Weihrauch HW 45 Pistol / Pellet ballistics . 177 cal

[Supaflee]

Weihrauch HW 45 Pistol Chrony results from today .177 cal. Ten shot strings .
Marksman 6.6 grain Domes, 529.44 Average FPS .   High =542.6 FPS . Low = 519 FPS ,    4.05 Ft / Lbs.
Killwell 7.09 grain Pointed ,  472.05 Average FPS .   High = 481.0 FPS .Low = 466.5 FPS , 3.42 Ft / Lbs. 
Gamo Pro-Magnum 7.78 grain,495.43 Average FPS .High = 502 FPS .   Low = 481. FPS ,   4.31 Ft / Lbs.
H&N Baracuda Extra Heavy Match,
            10.49 grain , 389.85 Average FPS ,               High = 396.6 FPS . Low =380.1 FPS,  3.55 Ft/Lbs.
 I have yet to trial each pellet for grouping ability , then I'll weigh up which of the pellet suits this pistol best for targets and then for killing.
 Interesting eh ?
 Regards Supaflee
               
 

[robert w]

looks great . how do you like it? im thinkin how nice they look

[Remo]

Those velocities look  little low to me if those shots using the high power cocking stroke.  It might be time for new seals or a new spring.  Have you put any chamber oil in the gun?  These guns don't like to be too dry.

Eric

[mtsheron70]

Personally I would stay away from the heavy H&N's and maybe try the H&N Finale Match Pistol @ 7.56 grain or even the H&N Match Pistol same grain weight.

RWS R 10 Match @ 7.0 grain may be an option too.

I would use pistol specific pellets unless they prove to be unreliable or erradic groupings and fps ratings.

I shot a friends Beeman P1 which is the same exact pistol and it is very smooth.  We did not get to chrony his due to it getting late in the evening.  His is roughly 15 years old on the original spring.

How old is your HW45?

[Supaflee]

Thanks for the feedback Guys.
 Yes Remo , high power .What is chamber oil , will "atf" be ok , like with Co2 pistols?
 Mtsheron70 , I wasnt aware that there was such a thing as "Pistol Specific Pellets " , I'll get some as you suggest .
 I hav'nt done anything to the pistol since I got it , no oil ,nothing. I've only had it a month or so , and this is the first time I've really done any shooting with it .Externally it appeared to be well maintained and had an oily appearance , indicating to me the guts would be similar .
 The first 40 or 50 shots smelled like burning linseed oil , or vegetable oil , or something similar , so I waited until that smell stopped completely before I took any Chrony figures . There was NO smoke though .
 I think I'll shoot some targets now , and determine which of the pellets suits this barrel best , and provides the best grouping results at 10 metres .
 This pistol has metal sights , not fibre optic , so it must be quite old I think , any feedback regarding that will be good .It's serial number is 387915 , does that mean anything to anyone .
 I've emailed Weihrauch , who say whilst they have recieved my email they are extremely busy at this time of the year ,and will action my enquiry when they get time .
 I really appreciate the input from other HW45 users , I agree it seems the FPS may be down somewhat with mine . I'm not really a velocity freek though , just an accuracy "nut". I just love the open sight picture with this pistol , its great , the hold suits my hand , the trigger is very , very smooth .
 It shoots beautifully . Regards Supaflee

[mtsheron70]

Oh yes.  They are not made for long range but mainly 10 meter shooting there abouts.  They are mainly wadcutters and the match grades are usually more consistent in weights and head diameters.  Try some, they are not that much more expensive than regular line pellets.

[Remo]

Supaflee,

Chamber oil is a silicone based oil designed to be used in the compression chamber of spring piston guns.  Beeman used to sell it.  I wouldn't use any other oil in a springer.  I don't know about using atf in springers.

I usually shoot 7.0 grain RWS Meisterkugeln pellets in my P1.  I got the pistol in 1987 and, like yours, it has iron sights.

Eric

[jdub]

Personally I would stay away from the heavy H&N's and maybe try the H&N Finale Match Pistol @ 7.56 grain or even the H&N Match Pistol same grain weight.

RWS R 10 Match @ 7.0 grain may be an option too.

I would use pistol specific pellets unless they prove to be unreliable or erradic groupings and fps ratings.

I shot a friends Beeman P1 which is the same exact pistol and it is very smooth.  We did not get to chrony his due to it getting late in the evening.  His is roughly 15 years old on the original spring.

How old is your HW45?

My P1 likes R10s, H&N Match, and Meisterkugeln.  All lighter pellets as you noted.

