What's wrong with the FWB Sport?

[Nikkormat]

I.J, I am going to hold off buying a Sport until I have handled one; it strikes me that it might well be a "more than the sum of its parts" rifle, better in the flesh than on paper.

Thanks for the info on tuning, . I must say, I do like the look of that Diana Model 34 Premium.

Unfortunately, whatever I buy will have to wait until I've found a new job.

Matt

[DM80]

I.J, I am going to hold off buying a Sport until I have handled one; it strikes me that it might well be a "more than the sum of its parts" rifle, better in the flesh than on paper.

Thanks for the info on tuning, . I must say, I do like the look of that Diana Model 34 Premium.

Unfortunately, whatever I buy will have to wait until I've found a new job.

Matt

matt,

if you get chance of a good sport buy it they are a very nice airgun they just are a bit fragile and have the odd niggle here and their as with most guns from that era' at least this thread has given you and other folk the things to look out for' if they look well looked after and the trigger and safety work perfectly then all will be well but remember spares thesedays are more or less none existant i would say more sports over the years have been damaged by poor maintenance and door knobs trying to get more power of out them when they could'nt they went and bought an HW80

Dave.

[Andy Bee]

The only thing is Diana's are still current, and a much tougher design that the FWB sport - A good read though, but what is the tougher design?
Dave (DM80) Fragility? They are still about and in fine fettle long after the the book was closed for production. So maybe not fragile at all. More robust given the time.

[mallyally]

in conclusion

the OP asked " what is wrong with the FWB SPORT " and we have had mentioned

whiraugh 80 /77/85/95 all kinds of originals / dianas , the odd omega and possibly a few others i am sure they all have plenty faults of there own
but to anser the question asked i will say NOT MUCH
i have owned all the others ( still do in some cases ) but for me the feel and shootability and pride of ownership is enough to lift the SPORT head and shoulders above the more mundane stuff out there

[Hsing-ee]

The FWB Sport is very finely engineered, the parts are beautifully made. It is easy to cock, has a superb barrel and weighs very little. It balances and handles extraordinarily well, and rewards the owner with fine accuracy if he or she does their bit. There isn't another springer that is light, powerful, elegant and rewarding like the Sport. There are some minor downsides to it but if you don't like it SELL IT ON OR SHUT THE UP!

[I. J.]

in conclusion

the OP asked " what is wrong with the FWB SPORT " and we have had mentioned

whiraugh 80 /77/85/95 all kinds of originals / dianas , the odd omega and possibly a few others i am sure they all have plenty faults of there own
but to anser the question asked i will say NOT MUCH
i have owned all the others ( still do in some cases ) but for me the feel and shootability and pride of ownership is enough to lift the SPORT head and shoulders above the more mundane stuff out there

The FWB Sport is very finely engineered, the parts are beautifully made. It is easy to cock, has a superb barrel and weighs very little. It balances and handles extraordinarily well, and rewards the owner with fine accuracy if he or she does their bit. There isn't another springer that is light, powerful, elegant and rewarding like the Sport. There are some minor downsides to it but if you don't like it SELL IT ON OR SHUT THE UP!

Totally agree.

ATB
Ian

[Herpquest]

the fwb sport is very finely engineered, the parts are beautifully made. It is easy to cock, has a superb barrel and weighs very little. It balances and handles extraordinarily well, and rewards the owner with fine accuracy if he or she does their bit. There isn't another springer that is light, powerful, elegant and rewarding like the sport. There are some minor downsides to it but if you don't like it sell it on or shut the up!

amen!!!

[Nikkormat]

Three years later...

...and I've finally got my hands on one

It's a 127 Sport, I'd guess an early one as it has a plastic trigger. Faded blue and a repaired crack in the stock, but it was a very good price and is mechanically sound (with the exception of the safety catch). I've not shot it yet, but merely from handling it I am beginning to see what the fuss is about - it has a grace that other rifles I've owned lack.

Some questions:

1. How old is it? Plastic trigger, serial number is 191**. (Incidentally, I'm trying to put together a bit of a FWB springer resource, see link in sig, so if anyone has any info I'd be grateful) Edit to add: A search on here suggests early 1979.

2. What scope mount would you recommend? Apel would be nice, obviously, but it seems someone in Bolton has cornered the market so which Sportsmatch: OP22C with the cross-pin, or a standard OP25C? Scope is a Nikko Platinum 4x32, which won't sit in a low one-piece mount due to its prominent saddle.

3. Any particular pellet recommendations? I've got some JSB Exact Jumbo Express 5.52 to try, but are any others worth a look?

