HW30S at 50 yards

[north country gal]

Thank you.

We're on the coolish side, up here, but the last several days have been unusually windy for us. Only AG shooting I've done this post week is indoors. Hope it calms down, soon. Maybe I can send some cool weather your way.

[Broadus]

We'll take it!

[Not The Brightest Bulb]

Cool and dry would be great, 50.00 a month for mowing gas bill plus hours needed cuts down on airgun shooting. 

[TCups]

j
Good shooting. The HW30S with its Rekord trigger is a classic.  As you ably demonstrate, very accurate. They are a pleasure to shoot, and don't wear your arm out cocking. 

Mine wears an inexpensive BSA 2-7x32mm air rifle scope, which has held up well for many years, has a decent reticle, clear glass, and focuses at 2x to about 5 meters for indoor shooting

If it's still there, Paul Watts web page has an article about tuning the R7/HW30.  The potential problem with this air rifles design is that the cocking lever tends to push the piston upward as well as backward. If not properly lubricated, over time, this can cause galling of the wall of the compression chamber and ruin the air rifle. Beeman compensates, or at least did, in the past, by generously lubricating these at the factory. This, plus an odd "parachute" piston seal, caused a tendency for dieseling as well.  After reading up on this, the HW30S was one of the only air rifles I ever tuned.  As I recall, Bob Werner helped me properly "button" the piston, to prevent scoring. At that time, there were no available replacement piston seals.  There were literally gobs of grease in the tube.  After a thorough cleaning, Bob lightly scored the compression tube with a brake cylinder reamer, so it would hold lubricants better, installed a Maccari spring, and properly lubricated it with spring tar and moly paste.  Think he made a new Delrin guide and top hat for me, too.  While the HW30S was a nice little springer to start with, after proper tuning, it's probably the nicest shooting springer I now own. I'd encourage you, finances permitting, to reconsider a custom tune on the HW30S if you'd like to experience the air rifle's full potential and have an air rifle that will still shoot flawlessly when you pass it on to kids and grandkids.

See this old thread:
http://www.gatewaytoairguns.com/airguns/index.php/topic,9628.0.html

[north country gal]

Thanks, T. This is one I will never sell and it's also one we shoot a lot, so, yeah, have been thinking about a tune for a winter project. Appreciate the info and the link.

[hillcityflyboy]

I especially impressed with your offhand shooting!  Speaking from years of experience--I can't come close to that with my 10/22.  You rock!

[triggerfest]

Outstanding results... This says something about the shooter too... 

But proofs that if you want to shoot longer distances with a springer, the better results you get with using less FPE... In this case, power output (low !) does matter !

[north country gal]

Thanks, folks.

Here's one I shot, this afternoon, after pulling the broken 4x scope off and replacing it with a Centerpoint 3-9x. A bit more magnification does help on group size. My goal for this summer with the HW30S is half inch at 50. Getting close, now.

[750k2]

After you tune it you'll wonder how you lived with it before.
They turn out that nice.

[TCups]

NCG:
If you haven't seen it already, here's the tune kit needed for the HW30s.

http://www.airrifleheadquarters.com/catalog/item/251488/3034812.htm

I see that PYramydAir is now selling a replacement seal that says it fits the R7/HW30:
https://www.pyramydair.com/product/air-venturi-piston-seal-fits-beeman-r7-weihrauch-hw30-hw70-marksman-28?a=3661



It does look to be the same, having the "parachute" design.  Some of the much older R7's have leather seals -- doubt that's the case with yours.  PA is very reliable, so I'd trust this would fit.  Even if you seal looks OK, though, for an extra $15, I'd replace the seal if you have the gun tuned. 

Paul Watts used to trim down Apex seals on a lathe to fit the R7/HW30 rifles, if my recollection is correct, but he did not sell them separately without a tune.  There may be others out there with lathes and the skill and experience to fit a new synthetic seal properly.  I see Jim Maccari actually sells a resized synthetic seal for the R7/HW30, now, too.

https://www.pyramydair.com/images/acc/Beeman-Piston-Seal--HW30-R7-HW70_BNP-9070_lg.jpg

While the HW30, being relatively low power, was fairly easy to work on (you will still need a spring compressor), the hardest part of a tune, at least in my very limited experience, can be getting the old seal off (easy enough if you cut it off - the point of no return) and then the new seal back on and properly fitted, especially for the harder synthetic seals like the Apex.  It is also pretty easy, if you are not careful to cut or score the edge of the piston seal even after it is mounted on the piston, just by pushing it back in the compression tube.  If the seal isn't properly fitted, or its edge is cut or roughed up going back in, then the rest of the tune hardly matters. The parachute style seal is a bit more forgiving than a synthetic seal, though.

All of that said, depending on your level of skill and confidence, I expect that you could probably tune the HW30 yourself with some on line references and advice.  You will also need the proper lubricants and spring tar (Jim M sells these, too).

Alas, the folks I have dealings with for custom tunes in the past -- Bob Werner, Gene Curtis, and Paul Watts -- are either no longer with us or no longer doing custom tunes.  I know there are tuners out there who are reliable and are doing good work, so research carefully before sending a beloved air rifle off to someone you've never met. A few "custom tuners" out there, at least in the past, were much more adept at internet posting than actually doing a quality custom tune.  I am sure there are others here on this site who can provide reliable references more up to date than my past experiences 8-10 years ago.  I don't know the going rates for various levels of tunes nowadays, but in general, you get what you pay for, so beware of "bargains".

You might ask prospective tuners specifically about:
Seal - type used and how it is "fit" to the compression chamber?
Any reaming or polishing of the compression tube, if needed?
Polishing and buttoning the piston?
Spring and guide replacement?
Lubricants used?
References for other customers with tuned R7/HW30 air rifles?

[north country gal]

Wonderful post, thank you.

I'm at the point, now, in my spring piston education to be thinking of doing tuning and repairing on my own, though I'll probably use a cheaper and less loved rifle than our HW30S as a guinea pig. To be honest, I've shot this HW30S so much, now, that I can't imagine it being any smoother, but we'll see. One thing for sure, this little rifle is the one I shoot the most (and we do have a lot of air rifles). It's also the one that has made a total convert of me to piston guns.

[Petey]

The seals PA offer are just that "replacement" not OE. 
I have used them on a few tunes and they perform rather well. Nice thing is, they have enough of a lip to be sized. very generous amount of material.

HAppy SHootin To All!
Petey