliber" for the 14-15 fpe HW95.   I have been looking for a quality R9 in .22 for a while, but I may just hold my horses on that. 

Second, as far as .25 cal goes, I have a Hatsan Edge that does around 18 fpe with 20 grain pellets.  I'm guessing that the 95 will do 16-17, so not too different.  The Edge still hits with authority and there isn't a lot of drop until you start to stretch it.  I had expected more drop, frankly.  It would be very effective shooting larger animals at reasonable ranges.  Ratting comes to mind.  Big rats, I mean.  Not overgrown mice.
I still don't think that .25 cal will get the best out of the platform, but I don't think it will be off by much either.

Also, my .20 R9 is a touch behind my .177's in fpe but seems to be operating fine.  Better than fine actually.  Very smooth shooter, and "oh wow" accurate.
Mine is an early one - 1st or 2nd year IIRC.  Any chance the early guns simply didn't have the same output as later ones?

[AirGunner]

I've never shot any caliber of the guns mentioned except the 22 caliber. I consider my HW95 in 22 the perfect air rifle.

[Yogi]

You got Covid? :'(

Good all the way around.  Depends what you want to do with it.
.177 for FT, and either .20 or .22 for hunting.  How big are you hunting?

-Y

PS I would be interested how fast it shoots 16 grain .22 pellets vs. 15+ grain .20 pellets?

[IanC]

Best caliber is depending on what you are doing with it. I have had my 95 for 20 years. For the first 15 or so I used it for plinking metal swingers and starlings out to 30 yrds with a 4x tasco bantam scope. Velocity was in the mid 600s so it had a bit of an arc but I figured out the hold over and it was great. I then switched to squirrel hunting a couple years ago and swapped to a .177k barrel with a Hawke 4-12. It’s now shooting 850fps. I thought it was accurate before now its like a laser beam at 30 and under and can hold nicely at 40yrds which I rarely try for. IMO the 95 is one of those do it all rifles.

I would love another one in 22 but have a nicely tuned Diana 34 classic with an HW77 rear and front sight instead. It does the job too.

[Robert 5mm]

Chrono table from my R9 - bought as .22 and changed barrel to .20

[Yogi]

Chrono table from my R9 - bought as .22 and changed barrel to .20

Thanks!!

-Y

[Hoosier Daddy]

I had an HW95 in .22 and it was very nice.
BUT
My R-10 in .20 is head and shoulders above that.
 Maybe the luck of the draw but I am a true .20 believer

[Kragman1]

Robert 5mm - great info, thank you very much!
Also, do you find that the Aussie seal is truly self lubricating?  As in honk free...
Lastly - how is the shot cycle with the ARH spring & Aussie seal?

Scott - I appreciate what you're saying.  And I'm guessing that a stock R1 makes 17-18 fpe but with a better shot cycle than an R9. I'd love to get my hands on said rifles side by side just to see for myself....

[Robert 5mm]

Robert 5mm - great info, thank you very much!
Also, do you find that the Aussie seal is truly self lubricating?  As in honk free...
Lastly - how is the shot cycle with the ARH spring & Aussie seal?

No honking - the shot cycle is OK ( for me & not like a Parrus )

" R1 makes 17-18 fpe but with a better shot cycle than an R9. I'd love to get my hands on said rifles side by side just to see for myself...."
Come over to my house - I have a R1 in .22 ( that is were the R9 .22 barrel went ) and a R1 .20 besides the R9 & HW50 both 5mm (.20).

[Bayman]

I have
177 cal HW95 with a Vortek PG2 kit it makes 14.5 FPE.

20 cal R9 with Vortek seal, ARH spring kit. It makes almost 16 FPE.

22 cal HW95 Field Pro with a Vortek spring kit and seal. It makes 16 FPE.

They all shoot very well. My 177 is the most accurate. Even when I was running it hotter at 15 fpe. That makes it a 900fps Lazer beam. The accuracy of the 20 and 22 are behind it in that order.

The 22 shoots the smoothest with the 20 and 177 behind it in that order.

I enjoy all of them. I probably shoot the 177 the most. There's no real loser in the group. If money and pellet availability was unimportant, I'd pick 20 as the best for this poweplant.

Oh I almost forgot, I have a 20 cal HW98 too. It's got a Vortek kit and seal and runs just under 16 FPE.

[north country gal]

Another vote for 20 cal. My only experience with R9/95 was my HW95L in 20 cal. While it shot with all the accuracy I expected, I found the 95L to be a bit clubby in its handling and feel, so I replaced it with my HW50 in 20cal, which is a much better fit in the handling and balance department for my shooting, which, by the way, is all target and much of that offhand target. Loved the 50 in 20 cal so much that I sold the 95L to a local buyer ((very rare up here) who also wanted an HW break barrel in 20. Like me, he also had a collection of Sheridans and wanted a springer in 20 cal. Like me, his Sheridans now collect dust and when he wants to shoot 20 cal, he grabs the HW.

[Crowman]

I have 3 R9’s and 3 95’s. Their identical. Missing .25 cal. in each. The .20 cal. are my newest and marginally my favourite for accuracy in both. The .177 and .22 both are winners as well.
I would like a .25 being a plinker. I have a 77 and 97 in .25, two of my favorite rifles to shoot. My range is only 47 yds. so the .25 fits nicely. I should do a crony as they are mostly broke in now.
I don’t think you would go wrong with any cal. in the 95-R9. Very nice gun. Also a deadly hunting springer. Crow

[SpiralGroove]

Hey Guys/Gals.
I prefer my HW95/R9/R10's to be in either .177 caliber (880 fps - 13.69 FPE) or .20 caliber (725/735 fps - 16/16.5 FPE).

- The 7.9 grain (.177) CPL shot cycle is maxed out at this velocity, anymore power is just too harsh - very flat trajectory.
- The 13.73 (.20) JSB gets just enough velocity to allow for a quick/smooth shot cycle.

[Jeff Marshall]

Best caliber is depending on what you are doing with it. I have had my 95 for 20 years. For the first 15 or so I used it for plinking metal swingers and starlings out to 30 yrds with a 4x tasco bantam scope. Velocity was in the mid 600s so it had a bit of an arc but I figured out the hold over and it was great. I then switched to squirrel hunting a couple years ago and swapped to a .177k barrel with a Hawke 4-12. It’s now shooting 850fps. I thought it was accurate before now its like a laser beam at 30 and under and can hold nicely at 40yrds which I rarely try for. IMO the 95 is one of those do it all rifles.

I would love another one in 22 but have a nicely tuned Diana 34 classic with an HW77 rear and front sight instead. It does the job too.

Ian, I really like your R9 stock, and can't remember seeing one in this configuration.
That isn't a factory stock, is it?

[Mark 611]

NCG, I agree with your thinking, I like the .22cal in the 95, I also have 2 HW50's in .20cal IMO these are probably the best .20cal rifles as far as shooting as far as shot cycle with a tuned gun, but my, .22cal 50 is also very nice shooting as well, hard choices because all of the HW rifles I own are winners, it's hard to pick a favorite! gun? I lean to the larger calibers, with only having a few .177cal rifles, a detuned 98 and a 35 that shoot 735fps with 7.9gn pellets, I guess I'm getting too old for recoil LOL!!!!