pianoman 3,587 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) Gentlemen. This post is overdue but, needs to be shown to everyone. Because, in the light of too many threads pointing fingers at the all-too frequently mentioned Graham scum (which, to be honest, is getting infuriating!) I know two lads here who are two of life's true gentlemen. and something should said to commend them. I bought an HW97KT .177 just before Christmas as a potential target and competition rifle. However, I have a reservation about the thumbhole stock. Nothing wrong with it at all, great hunting and general purpose stock. But I wanted a slimmer, lighter stock to improve the balance a bit better for taking a standing shot at a target; my one weak spot in my shooting. That would entail commissioning a custom job. Or so I thought. Elliott steps forward and, for the price of the postage, gives me his old HW77 stock to try out. No deals no agenda, just a kind and decent offer of help. When I opened the box it came in, I found a beautifully restored and refurbished HW77 stock made in the 1980s when Weihrauch introduced it with a slimmer forend and profile than later HW77 versions. That is perfect to my eye. It's slim, perfectly weighted and, fitted the HW97 action with a bit of a fiddle but, together and all snug. The result is a better balanced rifle and shoulder-line for me. It is a right-hander but with sanding out the convex thrust of the right cheekrest on the left grip and reshaping a palm-swell for my left controlling hand, I have the makings of just the stock I love. Traditional Bavarian sporter with a slim profile and forend. All it needs now, is to be restained to match the tones of the wood and the Bisley adjustable butt pad fitting to give it just the right pull-length and set-up. The rifle is spot on the dot with H&N FTT 4.50mm through the HAWKE Panorama 4-12x50 EV AO IR scope I have for it. The next phase is in the skilled hands of Andy (FR1968) tuning it to a sweet cycle and it'll be ready for battle! His work and knowledge of tuning a Weihrauch is awesome and I trust my rifles to his TLC without hesitation. I respect the great Tony Wall as a master air rifle tuner; and how Si rightly sings his praises. But, after what Andy did to my HW77, well, it is as close to the perfect, sweetest shooting air rifle as I've ever known. And that's good enough for me. It is no exageration to say the best shooters you will ever meet and shoot with, are true gentlemen in every sense. Si and Davy are, Marksman and Festa are; Wurz is. And so is Elliott and Andy. Watching them all shoot and reading their various posts and threads is an education in sportsmanship and shooting to a phenominal standard I can only try to emulate. I haven't had the honour of shooting with Elliott yet but, we'll see how the summer goes. I should have enough practice in by then to make a decent show with him! Thank you is not sufficient gratitude but, Thank you. Both you lads! Simon Edited January 31, 2013 by pianoman 6 Quote Link to post
stealthy1 3,964 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Have a slut point Quote Link to post
andyfr1968 772 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Aww, bless you, Simon Have you been drinking or have the meds kicked in?? I've not had chance to start on your 97 yet as I've been stuck without a car for the past two weeks and I've only just got mobile again so I should be able to get cracking on it this weekend. Give me a shout Sunday evening, I'll give you the run down then Cheers, mate. 1 Quote Link to post
webster 90 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 any chance of some pics pianoman Quote Link to post
zini 1,939 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Great post Simon and well done Elliott and Andy. Si. 1 Quote Link to post
gurtwurz 792 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 nice one simon, fair play to you elliot, its great to see guys on the forum helping out rather than ripping off-good work fella! andy as ever, is one of the good 'uns and his tuning work is definitly top drawer- my is running like a charm, and outshooting my pro sport lol cheers, wurz 2 Quote Link to post
Fieldsports 155 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Cracking post mate ! Its nice to hear the good stuff ! 2 Quote Link to post
tomburras 2,730 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Its nice to hear kindness like this as its rare, it sounds like it will be a very nice set up too! atb Tom. 2 Quote Link to post
porkycrook 466 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Simon (pianoman) i have seen you shoot and you can add your name to the list of fine marksmen, because you can hold your own against anyone of them. 2 Quote Link to post
pianoman 3,587 Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) Aww Thanks Roger. And thanks too Tom, Fieldsports, Wurz, Si and webster for your kind words lads . The rifle is a nice set-up and has the makings of a great one indeed to be proud of Tom. I had an initial shoot with it in the '77 stock when Andy was over weekending with us and it's proving very accurate but, it's snapping a bit harshly on firing and an earlier chrono reading when I was last at Davy's showed it to be running a little hot! Andy will soon have these bugs ironed out and running nice, smooth as you like and properly, as it ought to be. I reckon it will be a razor-accurate rifle when he hands it back. When you can get her ready Andy that'll be fine mate, I'm playing a live gig on Sunday night but I'll get back to you on Monday or so! Webster, I don't have a digi camera and normally don't post pictures of my rifles but, we'll see. Helen has a great camera and a lot more know-how on image-posting than I do! Best wishes. Simon Edited January 31, 2013 by pianoman Quote Link to post
andyfr1968 772 Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 All being well, Simon, I can use Paul's workshop this weekend so we'll have an idea as to what's what. It is a bit rough to be fair at the moment, twangy and not too smooth but the gun does shoot a very nice tight group as I've seen, so it can only get better. Call me when you can 2 Quote Link to post
zini 1,939 Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 Your a good man Andy . I'm sure that if Simon's "Andy tuned" HW97KT shoots anywhere near as nice as Johns HW80 and Simon's other HW77 that you also tuned, it will also be one amazing springer. I was only talking yesterday to John on the phone and he was seriously praising your skills with the work you have done on his HW80. He says its better than his Pro Sport which is a serious compliment. Keep up the great work mate. Si. 2 Quote Link to post
Elliott 436 Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 Just spotted this thread, thanks for your kind words Simon I was only glad to help! Looking forward to seeing the finished product, hopefully I'll get chance to meet up and see you put it through its paces. I haven't fired a shot in weeks, I think I'm having withdrawl symptoms! 1 Quote Link to post
pianoman 3,587 Posted January 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 Aww we can't be having that Elliott. Mind you it's blowing like hell here so, I'm not getting a shot fired myself right now. It was so kind of you to do this for me mate. Thank you again Elliott and we'll make a date to meet up and shoot when the weather is a lot kinder. And I really hope the bad weather isn't causing further problems for you and the family at your cottage mate. Sincere warmest regards. Simon Quote Link to post
andyfr1968 772 Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 Gotta say, lads, I feel like I'm being a little 'bigged up', so to speak. I'm just a bloke who enjoys tinkering about with springers, HWs and Dianas especially. Anyone with a bit of mechanical nouce and an understanding of what makes them tick can do it too, rocket science it ain't Thanks for the kind comments though, lads. Put a smile on me face, to be sure. Quote Link to post
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