weihrauch hw90k review

Picture courtesy of A T de Groot.

Average Ratings

Accuracy	8.8/10
Handling	8.3/10
Value for Money	9.3/10
Reviewer Rating	9.1/10
Overall Rating	9/10

94% Recommended32 out of 34 Reviews

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By woodfl on 28th Nov 2004

woodfl's Ratings

Accuracy	10/10
Handling	7/10
Value for money	10/10
Overall value	9/10
woodfl's recommendation

Good Points

Cheaper to buy than a Theoben Gas Ram rifle, but still fitted with a (British) Theoben Gas Ram means there's no spring to weaken over time, very smooth break barrel cocking / firing action, very accurate, superb crisp 'elite' trigger, clever re-settable safety catch, rifled barrel is not pellet fussy, the stock fits action with good end clearance to prevent the recoiling action splitting stock ends, predictable recoil, the German engineering is awesome - this is the air rifle equivalent of a Panzer Tank! The stock screws are solid and are still tight after 3 months use, recessed holes for scope mount recoil pin. Rifle seems well balanced and fits well when shooting in a standing position.

Bad Points

My .22 HW90Kis fitted with a Hawke 4-14x50 Pro Stalk Mill Dot scope on 'high' one-piece double screw mounts weighs in at 11lb! This is half the weight of my winter training road bicycle! Produces quite a loud bang! A silencer should be fitted as standard not just a barrel weight. No option to upgrade to a Walnut stock

General Comments

It has taken me 3 months to get used to the 'feel' and heavy weight (11lb) of the Weihrauch HW90K rifle and the gas ram action's recoil, I had only previously used spring powered rifles (BSA Meteor and Webley Stingray) the recoil is very different and feels like a 'straight line' kick back into your shoulder. I zeroed my Hawke 4-14x50 Pro Stalk Mill Dot scope to shoot 1inch groups at a range of 20 metres from a seated position 'bench' resting on the high back of a plastic garden chair with a towel wrapped over the top edge to prevent marking the nice chequered beech stock, the gas ram action is very smooth when firing so the rifle does not 'bounce' the rifle off the chair support like a spring powered rifle. I felt like I was 'cheating' using this position but it was very easy to set up the combo and get quick excellent results at target shooting the 1 inch bulls or even cutting playing cards in facing on edge at 20 metres! The accuracy of the HW90K is beyond any doubt, I had no need to compensate for 'barrel droop' by purchasing special BSA (B Square) barrel droop mounts as suffered by my Webley Stingray.

After 'bench' zeroing the scope at 20metres I tried target shooting from un-supported standing and kneeling positions to emulate 'hunting' conditions. I was very surprised by how much the rifles recoil was affecting my aim! The rifle's recoil causes me to shoot high with every shot whether standing or kneeling. Luckily I had chosen a Mill Dot recticle scope so I could easily adjust my aim by using the 3rd Mill Dot above the cross hair. Once I had 'learned' the rifles recoil and by how much to compensate for this phenomenon, my standing / kneeling shots became 'zeroed' to produce very consistent and accurate results.

I would recommend using a Mill Dot recticle on the HW90K, to carry the rifle I use a Logun Rifle Back Pack this is an essential piece of kit that enables you to carry a rifle like a ruck sack so you don't notice the HW90K's weight! I am very pleased by the performance and results I can obtain with this air rifle :-)

Total Respect: +6