This sleeve weighs in a 2.2 pounds !! It is near new condition and fits the CM, well, like a sleeve! It is very similar to a LGV but is held on by a grub hex screw and the sight.....22 mm diameter solid steel!!!

I guess I'm still learning, but if these guns shoot straight in stock form, for what purpose does the extra weighted barrel serve, do they have that much "kick"?

Not much kick involved in a normal HW 55 at 8 plus pounds. 10M shooters wear a stiff shooting jacket, feels and looks like a straight jacket, a fact not to be lost on us...LOL. It is padded with non slip areas and one puts ones elbo into your side, forming a triangle, The hand forming a fist for the gun to rest on in some cases.... a short front mounted sling forms a loop around that elbo. Barrels move and the mass of the heavy sleeve damps that movement, slows it and is not "pulled" by the trigger as easily. Remember they are all near perfect shooters and need every legal aid. They are very barrel heavy but the jacket holds you in place. They can feel very awkward to the beginner....like me.

Now for fun plinking they are too heavy and much more fun sleeveless or with the lighter sleeves for can poping. I have found a Walther LG 55 DT Tyroloean with no sleeve, made that way, that may be the ultimate plinker. will post when it is all back together.


Gaines

And a heavy brute it is! I tried to remove the sleeve, as I found the rifle far too barrel heavy for my liking - it just doesn't seem to balance as nicely as my LGV with a similar sized sleeve. The sleeve on my MM would appear to be "glued" on - the front sight was removed, as was the set-screw, but the sleeve would not budge. I was told that applying heat (from a torch !) was the only way that it could be removed, so it remains on the gun.

its that chunk of lead hidden in the forestock. Rather have a slight heavier rifle that's balanced then a ligher one that wobbles. Never seen a HW55MM so can't say if it came with the Walther's forestock weight.

As Gaines mentioned, those aiming for supreme accuracy favor more weight then less. Check out the extra lead in the butt section of the LGV-T used in several world champioinship level events. It it just under the 11 lbs. maximum UIT (now ISSF) total weight limit.

Hello to you all.My name is Simon and live in the Netherlands.A hobby of mine is collecting older airguns aspecially Weihrauch HW55,s.Since I,ve been reading this vintage forum I have seen a lot of those beauty,s come by.Here are 2 of mine.Hope the foto,s come through.

Hello to you all.My name is Simon and live in the Netherlands.A hobby of mine is collecting older airguns aspecially Weihrauch HW55,s.Since I,ve been reading this vintage forum I have seen a lot of those beauty,s come by.Here are 2 of mine.Hope the foto,s come through.

Hi Simon, your pics didn't come through, but if you click on my name above, and email them to me, I'll see they get posted for you. Sometimes it takes a group effort to make them appear. lol. Dave

the tyros here have the same sleeve...

In the last couple decades of the HW 55's life, sleeves were advertised in two weights, 400 grams (about 14 ounces) and 900 grams (the 2-pounder like Gaines's).

The big ones seem to be more common, but the lighter ones would seem to be more useful for those that aren't bodybuilders!

One of the big ones came on my HW 55T. In addition to being too heavy for me, it was so roughly finished inside that it had scratched the muzzle. Needless to say I never re-installed it, and sold it off with no regrets.

That being said, the sleeve looks great on the HW 55 CM, and nicely complements the more serious paper-punching nature of that version.

mine came with what I believe to be the 14 oz. sleeve.This gun has HW-55M stamped on the barrel(although the stock configuration on this gun looks like many HW-55MM model's I've seen)this sleeve also seems to be glued or epoxied on.I was fortunate this gun also came with the factory rubber eyeshade on the rear sight that seems to often be missing from many guns that you see.Got this one from Ingvar Alm from Minnisota about six years ago.( sorry I tried to post pictures with this post but I just can't seem to be able to)

shows any sign of being glued. I know FWB's are but they have no mechanical connection. The HW's have a grub screw and the sight while Walther used a cap nut and sight. Maybe done by an earlier owner but strange. Glad to get the heavy one off, I about tipped over. It seems more appropriate on the CM as Mike pointed out. My 14 oz came on an early Tyrolean, still there. The heavy came on an M and was moved to a CM.....Gb

PS, I only have 2 HW sleeves, both are a little rough on the inside. I probably have 16-18 Walther sleeves, much smoother on the inside. The finish of the heavy HW sleeve on the outside really surprized me, convinced someone from Walther slipped in to blue it!!!

That Beeman epoxied sleeves on, not necessarily the manufacturer. Do any of the HW's mentioned have Beeman on them??? GB

So that pretty much verifies my suspicions of the "glued on" sleeve. Thanks for the info Gaines.

my HW-55M does not have beeman markings. as I mentioned in my earlier post mine has the 14 oz. sleeve and I was not able to remove the sleeve with all the power I could muster with my hands and a tack rag even with the front sight and grub screw removed so I stopped short of heat or other means to remove the sleeve,as IMO it gives good balance to the gun and I like the fact that it is as it was it was meant to be(original) as shipped from the HW factory.

It gives a finished look balanced feel to the 55 for serious target work. HW sleeves are relatively uncommon whereas almost all old Walthers have them. I did not know sleeveless Walthers existed until Vlad told me. I have since found two.....GB

Is the barrel sleeve on my Daisy/FWB 300 removable or is it glued? Looks like the front sight pin must be driven out to
accoplish this if possible.

There's no way to tell. Some were epoxied on, some weren't! I have one of each FWIW.

The front sight comes off rather easily. Note that the pin that holds the sight on has a tapered flat on one side; this is visible as a small gap on one side. Tap on this end to remove it, and be sure to put everything back the same way or the sight won't be aligned.

In response to the barrel sleeve question and "why". It has been my experience that I shoot much better with it than I do without it. I believe this is due to the decreased wobble due to the added weight. (physics). The firing characteristics are not that much affected by the added weight but my hold certainly is......and I don't pull the gun off nearly as much with a less than perfect trigger pull.
I've tried it both ways with the same guns (HW55T and Walther 55) and my groups are typically half as large with the sleeve. The sleeve makes me look much better than I really am........I'd put them on all my guns if I could.
To quote Don Nygord "Don't stand there all day admiring the wonderful sight picture" or somthing close to that.... because it will go to hell a little quicker as the muscles tire sooner with the added weight. As far as being a weightlifter, it doesn't hurt. Shooting on a regular basis will build up the muscles in a short time.
My bathroom scale shows the Walther 55 to weigh close to 12 lbs. with the sleeve and the lead in the forearm...and the bathroom scale wouldn't lie...would it?
I've used adhesive wheel weghts on my pistols as well with the same results.
I'm hoping to reach the level of "mediocre" in my shooting endeavors.
After 35 yrs of trying, I've had to admit that I'm not going to win any marksmanship awards but it's sure fun trying and I've met some nice folks in the bargain.........not all bad, eh?

Greg Hamilton