How to reduce the recoil on a .177 hw97k

[Dean 4546 66]

Hi all, new to springers, as ive always used my hw100 but i managed to pick up a absolute mint .177 hw97k in the sporter stock for a bargain £190. Before i parted with the money, i put it on my crombo & it was returning a consistant 10.4ft but was very very twangy & massive recoil, any way i bought it & brought it home. Ive stripped it down, deburred, cleaned all the original yellow grease from it & pollished everything what needed polishing, squared the spring ends off & resized the piston seal. Now, its running at 11.7ft & the accuracy is fantastic, it realy is very accurate but by god its got some kick on it. The question is how do i reduce this recoil ?  Should i collapse a few coils, to bring it down to about 10.5ft ? or will short stroking it help to reduce the recoil. Cant fault its grouping, as its bang on at my 35yrd range but i feel as tho im going to need a new scope after every 500 pellets. Any advice chaps ?

[Rez 4,957]

Good choice mate... but...

 

[Rimfireboy! 1,463]

[mark williams 7,549]

"Just bought" the HW 97 K myself Dean.

              You have answered your own question really Dean.

              You are new to springers , always used your recoilless HW 100 all the time and now after a clean and fettle your 97 is producing 11.7 ft/lbs and very accurate but has got " some kick on it".

               Simply put Dean - forget the kick mate, just get used to it and learn how to shoot, no disrespect but PCP`s bridge all the shooting skills and you learn " NOTHING"

              In the same breath,  you`ll "FORGET EVERYTHING" by constantly using a pcp.

               If your rifle and you are producing accurate groups, as Rez says, can of worms, leave her alone.

               I`ve shot springers for decades and find my 97 recoil no different to many others.

               Heavier the gun the easier on recoil, is her spring the correct one ?

               Not an ox spring or similar 

               Just learn and enjoy mate.

                                  Good luck !

[bigmac 97kt 13,735]

The question is

HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO SPEND

just to reduce the recoil by a little bit ?

SFS kits,,,V,MACH ,,,,WELSH WILLY....the list go,s on and on

If it had been a 22 yes you can nearly eliminate the recoil

but with a 177 of any make  you will reduce it a little but no where near a 22

if its as accurate as you say then get to know her

how she shoots ,,,how she feels..what she likes and dont like

a 177 will all ways snap back .

when you had it apart was the spring coils square

if so its had a up grade spring put in her a titan or ox spring

buy a stander-ed spring and give that a go .

Did you polish the spring ends

what kind of top hat did it have in (if any) plastic or steel

After only shooting a pcp and a hw100 at that any rifle with a spring will feel like a shot gun when you squeeze the trigger

id leave her as is and as mark say,s just enjoy her Dean

after a few sessions with her you will not even notice the recoil

honest mate .

atvbjimmy

[Dean 4546 66]

Great replys lads. Its a bog standard spring and internals, that ive squared off and polished but with no top hat, i was worried that fitting a top hat would put even more preload on it & increase the power even more, thus more recoil. Your right, as ive not shot a springer in over 35yrs, maybe im expecting to much but that youtube shows 97s with just a nudge in the shoulder but as you say there most prob .22. Dead on accuracy it has plenty of, so its just a case of learning to adapt to it then. Cheers all.

[charlie caller 3,654]

Increasing the preload will not increase twang and recoil, the twang and recoil you are experiencing are on the whole the result of poorly finished internals, and often incorrect lubrication, de burring and polishing (like a mirror) will reduce twang and recoil, as will fitting some quality Delrin parts and the often overlooked piston seal, I am pretty confident I could have your 97 running around 11.4-11.7 ftlbs with a considerable decrease in twang and felt recoil, yes a .177 running at close to legal limit power will always be a little snappier than a .22 (unless you try the superb Walther LGV/LGU, which is so soft and butter smooth its unreal) but having tuned many .177s I have yet to see an owner that was not amazed by the results, and hence accuracy improvements.

[mark williams 7,549]

Walther`s LGV and LGU are nice and smooth, agreed, I owned the Master Pro .177.

               Exterior build quality of the Master Pro isn`t any where near as good as any of the rifles I presently own, in my opinion.

               I`ve since found out that, that horrible router cut, to the fore end of the stock is there purposely to allow for the cocking of the rifle with open sights in place.

               If you buy a rifle to use with a telescopic sight and no open sights, then tough tish you all have to live with this on your rifle.

" MUCH CHEAPNESS" comes to mind.

                      No, for me the HW 97K is way, way better than the Walther and more accurate.

                      Just my opinion.

atb  Mark.

[Jonjon79 13,340]

If I remember correctly, when I first got my old 97, every shot felt like a punch in the cheek.

 ......... Plastic slip washers at each end of the spring calmed it down nicely.

[Dean 4546 66]

Cheers jj79, ive another quick question please, is £65 a good price to pay for a very good condition black synthetic stock ?  Cheers

[Dean 4546 66]

PM sent CC. Cheers

[philpot 4,928]

Dean, have a short drive over to Sheffield to visit Charlie Caller (Tim) who is a master of tuning and he will turn your savage beast into a smooth shooting rifle that you will be amazed at ............................................ I know.

 

Phil

[charlie caller 3,654]

21 hours ago, mark williams said:

Walther`s LGV and LGU are nice and smooth, agreed, I owned the Master Pro .177.

               Exterior build quality of the Master Pro isn`t any where near as good as any of the rifles I presently own, in my opinion.

               I`ve since found out that, that horrible router cut, to the fore end of the stock is there purposely to allow for the cocking of the rifle with open sights in place.

               If you buy a rifle to use with a telescopic sight and no open sights, then tough tish you all have to live with this on your rifle.

" MUCH CHEAPNESS" comes to mind.

                      No, for me the HW 97K is way, way better than the Walther and more accurate.

                      Just my opinion.

atb  Mark.

I am afraid we are going to have to disagree there mate, sure the stock is nothing special on the Walther,ok but nothing special, that router cut I could not care a damn about, but understand some may be bugged by it, the finish to the metalwork is decent, not perhaps quite as good as air arms, but every bit as good as a 97, then we come to the part that makes the rifle so good, I have said it before and no doubt will again, the internal engineering, with tolerances and finish far exceeding, HW and AA by a long way, the rifles are a joy to strip, and work on, with a moderator fitted they are almost pcp quiet, and the lock time is something to behold, with a little tweaking they are capable of knocking an HW97 or AA spring rifles off their lofty perches....... just my opinion of course. 

[mark williams 7,549]

I`ve no doubt the internals of the Walthers are excellent Tim, mine was lovely and smooth.

              Again though, going to their triggers Tim, they are no HW Rekord or AA trigger are they ?

              I`ve just this week bought a 97 K from Simon, ( Piano Man) and that Rekord trigger is sweet, also SFSports Delrin internals.

I`m no gun smith, as you know but the Delrin internals and correct lube really help with recoil and triggers with accuracy.

 

Only my opinion again

                      atb  Mark.

 

[Dean 4546 66]

Phillpot, ive spoke to CC & im going to put 2 tins thru it, then we are going to chat. Its only 1 week old & it needs a few thru it first. Thanks all for your help, realy usefull advice. Cheers