Weihrauch HW100. 2006 model.

I recently acquired a second hand Weihrauch HW100.

The HW100 was first released in 2004 and has had a few upgrades along the way, I think they are onto the third version of this now classic air rifle. The changes have been subtle, mostly power increases and minor aesthetics, but for the most part any version of the HW100 is immediately recognisable as an HW100 and an icon of the air gun world.
They have earned a worldwide reputation for being beautiful pieces of German engineering, super reliable and deadly accurate.

I owned a lovely 2014 model HW100 in .20cal for many years.
I took my first rabbit with that rifle and she gave me many, many hours of enjoyable plinking and satisfying small game hunting and pest control. I unfortunately had to sell it for reasons outside of my control, and I have wanted another one every day since.
I was emotionally attached to that rifle.

My "new to me" second HW100 is in a .22caliber, and is a 2006 model, so one of the early ones. Even though she is 18 years old, my first day of proper shooting and testing on the range today, didn't disappoint.

Its taken me the better part of a month to get her properly set up, mostly searching for and then waiting for delivery of the right rings, which although they are pretty good, are not the ones I want. I'll keep looking for the perfect height rings, but these will do for now.

Pushing a 15.89gr hades she is doing 752fps for 19.92FPE, and pushing an Exact she is doing 756fps for 20.16FPE, so I’m happy to call her a 20FPE rifle.

After getting the scope set up, my first task was to test a few different pellets.
I remember my first HW100 loved JSBs, so I tried two of theirs.
I seem to have ended up with a very large collection of H&N pellets, even though all of my rifles love JSB’s??? This is probably because GunCity stocks H&N and I pop in there fairly regularly. I don’t know why I keep buying H&N pellets, all my rifles shoot JSB’s but H&N’s are very easy to get and JSB’s are difficult to get hold of here, so maybe I’m subconsciously hoping I’ll find a H&N pellet one of my rifles will like because they easy to get hold of…
I need to stop buying H&N pellets.
So I selected a few tins of H&N, a tin of RSW and two tins of Rifle (a cheep Brazilian brand sold by hunting and fishing- also easy to get!).

I started with 9 different pellets from 4 manufacturers and various weights, and shot 5-shot groups of each at 20yards, giving a few “lead in” shots between each new brand of pellets.
Pellets that gave a one hold group, or close to it at 20 yards, went through to round two, at 40yards.

The ones that went through to 40yards were H&N: FTT, Baracuda and Hunter (sold as guncity rabbiter), both JSB’s (Exact and Hades), and the surprise, Rifle Domed 18.36gr.

I always say everything looks great at 10yards. At 20 you start seeing the bad ones, but at 40 you separate the men from the boys.

The Rifle Domed pellets weren’t the best at 40yards, but they weren’t the worst either.
They outperformed two of the H&N’s, the Hunters and the FTT’s!!!
Third best was H&N Baracuda 21.14gr with a respectable, albite long, one hole group at 40.
First and second was between the two JSB’s and it was really close. The Exacts shot a one hole group and the Hades had a tight two hole group.
But I know that I have a damaged batch of Hades from those 5 tins I received damaged through the post, so I selected 5 good hades pellets (I usually never select pellets, I just shoot them as they come out the tin) and shot a second group with the Hades, and what d’ya know, a one hole group ;-)

So I’ve got another rifle that likes JSB’s. Maybe I should become a distributer, be easier to get hold of them…

I’ve always considered a one hole group at 40 to be the gold standard benchmark that I compare things with, and this old Weihrauch just did it with 3 different pellets. She’s measuring up nicely.
I think I’m going to enjoy owning my second HW100.


Edited by RangerPete - 30 Nov 2024 at 1:25am

9 different pellets at 20yards.



6 of them made it through to round two at 40yards.

Hi Mark,
For pellet testing u want to be as stable as possible to give the pellets the best chance to perform.
You can’t achieve that sort of stability over shooting sticks, so I use a dead rest on a shooting bench.
Fore stock and but rested in the dead rest.
My old rifle rest has a few stories it could tell, it must be getting on for 20 years old, has survived a fire in the back of my truck, traveled half way round the world and seen a lot of use, but she’s still going 😂

Ja, the FTT’s were great at 20, but didn’t cut it at 40.
If I remember correctly I had the same thing happen when I tested the H&N sample pack in my sexy little Elly .177 AirArms, they were great at 20, still looking good at 40 but fell apart at 80.

Been trawling trade me looking for the right tube/mount/height rings for this girl.
Got them over the weekend and fitted them today. Went from 18mm high rings, to 14mm high rings, now to 9.9mm. Bell of the objective is now just above the barrel, but my cheek weld is still not quite where I want it. But it’s as good as I’m going to get it with this lovely Nikko Stirling Diamond FFP scope.

Re-zeroed at 35yards and checked the drops at 40, 30, 20 and 10 yards.
Now just need to make my self a cheat sheet.

The property owner of my little shooting range told me there has been 2 rabbits hanging around her house, so before I left I went to go see if I could find them.
It was the middle of the day and drizzeling, so I wasn’t expecting to find them, but I managed to connect with one of them.
Was a 55 or 60yard shot, and with out my digital scope I had to guess the distance and the hold over 😂
Was slightly low, but I got my bunny

First blood (for me) with the HW100



Edited by RangerPete - 09 Dec 2024 at 9:09pm

Bet that was a heap more rewarding shot than having done it with digital scope. The modern day cheat sheet lol.
Nice guesstamation.
Don't know why you call them a cheat sheet. I find them essential with a new a gun so one can hunt strait away till drop is ingrained. I do all the ranging on targets, write it down, then take a pic and put it on ph then use it as the lock screen.
One button push and its there.
Usually a quick revision before go out, but its there if need it in field. Hows the rabbits that way this season? Are you seeing higher than usual numbers?