I received the HW50s I bought from David Kirby (kirby999) this afternoon. The rifle was very well packaged, double boxed. There was not a bit of damage to the packaging or rifle. Thank you for selling me a wonderful rifle David.
I got the rifle out of the box and she was just as advertised, "as new." This rifle is kind of the step child in the Weihrauch line of rifles. It has never been as popular as the HW30/R7 and HW95/R9 rifles that it fits in between. The fact that is hasn't been as popular as its sisters is somewhat of a shame. I feel that it may be better than either. The rifle is basically an HW30/R7 on steriods. It is about .5" longer in overall length, it has a longer, slightly fuller stock and a bit longer length of pull. It uses the same articulated cocking linkage design as the WH30/R7. The powerplant is not the same, it is about 1.5" longer and has a longer scope mounting rail with 3 stop pin holes milled in the receiver as opposed to the two holes on the HW30/R7. The HW 50 is rated in the low 800 fps. range and typically the numbers I have seen on them have been in the high 700s to low 800s with normal (7.9 - 8.4gr pellets). The HW50 has the near legendary Rekord trigger on it. When compared to the HW95/R9 the HW50 is about 1.5" shorter in overall length and a bit lighter, it has slightly smaller stock dimensions. As for power the HW95/R9 typically shoots in the mid 800s to low 900s with common weight pellets, not that big a power gain over the HW50. Build quality is typical Weihrauch. the stock is a very good grade of European beech with a uniform, dark walnut stain. My rifle has some nice figure in the wood. The metal work is fantastic, very even polish to the metal and deep, near perfect bluing. the attention to detail on the metal is exemplary, wonderful radiused edges, etc. The materials are all top quality, as I would expect.
I mounted a Bushnell Banner 4-12 x 40 AO scope in a BKL 260 D7 mount on the rifle and began to sight it in. I had the rifle sighted in on my 10 yd. indoor range in very short order with BSA Wolverines, shooting ragged one hole groups in about 3 adjustments. I tried out Gamo Hunters, RWS Super Domes and CPHPs in the rifle after sight in. The rifle was not at all pellet sensitive and grouped well with all the listed pellets. I got the best groups with CPHPs. My HW30 is currently shooting the Premiers very well too. This is a nice bonus as the CPHPs are half the price of BSAs/JSBs, and have always performed well on small game for me.
The shot cycle is very good, short, quick, very quiet. Kirby informed me he pulled the stock spring, cleaned the factory lube and relubed it with Macarri tar. It has no twang at all. the trigger is a typical Rekord, clean, light first stage and crisp, near perfect second stage. It feels like it is breaking in the 1.5-2lb. range.
The ergonomics on this rifle are near perfect for me, medium to light weight, perfect length of pull, very pointable. This is my favorite class of rifle. I am very enchanted with my new shooter. I would highly recommend to anyone who has not had the chance to shoot one of the Weirauch/Beeman R series rifles to avail themselves of the chance to shoot one at the first opportunity. One caveat, shoot one of these and it may spoil you........
Pics. below of the rifle, the rifle with my HW30 and my .177 B26 for size comparison and a 15 shot target at 10 yds. (there were two minor scope adjustments in that 15 shot group):
