Hello Guys and Gals,
I am in the market for an R7 / HW equivalents. The main reason I am looking at this Airgun is quality and backyard plinking / English sparrow control. The longest shots will be taken at 20 yards. The biggest game taken will be starlings and the occasional a bushy tail for the crockpot. What caliber do you think would be the Best for the R7 I purchase? .177?.20? .22?
Thanks.
Luckystrike.
Smoke them if you got them!
.177 may be the best caliber for your shooting requirements plus you will have the best pellet selection.
I agree, due to the low power of the platform .177 is going to be best.
I have a 2-7x32AO BSA Essential on my HW30S. It sits in a set of single strap BKL rings. I have also had a 2-7x32AO Hawke Sport HD IR on it at one time. I consider both good scopes for the HW30/R7. Unfortunately, the BSA Essential is now discontinued. Hawke still makes the Sport HD 2-7x32AO. It's available in their Vantage line of scopes with or without the illuminated reticle. The IR model has a thin glass etched reticle while the standard model has a wire reticle. Both have mil-dots for holdover aiming.
Here's my HW30S (in .177) with the BSA on it.
And just for comparison, here's an old pic of it with the Hawke 2-7x32 on it.
@jim-in-swmo
That is probably the best power range for that rifle. Your ranges are going to be no more than 30 yards for a clean kill. You will have the field of view that you want, and all the magnification you need for quick shots.
I have a UTG Bugbuster in 3-12x32 with side focus and I added a side focus wheel to it. They sell a side focus wheel specifically for that scope. It works very nice on my HW30.
However, I will tell you that personally I wish it had a 40mm objective instead of 32. I sometimes wish the 32mm field of view was better, especially for shooting birds and small fur critters.
I would recommend the Bushnell AR 2-7x side focus.
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While there may not be anywhere near the choices in .20 as there are in .177, the 8 that are left if you toss in the Daystate Kaiser and Sovereign versions, which are just a bit more expensive versions of the H&N FTT (Kaisers) and JSB Exact (Sovereigns) pellets are the best of the best and I have 7 of those 8. I consider that a bonus as I don't have to buy and try 10, 12, 15 or more?? different kinds of pellets to find the one that works the best in my rifles, which I have 8 of, so don't discount .20 caliber as an option based on the lack of pellet selection.
Said all that because I have a Huntington Beach R7 .20 caliber with a Hawke Airmax 3-9x40 AO scope. Shoots the FTT's at a 554 fps avg and the JSB's at a 500 fps avg, which is good for between 6 and 7 fpe, which out to the 30 yards I have to shoot in is more than enough to be deadly on chipmunks and squirrels and way more than accurate enough to make headshots.
My R7 .20. The targets I was shooting at 20 yards. Top 2 were with FTT's, bottom 2 were with JSB's. The tree rat was dumb enough to wander in while I was still sighting in (look close and you'll see the turret caps were still off) and took one in the head a touch over 20 yards.
Just my always random lame opinion, but don't discount the .20 cal just because of pellet selection, it's a lame one in my book...lol 🙂
What do you all think of the Weihrauch HW30S .177 Urban Pro?
I'm sure the Urban Pro in .177 is a fine outfit, although it appears to be out of stock at the moment. But, personally, I think it's overpriced. You could build up a similar outfit yourself using the HW30S Deluxe as a base and have the benefit of a variable power AO scope (Hawke Vantage 2-7x32) for less than what they're asking for the Urban Pro. And you'd also have the option of having open sights if you ever wanted to go that route or use a peep. Although you'd most likely end up with a muzzle weight (like the ARH Apex that's on mine) instead of a silencer like the Urban Pro has. But considering that the HW30/R7 is one of the quietest sporting springers there is I don't see the need for the silencer. In all honesty, there's more sound coming from the action than the muzzle of my .177 HW30S. Edit: And the action noise isn't that loud, mostly a slight spring buzz/twang from the factory internals. Drop a tune kit in and it would be extremely quiet when shot.
Congrats on your choice! One thing to note about the HW30 (and the HW35 and 50S, too) is that when HW sets the rivet that joins the two pieces of the cocking lever it is most often set too tight and makes the lever want to act like it's one piece. That can cause it to gall on the receiver tube. But don't worry, it's an easy fix. Just take the barrel off and work that joint in the lever as far as it will go in both directions until it moves freely on it's own. Then add a small drop of oil to each end of that rivet and that should take care of it. But if you want a little extra insurance policy against the galling JM sells an insert that you can install in the hollow side of the cocking lever to help keep it from making contact with the tube. Or you can make your own insert from something like milk jug plastic or similar. If you make your own, it only needs to sit about 0.010" above the top of the lever, just enough to keep it from making contact with the tube.
Here's the link to the insert that JM sells. It also describes how to install it.
https://www.airrifleheadquarters.com/catalog/item/251488/3216416.htm
And here's a link to a post I did when I put a piece of JM's insert in my 30S. You can see how I fit it in mine (about halfway down first page). That was almost 6 years ago and no galling issues since.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thedianawerkcollective/viewtopic.php?p=103162#p103162
Congrats again on your choice and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine.
LOL...Welcome to the HW30 club! And BTW, I know the feeling. I felt the very same way after I got mine. Might have saved myself some money if I had bought it sooner, lol. But as they say, the journey is part of the fun.
BTW, if you've got some be sure to give the 7.33gr Air Arms Falcons a try. Mine loves them. ?
Congrats and have fun with your new shooter!
Ha ha...Well, I reckon it's a little late to tell you this but, yeah, the little HW30 is often the gateway gun to more HWs. It was for me, lol. And far as I know, there is no cure so why not enjoy the sickness? ? LOL!!!
Here's my HW family, all started by the little HW30. ?
Bottom to top, in order they came thru the door. The 30S, 50S, 35K, and Beeman R9 (HW95 Luxus). And I'm thinking about adding another HW30 or R7. Although, I might be open to having another 50S, too. ? LOL
Mine started with an HW95 .22....which led to a Beeman R9 .20...which led to the R7 .20 I posted about above. When money permits, I'd like to add an R1 .20 to those 3 and then see if I can find an R10 .20 to boot....yes, I like .20 but pretty sure I mentioned that and it doesn't hurt that I have almost 22,000 pellets in .20 to shoot with...lol.
If yours will shoot those cheap Crosman pointeds into nice snug groups at 20yds you've definitely got yourself a good 'un, lol. And that'll help keep the cost down while getting rid of those flying mice (aka, English Sparrows, lol). Mine isn't all that pellet picky but it does show a preference for the AA Falcons followed by the 8.44gr AA Fields. But for plinkin' just about any pellet is accurate enough.
What scope did you put on yours?
