Part #1

The forum has been quiet for a little while so I thought I'd post a review of my latest purchase.

I'm going to do it in several posts as there's quite a bit to relate on how I got it to where the gun is right now (perfect).  Also, my attention span when pencil pushing is quite short after a lifetime of office work.  I'm also hopeful that by doing it this way I might generate some more participation by forum members as well.  Please also note that I am no expert on airguns, I have only been involved with them for a couple of years.  I have purchased and resold quite a few during that time though and this is just my thoughts and experience with this particular gun.

The HW98 is not available in NZ.  I cannot for the life of me understand why not as It's turned out to be a superb gun and probably my best gun purchasing decisions so far.

I'd been considering the TX200 for target shooting at our local range.  They’re available here new for around $2000.  Since I received my 98 a shooting colleague has purchased an as-new TX200 for half that price from Ron Young.  Having had the pleasure of using it, I'm glad I flagged the under-lever options (including the HW97) and went ahead with importing the 98.  I'd have to say though that the TX is probably the most beautifully detailed and finished air rifle I have ever seen and it's deadly accurate.  But it's really quite heavy and the under-lever/anti-beartrap, pellet loading procedure is a real faff compared to a conventional break barrel.  I'm glad I didn't buy one.

During my "research" I came across a video on the TBT channel where Nic compared the HW98 and 97 models.  At that point I'd never heard of the 98 and I was impressed by his comments.  Essentially he said that they were equally accurate and choice was down to application.  After some further "research" (including the HW98 owners Facebook page where various owners raved about how the gun was their favourite etc, etc) I went ahead and ordered one from Krale in .177 cal.

There is no legal requirement to obtain an import permit for a springer air rifle, but I emailed the FSA for confirmation before proceeding.  This turned out to be a good move as Customs said otherwise when it arrived.  However, they soon released it to me after they were supplied with a copy of the email from the FSA.  I've a imported a few air rifles now so have a pretty good understanding of how the system works.  

The all-up cost including shipping, import fees and GST was around NZ$1700.  Not cheap, but it was worth every cent - despite what I found when I dismantled it!

More to follow. 

I would have to say that it is superbly accurate and a pleasure to shoot, only complaint being slightly long in the grip to trigger for me. It is a keeper.

I look forward to following this.

PS:  I think my HW97KT is in trouble!!!  Your HW98 may beat it!!!

Always fancied a 98, nice heft to them so great for target shooting.

with their build quality and barrel lock up i don't think there would be any difference in accuracy between that and the fixed barrel 97

Part #2

After fitting and sighting in a scope at home (along with some quick pellet testing), the next stop was a practice day at the range.  The gun shot very impressively, good accuracy and it felt really nice to use with a nice firm thud on firing.  My thoughts were backed up by another member who was equally impressed.

However, at the following session a few days later I started to notice that the accuracy was dropping off and the gun was starting to feel harsh compared to what I'd experienced earlier.  I put it aside and moved on to another gun.

Back in the workshop I proceeded to strip the gun down as I'd ordered a TBT kit for it at the same time I ordered the gun - so I'd be killing two birds with one stone.  What I found though was pretty disappointing, but unfortunately all too common these days from my experience.  The compression seal had a chunk out of the side of it which explained the changes I'd noticed.  The culprit was a small slither of aluminium jammed into the intersection of the cylinder wall and the breach end piece.  It really was was jammed in tight after a bit of use and there was no budging it with a brass rod.  

Really it was a warranty issue but with the supplier in the Netherlands it was going to be more trouble than it was worth trying to get it resolved so I opted to sort it out myself as I had the gear on hand.

I quickly came up with the answer in the form of an old socket (I keep all my old tools in storage for this type of application).  After grinding off the chrome plating I machined it down to size in the lathe and then formed a cutting tooth with a small file. With a long 3/8" extension I was then able to successfully cut away the offending piece of aluminium.

This is not the first quality issue I've dealt with on new air rifles. I've also experienced issues with several other brands including FX and Diana, and the latest being my new HW30 which I've just stripped down straight out of the box.  It's fine internally, but a small dingle from MIG welding the front stock support bracket was simply left and blued over.  Admittedly it's not seen when the stock is fitted, but for a high end airgun it is pretty sloppy in my view.

Next, a new seal was sourced from Ron Young, the internals were de-burred and then I set about fitting the TBT kit - which included a replacement spring.  Now this is the second TBT kit I've purchased and fitted and whilst the resulting improvements have definitely been worthwhile, neither kit has been straight forward to fit, with both requiring multiple rounds of modifications and test fitting in order to get the guns to cock successfully.  A little bit more effort than the videos would suggest and likely to be a challenge without the equipment that I'm fortunate to have at my disposal.

Lastly, the front barrel weight was replaced with a slightly longer suppressor for a bit more leverage and to save the bluing on the original part.  A 6-24 Riton scope has been fitted (an absolute bargain purchase off Trademe) with a separate stop block made up and fitted behind the rear scope ring to allow me to mount the scope as far forward as practical.

 

With everything back together more pellet testing at home produced an outstandingly good result from the 8.7gr JTS Dead Centres.  Chrony results for that session were a very consistent 830 odd FPS and 13.5 FT Lbs.

The gun is now to the point that I had originally planned for it to be and ready to spent lots of time at our local range having some springer fun!

No, the seal shouldn't look like that normally.  I'd say the seal has moved around on the piston and struck the debris in different positions OR the debris was loose initially but got hammered into the corner.  I suspect the former is the most likely.

I'm pretty sure that QC in most consumer manufacturing took a dive during or straihght after Covid with companies employing low skilled workers and letting quality slip in order to keep up with the high demand for their products.  From what I've seen online the RV industry in particular turned out some really shoddy product during that period and a lot of proud new owners were very badly let down after sometimes spending hundreds of thousands of US dollars.

If I'd purchased the 98 from a NZ retailer, I would have returned it - no question.  What they would have done to correct it I have no idea, so I would probably still have opted to perform a decent fix myself.

The 30 was purchased locally and the weld debris was under the stock so won't be seen by the average owner and the cosmetic damage is probably no more ugly than the weld on the bracket itself.  I knocked it off without thinking twice about it as it's not visible - as the old saying goes "what the eyes don't see the heart doesn't grieve."

Yes, Weihrauch needs to get their sh*t together and sort out their QC, but I guess they're in no hurry as they are a very dominant player in the market with no real opposition (particularly in terms of model range).  At least they've not yet  stooped to using plastic for structural components!