A blast from the past, the story of my vintage (1976) RWS model 45

[thedavemyster]

Well, reading all the posts here on GTA got me to thinking about a really cool air rifle I had long ago; I figure all you airgunners love a good airgun story; hence, I’ll tell you the story of the first springer I ever bought, a used yet well-cared-for RWS 45 in .177 caliber (administrators, if you feel I have posted in the wrong spot, please move this post to where you think it belongs; thank you).

By the end of this post, some of you may be thinking, “hey, Dave, that’s a bit hard to believe; sounds like a pile of fertilizer to me.”  *shrugs*  I’ll take no offense at any who so believe, but I swear on all the airguns I have ever owned that this story is true.

Back in the early 80s, I had just one air rifle, a .20 caliber Sheridan Blue Streak, which I had owned for a few years.  I was reading up on springers, and I was looking to acquire my first air pistol, a Beeman Webley Tempest.  A guy I worked with overheard me talking about airguns, and told me he had a friend who was looking to sell an RWS 45 with a 4 x 32 scope; he said the gun was in great shape, his friend was just selling it because he was short on cash.

Upon examination, the gun, which the owner said he had purchased new in 1976,  looked to be in good shape, and it shot well (nice predictable 2-stage trigger) when he let me try it out with RWS Superpoints,  which he said were the best pellets for that particular gun.

The rifle (a precursor to the current RWS model 34) was all wood and steel, with a nice rubber recoil pad and a muzzlebrake; the blueing was nice, and the stock, though plain, had no scratches or scuffs, so I gave him the money and took the gun.

I took the rifle to a gravel pit to sight it in on a paper target.  Before I started, I removed a “block” from behind the rear scope mount.  Being ignorant in the ways of springers, I had no idea that the “block” I removed was actually a scope stop.  I couldn’t get a group, because each shot I fired crept up a half inch (at 20 yards) above the previous shot on the target.  After the sixth shot, the rear scope mount walked off  the rifle.  Once I put the scope stop back in place and put some double-stick tape under the top portion of both mounts, the scope stayed in place and the gun shot well.  Sighted in for 20 yards, it was still on target at 30 yards.  Accuracy?  Well, let’s just say that if someone was to check one of  the “EXIT” signs at a company where I once worked, they might find a tiny hole with another one almost touching it; shot from 30 yards away off a rest (forearm rested on my arm, which was on the rest), both holes are right in the center of the “X” in exit.  So, yes, I had a nice accurate 12 foot pound gun.  It was a large gun, but not overly heavy; it shot pretty smoothly, and I shot it for years; it was a nice springer.

Then my son talked me out of it; he wanted to do some hunting with his friend, who had a .22 rimfire, so I gave him the RWS.  His friend laughed at his “bb gun” until my son continued to outshoot him, making many shots his friend missed.  Granted, the guy with the rimfire was shooting with open sights; still he was impressed with his first exposure to adult airguns.

I did buy a Webley Tempest, in .177 caliber, and a few years later, I picked up a Beeman R7, also in .177 caliber; with the addition of a small 3 X 20 scope, I had a nice accurate little rifle that was not at all hold-sensitive.

A few years later, my son moved, and said he didn’t have a place to use the RWS 45, so he returned it to me.  Since I already had a nice little .177 caliber rifle, I thought I would change my RWS to a .22 caliber, as I had read that might increase the power of the rifle.

I ordered a new .22 caliber barrel for my rifle, and the gun had more recoil and seemed to have a harsher firing behavior.  A machinist friend made a barrel shroud for me out of one inch aluminum stock that covered the entire barrel and clamped on with 4 set screws; I figured the extra weight might help smooth things out.  Even with the barrel shroud, I could not get the scope to stay in place, so I ordered a one piece scope mount that clamped to the receiver with 4 hex screws.

I fired a few shots, and the scope didn’t move.  Yay!  I now had a really cool-looking .22 caliber springer.  If I had painted the stock black, it would have looked a lot like the current Stoeger X20S (which may be one more reason why I bought that gun and why I like it so much). 

I fired a few more shots and the scope popped off the gun.  Well, it didn’t just pop off the rifle; the scope and the mount came off the rifle along with a good-sized chunk of the receiver.  I know; it sounds insane; I’ve never seen anything like it before or since then!  Harsh vibrations accelerating micro-cracks already in the receiver?  I don’t know.  If I had the contacts I do now, I would have sent the whole thing out for analysis.  Instead, in sorrow (and disgust at myself), I trashed the whole rifle (the scope was still OK).

A short time later, I moved to another state, and bought an HW97 in order to get started in Field Target, but that’s a story for another day.  I still miss my old RWS 45, and wish I had done better by her; had I left her “as is,” I’d likely be shooting her for years to come, and passing her on as a family heirloom.  I have read that they are not the easiest guns to work on, but they are nice shooters; if you ever happen upon an opportunity to get a nice well-cared-for specimen, I would suggest you get it; the quality of the workmanship exceeds that of many of the guns made today.

Thank you for listening to my reminiscence of this cool gun from the past.

Take care,
dave

[TooJung2Die]

Thanks for the story, Dave. I still have the '81 RWS 45 I bought from a friend back in '86. He needed funds to buy an R1. Your experiences with the scope walking backwards brought back memories. I thought the harsh kick was a sign of power. Then I got a chrony. The harsh kick was the piston slamming home because the old leather seal was shot. I tried everything to rejuvenate the leather but no dice. It was still shooting sub-600 fps. I converted the piston to an o-ring seal and now the old 45 shoots smoother and with more velocity than when it was new. The stock was looking pretty sad with some noticeable crack repairs so I painted it with black bed liner. It looks and feels great.

