Henry Rifle Forums

Hello all,

I have been researching spring piston air rifles recently. A few years ago I researched cheaper break barrel rifles and decided against it. This time I am looking at quality rifles. During that research I ran across a posting from NCG on another forum. I figured this will be the best place to get advice. I have already had a number of questions answered by NCG in her posts here. Thank you Joanie!

Its primary use will be for target shooting/plinking at a range from 10 yards out to perhaps 40 or even 50 with a more powerful springer. I may also use it for squirrel hunting, but that is not so important as I can also use my Henrys or an old Remington 514. I have a hallway that runs the length of my house which could make a good 15 yard range. I am a little reluctant to shoot in the backyard due to my neighbors. I intend to use open sights at least at first. So open sights are a must. Probably going with .177 as a result of some research regarding trajectory as well as info posed by NCG.

I am leaning toward the Beeman R7/Weihrauch HW30S since it is light and easy cocking. My wife would find it easier to use. It is also extremely quiet for a springer from what I have seen on a decibel meter. It is probably easier to learn how to properly shoot a springer with an R7/HW30 rather than more powerful springers. I do pretty much use an artillery type hold with most rifles except for direct blow back PCCs as I'll see bump firing as a result. So, it will be interesting to see how much of a learning curve there is for me.

The HW77K is beautiful and the under lever cocking is appealing to me. More power would be good for stretching it out to 40 or 50 yards.

It appears that Airguns of Arizona is a good place to purchase as they test each one and sight in before shipping. I don't really care about sighting in as that is part of the fun, but in that process they could identify issues before shipping. Anyone have any experience with them or recommend another retailer?

I appreciate any advice/recommendation or hearing of any experience with these two. Or other considerations that I may not have thought of.

Thank you all,

Dave

While NCG knows more than I will ever know she and I have both done business with Airguns of AZ. They are first class in my book and its the only place I would buy what you are looking at. My neighbor also bought from them. He had a scope issue and when he contacted them he was immediately taken care of.

BigAl52 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 22, 2021 10:20 am

While NCG knows more than I will ever know she and I have both done business with Airguns of AZ. They are first class in my book and its the only place I would buy what you are looking at. My neighbor also bought from them. He had a scope issue and when he contacted them he was immediately taken care of.

Good to hear. They don't have the HW30 in .177 in stock at the moment, but I am in no hurry. They do have the HW77K in stock as well as a beautiful laminate stock version. I don't think they have many, maybe only one of the laminate and it will probably be sold before I am ready.

I talked to one of the guys there yesterday and he was very helpful and not rushing to get me off the phone.

Thats they way they were every time I talked to them waiting for my HW95 Field Pro. Ive considered a couple of other springers from them but would really like a PCP if I was to get another one. Any future sales of airguns for me will be with them.

First, thank you so much Dave for the nice comments. Always glad to help when I can. I'll double what Dave says about doing business with AoA. We've gotten all our HW springers through them and even sent them our vintage Daystate PCP to repair. It's also where we bought our new FWB springer.

Traditionally, the difference between the Beeman R7 and the HW30s has been the nicer stock on the R7 and, also, the lack of sights on the R7, though I am hearing reports of some of the new R7s having sights, now. Otherwise, all the same gun, both coming out of the Weihrauch factory.

In the past, air gun shooters in this country had to get our HW guns though Beeman, who was the sole importer. Some years, back, though, Airguns of Arizona got set up to bring Weihrauch air guns to this country, direct from the factory.

Okay, enough history. There are several version of the HW30s, so do check stock on all of them, unless you have a favorite you want to wait for. Right now AoA is listing the standard HW30S, the Deluxe, the synthetic stock version and so on. Our two are the HW30S Deluxe, which is just a standard HW30S with a little bit nicer stock. We also have one of the special run HW30s in our gray laminate HW30s. It's my favorite, but those only get offered on an unpredictable basis.

As for your choice of HW30 or HW77K (K stands for carbine, meaning short barrel), my view is this.

