FWB Oddity

[Andy W]

I was pleasantly surprised this evening by a little accidental discovery.
I was just checking the zero on my FWB 127 (.22 for the un-initiated ). I had a few Air Arms Field pellets left over and figured that I'd use the last of my 'decent' pellets up and see how well they performed. I have to say that I was a little perplexed as the pellets appeared to give quite an eratic group. I figured that I must be just a bit off-form tonight and switched over to a tin of Milbro Caledonian, didn't want to waste any more decent pellets on poor form. On switching to these 'cheapy' pellets, I was dumfounded to find the group immediately tightened and I could even pick the heads off daisys in the grass. The only reason that I could venture for this could be that I found the Caledonians needed quite a firm push to seat them into the barrel. I can only assume that this gave them a much better bite into the rifling. I'm rather pleased to have discovered this because it will save me money as well as improve my accuracy. Just thought I'd make my findings public for all you FWB Sport fans. It just goes to show that the right pellet to buy is the one that works and not the most expensive.
Given what I have found here, I'd also recommend Caledonians for any older English .22s like BSA Airsporters etc. especially as I've heard it said that the good olde Eley Wasp isn't what it used to be.

Good shootin' guys,
Andy.

[johnj]

Found the same thing in one of my old Webleys, I used milbros constantly in that gun until I move on to a TX200.

Great in that Webley but terrible in all my other guns.

Real Eley wasp are gone forever it seems, just some awful lumps of lead in blue tins with 'Wasp' written on them.

johnj.

[T 20]

Hi Andy

The last .22" sport I played with seemed very inacurate with decent pellets.

Just for a laugh I tried some of the new crappy Wasps and found they produced a sub 1" group at 35 yards.


All the best Mick

[yoshiwolves]

i have found the most accurate pellets in my fwb 127 were bisley long range gold, not the cheapest but not the dearest either, they out performed anything else i tried in my 127 by a clear margin, although i never tried caledonians, , tried eley wasps even the 5.5 s and it spat them all over the place,
atb
paul

[Andy W]

I did wonder if the AA Field were perhaps desined with a more flexible skirt to suit modern pneumatic rifles. Maybe they can't handle the sudden, more blast-like force from a springer. That said, I've never heard any other spring gun users complain about AA Field so that sort of blows that idea .
Truth is, I just don't know but will happily use Caledonians from now on.
Andy.

[Andy Bee]

My 127 does a similar thing, but the velocity is a bit exciting. The Milbros look kack and are light. I stopped using them because I wasn't sure if the lighter pellet and skirt deformation you often see would cause a piston bounce. Also they don't all stick to the same flight path, but then, do any brands.

AA's (pricey but good)
Accupel (not too good)
SuperDome (Good)
Superfield (heavy, not so good)
Milbro Caled (a quandry, cheap)

I just bought a tin of Wasps, the pellets look and feel seems similar to the AA's, but a test will tell.

[airgunner.177]

Im watching this thread with interest as ive just bought a .22 FWB Sport and like to read other FWB owners opinions on what is the best pellet for the rifle as mine is still in bits waiting for a new piston seal to arrive so havent had chance to shoot it yet and im not really sure on what pellets to buy that really suit this rifle, cheers Andy.

[MrGreengrass]

Im watching this thread with interest as ive just bought a .22 FWB Sport and like to read other FWB owners opinions on what is the best pellet for the rifle as mine is still in bits waiting for a new piston seal to arrive so havent had chance to shoot it yet and im not really sure on what pellets to buy that really suit this rifle, cheers Andy.

I used to shoot these new from 1979 .
All i used were Rws Hobby in both calibres and killed further than i dare say on here.
My favorite killer was a Fwb 124\hobby\Kassnar combo.
According to chairgun it should not be effective...but it was,.. i assure you
If i had one today i would still use the same combo..nice guns pity about no breech lock though, i thought.

[jonnyone]

Hmmm.
this thread has spurred me to try out some of the crappy Wasps I have left over in my Sport. I've fed it FTT all this time and its works great- but am intrigued now what the Wasps will do. The Sport has a tight barrel and (I think), a choke so that may account for it making the best out of what may appear to be rubbish pellets.

They are fine rifles. I used to have 5 of them- but I've spread the gospel by passing one onto my young nephew. He loves it

Cheers,
Dave

[Garvin]

I've always used RWS Hobbys in my .22 Sport and it performs brilliantly with them. Better than with AA Fields. Hobbys fit the bore perfectly.

[Powderfinger]

My 127 runs well on Hobby and on Superdomes. Wasps were accurate but a very tight fit in the bore which led to "scope creep". I am not surprised that Marksman pellets shoot well. They often seem to give good results. In addition, the customer service from Lincoln Jefferies is the best I have encountered.

[Muskett]

I only run 124's and Superdomes have always worked superbly. The .22 is a much more pellet sensitive calibre in my book.

Four accurizing musts for Sports:
A basic tune with moly and plenty of tar does wonders. No need to go mad or polish.
Stop any possibility of scope creep (Locktight).
Check all stock screws are tight regularly.
Lastly, a robust scope is a must.

Once everything is tight then I find the zero is good for years. I'm very wary of blaming the zero as often as not its me. Once you get the feel for your Sport then wow they are good. However, to get the feel takes regular practice. Its true for most springers.

I had a real trial to get my sons Sport to work as well as mine. I rebuilt it three times to get it perfect. At some point all the above needed proving. The second build, after 100 shots and the scope just decided to go on the squiff. Now it works like a dream.

[Airsporter1st]

Is the 127 a 0.22" - or 5,5 mm? If the former, that would explain the erratic behaviour with modern "0.22" pellets which are not. 0.22" is 5,588 mm.