orig 45 v fwb124

[DM80]

Like GARETH says: 'An interesting thread'.
Im surprised no one has mentioned the BSF 55/60/70 range of rifles. Notice I didn't include the model 54 as this is, shall we say, rather agricultural in build quality and has the balance of a house brick but loved by some.

Personally, my vote goes towards the FWB Sport although the '45 in .20 cal. has a certain something.

ATB
Ian

Ian

BSF's rubbish

Dave.

[ianm1]

As far as springers go the fwb was about the best i reckon. I have just sold an original 45 on behalf of my sister to a lad at work for £50, what a big cumbersome gun that was.

[BTDT]

Ian

BSF's rubbish

Dave.

Especially the Model 65.

It was so bad BSF only made one, and were amazed when they managed to flog it to some obscure collector from Blackburn.

[I. J.]

Ian

BSF's rubbish

Dave.

On the advice of the oracle I shall immediately throw them all in the bin. (Like yeah)

Especially the Model 65.

It was so bad BSF only made one, and were amazed when they managed to flog it to some obscure collector from Blackburn.

I also live in Blackburn. Do I know him?

ATB
Ian

[red bob]

cheers lads! but ive now got another problem ,there are at least 3/4 rifles you mention that i now must have to complete my 80s collection.
the a335 always did appeal the draw back as mentioned is power but that isnt everything the old winerack77 or 80 would be a sin to miss out on and the prosport well ,o im just going to have to put the names into a hat and see what comes out. i fully respect all your particuler choices but the one thing i cant get away from with the fwb is its hit where you aim ability ,if i miss i can be near certain i was off when i touched the trigger .that said the fwb ia a bit like a racehorse great performance but not without inherant weakness s.regards to all bob.

[fat man]

Hi guys , great debate. Can I add my 2 Pence. I have a sport mark 2 with Macari Upgrades, superb in balance and accuracey, its got a custum stock which is stippled not cheakered, find it makes controlling it in the wet much easier., i also have a 335 coming soon,so will be interesting how they compare. 335 dose have a chocked barrel which makes it very accurate, not as powerful as sport. As to 45, a great gun, deservered to do better. Killof by the mighty hw80. Mines from the airgun centre, mark 1 in 22 cal it still knocks out 11.7 with accupels. Bit of an handful know my hand and arm are knackered though. I j mentioned that 45 was made in.20 cal, never knew that, thanks ij, as allways i learn something new whenever i log o. Respect to you all Folks.

[BTDT]

I j mentioned that 45 was made in.20 cal, never knew that...

Not only was the 45 available in .20", it was highly sought after for a brief time.

The great problem with .20" at the time was the very limited choice of pellets, but the 45's accuracy was superb with one particular pellet - I forget which, but I'll have the article here somewhere. Sadly, the pellet design or manufacturing spec appeared to have changed, leaving .20" 45 owners without a decent pellet.

Regarding the thread starter's question of which air rifle(s) to get next - it has to be an HW77 and an Anschutz 335, in no particular order.

[monkeywrench]

Great thread

tough one to call, never owned a FWB but feel qualified to comment as have put a good few rounds through a couple of borrowed ones. For me it would have to be the 45 but then i have the arms of an Orangutan and some would argue the face and never found the weight all scoped up with an Optima super Moonlighter an issue, the FWD oozes quality and is as smooth as a kashmir codpiece and is an excellent piece of kit, i suppose it's all down to personal preference.

[Muskett]

All these best old springers mentioned have at least one detractor on this thread: had a duff one that couldn't do the biz. Get a good one though and you are in springer heaven. All of them are task masters as any error in hold, aim or whatever means the pellet strays - 1/2 an inch. Get it right: pellet on pellet. Good day: 4 out of 5 at 20 or so meters. If you shoot .22LR or PCP's then these groups would be shoddy. But that is the fun of it

HW80 has the bulk/weight of a 45 but has better balance and that record trigger. However, read up on them as, although there are a lot out there, a good few are not as good as they should be. The HW77 is better. A good HW is hard to beat but they are not problem free. That great rifle the HW35e had loads of problems but like the Colt 45 everyone got dug in to custom/fine tune them to get more out. Unfortunately some of the work did more harm than good. And then there were the dogs that never worked. But in the end HW still beat the pants off the competition; some of which went to the wall.

PS, its really boring not to be able post pictures as I have two Sports set up with Optima scopes to show off with. Collectors section needs pictures.

[red bob]

chatting today with a collector and shop owner[airguns] about the big sellers
of the 80s ,he said in the area of london he frequented the biggest seller was the omega ,his local shop was turning around 50 a week at their height followed by the hw77[i think]it would be interesting to know if the popularity
of say the 124 or 77 is now a case of their character standing the test of time ,it would be fascinating to know what the total sales of each model was at the end of their runs of production.not that the biggest seller at a certain time reflects the long term popularity of any one rifle.anyone in commercial a/g sales know the sales figs by chance?.