Two Feinwerkbaus on a postage stamp

How many airguns can claim to have appeared on a national postage stamp?

This stamp appears to have been issued in 1979 to commemorate the European Air Rifle and Air Pistol Championships in Graz, Austria. The drawings are not perfectly accurate, but the rifle bears a strong resemblance to a FWB300S and the pistol to a FWB80.

 

News!

What's this?

A new Feinwerkbau Sport! (Image taken from the Feinwerkbau website.)

It seems that 30 years after production of the original Sport 12# ended, Feinwerkbau are to release a new version.

More photographs and other information can be found on the Feinwerkbau website here.

There's some speculation and discussion on AirgunBBS here and here.

Easter with the FWB300S Junior

Yesterday I finally managed to leave the city and spend an afternoon shooting on my friend's land with my new FWB300S Junior. The Junior is slightly shorter and lighter than the standard 300S, and was intended as a 10 metre match rifle for children and smaller adults. The action appears to be the same as the 300S, but the barrel lacks the muzzle weight, and the stock is made from beech rather than walnut, with the length of pull being reduced to about 30cm.

This rifle was made in 1982, and the stock has a step in the forend. This step did not appear on later rifles, their stocks being more like the standard 300S. I found the step to be very comfortable, and prefer the look to the later rifles. The pistol grip is stippled and the forend is fitted with an accessory rail, as on the standard 300S. The length of pull is a little short for me, so I will look at extending it by about 3cm with a spacer and longer screws.

I think this example was previously owned by a shooting club, as it shows a lot of use; the varnish has been rubbed from the stock and the metalwork is pitted along the top of the cylinder.

The breech seal is blue, so not original, but this does not necessarily mean that the internals have been replaced too - this thread on American Vintage Airguns is worth a read with regards to the internal parts. With this in mind, I have bought a service kit from Waffencenter Gotha. Following advice on AirgunBBS, I chose a standard kit over any of the tuning options; smoothness and minimal wear are more important to me than higher power.

I have not fitted the kit yet, as I wanted to see how the rifle shoots first (and, I must be honest, I have not plucked up the courage to attempt to strip it!). Sights are the usual match dioptre type, with a 1.1mm iris (replaceable) and a globe at the front. The rifle arrived fitted with a 4.1mm element, which I expect is ideal for 10 metre match shooting, but as I intend to use it at longer ranges, I changed this for a 3.6mm globe. This proved to be perfect for shooting paper targets and beer cans from 30 to 50 metres.

The dioptre sits on standard 11mm scope rails, which I think extend further forward than those on my 1976 FWB300S. I may well fit a 4x32 scope in the future. The photo below also shows the cocking lever and its release catch - note the lever is much shorter than that of the FWB150, and the catch is of a simpler design, on the top rather than the end of the lever. I find it easier to use than that of the FWB150.

The dioptre is of a slightly different design to that on my FWB150; I wonder how many variations Feinwerkbau went through up until the FWB300SU?

As it has come from Germany, power is within their limit of  7.5 joules (about 5.5 ft.lbs). While this might seem low, it's perfectly adequate for accurate fun shooting out to 50 metres. Cocking effort is minimal, and with the lighter weight and pleasant balance of the rifle I could shoot all afternoon quite happily. The trigger is excellent, noticeably better than the (very good) trigger on my FWB150. 

There is a slight twang from the springs on releasing the shot. This is quite normal for Feinwerkbaus, and I think it is probably a result of the fact that the springs are not lubricated - I have read that the rifle was designed to be run dry. Accuracy is excellent, as expected. When the wind was up, hitting the 10x12cm plate from 50 metres was a challenge, but as soon as it was calm I was knocking it consistently, with a few centimetres of holdover. The rifle did however show that it is in need of some attention; it seemed that sometimes it would recoil on its sledge a little too freely, maybe as if something in the recoil absorption mechanism is worn or needs tightening. When holding it vertically, a slap on the butt causes the action to drop back to its rearmost position. If anyone has any suggestions as to how to remedy this, please let me know. 

Overall, I am extremely happy with my FWB300S Junior. It's accurate and it handles very nicely. I even quite like its battered appearance. Sorting out the mechanical wear and tear, extending the butt by 3cm and adding a light 4x32 scope might make it the perfect long range fun rifle.

Christmas with the FWB150

Four weeks ago, I bought a FWB150 from the German auction site eGun. It was described as recently serviced (important as servicing can cost a significant amount if you don't have the skill to do it yourself) and had a reasonable "buy it now" price. An email to the seller to confirm she would post internationally, and it was mine. However, it was not until this week that I was able to shoot it; I spent Christmas at a friend's house, with a 50 metre garden to play in.

