Weihrauch HW77K

Some air rifles have been with us for such a long time and used to such good-effect by both hunter and target shooter that they become, for want of a better term, ‘legendary.’ However, as time passes some of those air rifles begin to fall out of favour with the shooting public due to, dare I say, more ‘fashionable’ models and certainly more technologically advanced designs being launched.

Also I have to admit from the outset that I’ve previously wrongly presumed the HW77 (on test is the carbine ‘K’ variant), to be the under-lever version of the HW80. However, during this test a lot of attractive and practical features have shown themselves, indicating there’s a whole lot more to this rifle than I first expected. Talking of expectations, I went into this test knowing at one time this was the rifle to beat in the early days of the FT springer discipline. One of the reasons for this was the fact it lent itself perfectly to being tuned by the then ‘custom airgun house’ that was Venom Arms. So with a list of wins, placings and devotees in tow I can now discover for myself if this rifle deserves its almost iconic cult status.

Layout

Over the years the stock has slightly changed and, like many Weihrauchs, in its own way is attractive yet very practical. The mid-brown stain beech stock has a medium-height cheekpiece and a relatively lengthy chunky forend with a well-rounded underside.

Chequering is only applied as a generous panel either side of the proportionate size pistol grip which ends in a ribbed black plastic end cap with white line spacer. The full brown rubber buttpad is similarly cosmetically separated from the wood by a white line spacer.

The HW77 and ‘K’ carbine version boasts a pair of solid and bold open ‘iron’ sights. These present as a large raised foresight post to line up in a notch in the ‘removable’ adjustable rearsight. Windage and elevation are altered by two serrated edge thumbwheels and I’ll wager the height of the cheekpiece is such so as to give you a happy medium between using the open sights or for scope use. Incidentally, to fit a set of optics you need to remove the rearsight which is actually clamped onto the forward section of dovetails. A recessed cross head screw ‘holds’ the rearsight base in place so no hardship to unscrew and slide off.

This then allows you full access to the decent run of deep cut dovetails with three arrestor stud holes should you wish to use a scope mounts arrestor pin to prevent scope creep.

The under-lever is retained solidly under the barrel in the retainer until you press in the very end of the under-lever which releases it so you can cock the rifle. The lever doesn’t ‘drop’ into your hold during this operation as it’s still held by a rubber ‘O’ ring that prevents it rattling around in the housing. Now this is definitely an adult- size air rifle as even the relatively short cocking stroke takes quite a bit of heft. As the under-lever is drawn back to the cocked position the sliding breech retracts back into the action to reveal a roomy loading bay and as the lever fully cocks and locks back the familiar automatic safety button positioned at the rear left of the air cylinder pops out of the action to indicate the rifle is now fully cocked and on safe. Despite this, as always, keep your hand on the under-lever as you thumb a pellet directly into the now exposed breech and swing the under-lever back to the closed position where it will once again be held very securely under the 14.5-inch quality tube in the sturdy under-lever retaining housing. It should be noted that this part of the rifle is very solid as it not only holds the under-lever but also sleeves over the fixed barrel and is the base for the raised foresight.

Talking of sights, after I removed the rear sight I scoped up with one of the new versions of the adjustable objective illuminated reticle Walther 4 - 12 X 50 CI – a very nice scope which, set in high mounts and dialed in for a 30-yard zero, proved a nice pairing for the .177 calibre test rifle. I’ve not found Weirauch springers to be overly pellet fussy so used Bisley Magnum to produce sub 1⁄2-inch size groups at the set zero. Again on firing and handling the rifle shows itself again to be a man-size rifle, the un-scoped weight of 8.8lbs helps quell the expected but manageable recoil. Hardly surprising there are now ‘new design’ dedicated Weihrauch push on silencers available as the rifle report is as you’d expect of a full power springer. Another feature that shines is the fully adjustable 2-stage Rekord trigger unit with auto-safety. Any Weihrauch this unit is fitted to, it more than does it justice as undoubtedly even the trigger mechanism has become ‘the stuff of legend.’

Conclusion

Though I really like the HW77K, as there’s no doubting the capability of this rifle, personally I’d opt for certain other models in the Weihrauch stable, definitely the lighter models such as the HW99S or HW95S; having said that, the HW77K is a very well-built, accurate and easy to use air rifle. For traditionalists who like their under-lever action sporters to be solid, reliable and substantial then I can’t in the near future foresee its popularity waning.

PRICE: £416 Optional Extra Dedicated Weihrauch push on silencer: £68
CONTACT: Hull Cartridge Co 01482 342571 www.hullcartridge.co.uk