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Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

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North Country Gal
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Re: Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

Post by North Country Gal » Tue Nov 08, 2022 1:59 pm

Wow! I am impressed, Dave. I've been out off the pump up airgun game for awhile and didn't even know there was such an option, available. That gun solves some of the serious shortcomings of the old US made made pumps, most notably for me, it was made to take a scope and shoot with a scope, not add on a scope an afterthought.

I'm no longer up to doing all that pumping to shoot over the course of a shooting session, but, no kidding, if was younger, I'd buy one.

Here's a tip for anyone thinking of buying a pump up airgun. You do NOT have to pump it to the max for target work. In fact, best accuracy via the most consistent shot to shot velocity is typically at 50-80% of max pumps/velocity and a lot less work.For instance with my old Sheridans and Benjamin pumps with a listed max of 8 pumps, I do 4 pumps for 30 yard work and 6 pumps when I want to shoot out to 50yards. Even back in the day when I used Sheridans for squirrel hunting, I still only used 6 pumps.

Hunting with air guns is all about ACCURACY, not power. On small game like squirrels and rabbits it's all head shots or rib cage shots. Body shots only wound, not kill. Head shots are the quickest. Rib cage/lungs shots are slower. Keep that in mind if there's a chance the animal might crawl into a hole or den. My hunting days are long past, but that's from experience.
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Re: Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

Post by graywolf » Tue Nov 08, 2022 7:19 pm

Looks like both of them are in the 600-850 fps range. Is that the fps range I should be looking at? I guess more velocity = more recoil. One is single shot and other repeater. Is that personal preference? Single pump or multiple pump pro and con's. .177 or .22 cal? I'm asking after reading posts, while fresh on my mind. I'll be on the airgun sites tonight. Thanks for the help.
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North Country Gal
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Re: Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

Post by North Country Gal » Tue Nov 08, 2022 7:55 pm

Sorry, all the info can be a bit much to digest, sometimes.

More velocity means more recoil ONLY on piston guns and this is not a piston gun. It's a type of pneumatic we call a multi pump. Felt recoil on any kind of pneumatic - PCP, single pump, multi pump or CO2 - is the same, regardless of velocity because there's no piston slamming forward in these guns when you release the trigger. That only happens on a piston gun. When you release the trigger on any kind of pneumatic, all you are releasing is air, so no recoil. That's the big advantage of a pneumatic. This gun Dave listed is a multi pump, so no recoil.

The only issue on a multi pump gun like Seneca is that in order to get that full 850 fps listed max velocity is that it means more pumping and work before you get to take a shot. Fewer pumps means less velocity.
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Re: Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

Post by markiver54 » Tue Nov 08, 2022 8:03 pm

My old Blue Streak pump makes quick work of grey squirrels with 4 to 7 pumps, depending on distance.
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Re: Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

Post by North Country Gal » Tue Nov 08, 2022 8:16 pm

Okay, multi pumps and PCPs are both pneumatics, so no recoil. They are important differences, though. I'll cover one of those, here.

A multi pump rifle has an an attached pump mechanism that is part of the rifle, plus a reservoir that holds the compressed air. In order to shoot, you must first grab the attached pump handle and start pumping to fill the reservoir. This means that you have to pump for every shot. In any given shooting session, then, you will be doing a lot of pumping.

A PCP (Pre-charged pneumatic) only has a large reservoir on the gun, but it's large enough to hold enough pressure for x number of shots. There's no pump attached to the gun. You use a separate hand pump (or nowadays more likely a special compressor) to fill the reservoir before you go shooting. The advantage here is that there is no pumping between shots. You can go through an entire shooting session without any pumping.

Why is this important? For serious competition shooting, having to pump between shots with a multi pump elevates your heart rate and that is a serious disadvantage for accuracy shooting. Not good for steadiness. That's why multi pumps aren't used for competition.

No pumping between shots on a PCP while you shoot, so your heart rate and steadiness stays the same. That's why PCPs own competition air gun shooting. (For folks that fill a PCP with a PCP floor pump (similar to a bicycle pump), they usually fill the night before so they don't elevate their heart rate prior to a shooting session.)

These days, most serious PCP shooter now use special PCP compressors to fill their guns (you can't use a regular shop compressor, by the way), rather than hand pumps or using scuba tanks that you have to have filled at a dive shop to fill your guns. Saves a LOT of work and hassle. There are even portable air compressors that run off a car battery and even portable air tanks that you fill with a compressor first and then take with you to the range or the field to fill your PCP. You can do multiple fills with these portable tanks. They're called pony tanks.

Since all of our PCP shooting is right at home, we just use a compressor that fills our PCP guns directly. We used to use scuba tanks and have them filled at a dive shop forty miles from our place, but that was a pain.

When shopping for a PCP, though, remember that the price of the gun is only part of the cost if this is your first PCP. You still have to purchase a pump or go the scuba tank route or buy your own compressor (not cheap) to fill it.
Last edited by North Country Gal on Tue Nov 08, 2022 9:09 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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North Country Gal
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Re: Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

Post by North Country Gal » Tue Nov 08, 2022 8:31 pm

Love those old Blue Streaks. Have several vintage Blue Streaks.
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Re: Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

Post by markiver54 » Tue Nov 08, 2022 8:36 pm

North Country Gal wrote:
Tue Nov 08, 2022 8:31 pm
Love those old Blue Streaks. Have several vintage Blue Streaks.
:D Just glad I can still pump it.
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Re: Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

Post by daytime dave » Wed Nov 09, 2022 11:18 am

graywolf, Take a look at Gateway to Airguns. NCG and I are members there. I haven't been on it in a while as I've had a busier than expected year for a twice retired guy.

That is one of the few airgun sites I ever visit anymore.

There is a lot of information to digest. Take your time and save up some funds for the project. As you will find, airguns are finicky about what pellets they shoot best. You will want to get a variety at first and then do testing. You will also want to pick up pell gun oil and perhaps silicone oil. It depends what your manufacturer calls for.

One good thing is that when you purchase a nice airgun, it will last you for decades. I have a WalMart special that I purchased in my early adult airgun mode. It still is in the inventory, but it doesn't go out. I don't want to give it away as I don't want to spoil someone's impression of the sport. Take your time and pick a winner.
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North Country Gal
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Re: Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

Post by North Country Gal » Wed Nov 09, 2022 12:36 pm

Amen to that. Great advice.
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Re: Premium springer fun: FWB Sport

Post by graywolf » Wed Nov 09, 2022 4:45 pm

Thanks Dave, will check it out tonight. I watched a demo on the Seneca and 3-4 demos on the HW30S last night. Liked both but having a single pump might be easier on me than pumping multiple times. I will probably use open sights to start with.
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