Who else enjoys breaking in their springers instead of tuning?

[Madd Hatter]

Depends on the specific springer and the condition it is in. A new German rifle or even a $50 budget Hatsan refurb may perform fine right out of the box and it only gets better with a tin or two pellets for break-in.

For most of the budget refurbs I like ("made with stone tools and bear-skins") they start out so BAD that a thorough cleaning, deburr, seal replacement, better spring guide, and "proper" relube are necessary. THAT'S the difference between a ~$50 refurbished Hatsan and a brand new $500+ Weihrauch.

I'll shoot rifles that feel "right" and repair/tune rifles that feel "wrong".

:-)

That's what I think I'm going to have to do with that 135 refurb I bought. It's so violent I think the piston seal is trashed. Heck, it only puts out 2 fps in .22 than my 125 sniper puts out in .177.

[Struckat]

Ike I have the opposite reaction. HW would likely be the only springer I would buy. And I would take it apart after a short assessment period.

I likely won’t buy another because the two I have cover most all my needs.

[Ike the GSD]

From mickeyb: "THAT'S the difference between a ~$50 refurbished Hatsan and a brand new $500+ Weihrauch." When I recently had to disassemble my less than a year old Beeman R9 due to a broken mainspring, I discovered corrosion patches the size of a quarter in the compression tube, rust spots on the piston and burrs in the machined slots sharp enough you could shave with them. My rifle has been stored in a climate controlled safe ever since I've owned it so the corrosion must have been there beforehand. I had to de-burr and polish the compression tube ancillary to the grooves left by the PG4 steel kit just so I could install the new piston seal without immedialtely destroying it. I fixed everything that was wrong with it and the rifle is functioning properly now but I'll never buy another one. That's a little story of what I got when I bought a $500 Weihrauch.

Just a heads up to anyone working on this model, the factory replacement mainsprings are only producing 13-14 ft lbs now, Shane at AoA told me this. After I had to remove the Vortek kit I bought a factory replacement mainspring and piston seal from AoA in hopes of restoring the rifle to its original condition. When I installed the new parts the rifle was barely producing 14 ft lbs and so I called AoA thinking I received a defective mainspring and that's when Shane told me what the current springs were procuding power wise. After learning this I removed the factory spring and seal, I then bought a Vortek OEM mainspring and a Vortek piston seal and that solved all of my problems. I know this post is kind of long winded, but I think this particular Weihrauch model would benefit greatly from some internal attention right out of the gate ! Again I'd like to thank Bayman and nced for their technical support and Hector for his encouragement throughout my R9 journey👍  I hope I didn't come off as too narcissistic LOL!

[Ike the GSD]

Ike I have the opposite reaction. HW would likely be the only springer I would buy. And I would take it apart after a short assessment period.

I likely won’t buy another because the two I have cover most all my needs.

Well I can tell you after all of the work I've had to do on what is essentially a new rifle I won't buy another new one!!!

[Mark 611]

I wouldn't say never buy another HW! NO NO NO!!!!! you have found what you need to do to make them right why would you change? all spring guns need to be tuned at some point? I just get it over right off the bat and get it over with! and have a very long time of enjoyment of shooting them without having to mess with them for a very long time if ever!!!!!!!

[10Gauge]

I never tuned my R9.  I don’t think she ever shot a group of 5 at 25 yards that was 1” or larger with any pellet.  She even shoots Gamo Redfires o.k.

Mine was shooting 5 shots in less than 1 and 1/8” at 50 yards with heavy pellets with less than 50 shots on it.    In a variable breeze that knocked crosman hollow points all over the place.  That was my first day of shooting her.

I never even finished pellet testing.  I sighted in with crosman hollow points and just keep it inside 30 yards unless the weather is perfectly calm with no wind.

I can shoot heavier pellets in the wind but the crosman hollow points are a tiny ragged hole at 25 yards and springtime squirrels are hard to see at all past 30 yards.  Redfire pellets hit same poi, i don’t have to order pellets 😎

I don’t use the artillery hold.

[Ike the GSD]

I wouldn't say never buy another HW! NO NO NO!!!!! you have found what you need to do to make them right why would you change? all spring guns need to be tuned at some point? I just get it over right off the bat and get it over with! and have a very long time of enjoyment of shooting them without having to mess with them for a very long time if ever!!!!!!!

I was just doing a little venting, it's still my favorite air rifle👍😜

[Nitrocrushr]

I agree that as the spring and seal get some use they smooth out.  However, I have come across some serious QC issues over the years involving things that would be potentially harmfull to both rifle and user if I had continued shooting them straight out of the box.  I now pull all of them apart for a complete inspection, cleaning and relube before I do much shooting.  I then proceed with tuning as needed.

Steve

[Frank in Fairfield]

I have no dog in this race.
But…I will shoot my springers 1000 times before they are tuned, in any way.

[SpiralGroove]

Well, you guys all know I open up all my guns after a few shots, whether I do a full tune with a spring kit or not, the factory lube will burn up your piston seal, while I have them open, I deburr them tighten up the spring to guide fit and add a top hat and lube them properly and replace the piston seal if necessary, you're lucky to get 5k shots on a factory spring, JM's springs will last 4x that long! which is why I use them or a full-blown kit with properly fitted guides, 1 properly tuned rifle will probably last some of you it sounds like the rest of your life LOL!!!! granted I do not shoot as much as I use to, but I cannot stand that dart gun sound of a untuned spring gun! YMMV

Yeah Mark,
As everyone knows, I usually tune my airguns soon after purchase .... as I know what a nice tuned gun feels and shoots like .
Plus, I just like to tinker and understand how they work.  For me, the tuning process is as much fun as shooting - go figure .

[triggerfest]

DIY illiterate here...

So... breaking in is the way.

[Mark 611]

you guys had better go look in the Spanish gate at the Cometa 300 USC post I posted today to see why you need to tune you rifles out of the box!!!

[splitbeing]

Knowing what I know now, thanks to GTA, I would tune any Diana after pellet testing it first for a few hundred shots to make sure it didn't need to be returned.  At the very least, they need to be lubed better than they come. I have all the Dianas I need, which is most of my guns, so I won't likely get the chance. Learning is always too late when it's learning from experience.

[tjk]

Other than my new Cometa 400, the only gun I have that I have not given a full tune is my late model FWB Sport. It was about as rough a gun as you’ll find in bone stock condition. But I did give it a slot tune with some tar and shot the living daylights out of it for quite a bit to break it in. So after several tins of belligerent shooting, she smoothed out and calmed down a lot. What was once a terrible gun to shoot, is now a very nice gun to shoot. So yes I agree with the OP that sometimes it just takes time and diligence to break in a spring gun. Very rarely will you find any gun regardless of make and manufacturer that offers “instant gratification” out of the box. This includes any Weihrauch, Feinwerkbau, Diana, or my new Cometa. I love tuning my guns so I would never dissuade anyone from performing a tune on their own gun,…as long as they are aware of the  how to’s, but sometimes simply breaking in a springer will result in better all around  gun. Tuning is like the cherry on top!!!!

[Chris two-furs]

I am also a shoot em then tune em guy. I have 2 R9s, Walther Terrus, BSA Meteor Super, Diana EMS all .22 cal except for Terrus which is WTT for .22 on Yellow now.

I have PCPs too, but I love the simplicity of my ol springers!