This example of the 150 appears to have been made in 1965 or 66, judging by the serial number (23xxx). It has clearly been restored recently, not just with a service of internal parts but with a reblue of the metalwork and a refinish of the stock. The blue is a little thin, and although I expect the varnish on the stock is close to the original, an oil finish would have been nicer. However, it is still a beautiful rifle.

Compared to the FWB300S I have, the stock is more like that of a sporting rifle; the grip is chequered rather than stippled, and the forend is shallower. The forend feels wider than the 300S, but as my other rifle is back in the UK I cannot compare the two. I particularly like the pattern of chequering on the grip of the 150, the way the two panels meet at the top.

The grip is beautifully shaped, with a slight swell on the right that fits my fairly large hand perfectly. Although the stock is not an ambidextrous design, my left handed friend found it comfortable to use. This example has a fixed rubber butt pad; I do not know if this was standard on the 150, or if an adjustable pad as found on the 300S was an option. Length of pull is about 345mm, a little short for me but still comfortable. In the future I might replace the pad with one from a 300S, and add a spacer. A UIT type rail is fitted under the forend, so that a bipod or hand stop can be fitted, and there is also a screw hole for the attachment of a weight to alter the balance. 

The 150 was available with a barrel sleeve as an optional extra, and mine has one fitted. I like the look; as for balance, I think it would be equally good without it. As can be seen from the photograph below, there is a small gap of about 5.5mm between the barrel sleeve and the front sight. This led me to suspect that the sleeve or the sight might not be an original item, and I was told on AirgunBBS that Feinwerkbau fitted a different front sight to rifles with the sleeve. The ideal solution would be to find an appropriate front sight, but in the mean time I might have a blued steel spacer made to fill the gap.

As befits a target rifle, the sights are of the diopter type. The rear sight on this rifle is of the same type as fitted to my 300S, with a 1.1mm iris; I do not know whether this is original or not, whether an earlier version was made. The front sight takes replaceable elements of 16mm diameter. This rifle came fitted with a 4mm globe element, and a member of AirgunBBS kindly sent me a post type to try too.

The cocking lever of the 150 is quite different to that of the 300S, being longer and having a different type of latch.

Here is a photo of the mechanism open. The whole rifle is superbly well engineered, and I am sure it will outlast me. You can also see the separate rail onto which the diopter sight is fitted; the later 300S uses a conventional 11mm dovetail. The horizontal grooves at the front are for reference when adjusting the position of the sight on the receiver, while beneath the sight are deeper grooves into which fits the cross-bolt, to prevent the sight shifting under recoil. 

When you buy any of the Feinwerkbau spring powered match guns, have a look at the breech seal. Modern replacements are blue or green, whereas the originals are now yellow and brittle. Original seals should be replaced, along with the piston buffer from inside, as continuing to use a rifle with worn seals can cause damage as well as poor accuracy.

Now on to the most important question: how does it shoot? As anyone who has owned a FWB match gun will know: wonderfully. Although it is fairly heavy, it comes to the shoulder easily and balances nicely. Cocking is light and smooth, with a reassuring safety ratchet mechanism to prevent accidental release when fingers are in the breech. The trigger is brilliant, maybe not quite as good as that of the 300S but still superb. The sledge recoil system works well, and very little if anything is felt when the rifle discharges.

I zeroed at 25 metres, using JSB Exact RS Diabolo pellets. Obviously, if using the rifle for match shooting I would use wadcutters, but as I will be using it for plinking out to 50 metres I chose roundheads. I will not quote group sizes, as I am an embarrassingly poor shot and cannot do the rifle justice, but I will say that shooting from a standing unsupported position, hitting bottle tops was easy at 25 metres. At 50 metres, with 36cm of hold-over, I was hitting a 5x8cm target consistently. From a rest, I have no doubt that the 150 is capable of groups of well under 3cm at 50 metres on a still day. Regarding velocity, I do not know. The original manual states 180 metres per second, but a 36cm drop at 50 metres from a 25 metre zero with 0.475 gram pellets suggests 145 metres per second for my rifle, using Hawke ChairGun. It certainly felt like more than that, but it could be that the rifle is still settling in after its restoration, or that my pacing of 50 metres leaves something to be desired and that it was more like 55 or 60 metres. Whatever the velocity, the important thing is accuracy, and the 150 has this in abundance.

As stated in earlier posts on this blog, I am no expert on these guns, so I am always eager for any further information readers may have.

Happy New Year, fellow Feinwerkbau enthusiasts!