4. The butt-pad is squashed. Is there any way of reviving it? I was thinking maybe taking it off and leaving it in some hot water for a while - probably best left alone?

Cheers,

Matt

[Powderfinger]

Hello, Matt

Well done on buying an FWB Sport. You won't regret it. I have a 127 and a 124. Mine both like the RWS Superfields. I took my 124 round Rough Wedge on Sunday morning. Once I got used to it again, I was knocking almost all targets down with the first shot. It is fitted with a Tasco Silver Antler with a duplex reticle that is the right period for the gun. A wonderful combo that still gives good service today.

My 127 still gets me prizes for LWSR over thirty-two years since it left it's parents, Mr Westinger and Mr Altenburger of Oberndorf-am-Neckar.

I hope that the FWB300 that you bought from me is still giving you sterling service.

Happy shooting.

[Nikkormat]

Oh yes, the 300S is still going strong, thanks. One I will never sell (along with a 65 and now, I suspect, the 127).

The scope I've got is from the mid 1990s I think, so not exactly period, but it's a gloss-finish 4x32 and it's one I lusted after but couldn't afford as a teenager.

I'll see how I get on with the JSBs but will give Superfields a try if these aren't up to it.

[Airsporter1st]

I you have a air compressor (10bar or so, not the one to fill airguns and dive bottles), but a piece of rubbery tape on the muzzle (with a small hole in it), and pressurize the barrel, when it's good you hear no air escaping, when you get the compressor pistol of you should hear a "pop", and you know it's good.

Regards, Bart

That's a great method, which makes sense and can be applied to pretty much any springer I would imagine. Did you come up with that - I've never read it anywhere else?

[Garvin]

That's a great method, which makes sense and can be applied to pretty much any springer I would imagine. Did you come up with that - I've never read it anywhere else?

Presumably if you leave the compressor on long enough the rifle self-cocks?

[Amac]

I once again enjoyed reading all of the contributions to this particular thread. I must admit that I also have a particular soft spot for this gun despite not being able to afford one when they were new.

I have now owned a couple of Sports, one 127 and two 124s. For me they represent all that is best about using a well designed, basic but well engineered spring powered rifle. They also happen to look pretty as well in my opinion.

I am currently enjoying a period of "zero PCP" shooting and am once again becoming fully tuned in to using a variety of springers to a higher standard than is possible if you only play with them occasionally. Thats the way it works for me anyway, plus they are a damned site more fun to shoot, particularly when you do eventually get it right and targets drop on a regular basis.

My one and only 124 is currently performing well following a respringing/piston seal. She is currently "sporting" a brand new stock made by my mate Tom Forrest, and the glasses she wears are a period Japanese "Hunter" 3-9x40 within an Apel mount ( I bet you still regret flogging me that Ian.) The gun and I went for a wander around one of my shoots last night and came away with a couple of bunnies, although it would have to be said that I also missed a few. The bottom line for me is that I personally enjoy the whole process of taking a gun into either the hunting or target field if it happens to move when (the admittedly below average in case of the Sport) the trigger is pulled. Using a PCP is usually much more effective, but akin to playing the shooting equivalent of a computer game. Who wants to do that when you can enjoy shooting something that reacts like a proper gun should?

I have once again clearly gone well off subject, so apologies for that. Anyway, my own thoughts are that the Feinwerkbau Sport remains a classic example of a manufacturer managing to get most of a products features right. It is relatively light, superbly well engineered and remains as accurate as any recoiling gun available today, once the trigger has been mastered that is! The gun allows me personally to enjoy all that is great about our interest, particularly if, like me, you reckon that they happen to be as good, if not better than guns you can currently buy off the shelf.

I have also just ordered an "Old School" kit from Jim Maccari as it has been highly recommended by many other Sport aficionados. It will be interesting to see if the kit lives up to high initial expectations!

Andy

[I. J.]

My one and only 124 is currently performing well following a respringing/piston seal. She is currently "sporting" a brand new stock made by my mate Tom Forrest, and the glasses she wears are a period Japanese "Hunter" 3-9x40 within an Apel mount ( I bet you still regret flogging me that Ian.) The gun and I went for a wander around one of my shoots last night and came away with a couple of bunnies, although it would have to be said that I also missed a few.

Andy

You caught me on a good day. Im trying to get as many Apel as him from Bolton.

ATB
Ian

[Airsporter1st]

Presumably if you leave the compressor on long enough the rifle self-cocks?

That thought did cross my mind, Danny! With a tap loader you could then open the tap, disconnect the compressor and see a huge power increase as the already compressed air in the cylinder is further compressed by the piston. Just a matter of closing the tap at exactly the same time as you pull the trigger.