WEIHRAUCH HW 100 K
ON THE FIRING LINE

Written by Nigel Allen.
Pictures are property of Air Gunner magazine.
Published under permission of Archant Specialist.

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NIGEL ALLEN assesses handling and down-range performance

Less is more – that's certainly the philosophywhich applies to theWeihrauch HW100K.
The changes made to the HW100format to produce this Karbinevariation are all about handling.Everything else about this riflehas been established, refinedand proven. We know thestandard rifle shootsstraight, hits hardand works reliably.What we don't know,is how its fieldperformance will beaffected by cutting 7 cm.from its length and arounda half-kilo from its overallweight.

The raked, stippled grip and finger groove eases your trigger hand into perfect position.

hat's why I'm going to kick off thissection of my test with a handling report,rather than my usual run-down ofperformance facts and figures. Havingthought about it, there's absolutely nopoint in producing chronograph readoutsand bench rest accuracy results if therifle handles like a scaffold plank!Knowing Weihrauch as I do, there waslittle chance of this rifle being releasedwithout it passing their stringent testprocedure, and that definitely includeshandling efficiency. The real testingground for any sporter is the hunting field,of course – so, after a quick zero session,that's where I took the Karbine .

The HW100K's fore-end offers finger grooves and a flat base (inset) for ultimate control.

Swapping the formality of my usualtest range for the humps,bumps, fences andditches of my favourite piece ofhunting land really clued me in to whatit's like to carry and use a four-kilo,scoped-up 100K in the field.Although I encountered minimalquarry on my field trips – it was highsummer and my test programme wasdaytime-enforced – I did my best tosimulate ‘field shots' by taking onrandom targets, like leaves, thistle headsand dandelion clocks.Despite trying not to compare the testrifle with previous HW100s I've used, myfirst impression was how much more‘direct' this Karbine is on aim. I don'tthink it's any more stable at the time oftrigger release, but it definitely seems to‘settle' with less apparent ‘deviation'than the full-length rifle.I'm only talking about fractions of asecond, here, and it's debatable if thiswould make any real difference to yourresults, but it certainly gives yourconfidence a boost when those crosshairsinstantly lock-on and stay put asyou squeeze the trigger.I'm putting this fast-handlingadvantage down to the Karbine's point ofbalance pivoting around the trigger, rather than being 10 cm. in front of it.

 

weight of the rifle is then shifted back,toward the shoulder, where it's fullysupported and less noticeable – so yoursupporting arm is used guidance andstability, rather than load-bearing duties.The pleasing balance of this rifle ismore than complemented by the set-upof its grip and fore-end. Hand contact isenhanced by stippling at the grip and adeep finger-scallop running the length ofthe fore-stock on each side.There's also a well-defined ‘lip' at thebase of the grip, allowing your triggerhand to rest, rather than hold on to, thestock – and a wide recess guides yourtrigger finger toward the blade.It's easy to forget you're dealing withan ambidextrous stock, here, which isalways a good sign – and while theKarbine's woodwork isn'tthe most elegantgun handle you'llever see, youcan't deny itsefficiency. Thinkof it more as atool than anornament – as mosthunters would want to,anyway.Of course, the type ofscope you fit can also affectthe handling, too – and that'swhy I went for a Simmons 1.5-5 x 20 WTCSuper Compact model. This didn'tdisrupt the balance of the Weihrauch inany way – and I thought it looked good,too!

The HW100K's manual, rocker-type safety catch.

 

With its handling characteristicssorted, it was time to return to the testrange to do some serious performancetesting. No tester enjoys firing shot aftershot over a chronoscope, but it's anessential phase of testing, so I tend toget it out of the way early thenconcentrate my efforts into pushing theaccuracy potential of the test rifle as faras I can.A re-charge was required, whichgave me the chance toappreciate thenew plug-inprobe-fillingsystem. It hasto be saidthat the valveblanking plug isa bit awkward topull out – but I'd certainly want to deployit to avoid grit getting into the inlet valvearea.Once you've inserted the self-sealingcharging probe, it takes just seconds tofill the 100K's abbreviated reservoir with200 Bar's-worth of air pressure, whichproduced over 90 usable shots from mytest rifle. A quick visual check of therifle's on board gauge – the ‘manometer'as Weihrauch (correctly) refer to it – andyou're ready to go.

Slick and quick - the HW100K's sidelever cocking and auto-load system is nothing short of superb.

Loading came next and, as a matter of good practice, Irecommend you always applythe manual safety beforebeginning the operation.You extract the ‘wheel'for loading by first drawingback the sidelever and thensliding back the mag'sserrated retaining pin on theright of the action.Load your 14 pellets intothe magazine – making surethe lugs of the pellet bays arefacing you – and replace thefully-laden wheel, slidinghome the retaining pin beforeclosing the sidelever.Disengage the safety… andthe rifle is ready to fire.With each open-closecycle of the sidelever, it'spossible to fire a shot everysecond – and this beingundoubtedly one of the bestauto-loading designs on anairgun, you don't have toentertain the thought of ajam-up or ‘mechanical'slowing down your fire-rate.I zapped a careful 50 shotsover the chrono, using AirArms Field pellets, andrecorded an average poweroutput a smidgeon above 11
ft. lbs.

The new quick-fill system uses a self-sealing probe charger and a blamking plug to keep everything clean.

The overall variation of just 12 feet per second showswhat the Weihrauch boffinshave done to regulate the airsupply from this rifle –although they claim there's noregulator fitted to the HW100.Well, I'm saying they've gotsomething doing the job of aregulator within thatpowerplant, and I'm not toofussed if it qualifies as aregulator or not; it does its job!Off the bench rest this rifleprints-out one-hole groups fora pastime – and I recordedvery tight clusters at 40metres, the maximum rangeI'd ever entertain for huntingwork.

The barrel bracket - which has an 'O'-ring to keep the barrel free-floating - and cylinder guide.

The loading procedure, after the sidelever's been drawn back: Slide back the retaining latch, lift out the mag and load up with 14 pellets.

I found that the flat base of the stock helped the rifle sit squarely while I touched off each shot and that excellent triggergave me all the precision I needed to confirm what I alreadyknew – the Weihrauch HW100K adds clinical, match-gradeaccuracy to full-on field standard handling. For HFT and FTwork, it will eat 40 mm. ‘kill areas' for breakfast.This rifle is already my preferred version of the HW100 – arifle I had a lot of respect for since I was invited to test theprototype at Weihrauch's Mellrichstadt factory back in theautumn of 2002. The new Weihrauch HW100K is the perfectexample of ‘less is more'!