Looking for Rifle for my Grandson and narrowed down to R-7 or HW30s. Need input from you long time air gunners. They seem close in works and close in price. Any input would help! Ter55409
Basically the same gun. Now that the R7 is available at Pyramyd with open sights the only difference is the stocks.
I have an HW30S and really like it. Very accurate, very easy to cock, and a nice shot cycle. It's one that you can easily shoot all afternoon.
When I got my 30S there was a pretty fair price difference between the R7 and HW30S, with the R7 being the more expensive one. And at the time, the R7 came with a muzzle brake and no sights. But now the prices are very close and the R7 comes with sights. So if I had it to do all over again, I'd go with the R7 and get the nicer stock.
I forgot. You didn't mention how old your grandson was but I forgot to mention that the LOP on my HW30S is just a hair over 14", so it's pretty much a full size LOP. I'm not sure what the LOP is on the new style R7 stock. But if a 14" LOP is too much for your grandson and the stock would need to be shortened, then I'd go with the 30S and it's plain Jane stock so you don't have to cut the nicer R7 stock down. I don't know about you, but it would bother me to have to cut a nice stock.
I bought the HW 30S deluxe back when, and tuned it with the Vortek Kit. It shoots 680-700 fps with JSB 7.33's. It is my oldest son's really, but I shoot it more than he does. ?
Very accurate and super easy to shoot. This one cleans up the garbage on the feeder out to 30 yds with ease.
Here are some pics with the Nikon EFR, Sportsmatch mounts,
I have a R7 and a Deluxe HW30. Joy to shoot. None of the Magnum springer drama and they are easy on scopes. As mentioned, the stocks are about the only preference to have between them. The R7 is a higher gloss nice smooth finish. The HW30 is more of a satin/matt finish that might be a little more forgiving in the field. Can't go wrong with either one. Really a gun that can be handed down to the next generation.
I have a R7 and a Deluxe HW30. Joy to shoot. None of the Magnum springer drama and they are easy on scopes. As mentioned, the stocks are about the only preference to have between them. The R7 is a higher gloss nice smooth finish. The HW30 is more of a satin/matt finish that might be a little more forgiving in the field. Can't go wrong with either one. Really a gun that can be handed down to the next generation.
That's interesting. My HW30S is the standard model and I don't have an R7 or R9 to compare the metal finish to, but I've never considered it to be a satin finish. Maybe the Beemans have a little better finish to them but my 30S is nicely polished and blued. It's no high gloss Air Arms finish, but it's a very nice finish. It's hard to tell in these pics, but the metal on my 30S is almost identical to Jason's Deluxe in his pics above.
I've recently done some trading and found myself owning this new to me old R7.
Sweet shooting little rifle for sure but I bought it as a project intending to chop the barrel, mount the Mac1 muzzle brake and tune it for my granddaughters... Now that I've been looking it over I notice the front sight appears to be mounted with dovetail similar to the standard 3/8" dovetail found on powder burners. Is this special in any way, shape, or form? Am I going to offend the airgun gods if I chop it? Anyone want to chime in?
Apologies to the original poster if this wanders off topic but in my case I chose this R7 because I found it cheaper than either a new R7 or HW30S... if I hadn't I'd simply have gone with an R7 as I can find it for less money than the 30 from an American vendor.
Between the current HW30s and Beeman R7, there is no real difference . The stock on the Beeman has some pressed checkering and may have a little more gloss to it (based on pictures and previous poster's comments), and the Beeman has the gold-colored trigger. The HW30s has the silver trigger. The metalwork and quality of bluing are identical. And the price of the Beeman has come down to about the same as the HW30s. So, to me, it boils down to looks: do you want a gold trigger and pressed checkering, or silver trigger and smooth stock?
Either way, you'll end up with a very nice rifle that usually shoots smooth right out of the box and is a pleasure to fire, and can be passed down to your great-grandchildren.
I've recently done some trading and found myself owning this new to me old R7.
Sweet shooting little rifle for sure but I bought it as a project intending to chop the barrel, mount the Mac1 muzzle brake and tune it for my granddaughters... Now that I've been looking it over I notice the front sight appears to be mounted with dovetail similar to the standard 3/8" dovetail found on powder burners. Is this special in any way, shape, or form? Am I going to offend the airgun gods if I chop it? Anyone want to chime in?
Apologies to the original poster if this wanders off topic but in my case I chose this R7 because I found it cheaper than either a new R7 or HW30S... if I hadn't I'd simply have gone with an R7 as I can find it for less money than the 30 from an American vendor.
It's an early example of the R7. Nothing special in particular, although most of those 80's examples have wood that looks a lot nicer than the ruddy, plain beech you find today. I thinkthe front sight changed to the standard HW sight sometime after Beeman moved to Santa Rosa in the late 80's. My two cents is if shoots well as is, I'd leave it with the peep sight....or let me know if you take it off - I'd be glad to take it off your hands, Woodnbow!
