Fas ap604 v Aeron b96 5 shot

[elewis411]

Hi everyone.I am looking to buy a pistol to start me off in 10m shooting,i have been offered both a fas ap 604 and an aeron b96 5 shot co2.The fas seems to be a marmite pistol,i have found good and bad coments about them with some people saying that they dont have enough power to cut clean holes in the targets at 10m and complaints about regular seal failures.On the other hand i have had co2 pistols in the past and pretty much every one has leaked but they were quite cheap examples,does anyone have any experience of the aeron b96 and any info regarding spares availability,reliability etc.Thanks in advance for any info...Thanks...Lewis...

[magicniner]

Hi everyone.I am looking to buy a pistol to start me off in 10m shooting,i have been offered both a fas ap 604 and an aeron b96 5 shot co2.The fas seems to be a marmite pistol,i have found good and bad coments about them with some people saying that they dont have enough power to cut clean holes in the targets at 10m and complaints about regular seal failures.On the other hand i have had co2 pistols in the past and pretty much every one has leaked but they were quite cheap examples,does anyone have any experience of the aeron b96 and any info regarding spares availability,reliability etc.Thanks in advance for any info...Thanks...Lewis...

I have the b96, I'm sure that at some point it will leak, but I'm sure that it will then just need an O ring or similar seal, probably polyurethane, to get it running again.

I don't have a FAS 604 but I do have a Pardini Fiocchi P10, the breech and barrel seal were like used chewing gum when I got it and it was sold as not holding pressure - a bit of oil on the piston O ring and valve seal sorted the leak and I cut some new Polyurethane seals for the breech & barrel.

10m argets are printed on special short fibre paper to tear easily & cleanly, anything home printed will not be the same, target pistols are generally low powered, what targets were those moaning about low power using?

The best bet is to shoot the pistols you fancy before you buy one, otherwise you'll end up like me
ATB,
Nick

[harvey_s]

Firstly it depends what type of 10m shooting you are planning to do...
Most 10m precision slow-fire competitions cannot be shot with a multi-shot pistol unless you use a single shot magazine, not really something you want to keep faffing around with between shots to be honest.
I used a AP604 for about 18 months and I shoot a B96 in rapid fire competitions now so these are my thoughts...

AP604 - don't get hung up about the low power it's enough to do the job very well.
You won't find a better trigger without spending an awful lot more.
I never had any trouble with seals and I think they are reliable enough given the high number of shots that a target shooter will get through in a guns life
(they are easy to change anyway)

B96 - very good for the money again, not quite in the same league as the Steyr's, but at a third of the cost of a S/H one they can afford to give away a little.
CO2 is more of a pain than HPA, but its readily available.

Both will hold their value well, but for me the AP604 would be the better choice if shooting slow fire...

[eredel]

I'm more than happy with the holes punched by my 604...I don't know what power they generally shoot at but mine has a muzzle velocity of 2.3 fpe.
If it should be higher I may have to look at having it resealed.
Eric.

[elewis411]

Much thanks to the above gentlemen for some excellent informative and above all understandable information.I'm off to look at both pistols on the weekend,common sense is leading me towards the fas 604 but i must say the aeron sounds great fun.Would anyone know roughly how many shots to expect from a standard co2 bulb...Thanks...Lewis...

[magicniner]

Number of shots will depend on how fast you let them off, I got over 30 with gas to spare when trying the b96 out on a Pistol HFT course, I'm usually having far too much fun to count
Bulk fill is worth serious investigation if you get a pistol capable of it like the b96, a few pence per fill is achievable with more than twice the CO2 in a 12g capsule per fill,
ATB,
Nick

[harvey_s]

I was getting about 40-50, then I had it serviced by Checkmate Guns after a mis-feeding problem and now its 80+ per powerlet. (in standard rapid fire comps.)
(actually thats something that might need factoring in if the guns performance is unknown)
I'm now experimenting with bulk fill from a soda stream bottle that I got given, but I haven't got any figures yet...

[rincewind]

Hi,

I've a B96 and it does about 40 shots on 12g CO2 capsule. It didn't seem to make much difference when I used a bulk fill ( following the instruction book directions).
On the odd occasion when firing the magazine does not traverse but the gun re-cocks. I'd appreciate any comments and advice.

Just out of interest was the service at Checkmate guns expensive?

Lastly, if any one is interested, I bought three spare magazines from Aeron at £55ish including delivery, and I guess that will also supply other spares.

[johnb0001]

Hi Rincewind,

do you have a PDF or scan of the B96 instruction book? Also, who did you contact to get the extra mags, was it Aeron in CZ or someone over here?

thanks, John

Hi,

I've a B96 and it does about 40 shots on 12g CO2 capsule. It didn't seem to make much difference when I used a bulk fill ( following the instruction book directions).
On the odd occasion when firing the magazine does not traverse but the gun re-cocks. I'd appreciate any comments and advice.

Just out of interest was the service at Checkmate guns expensive?

Lastly, if any one is interested, I bought three spare magazines from Aeron at £55ish including delivery, and I guess that will also supply other spares.

[clarky]

The information on the FAS is wrong. A stock 604 in good order will easily achieve 400 fps and will cut perfect holes at 10 mts.
It has a similar power plant to most other types of SSP systems with the advantage of better build quality. I found the volume to be virtually identical to the HW40 pistol after careful measuring but the barrel is longer for slightly more power.
The problem with the FAS is that many are quite old. The first wave of FAS pistols with rear trigger stop pin, have been around since before the 90s...20 to 25 yr old guns and have worn seals. Hence the reported low power issues mentioned.
The second wave, without stop pin and laminate grips options was subject to production issues, with few around but had annealed top straps which are more robust than the earlier type which have occasioned to crack at the point just before the loading area to the rear..
The cracking issue is rare. Ive seen it reported 3 times in about 20 years.
David Carmichael who used his to win an early triathlon event mentioned that FAS had reduced the side walls to allow easier loading of pellets than other models...a fact he liked while fumbling for pellets in this event but it possibly weakened the action at this point for it.

[harvey_s]

The information on the FAS is wrong. A stock 604 in good order will easily achieve 400 fps...

Never seen one yet that ever got close to 400 fps and I've seen 2 used ones and a brand new one over the chrono.

But don't just take my word as an ex-owner for it, see this posting as well from other actual owners rather than virtual ones...
Where one owner nearly managed it by using ultra-light Hobby's - but who the hell uses Hobby's in match gun

http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread....FAS-604-owners

[clarky]

Never seen one yet that ever got close to 400 fps and I've seen 2 used ones and a brand new one over the chrono.

But don't just take my word as an ex-owner for it, see this posting as well from other actual owners rather than virtual ones...
Where one owner nearly managed it by using ultra-light Hobby's - but who the hell uses Hobby's in match gun

http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread....FAS-604-owners

You haven't but I have. Also check with Bob Cleverly of Checkmate guns.
Its simply that the original non Nitrile O rings are dried out and not that great from the start.
All Bobs resealed 604s hit 2.7ftlbs and 407 fps with JLS match pellets.
We've had 3 re-sealed by Bob running at 402, 405 and 409 fps. Our newest sport model which has not been touched by Bob, makes 394 fps.
Comfortably exceeding the 382fps made by the HW40 we tested (brand new)

The 75 had the best potential of this type (excl. the Baikal) but ruined when they shifted the gas inport hole for easier cocking.
4400fps down to 380fps

[harvey_s]

All Bobs resealed 604s hit 2.7ftlbs and 407 fps with JLS match pellets....

Aren't these expected to be shortly unavailable