 |  | | | |  | |  |  | Little Ralphie Gets His Red Ryder |  | |  |  | |
 Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 5:45 am |
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| Slavia |
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| Joined: 31 Mar 2008 |
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| Location: Waseca, Minnesota, USA |
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In the movie "A Christmas Story" little Ralphie says his dream is to own a "Red Ryder range model 200 shot carbine with a compass in the stock and a thing which tells time." (Cue the endearing smile.) The response is: "You'll shoot your eye out."
I told my family that my dream gun would be a "Herman Weihrauch HW97K with a 4-16X32AO scope that has an illuminated reticle and a bubble level." The response was "$700 for a BB gun? NO!" This even after the endearing smile.
So recently I changed jobs. She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed out of the clear blue sky says, "They'll have to pay out a ton of unused vacation time. Since you didn't get to enjoy the time off, why don't you get that PDQ XYZ gun you were talking about?" (Jaw drops to the floor.)
Fedex tracking says it's 30 miles away and due on my doorstep today.
I can hear some of you saying, "he should have bought the TX200." After exhaustive (but pleasant) research my conclusion was that the two guns are dead even. Do you know what it came down to? The checkering. I like the traditional checkering of the HW over the fish scale/floral motif of the TX200.
Fair warning - I'm going to post photos and be insufferably proud of my new toy. |
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 ¡Listo! ¡Apunte! ¡Fuego! |
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| Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 6:25 am |
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| Alstone |
| Moderator & Site Supporter |
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Like you say Slavia there’s nothing to chose between either apart from the decoration, so enjoy your new acquisition knowing you have one of the best springers made.
BTW what is the output of the HK I have seen one or two 16-20 fpe over here, but they are few and far between.
Al |
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| Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 9:17 am |
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| robert w |
| Senior Member |
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| you only live 1 time so its a go ahead thing.lucky guy ,im turning green before I even see it |
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,crosman 400,gamo big cat in .22, diana 5g,diana 54 air king, diana 34 in .22 diana 34 in .177, wilrauch hw-55,and a romainian pioner training rifle , and a huge collection of powder burners 35 last count . 1 would think i have a gun store |
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| Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 12:29 pm |
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| AirGunEric |
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So, you going to change your picture of "little Ralphie"?
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| Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2014 6:25 pm |
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| Slavia |
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| Joined: 31 Mar 2008 |
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| Location: Waseca, Minnesota, USA |
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| Quote: |
| So, you going to change your picture of "little Ralphie"? |
I should photoshop in the HW.
The PA bundle comes with a 4X duplex reticle scope, so I opted to get the gun by itself and another similarly priced scope. I got a Centerpoint 4-16X40AO with mil dots, target knobs, flip-up caps, and an illuminated reticle. The illuminated reticle washes out in bright sunlight, but that's not so important to me. The other items are things I've gotten used to on my other guns, so I would have needed to buy or modify to get them. I'm hoping this will replace the Crosman G1 as my 100 yard gun, so the mil dots are a must, and the 16X magnification will be nice. The gun comes with medium-height rings that supposedly will accomodate up to a 50mm objective. The Centerpoint cap is pretty thick, so I went with high rings. Lastly, I got a Hawke bubble level.
Now down to the basement to try it some more. |
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¡Listo! ¡Apunte! ¡Fuego! |
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:23 am |
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| oddtodd |
| Silver Status Member |
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| Joined: 30 Dec 2008 |
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Airguns: Two starlings talking "Larry, did you hear that? Larry?? LARRY!!!!" |
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:42 am |
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| rualert |
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Good for you, glad you finally got your dream gun. Only point I have on the Center Point 4-16x40 AO scope is up to 14 or 15 x it's fine, at the full 16 as with many it can get a little discoloration around the edges, but other than that I love the two, or three I have. Also doesn't hurt you can pick them up at Walmart for what $70.00, hell the referbed Hawk 3-9X50 AO IR cost me more.
I'm with everyone else, where are the picks?
Casey |
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:59 am |
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| lampy |
| Veteran Member |
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I picture Slavia in his basement.....
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Too many projects to list. |
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 2:28 pm |
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| oddtodd |
| Silver Status Member |
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| Joined: 30 Dec 2008 |
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| Location: Richmond, IN USA |
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| Well, I'm not uploading pics of my new tanfoglio gold eric grauffel edition blowback pistol till slavia uploads pics of his rifle. so there. And mine is cooler! lol |
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Airguns: Two starlings talking "Larry, did you hear that? Larry?? LARRY!!!!" |
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 5:05 pm |
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| Slavia |
| Moderator |
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| Quote: |
| I picture Slavia in his basement..... |
That is an actual un-retouched photo taken through my basement window.
| Quote: |
| Center Point 4-16x40 AO scope is up to 14 or 15 x it's fine, at the full 16 as with many it can get a little discoloration around the edges |
I can see what you mean. The most I've had up to now is 9X, so only 14X or 15X will still be a big change. I like the rest of it. I have been playing with the illumination, which I find pretty useless. AO, mil dots and magnification were what I was going after.
| Quote: |
| my new tanfoglio gold eric grauffel edition blowback pisto |
Notice how that rolls out just like little Ralphie describing his Red Ryder. We're all cut from the same cloth. In the interest of oddtodd's post, here we go:
First, the stuff I don't like (because the list is shorter).