Mine is fairly old but still looks and shoots great!

[jdub]

I just ran a few pellets over the chrony with my P1 so you can compare.  These are all good quality pellets with the R10s being most consistent (and most expensive).   The RWS Meisterkugeln Pistols do very well in the P1 *and* my IZH-46M so I usually use those.



I'm not sure how old the gun is but there is some paperwork in the box dated 2006.   The breech seal shows a lot of use but it's obviously broken in and shoots very nicely.  It smoked for the first 40 or 50 shots after I got it but doesn't any longer.  I think it had been sitting for quite a while.  The first strings I chronied after getting it had some pretty wide spreads of 30-40 fps.  Now they're pretty tight. 

I tweaked the trigger so it's lighter and very crisp.  It's not as nice as my Izzy trigger but beats any of my other air pistols. 

They're great looking guns.  I added a finger grip to mine that fits under the factory grips.  I have the same grips on my Colt 1911 so it's fun going back and forth between them. 

[Supaflee]

Jdub , thanks for that info . Im sure I need better quality , pistol pellets .
 My extreme spreads are far greater than yours which says to me there is a pellet dimension consistancy thing going on.
 With the :
                Marksman 6.6 grain the E/S =32 fps
                Killwell  7.09 grain the E/S =18 fps
                Gamo Promag  7.87 grain the E/S = 21.1 fps
                H&N Braacuda 10.49grain the E/S = 16.5
 This tells me a lot about the pellet fit in the barrel , when compared with your figures .
 Supaflee 

[jdub]

Jdub , thanks for that info . Im sure I need better quality , pistol pellets .
 My extreme spreads are far greater than yours which says to me there is a pellet dimension consistancy thing going on.
 With the :
                Marksman 6.6 grain the E/S =32 fps
                Killwell  7.09 grain the E/S =18 fps
                Gamo Promag  7.87 grain the E/S = 21.1 fps
                H&N Braacuda 10.49grain the E/S = 16.5
 This tells me a lot about the pellet fit in the barrel , when compared with your figures .
 Supaflee

You are correct that the spread could be caused by the pellets but it could also be lube/detonation/dieseling or a leaking breech seal.   When I first got mine it hadn't been shot in a very long time so the lubricant wasn't evenly distributed and it was smoking after each shot. It took at least 40 or 50 shots for that to stop.

The chrony results, using these same pellets, for those first shot strings showed a much wider variation.  Worse than what you're seeing. 

I've tuned a few Weihrauch rifles but I really didn't want to tear into this pistol so I just kept shooting it and it has settled in nicely.  It could have been the lube or the breech seal softening up (I put a drop of Pellgun oil on the seal). 

I have a new breech seal on the way but if it messes up the performance I'll just put the old beat-up seal back in until it starts leaking.  It (the seal) looks pretty sad but it doesn't seem to be leaking and the o-rings I bought locally to replace it each caused a drop in performance. 

Good luck!

[Remo]

I have read that one of the things to do with these pistols when they suffer poor performance is to dry fire them in order to reform the piston seal.  I haven't had the need to do this with mine, but you might want to read about it.

Eric

[kelly1]

the dry firing is suggested when velocities drop,it reforms the teflon piston seal to the chamber..kelly

[EMrider]

I just ran a few pellets over the chrony with my P1 so you can compare.  These are all good quality pellets with the R10s being most consistent (and most expensive).   The RWS Meisterkugeln Pistols do very well in the P1 *and* my IZH-46M so I usually use those.



I'm not sure how old the gun is but there is some paperwork in the box dated 2006.   The breech seal shows a lot of use but it's obviously broken in and shoots very nicely.  It smoked for the first 40 or 50 shots after I got it but doesn't any longer.  I think it had been sitting for quite a while.  The first strings I chronied after getting it had some pretty wide spreads of 30-40 fps.  Now they're pretty tight. 

I tweaked the trigger so it's lighter and very crisp.  It's not as nice as my Izzy trigger but beats any of my other air pistols. 

They're great looking guns.  I added a finger grip to mine that fits under the factory grips.  I have the same grips on my Colt 1911 so it's fun going back and forth between them. 

I did some crony work with the hw45 .177 this weekend too.

Mine is similar to your results, shooting the JSB 7.3r at about 550-565fps, or roughly 5fpe. 

This thing is a plinkers dream. Pellets go fast with the hw45 and a bunch of soda cans at 15-20 yards.

R

[jdub]

This thing is a plinkers dream. Pellets go fast with the hw45 and a bunch of soda cans at 15-20 yards.

R

Agreed!