Every spring piston fan I know has at least one HW30/R7 in their collection. I'm a big believer in the best gun is the gun you use the most and out of all our air guns, regardless of type, this makes our two HW30s our best guns by a wide margin. You'll own one HW30/R7, sooner or later if you love shooting springers. It's the gun you use for training, for plinking, for shooting fun in general. It's also a serious target gun, though, capable of match grade accuracy at 10 meters indoors and it's also very effective for shooting out to 30 yards, outdoors. Beyond 30 yards, trajectory at the HW30 fps level starts to get very loopy and that low fpe level makes the pellet very susceptible to breezes and air conditions.

That is not to say, however, that it is not accurate out there at 50 yards. You just have to wait for those days of perfect shooting conditions and work around the light weight of the HW30. A bench gun it is not, bit the accuracy is there.



As for the 77K, it is basically a 97K with sights, though the 77K comb is just a touch lower for the sake of shooting iron sights. We have both. The HWs are our favorite under levers. With any under lever, you are moving up to a heavier gun than the same fpe gun in a break barrel. Just goes with the territory. That weight of an under lever is right at the limit of what I can handle for my offhand shooting. Going to laminate stocks adds about another half pound of weight and, of course a scope and mounts add even more weight.

At this power level, you have a gun that is much more at home out at 50 yards and nowhere near as sensitive to shooting conditions as the HW30. You can still shoot a 77K, up close at 10 meters and I do just that with ours. In the bargain, of course, you have a gun that is harder to cock and nowhere near as quiet to shoot as the HW30.

Since our 77K wears a peep sight instead of a scope, I love it for offhand shooting ... and I would recommend a Williams FP-AG-TK peep for this one if you plan to shoot irons. Here's why. The excellent rear sight on the 77K mounts to the scope grooves on the receiver. You can only push it so far forward on the receiver. This creates a problem for me. The rear sight is too close to my eye to see it as sharp as I would like. A rear sight is never completely sharp when we shoot, anyway, but for me the rear open sight on the 77K is too blurry for my liking. For my open sight shooting (and I love open sight shooting), I much prefer break barrel springers with that rear sight way forward, out on the barrel.

And, of course, there are several break barrels in between the HW30 and 77K in terms of power and weight. being a confessed springer addict, I own those, too.

Thank you NCG! I knew I came to the right place for advice.

I had not thought in detail about the rear sight location on the HW77K. That is further to the rear than I would probably prefer. Hadn't thought about the additional weight of the laminate stock either. AoA lists the laminate version as 9.5 lbs and the standard wood version (beech?) as 8.7 lbs. Neither of those are deal breakers, but definitely something to consider.

I think you sold me on a R7 or HW30. The laminate version would be my favorite, but no telling when or if any would be available. Any of the wood or even synthetic would be fine by me. The R7/HW30 would probably be the more practical option for me. It would definitely be easier getting my wife interested with its lighter weight and easier cocking. The outdoor range where we are members have 3 pistol bays where air guns can be used as far as 40 yards. They have high berms on 3 sides that offer a fair amount of wind protection except on the windiest of days. We can also move forward and shoot at closer distances with even more protection from the wind if we have the bay to ourselves or if others sharing are in agreement.

Thanks so much for all the help! I'll let everyone know when I order one.

Dave

My pleasure, David. I think your wife will love the HW30, maybe to the point of you needing to get two of them if you expect to shoot one a lot.

Just a head's up on pellets for the HW30. As with most HWs, they are not pellet picky, but the most popular pellet for the HW 30 has always been the JSB Exact 7.33s. That a nice weight to shoot in that power level and, of course, you'll get great accuracy with that pellet.

We generally love the same firearms. We both carry Glock 19s. Our bedside pistols are Glock 20s. We have identical ARs and similar AKs. She is originally from Poland (came to the US after the wall came down) so her AK is from Poland. I bought a Henry H001L knowing that I would love it and figuring that she would as well. Yep, she loved it and it is her favorite firearm. A couple of years later I bought a second one so I wouldn't feel guilty bringing her's to the range when she wasn't going.

I watched Steve Scialli's video a few days ago of the JSB factory tour. Most or all of their lead comes from Poland. So she will give me the approval to stockpile JSB pellets I was planning on buying some of the JSB Exact in a few different weights to try. I will make sure to get some of the 7.33gr pellets.

Sounds like you have yourself a great shooting partner. Congrats.