The scope is as far back as I can place it for proper eye relief, but the objective still hangs out over the loading area. An extra sun shield will be out of the question. Pellets go in smoothly, but they have to be oriented absolutely straight into the breech or they won't go in (domed pellets load easier than wadcutters). To accomplish this I have to use one of the loading tools I made for my B3's. The TX200 only has a 90 deg. opening, while the HW97 has a full 180 deg. opening. That's good, because I can enter from the far side and observe from the near side:
Only the HW muzzle brake will work on this gun, because the brake has to incorporate the cocking lever latch. That's fine with me, but the lever itself is short, has no provision for grip, and the cocking effort is high. I'm thinking about some sort of cocking aid that might slip over the cocking lever:
The safety is automatic, and cannot be re-set manually (you have to re-cock). It is a tiny metal pin that comes "off" by pressing on the left side. This would be fine with a left-handed stock, but I find it awkward:
In addition to that, the gun has spring "buzz," which is disappointing. That can be tuned out, but with extra effort I hadn't anticipated.
I read criticisms prior to purchase about the blueing and wood finish. The blueing is deep and even, but the metal has a satin finish rather than being mirror polished. The wood finish is smooth, even, and blemish free, but it is beech stained to look like walnut. This is all exactly what I expected. A little paste wax will add depth to the wood without much effort. General fit is smooth but really tight. The break-in period will be more important than I've experienced before.
I also read criticisms of the "chunky" grip area, but I really like it. It fills my hand and feels good.
The grooved Rekord trigger face is wide enough that I won't need a trigger shoe:
I haven't run it through a chronograph yet, but judging by the time interval from discharge to target (on my 10m basement range) there is no reason to believe that velocity is different than advertised. It's heavy, so recoil is not a problem. It doesn't appear to be very hold sensitive.
Here's the really good part: Right out of the box it started to pump Superdomes into the same hole time after time (at 10m). Sand bag rest, no break-in, no shooter familiarity, no trigger adjustment, no experimenting with pellet types - just a single hole the diameter of a pencil.
All-in-all, it's what I expected and wanted. Golam won't be sending the precious back to PA.
Besides, PA sent the smaller stuff in a box marked "frah-jee-lay":
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¡Listo! ¡Apunte! ¡Fuego! |
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 5:22 pm |
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| robert w |
| Senior Member |
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| Joined: 12 Feb 2012 |
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| dammit slavia, you got me lookin in pa and aoa catalogs now and im droolin too |
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,crosman 400,gamo big cat in .22, diana 5g,diana 54 air king, diana 34 in .22 diana 34 in .177, wilrauch hw-55,and a romainian pioner training rifle , and a huge collection of powder burners 35 last count . 1 would think i have a gun store |
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:05 pm |
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| lampy |
| Veteran Member |
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| Joined: 04 Aug 2012 |
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 Very Nice! |
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Too many projects to list. |
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 4:03 am |
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| Alstone |
| Moderator & Site Supporter |
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| Joined: 01 Mar 2007 |
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| Location: Linconshire, ENGLAND |
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You have picked up some of the problems people find with a TX or HK, the problem with eye relief can be overcome by using a set back mount (See Sig pic below), another problem is a sun shade, I use one but my scope is a 12x44 Hawke which is shorter but still covers the loading port, But I find I can Load up blind with domed pellets. You can get short honeycombed shades which work well in most cases but not as good as a full length tube sunshade.
As for the cocking effort I did worry about that and asked questions about it on UK forums, and the basic answer was that after a week or two it ceases to be a problem, and I found this to be true and was shooting 500 pellets a day at times. I have seen a retro fitted cocking lever with a sliding tube which increases the cocking lever length by about a third, but I can’t find any reference to one on the net, You could go into training by drinking pints with your left hand.  What is the power output on the HK and Cal? Also I have the same problem of having to re-cock to reset the safety.
But all in all these things are minor when the gun shoots hole on hole every time.
Enjoy
Al |
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 6:58 am |
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| Slavia |
| Moderator |
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| Joined: 31 Mar 2008 |
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| Location: Waseca, Minnesota, USA |
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| Quote: |
| What is the power output on the HK and Cal |
Hunter safety field day on Saturday, rain and snow on Sunday. I'll have to get back to you when I'm able to get the chronograph out. I chose .177 Cal. because I like it (I also own .20 and .22). In the back of my head I'm thinking I might like to at least try field target, and .177 is the best choice for that also.
You are probably right about the cocking effort problem going away after time. I have pretty good upper body strength from my last job (slinging bundles of magazine) but always favor my right side. The left side needs to catch up.
She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed says hoisting pints is just fine as long as they are apple juice.
One other thing - a sling on this gun is going to be a tough proposition.
I was reading that the Weihrauch factory installed stainless chain-link non-skid flooring. It was panels of chain-link fence from the old "iron curtain." While (unlike my other guns) this one is decidedly not made from junked bicycles, at least it bears the spirit of re-purposing. |
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¡Listo! ¡Apunte! ¡Fuego! |
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| Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2014 11:39 am |
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| Alstone |
| Moderator & Site Supporter |
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| Joined: 01 Mar 2007 |
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This is my solution to the sling problem. Easy to do, looks nice and neat and sits in just the right place. Also the hole makes no difference to the strength of the connection bar as the only load is in compression.
When I go out for the day with the TX it makes life easier especially with 10 pounds of gun hanging on your shoulder
Al |
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