You're absolutely right about the build quality that RWS put into these air rifles back then. It's very accurate and not very hold sensitive. I'm happy I held onto mine. I was shooting it this weekend.

[thedavemyster]

"The harsh kick was the piston slamming home because the old leather seal was shot."

More power to you, TooJUng2Die; that was likely the case with my 45; if only I had been as smart as you were, figured that out, and done the fix you did, I might still be shooting her today.  Anyway, I'm glad yours is still good-to-go; enjoy.

[bbv13]

I'm really new to this hobby so I don't really have any good stories from yesteryear. I owned several guns when I was young but none of them were really nice except for a Crosman 500 semi automatic CO2 rifle. They are pretty hard to find in decent condition and at a price I'm willing to pay.

Nice story, I guess I'll have some years down the road from now.

Bryan

[oldnamvet]

I still have my M45 from about 1988.  Still looks like new and shoots well.  I don't take it out much but really should rather than always taking my 392PA steroid rifle.

[thedavemyster]

Bryan, I pray you're in the sport for many years and have many such stories to tell.

[thedavemyster]

"I still have my M45 from about 1988."

oldnamvet, I'm way happy for you on many levels; my wife's high school sweetheart went to Nam and never made it back; I'm glad you did; thank you for your service to our country, and I hope you enjoy your M45 for many years to come.

[bbv13]

Bryan, I pray you're in the sport for many years and have many such stories to tell.

Hi Dave,

Your prayers have already been answered because I'm completely hooked. None of us are promised another day but assuming I'm going to be around for awhile and knowing my wife already thinks I'm nuts but tolerates me anyway means the stories are developing. I've found a neat trick that keeps the peace. First you let your wife buy what she wants and then you buy what you want. Seriously it's worked every time I have tried it but I'm truly blessed because I found a woman that tolerates me and the f@rting, belching, back hair and all the other man baggage I have and loves me for it.

I'm going to return that prayer for you and thanks for the kind prayers and thoughts.

Bryan

[gladiator801]

Hi Jon I have a RWS 45 that I bought new that seems to have a harsh recoil, what do you need to disassemble gun to replace or modify the piston seal like you did?

[thedavemyster]

Thanks, Bryan, for the kind words; and with regard to this:

"First you let your wife buy what she wants and then you buy what you want."

Yes, that works pretty well; but you can also print out air gun pictures, leave catalogs lying around (with desired items circled), or send emails to your honey with a link to what guns you'd like; in all cases, I attach a note to the effect of, "birthday suggestion," or "anniversary suggestion." The cool thing about acquiring guns in this manner (I got a half a dozen this way =>) is that, when you shoot them, your wife gets all happy because you are shooting "the gun she bought you.  Happy wife, happy life!

[oldnamvet]

"I still have my M45 from about 1988."

oldnamvet, I'm way happy for you on many levels; my wife's high school sweetheart went to Nam and never made it back; I'm glad you did; thank you for your service to our country, and I hope you enjoy your M45 for many years to come.

Dave, thank you for the kind words.

[TooJung2Die]

Hi Jon I have a RWS 45 that I bought new that seems to have a harsh recoil, what do you need to disassemble gun to replace or modify the piston seal like you did?

I made a spring compressor to remove and install the mainspring. I also made two short pins to hold the safety button leaf spring in place when removing and installing the trigger group. I used the Vortek Diana leather seal replacement kit: http://vortekproducts.com/ourstore/Seals-Tuning-Parts/Diana-Piston-Seal

I had to drill and tap the piston for the o-ring seal kit to work. Not as big a deal as I thought it would be. Here's the post I wrote about the conversion: http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=60435.msg579293#msg579293

[bbv13]

Thanks, Bryan, for the kind words; and with regard to this:

"First you let your wife buy what she wants and then you buy what you want."

Yes, that works pretty well; but you can also print out air gun pictures, leave catalogs lying around (with desired items circled), or send emails to your honey with a link to what guns you'd like; in all cases, I attach a note to the effect of, "birthday suggestion," or "anniversary suggestion." The cool thing about acquiring guns in this manner (I got a half a dozen this way =>) is that, when you shoot them, your wife gets all happy because you are shooting "the gun she bought you.  Happy wife, happy life!

I love it and will keep that in mind.

Bryan

[PigButtons]

I acquired my RWS 45 a few months ago from a guy on another forum who had it, but it had stopped shooting. I took it apart, reconditioned the leather seal with Lexol and then oiled up the cylinder with RWS chamber oil, greased the spring, piston, and all the pins. The stock was kind of beat up, but the gun shoots straight and never misses a lick. I imagine it'll run for another 20 years or so at least.

Thanks for sharing your story, Dave.

[Gillman]

I always dig air guns stories that bring back memories.......good or bad.

I may get one of those springers one day but I can't keep from buying those Benjamin and Sheridan pumpers.

Cool story and I enjoyed it.

[thedavemyster]

I’m glad you both enjoyed the story of my RWS 45.

Duane, you’re way more skilled than I am; I wish you many more years of shooting your 45

John, you can’t beat those old pumpers; I had my Sheridan out last night.