Walther target rifle project.

[1066]

I've just become the proud owner of an old, worn and abused Walther LGR target rifle. This rifle was used as a club gun since the early 80's until about ten years ago when it stopped working - It's been slowly rusting away in a clubroom safe since then.
These rifles were cutting edge 10m target rifles in their day, winning gold and silver Olympic medals in the 1984 LA Olympics.
The rifle is a single stroke pneumatic, it's complete but all the seals have completely disintegrated.
The new seals arrived this morning so hopefully I'll have this up and running soon.

 

[cobalt327]

That's an uber cool project, good luck with it!

 

[jmorris]

Yep, that would be a lot more fun than some of the projects I’ve done.

 

[Hermet]

Neat. Can't wait to see the outcome.

 

[tallpaul]

its a crime to let them go to that... should be a great addition to your herd. Are you rebuilding it for the club or is it yours now?

 

[1066]

its a crime to let them go to that... should be a great addition to your herd. Are you rebuilding it for the club or is it yours now?

This will be added to my personal small collection Paul, I understand the club had a clear-out of all their old rifles and re-equipped with new stuff.

Over the years I've been involved with many shooting disciplines but never really had a go at 10m air rifle, it's like shooting match heads, standing with aperture sights at 33'. Hopefully this rifle will be competitive at club level with out spending $3k on a new 10m rifle.

I already have a Morini 162ei match air pistol with electronic trigger which is my current competition pistol, I also have a few oldies:
This is an old Walther CM2 Co2 match pistol dating from about 1980's:

I also have a Walther LP53, 1950's spring match pistol, a Hammerli single Co2 (1960's) and an Original 6M recoilless (Giss system) spring pistol among others.

A trio of BSA underlever air rifles, A Mk 2 BSA Airsporter 1960's and two L pattern BSA's from 1920's.

 

[tallpaul]

HA- I understand and have known of the game... in reality an Olympic target bullseye for airgun is closer to the size of the period at the end of a sentence with normal type at 33 ft '

I had a diana 75... I still have a fwb model 601 and a hw 55 in rifles and in pistols a izzy 46,fwb model 80 and a fwb model 2. If I ever find a deal I cant pass up a pcp rifle and pistol of olympic quality will be added.

the diana was great but I did not like having to send here out for a rebuild ... the ssp guns are usually easy to fix at home if you have any skill at all There are great deals in some of the older target guns if ya look And they do tend to shoot sooooo nice!

 

[1066]

Well, I have re-assembled it and now have a working air rifle. The new piston seal was unfortunately the wrong size so I decided to make a new piston head to take an "O" ring. After a good scrub of the barrel the accuracy was excellent as you would expect. I clamped it in bench swivel vice and shot it out my workshop door, only 28 feet available there but enough to give an initial impression. Power wise I'm a little down on optimum - These match rifles seem to perform their best at the 550 - 600 fps range, I'm currently getting a consistent 490fps. I believe I can tweak this up a bit by making a new piston head and aligning the transfer port/valve a little better.



5 x Crossman Acco-pell - 28 feet.

5 x Geco match 28 ft.


Stock need a bit love.

 

[tallpaul]

What did ya give for it as it was?

looks like nothing but potential and FUN!

 

[1066]

About $130 including shipping to my door.

 

[tallpaul]

ya did well! I would buy one for that as it was also!

 

[cobalt327]

Very nice results! Personally I don't think I'd worry a bit about 490 fps with accuracy like that. $130 shipped is a screaming deal IMHO.

 

[Louca]

Very nice on many accounts! Don't be surprised if you NEVER get rid of that rifle. Almost 33 years ago, I bought and still have an RWS 75 TO1 rifle for 10m match shooting and I probably will never ever sell it. I had it "tuned up" a few years ago, after the piston seal finally went bad. They are pure shooting: clean, quiet, and accurate. With those rifles, is not uncommon to have 10 m groups measured in thousandths of an inch. Take your time on that stock and you will have a real beauty when you are done!

 

[jmorris]

If you are just using a regular o-ring now you might try a quad seal in its place.

 

[1066]

Thanks for that Jm, I'd not thought about quad seals, I just happened to have an "O" ring selection kit in the workshop, however have now ordered a few quads to compare, it certainly looks like a better option although the "O" ring has held pressure for 24 hours ok. I'm getting good at taking this thing apart now, like a F1 pitstop tyre change.
I've already been down an engineering dead end - when I installed the first "O" ring piston head I tried the cocking lever with the action in the vice, yes, nice springy compression, pressed the outlet valve and the piston bottomed out just right, the problem was, there was total vacuum on the cocking stroke. Back to the workshop and made a piston head with a one-way seal system that worked perfectly. When I assembled the complete mechanism I found there was a clever bit of German design that kept the exhaust valve open on the cocking stroke so the extra work not necessary.

 

[1066]

Mechanics are looking good with a regular 530 fps. Stripped the stock today, steamed out a few dents and not looking too bad.

 

[1066]

Nearly there now;

 

[Louca]

Nice!

What did you do for the black areas of the stock? Stippling? Paint?

 

[1066]

Well all done and tested - very pleased with how it turned out. The stock is oil finished then a wax polish, I originally stained the stippled areas dark oak but it looked a little patchy so I decided to spray it satin/matt black. The accuracy is stunning at 10m and it's a pleasure to shoot and very quiet. I made up the little bi-pod with odds and ends and 3d printed a foresight element. Velocity is a fairly consistent 530fps.