A shoot a 97 for FT and used to shoot a Pro Sport. First thing I do when I get a new glove is cut off the tip of the pointer finger. Makes it easier to access the cocking lever and adjust the scope. Comes in handy for nose picking as well.
Had a new tx 200 for a year but couldn't get on with it. Sold it and bought two HW97, both of which I've fettled and tuned. I own seven pcp rifles but do like springers although some of the prices are getting silly now.
Interesting review. As you point out, it really comes down to personal preference. I'm a Weihrauch fan, simply because I find they suit my hand better, especially with the thumbhole stock. The pride of ownership factor is slightly higher with AA. I had a walnut Pro Sport, which was a beautiful gun. AAs are a bit better out of the box, too. I find Weihrauchs are typically a bit twangier from new. They definitely benefit from a strip down and a properly fitting set of spring guides. I like the wider loading port on the 97, too, as well as that wider, flat trigger blade, which sits better on the finger for me. Whichever you choose, you can't go wrong and both can outlive you if looked after properly.
I've shot both but own a HW97 for the simple reason that they are both laser accurate but buying the HW gave me an extra two hundred quid to spend on a scope. Love the woodwork and finish on the TX, the blueing is second to none, and I love that they are a bit closer to perfectly tuned straight out of the box but in terms of putting pellets where you want them there is bugger all difference between them. Weihrauch just offer better value for money than Air Arms. That said I am saving up for a Pro Sport...I love springers.
Love the show Gary however one can note in your change of voice tones that you ultimately favour the tx. I had a tx and I tried and tried to get on with it but to no avail so then I bought the hw97 my oh m6 what a fantastic rifle using 14.66 day state sovereign pellets in 2.2 it’s absolutely amazing deadly accurate pellet on pellets at 35 yds magnificent
Who would honestly pay £1025 for a TX200 in a fancy frock? That’s decent pcp money or a 22mm piston 97k. Also £909 for a walnut pro sport,really? Anyone would think Air Arms was deliberately trying to kill their springer range off!
I have a few pcp’s but I really enjoy shooting my springers, in order of accuracy it’s TX 200, Walther LGU,ProSport,77,97, but the 77 and 97 haven’t had as much range time yet. They are all 177s
Dead simple, straight out of the box, I’d have the TX all day long but when fettled the 97 is outstanding! Having said that, the woodwork on the TX is amazing but hells bells, the AA is way, WAY more expensive. Shoot them both if you’re looking to buy but try to shoot a tuned 97 before buying a TX. EDIT: I also own a Walther LGV, that gives both the 97 and TX a run for the money. It’s a shame they stopped making them as they can only be bought second hand now. Great video Gary, thanks for sharing. 👍👍👍
I've recently bought a new TX200HC and was at a range next to a guy shooting a brand new 97. Where the TX had a very quiet firing cycle, the 97 was really twangy in comparison. Having swapped over for a try (each) I did like and found the 97 slightly easier to load because of the bigger loading revealed area but watching you, I'm sure there is a knack which only practice will give. As you say, both nice rifles.
@neiledwards8931 Mk3 TX200 has a longer stroke than before and benefits with a bit of work, can shorten the stroke of the HW97K & HW77 just with a bigger piston seal. The older weihrauch with 25mm pistons & mk1 & 2 TX200 & Pro Sport are just superb without any tuning.
Great video Gary. I own a 97 and think its a great gun but ive never shot a Tx. The Tx is a lovely looking rifle. Sorry to hear about your poorly cat. Thank you.
Hi Gary, I'm lucky to have both rifles, the tx with the beautiful walnut stock, 97 beech, love them both. The only BIG advantage for me (as both have Hawke x 14 mag scopes just up to loading breech) is that the 97 has a full open access, the tx only quarter ...ish, this enables much easier loading by my left hand with the 97....but I love the feel and trigger of the tx..... I take both to our club ETL Essex also have a Weihrauch 95 springer too. I have great pcp but these days find myself reaching for the springers! Great job on RU-vid.....keep going!!!
