Weihrauch HW100 .177

The current model HW100 is effectively the second generation of Weihrauch’s first ever Pre Charged Pneumatic. As newcomers to the PCP market Weihrauch got it right off the bat with the original HW100. This version takes the design further and incorporates a quick-fill, eliminating the need to remove the air cylinder for recharging. I fancied one of these as soon as they came out and having previously owned several Air Arms S410 models, the main competition, I was interested in seeing how the rifles compared.

Out of the box, my Karbine was doing 11.5 fpe with JSB Exact Heavy, so pretty much spot-on power wise. Out of interest, I also ran it over the chrono with some heavier pellets: 15 grain FAC Penetrators dropped the power to 10.9 fpe and Piledriver’s dropped it still further to just 9.3 fpe! So it would appear that peak power is developed with pellets around the 10 grain mark - ideal for a legal limit 177. And the HW100 benefits from a regulator which provides superb consistency. Weihrauch claim a shot count of 110 shots per charge for the .177 full length version and around 50 shots for the .177 Karbine which is about what I got from mine. Following some accuracy testing, I settled on JSB Heavy and JSB Hades, essentially the same pellet which both provide excellent groups (although I've found recently that Bisley Magnums are equally accurate and often cheaper than the JSB variants).

As standard, the HW100 comes with the Weihrauch half-inch threaded silencer, one of the quietest available, and the Quickfill is the easiest to use that I’ve come across. The HW walnut thumb-hole stock, while not exactly a thing of beauty, does have a certain functional elegance – although in use I didn’t find it any more comfortable or better balanced than the standard S410 stock. I’m also not hugely convinced by the HW cocking system. Don't get me wrong - it works perfectly but offers no real advantage over a conventional bolt. And, while the HW mags are certainly robust they’re not really much different to the internals of an Air Arms mag – it’s just that Air Arms encase the whole thing in a plastic cassette. The only real plus point of the HW system is that you can’t double-load because if you’ve already cycled a pellet into the breach a repeat action of the cocking lever won’t index the mag. Clever.

In design terms, the HW100 isn’t a quantum leap ahead of the competition but where it really scores is build quality: It has a much more robust feel than most PCPs and the overriding impression is that it would stand up better to everyday knocks and bumps. This is my second HW100, I've owned and shot many of the popular PCPs, but the HW100 is still top of my list.

September 2022: I've owned my current HW100 for some time but I've never actually tested it over a chrono. So today I did some pellet testing and found that it was only showing a max of 10.3fpe and barely over 9fpe with most pellets! So further investigation was required. Initially I tried cleaning the grease off of the hammer assembly but it made no difference, I didn't want to mess with the reg and so I decided that the Anti-Tamper had to go. And this rifle is now running at a far more reasonable 11.4fpe.

February 2023: I got the rifle out the other day only to find that it was totally empty of air, and I always top it up before I put it away. A quick net search revealed the filler valve as the likely culprit, so I put some air in the cylinder and stuck a balloon over the end. Sure enough, the balloon quickly inflated. Fortunately, it was HW100TUNING to the rescue with a seal kit and tools and normal service has resumed. Cylinder Seal Replacement