Airgun Collector magazine

Members of AirgunBBS, together with some US enthusiasts, have got together to produce a brilliant magazine on airgun collecting. It covers a wide range of air rifles and pistols, but of particular interest to Feinwerkbau collectors is a piece by D R Hughes, who led the way in importing high quality German airguns into the UK in the 1960s and 70s, and also wrote a handbook for the Model 124/127 Sport, amongst other rifles.

The magazine can be downloaded free as a Pdf from sources listed on the link above. Please note, I had no part in producing this magazine, credit must go to the contributors and Garvin of AirgunBBS who put it together. Thanks chaps! 

When was my FWB124/127 Sport made?

Whereas there exists a comprehensive list of serial numbers and production dates for the FWB300, comparatively little is available when it comes to the 124/127 Sport. What I have found is listed below, and comes from two discussions on AirgunBBS (1, 2). It appears that the Sport was in production from 1973 and 1989, and serial numbers were sequential, so for example a Model 121 was part of the same number sequence as a Model 127.

#10012 was made in 1977
#17023 was made in December 1978
#34476 was made in September 1980
#44001 was made in September 1981
#49992 was made in October 1982
#51631 was made in 1983
#52589 was made in May 1983

Mention is made of #5974 as being made in 1980; this is probably the result of a typo, as a date of 1980 would more likely fit in with serial number 25974.

When was my FWB150/300/300S made?

The FWB300 series of rifles really began in January 1963 with the introduction of the FWB150. This was followed by the Model 300 in 1969, and the Model 300S in 1972. Other variants include the Model 110 (lacking the recoilless mechanism), Model 300S Junior, Model 300S laufende scheibe, Model 300SU, and Model 300S Match L. You can see some photos of different models on the American Vintage Airguns site here.

The following is a list of serial numbers and the corresponding production dates. I did not compile this list myself; I suspect it originated with the experts on American Vintage Airguns.

Model 150

FWB 150       2624              10/63
FWB 150        4732              04/64
FWB 150        6451              07/64
FWB 150        6776              08/64
FWB 110        22667            (ohne Rücklauf)
FWB 150        31257            11/67
FWB 150        32660            01/68
FWB 110        32905            (ohne Rücklauf)

   
Model 300

FWB 300         51287            01/69
FWB 300         53596            04/69
FWB 300         61000            11/69
FWB 300         63657            01/70
FWB 300         69992            07/70
FWB 300         73190            10/70
FWB 300         75667            11/70
FWB 300         84461            06/71
FWB 300         94765            02/72
FWB 300         98616            04/72

Model 300S

FWB 300S        102357        07/72
FWB 300S        104952        09/72
FWB 300S        123222        07/73
FWB 300S        128486        10/73
FWB 300S        135130        01/74
FWB 300S        135366        01/74
FWB 300S        136047        01/74
FWB 300S        139676        02/74
FWB 300S        1487xx        06/74
FWB 300S        156834        01/74
FWB 300S        160953        12/74              (lange Prismenschiene?)
FWB 300S        169334        04/75
FWB 300S        185763        01/76
FWB 300S        192952        05/76              (kurze Prismenschiene)
FWB 300S        197619        08/76              (lange Prismenschiene)
FWB 300S        198145        08/76
FWB 300S        202785        09/76
FWB 300S        210105        12/76
FWB 300S        215428        03/77
FWB 300S        230303        10/77
FWB 300S        237542        01/78
FWB 300S        244585        05/78
FWB 300S        251939        08/78
FWB 300S        2533XX       09/78
FWB 300S        257144        10/78
FWB 300S        262092        12/78              (U-Schaft)
FWB 300S        2645XX       01/79
FWB 300S        270215        XX/79
FWB 300S        274206        07/79
FWB 300S        274882        07/79              (U-Schaft)
FWB 300S        277703        10/79
FWB 300S        281368        01/80
FWB 300S        296566        09/80
FWB 300S        312052        05/82  (?)       (U-Schaft)
FWB 300S        312253        04/81
FWB 300S        313567        XX/82 (?)
FWB 300S        316804        10/81
FWB 300S        3263XX       04/82
FWB 300S        328579        05/82
FWB 300S        331129        08/82
FWB 300S        334063        11/82
FWB 300S        3416XX       04/83
FWB 300S        348497        03/84
FWB 300S        354537        01/85
FWB 300S        361460        XX/86
FWB 300S        362953        09/86              (LS)
FWB 300S        363907        02/87
FWB 300S        364191        03/87
FWB 300S        3696XX       09/89
FWB 300S        370598        04/90
FWB 300S        373921        06/92