The age old dilemma! Nice comparison. Very similar guns, because one is based on the other's predecessor ;-) Just as accurate, just as tuneable. Bog stock, for me, the TX is smoother and quieter - in cocking and firing cycles. I especially hate the 97's cocking lever release catch, but the TX's anti bear trap is a reet clicking fiddle, as is the single sided loading port. The TX has a much better finish and the trigger is now much nicer out the box - recent Rekords come set heavy and locktited. The 97 is ambidextrous. TX easier to strip (much), but outside competition you'd probably never need to strip a 97...Bombproof. New Ultimate Springer is lovely, but £1000+!!! Virtually the price of an HFT500... Heart says TX, but so much more expensive. Both great guns. Anyone would enjoy either and could win top level competition with either.
I am lucky enough to own both. A KT and a Mk111. I don,t have freakishly small hands, but I found the trigger reach on the 97 too long. So I put a set back trigger on it, rather than file down the back of the grip. Its now only a few millimetres longer than the TX. Your prowess with a springer is beyond compare. ( Well usually it is, I,ve watched your bad day vids aswell ha ha). So its nice to see that your 97 opens up a bit beyond 35-40 yards, more so than the TX. Thats what mine does, consistently. For me the TX just edges ahead because of build quality. With the right pellets both are superb. I agree with your conclusion, go to the shop with enough pennies in your pocket to buy the TX, shoot both and make your choice. Its very much like the Ford or Holden thing in Australia. Super vid as always.
TX200, Element scope with target turrets. Zero at 25 yards. Light breeze, 80 yards , 45 clicks up, all JSBs in a 6 inch square. No matter how I try the HW97 can not repeat this.
i bought my hw97 blue.. i more than happy .. accuracy top knot.. 15-25 yards.. never miss seen like touching or same hole... but i knew it a lot $$ for it.. but it worth it .. only TX 200 can compare with HW97.. but Tx not cheap either .😂😂.. i believe in your vid.. accuracy both gun was the best.. 👍👍
Great video Gary, I like the informal style. For us in Brazil these two are almost unattainable dreams, very hard to get hold of and shockingly expensive. A used TX200 runs about £2000, a new 97K is £1750 more or less and a 77K (16J version) is around £1500. An HW100 will set you back £4000 or so. There is an small but growing HFT shooting scene here with 16J, 27J and 40J classes, but apart from a few rich folks with the latest and greatest PCP most of us shoot Gamo CFX/CFRs, Cometa break barrels, and the newish kid on the block, Stoeger RX40. Many shooters go with .22 as .177 is not that popular over here either, with the advent of large calibre PCPs the market for .177 springers is pretty small. I have had a 16J 97K (the standard .177 97K sold here is 23J) on order for 6 months with the importer and they still can't give me a date. A high price, lower powered, .177 calibre springer isn't much in demand here, and private sales are incredibly bureaucratic, so patience is a virtue.
HI Tony, Wow, that's a huge amount of money. If you have any pictures of Brazilian HFT, send them over and I can put them in a video or AirGunner magazine. Gary
@@tonyburns6707 it is shocky. Here in europe you can still get it for fee hundred of euros. But EU bans and draconic laws (going in same insane directions as Brazil) made the price already twice than it was in 2019…
Very nice video Gary, I have a TX 200 Mk 3 myself but aged 78, Im finding I like to sit down to shoot resting my elbow on my knee ,best i can do is cloverleaf groups at 25 yards . Also appreciated is giving your distances im Imperial /SAE units instead of another channel which I no longer can stand on You Tube where he plays nerve straining intro music and has a "40meter range" he likes to say .Yards are what we use, relate too , and grew up with ,not meters, so many thanks Gary . Ian 🏆🏆
Great video as always. I own a .177 and a .22 HW97. Love them both. I really appreciate your impressions on both brands. On a side note, I really enjoy the fact that you actually have shooting skills unlike most other channels with hosts who only shoot with rests or off a bench.
The price is a big factor for new people to join this hobby. (one of the reasons I've got a HW50S). Considering that no-one in tournaments is shooting those things in their "raw" non modded form I would say to go with a Hw97. Have to also keep in mind that the price difference in Poland is also bigger. Currently a HW97 is 260 GBP cheaper then a new TX.
