Spring/Piston 53 year old FWB 300, still a winner

[Kragman1]

No hijacking going on Billm!

Your post is exactly the kind of discussion we all like to see here.

 

[Scriv]

You have definitely piqued my interest in this rifle.

 

[Billm]

Fantastic air rifle in its time and intended use. I was a diehard Diana/Original fan only because my first air rifle was a Diana. But, most people in the European 10m scene considered the FWB 300s to be the 10m rifle to have. Good thing we didn’t shoot over chronographs back then - I had no idea that its power was a lot less than a sporter lol. I only used it to shoot 10m though. It would be fun to have one to shoot my bell target if Air Venturi ever ships them lol

 

[jps2486]

Here's what my FWB300SU can do.

 

[mobilemail]

I had an FWB300 a few years back. Fine rifle indeed, the only weak link was the loose nut behind the trigger. I took it to an open airgun shoot one winter and all the middle school girls snickered at the antique shooting the antique. Then they politely proceeded to hand my hiney to me. Apparently I spend too much time shooting with old guys who settle in with a 1/2 gallon of coffee....

Anyway, enjoy that fine vintage rifle!

 

[Waytoomany]

Hi everyone


Earlier today I got a chance to shoot my circa 1971 Feinwerkbau 300. Not "seriously" mind you - take some chrono readings, shoot a few as a sanity check, hope for the best, etc. Exploratory, not forensic.


I've never owned one before. It's not the first time I've shot a 300 series rifle, but it was the first time I could calmly do so, at my own pace, etc.
For a guy who's always racing around and squeezing things in, that alone was a great experience.


So, how did it go? How was this particular 53 year old rifle going to perform?

Good. Reeaaal good.
I'd say it embodies everything that makes the 300 series legendary. With one small fly in the ointment, that I'll get to that a bit later on.

First, I'd like to stop and smell the roses for a moment. Point a few things out that are easy to skip past.

1. The rifle is long and somewhat heavy, but both in good ways. The length and weight of the barrel do a good job of balancing the rifle for shooting the way I like to shoot - rested, with my off hand under the forearm. It's not bulky, portly or problematic. It's solidly built for a purpose and I appreciate that very much.
I will say that the 300S Junior I have feels very different in my hands, almost light, and I can see why so many people target the Juniors. I'm probably going to prefer the heavier 300 though. Time will tell.

2. The stock ergonomics are really good IMO. I do wish that it had an adjustable cheek piece, but there are alternatives for that and it isn't a big deal anyway, even when using a scope as I did. But I could really settle in with it and it felt effortlessly stable throughout the shooting session. The palm swell, which I often find frivolous and sometimes annoying, felt natural and welcome. A pleasant surprise! And a check mark in the Plus column.


3. I found the combined geometry of the comp tube, barrel axis and milled sight/scope rail to be spot on, and that's a very big deal to me. Tested simply by mechanically centering the Nikon EFR that I mounted and shooting without making windage adjustments.

Yep - this one shoots straight down the middle. Another check mark in the Plus column.


4. The sound and feel of the anti-beartrap workings as you cock the rifle are hypnotically smooth yet delicately crisp. Just perfect. I'm guessing that this rifle hasn't seen all that much actual use and was simply made to a very high standard. The latch & lockup are also precise and the cocking effort is minimal,

As an ex-Toolmaker, I can tell you that I truly love precision machining and fine parts fitting. Honestly, I had as much fun working the rifle as I did shooting it. If I could, I would add 2 marks to the Plus column for that.


5. I want to mention the sights, because this one came to me with Gehmann upgrades to the standard sights. I played around with adjustments, etc and they were crisp and precise. Firm without being stiff or numb. Exactly as they should be.
I am confident that someone with younger eyes could shoot with them as well as a scope at 10M. When I was young, I used to do extremely well with lesser quality aperture sights. Yep - another check in the Plus column.

6. For all the muzzle crown tea-leaf readers out there (like myself), the crown is also excellent. No surprise.

7. The trigger: well, here's where it got a little weird for me, though after shooting for a bit I figured out what was bugging me about it. This is the "fly in the ointment" I mentioned at the beginning.
I haven't tried to adjust the trigger on my 300, because it has an ounces light take-up followed by ounces light second stage.
The man who owned this rifle before me could probably teach a course on trigger adjustments, because every gun I bought from him has the trigger set the same way.
But - the second stage of this one seemed to have a weird little roll or vague spot in the let off. Not crisp. Kinda squishy actually. But every-shot consistent.
After a while I started looking at the trigger like it owed me money (thank you Mr. Taylor). I even looked at the three trigger screws and had devious thoughts of hopping onto the web for a quick tutorial. But I stuck to the original plan of just quickly dipping my toe into the FWB 300 waters, and didn't get sidetracked.
Then, while steadying the reticle for a shot, it hit me - the trigger blade is narrow, and what I was feeling wasn't in the trigger - it was from the blade sinking into the pad of my finger as I increased pressure on the blade. So I wrapped a piece of masking tape around my fingertip and poof! gone!
Down the road I will be looking for a way to change to a post & rotating blade a la the 300S. If I'm forced to, maybe a trigger shoe. Maybe.

So, how does it shoot? After all, that's the big thing right? The biggest thing of all!

Well, there were many things working against it. I'm very out of practice, I'm shooting from a half #%&ed "rest" (a pipe on my boiler) in my basement, using a $3/tin of Geco wadcutters (at 650 fps). I did have a good Nikon EFR on my side though, set to 4X. And after a few shots for me to get settled down, I punched a single hole to use as a point of aim, then did this with the next five shots:

View attachment 9070

I'm pretty pumped about this. A 300 - any 300 - should be a terrific shooter. That's the standard that they will always be held to.
In many ways, the deck was stacked against this one today, but it simply carried on in 300 fashion by stacking pellets into a single ragged hole the first chance it got. I had basically put the search for a 300 out of my mind when I bought my Diana 65, but I'm really glad that I bought this one. A pair of them actually, this one and a 300S Jr.
I know that parts availability for the older 300 model is becoming something to consider, but I'm looking forward to shooting this one for a long time to come.

View attachment 9071

Beautiful! Do you prefer it to a Feinwerkbau 300S?

Waytoomany

 

[Scriv]

Very nice! Never had one of these myself, or even a chance to shoot one, but I will sure be on the lookout for one. Lot of surprising good things show up at gun and pawn shops around here, and pellet guns are often overlooked by the normal crowds. But not by me!

There's one at AoA right now.

 

[JimT66]

There's one at AoA right now.

Something like that popping up right now figures. I was bad last night..again. I bought another thing. A new Reximex wrapped in that gorgeous Turkey walnut. I was tempted by the OD green laminate though. Figured it would go great with my Akela. Anyway, if I bought that today, I'm afraid y'all would have to send out the police in a search party, to find my mangled remains after the wife disposes of my corpse.

 

[Scriv]

Something like that popping up right now figures. I was bad last night..again. I bought another thing. A new Reximex wrapped in that gorgeous Turkey walnut. I was tempted by the OD green laminate though. Figured it would go great with my Akela. Anyway, if I bought that today, I'm afraid y'all would have to send out the police in a search party, to find my mangled remains after the wife disposes of my corpse.

Lucky for you, it's already gone.