I'd strongly suggest you buy her an appropriate sized cheapie if she's too small for the r7 and under no circumstances chop it up . That is arguably the most fun/accurate all around springer out there.............g
If it were me, I wouldn't chop the barrel on that one. What you have looks to be a classic pre-safety R7. You don't see those come up for sale very often so they may be getting harder to come by. Also, if the barrel is choked you would lose that by chopping it and that could make it pretty pellet picky. I wish more manufacturers would use that style of front sight mounting. It would make it easy for one to change out the front sight to one of their own preference.
Beeman22,
The HW stocks are currently made by Minelli and I believe they use lasers to do the checkering. My HW50S has the combination checkered/stippled panels on it and if it's pressed, it's very well done. The checkering and edges of the panels are very clean and sharp.
I've recently done some trading and found myself owning this new to me old R7.
Sweet shooting little rifle for sure but I bought it as a project intending to chop the barrel, mount the Mac1 muzzle brake and tune it for my granddaughters... Now that I've been looking it over I notice the front sight appears to be mounted with dovetail similar to the standard 3/8" dovetail found on powder burners. Is this special in any way, shape, or form? Am I going to offend the airgun gods if I chop it? Anyone want to chime in?
Apologies to the original poster if this wanders off topic but in my case I chose this R7 because I found it cheaper than either a new R7 or HW30S... if I hadn't I'd simply have gone with an R7 as I can find it for less money than the 30 from an American vendor.
It's an early example of the R7. Nothing special in particular, although most of those 80's examples have wood that looks a lot nicer than the ruddy, plain beech you find today. I thinkthe front sight changed to the standard HW sight sometime after Beeman moved to Santa Rosa in the late 80's. My two cents is if shoots well as is, I'd leave it with the peep sight....or let me know if you take it off - I'd be glad to take it off your hands, Woodnbow!
It's really very accurate. And as everyone knows, hold insensitive... 😉 I really do like the wood on this rifle, as you mention it's very close grained and I had to look twice to be sure it wasn't walnut. Lovely little rifle. I guess I'll either keep it for myself or sell it and get a more recent example R7/HW30 for my project. This one has been used (there are a few pressure dents in the wood, it's been out in the field) but the metal is flawless and it's really too nice to chop...
I have a R7 and a Deluxe HW30. Joy to shoot. None of the Magnum springer drama and they are easy on scopes. As mentioned, the stocks are about the only preference to have between them. The R7 is a higher gloss nice smooth finish. The HW30 is more of a satin/matt finish that might be a little more forgiving in the field. Can't go wrong with either one. Really a gun that can be handed down to the next generation.
That's interesting. My HW30S is the standard model and I don't have an R7 or R9 to compare the metal finish to, but I've never considered it to be a satin finish. Maybe the Beemans have a little better finish to them but my 30S is nicely polished and blued. It's no high gloss Air Arms finish, but it's a very nice finish. It's hard to tell in these pics, but the metal on my 30S is almost identical to Jason's Deluxe in his pics above.
Sorry, I was referring to the stock finish. I believe the metal looks the same. The R7 has a high gloss finish where the HW30 is more of a matt sheen. Little hard to tell by this photo. The R7 is on top. I have an Air Arms S400 and I don't care for the high sheen metal finish. It shows everything.
My mistake, I misread your post. Sorry about that. Yes, I agree that the standard 30S stock has more of a matte finish when new. And your pic of the two stocks does show the difference. The 30S stock does develop a nice sheen to it with use. Only problem is that it isn't evenly distributed. It tends to mainly be in the areas where the stock is handled. Needs a little TLC to get it evened out.
Thank-you everyone for your replies ! My concern was the cocking effort of the bigger guns and the R-7 and HW 30s had the lower stated force to cock the rifle!! Also they both seem to test out as shooters. My area has lots of picket pins so I can teach the grand kids in my 10m shop and in the field hunting! The kids are taking the State of Oregon classes for their hunting licenses right now. Thank-again Ter55409
Not trying to talk you out of the Weihrauchs. I love mine. However, when you bring up "bigger" and "cocking force", I wonder if these heavier break barrels are ideal at this stage of their development. I cannot know the childrens' size, strength, etc. but the Umarex Embarq (not a hunter) is specifically designed for beginning shooters. Size and cocking force would be less imposing than the HWs. Or maybe Crosman Custom Shop 2400KT ( hunter) to completely solve the big and force concerns. Hey, dismiss my thoughts if I missed the mark. Won't be the first thing I missed this week.
Up date on the R-7! Grandson has been shooting on my indoor range most evenings. He has to 2 hand the barrel to get it to cock but is getting used to it. I can get Dime size groups at 10m. The little R-7 works real fine. Just breaking in with some old Gamo 10.49 that I got at a yard sale. Thanks again Ter55409
Good to hear that he's getting along with it. If it was purchased new you might check the barrel pivot tension. Many seem to come from the factory with the pivot too tight making cocking the gun harder than it should be.
If you've got some, be sure to give the 7.33gr Air Arms Falcon pellets a try. Many of the R7s and HW30S' do really well with them. My HW30S will stack them at my 9yd range in the basement. The JSB RS are a very close second.