Excellent comparison, I have a HW97 but just never really get the time to use it much, often wondered what a TX was like, now i know, thanks for that :-)
My first air rifle was a walnut Mk2 TX200. I love that gun and will never sell it. I have to admit I’ve lost count of the different TX’s I’ve had in the past. I also have a nickel HW97k which is tuned and in an LP stock. To shoot as you say there is nothing in them, I love them both. If I could only have one though it would be the TX but that’s because I’m biased as I have the history with them, plus they are easier to strip when needed.
Great vid Gary. With every springer, finding the two or three pellets that it likes then selecting the one you want for the job is one favourite takss when getting a new rifle. Oh if my TX200 had a thumbhole stock I would marry it. Cheers
i have to say had you said the HW97 was better, you might well have had a boot up your rear end. A fabulous review but i think it was slightly biased. No offence. Keep them coming
Gary deserves a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ to air gunning imo. 🏆 I’m pushing 60 and I remember my Grandpappy telling me how he looked up to Gary when he was a child. 😂🤣 Sorry Chilly. 😛 Top video comparison from a trusted source. 👏👏👏
Trouble with the TX, if you're left handed like me it puts quite a lot onto the purchase price. I bought my 97 from Crawley Surplus ages ago by the way, nice people, nightmare parking lol
YOU TALK SUCH A GREAT DEAL OF COMMON SENSE!!! WELL DONE FOR A FANTASTIC AND HONEST REVIEW. "BEAUTY IS IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER" SO IN THE CASE OF THESE TWO GUNS, ITS SIMPLY PERSONAL REFERENCE. VERY GOOD REVIEW . . .
Crawley Surplus is just round the corner from my work, bought many a rifle from them over the years. Just wish they were an RFD and did rimfire too 😮❤ Otherwise top draw shop 👑👍
I have had them both, but i kept the tx200hc. They shoot equally good but the tx is more atractive, alot nicer wood och the blueing is deep and beutiful but it also cost more. If you dont care about looks any of them will be a great buy. One more thing, when you change the spring in the 97 there is quite some preload on the spring when you take the cap off. And thats not the case on the tx.
That said, my favourite airgun is the HW30s. Super fun little plinker that is realy accurate and fun for the whole family. The price of it is also resonable.
I finally got my TX200 MKIII LH and it shoots awesome. I also have a HW97K long, both shoot accurately but the Weihrauch has a twang or buzz. Excellent videos and informative.
The comment “springers take less wind than PCPs” is that based on experience/observation or technical understanding of ballistics? Is that the same for all springers?
I sold my HW97 Thumb hole to a younger guy in my family, I rarely took it out, I found it too heavy. I replaced it with HW57, but still prefer my HW99s, sometimes I think I should have got an HW90 or HW95. The HW57 has an annoying extra stage when in the loading cycle.
Great video Gary. I have both guns which are great and as accurate as each other in the right hands! However, the TX200 I've found to be my gun of choice for HFT as it has a better weight balance which for me makes it easier to shoot and it's also a lot easier to work on!
What about the TX 200 being handed . You have to pay an extra £90 for a left handed version. Also the loading port is handed. It’s awkward to use if your left handed. So there are big differences in these rifles . The air arms stock is Italian and the barrel is German. I think the Weihrauch stock is made in Poland .
As a left-hand marksman, I was concerned about this also because I’ve adapted to right hand weapons so I would’ve liked it if they just kept it right handed breach with a left handed buttstock
I’ve got both and they aren’t the same gun at all the 97 has a harsher firing cycle, have taken both apart to service them and the build quality of the TX is much higher, no burrs, banded piston, internals polished to a higher level, and looking at the parts manuals the tx uses lots of Caliber specific parts, were as the 97 has same internal for .177 and .22. The 97 has the normal metal on metal piston which doesn’t even have a piston sleeve so you tend to get a bit of dieseilling due to grease from spring on piston seal.
Well I was going to go out and shoot my pcp rifles but after seeing this. My right shoulder is good, gonna drag spingers out. I have mine sighted in at 20 yards, never did try pushing them out further. I had a mental block with thinking them as bb guns, got over that this past winter with shooting squirrels with the pcps . Thanks for inspiring, going out to my range and see. Great video. Keep them coming. Have you ever tried one of the pens that hold the pellets. No more having to rifle through pellet tin, just fill pen cock gun and dispense pellet into rifle. Got them for 22 and 177. Got mine at Amazon yea I know.
