Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

[North Country Gal]

I've been shooting my 177 cal FWB Sport off the deck this last week using its power to really smack my metal targets.


My FWB (Feinwerkbau, made in Germany) Sport isn't my most used springer air rifle, so the saying that the rifle you shoot the most is your best rifle doesn't hold, here. On the other hand, I could make the case for my FWB Sport being my best spring piston air rifle in terms of fit and finish and especially, accuracy.


In the air gun world, it is generally conceded that air rifles with fixed barrel, under lever designs are generally more accurate than air rifles of the break barrel design, but don't tell that to my FWB Sport. It's a break barrel that's has tied my very best fixed barrel under lever rifles for accuracy all the way out 50 yards.

The Sport is also my springer with the sharpest and snappiest springer recoil. A mild-mannered, low power springer it is not. It's not a gun I would recommend for learning how to shoot a spring piston air rifle. In fact, the Sport recoil is so sharp, that I've gone though three different scopes and three different types mounts to solve the problem of the scope and mount sliding to the rear after a number of shots. Finally solved the problem by reducing scope and mount weight with the little Leupold Freedom 3-9x and adding an improvised scope stop behind the rear ring. Hasn't budged since.


Oh, yeah, it's been a long road to develop the technique needed to tame this beast, but it's been worth it. The FWB Sport never lets me down in accuracy when I do my part.


As for the way the FWB Sport smacks steel, well, I've actually knocked a few spinner targets off their rest at 25 yards. Can't help but think those metal targets squirm a bit when I walk out on deck with the FWB Sport.

[Sir Henry]

Fantastic shooting Joanie! I think half the fun of shooting is solving problems. Maybe not at the time of the solving part but more of the solved part.

[North Country Gal]

Yeah, I do enjoy the accuracy challenge with any gun. For me, it is part of the fun of shooting. I think you have to have a stubborn, don't give up attitude as well as a positive attitude. If you let yourself believe a gun isn't accurate or that you can't shoot all you are doing is wasting ammo.

This FWB Sport impressed me right out of the box, though. This one was easy. I could see the potential, immediately. Just had to figure a way to hold it so that it shot consistently.

I've had plenty of the "headache" kind of guns, too. Most of them turned into acceptable shooters with enough work. Always a few, though, that I just had to send down the road. We've all had some of those.

[GFK]

Did not know that air rifles had that much of a kick. Also, nice looking rifle and shooting!

[North Country Gal]

Hi GFK

With piston air rifles, either spring piston or gas piston, it's not painful recoil as with a hard kicking magnum cartridge rifle. It's more a matter of unusual two way recoil, back and forward, as the piston on the rifle slams forward, pushing the gun to the rear and then as the air gets compressed ahead of the piston, the rifle gets pushed forward. This shuffling kind of recoil is a detriment to accuracy until you learn a proper hold to control it. The more powerful the piston system, the more the recoil and the greater challenge to shoot with accuracy.

All other types of air guns are one type of pneumatic or another as in PCP, CO2 or pumpers. These are more or less recoilless, regardless of power and can be shot just like a 22 rifle, no special hold needed.

[markiver54]

Hi GFK

With piston air rifles, either spring piston or gas piston, it's not painful recoil as with a hard kicking magnum cartridge rifle. It's more a matter of unusual two way recoil, back and forward, as the piston on the rifle slams forward, pushing the gun to the rear and then as the air gets compressed ahead of the piston, the rifle gets pushed forward. This shuffling kind of recoil is a detriment to accuracy until you learn a proper hold to control it. The more powerful the piston system, the more the recoil and the greater challenge to shoot with accuracy.

All other types of air guns are one type of pneumatic or another as in PCP, CO2 or pumpers. These are more or less recoilless, regardless of power and can be shot just like a 22 rifle, no special hold needed.

Very interesting Joanie. I have wondered about the recoil of an air rifle myself. Good question GFK...thanks NCG!

[North Country Gal]

You are very welcome.

[Hatchdog]

Like most I have “heard” that air rifles are hard on scopes. Until reading your report I always assumed that meant breaking the reticle. Interesting to read that your issue with this rifle was the scope and or mount moving. Great idea to install that blocker.

[North Country Gal]

Springer/gas piston guns are hard on scopes in a couple ways. The first, as above, is keeping the scope from slipping in the rings or the whole scope and rings slipping on the rail. Another is just plain wearing the scope out to the point where the adjustments won't hold and the scope is just plain broke and no longer useable. This can happen even on scopes rated for springer recoil, but it's the first thing that happens when you use scope not built for use on piston air rifles.

Interestingly, gas piston guns have a rep for being harder scopes than spring piston guns. but I suspect that is partly due to the the fact that gas piston guns are invariably more powerful than spring guns. Actually hard to even find a low power gas piston gun on the market and with the exception of a few very expensive models, you can't mod the power on a gas piston gun, so you're stuck with that power level. On springers, you can change power just by changing the main spring or just buy a new gun at any power level you want.

[markiver54]

These types of guns are a whole lot more complex than I ever imagined. Wow, what a wealth of information.