Love them both. I shot another man's TX at a range. All tuned etc. It was point a shoot easy accuracy. Easy to cock. So I can't forget it and will be buying one someday
yes it's personal preference. i went for the better balanced arguably more accurate superior looks and excellent Air Arms aftersales service. so after testing both i bought a LH walnut TX200 HC. I can only say the price differential is due to build quality
Had a tx200 5 months now after shooting a hw77k for 19 years well 3 in fact, tx200 my main target and field work now tuned with a inch of its life 5 ft spread depends on pellets
Gary, very entertaining and insightful video. I like to hear you talk about airguns and your enthusiasm about the shooting sports. I've been a serious airgunner here in the US since 1979. Keep up the good vids and interesting airguns. ScottinUSA
Didn't mention that the TX 200 IS, basically a Steve Pope tuned HW.....it was a blatant rip off when it was released even down to the Record-a-like trigger...a good gun but AA would have to keep their fingers crossed behind their backs if they were to claim any design originality
Uhhh, aftermath . 37:22 wow I like that !! Because of the chiek ricer ! I always love higher position to the scope and press my chiek down to the chiekpiece. For me it is more comfortable .
I sold my TX200, but I did replace it with a Prosport. Both lovely guns, though I couldn't afford a walnut stocked Prosport today. Can't believe how much they have increased in price since I bought mine.
Iv used both and couldn't really say one out performs the other it really is just a preference thing. I managed to get a second hand hw97kt and a hw45, both in .22 for a fraction of the price of a tx.. 🤔 that's what decided it for me. Don't forget to look at used if your on a budget as there's some amazing deals if you look hard enough. My hw97kt was not much more expensive than a brand new "budget/entry level" rifle and even tho it's second hand you wouldn't know it, not a mark on it.
Great video Gary (as always), as a lefty, the cost difference of a lefty TX over the ambidextrous stocked and loading port of the 97, is quite a big factor when deciding between the 2. I love my 97 but one day, I'll have a TX...the stocks are much nicer, with that fishscale chequering 😍
I got a TX200 MK3 in 0.177 a bit ago. What pellet you guys running out of interest, 4.52mm 4.53mm, lights or heavies? Chrs guys and loved the vid Gary. 👍
As a left hander its Weihrauch every time due to Air arms forcing me to pay for wallnut and then more still for lefthand. Yes i could have a ultimate sporter but to me those adjustable stocks are ugly.
Hard to compare these 2 and don't forget you can get barrel variation with either gun!. I have probably had 3 of each over the years the best examples of each 1 were considerably better than the other 2 was a complete idiot to think they would be exactly the same try before you buy!!.
Great video, even if I’m on the wrong side of the pond. Meant to add, I currently have a TX that I love. I am looking forward to adding a Ultimate Springer TX200 HC, when they become available over here. Interestingly as the Weihrauch prices seem to be rising significantly, cost difference may not be a major driver in the future.
I have a TX200hc which has the works by Tony Leach and just got a HW97kt which personally thinking that the HW isnt anywhere near the quality of a TX, nice gun but definitely second place.
TX200 had a lot less recoil, than the HW97. It kicks Like a Mule. I own both these brilliant rifles. They both require slightly different techniques, when shooting, which keeps it interesting. 😊
@@GK-oj3vk No I haven’t. I am sure there are many other spring rifles that kick harder, than my HW97 KT. But I was comparing it to my TX 200. I have shot a Lee Enfield, .303 as a young lad. I had a massive bruise on my shoulder for weeks afterwards and it very nearly knocked me off the shooting mat LOL. 😂
@@GK-oj3vk I shot a Mosin on holiday in 2019 at the Tunnel, near Charmouth. The spotter said to "Leave it to last because there's nothing nice about this rifle"..correct👍😁 I shot a Lee Enfield and a Mauser, both nice, and finished with the Mosin. Tx200 HC fan and owner here btw.
@@Steve-Crossmy 460 Diana has a little bit more violent firing cycle, I had a Crosman crusher with the nitro piston, it had a horrible firing cycle, I got rid of that one.
