Feinwerkbau 603 - For Sale

[Powderfinger]

I have placed a Feinwerkbau 603 for sale in the Private Sales section. NOW SOLD TO HERPQUEST.

[Herpquest]

Thanks Charley! What a beautiful rifle, almost mint and complete with all the original boxes, manual and tools. Possibly the best one pump pneumatic target rifle ever made.
To say I am 'chuffed' would be an understatement! ATB, Eric

[zooma]

Hi Eric,

I have got a really nice FWB 601 - do you know what the differences are between the 601 and the newer 603 model please?

My local gunsmith reckons the 601 cured the (very few) small problems the 600 had and was an even better rifle, could not see the point of the 602 and that Feinwerkbau went more or less back to the 601 with the 603 and produced another really good rifle.

The gunsmith concerned is a Feinwerkbau enthusiast and has nothing bad to say about any of them, so his comments are only relevent between the 4 models when compared to each other - they are all good.

What I don't have is any actual detail to know what these changes were - it seems like they were all very small changes as the basic 600 series was so good to start with.

[JG66]

Hi Eric,

I have got a really nice FWB 601 - do you know what the differences are between the 601 and the newer 603 model please?

My local gunsmith reckons the 601 cured the (very few) small problems the 600 had and was an even better rifle, could not see the point of the 602 and that Feinwerkbau went more or less back to the 601 with the 603 and produced another really good rifle.

The gunsmith concerned is a Feinwerkbau enthusiast and has nothing bad to say about any of them, so his comments are only relevent between the 4 models when compared to each other - they are all good.

What I don't have is any actual detail to know what these changes were - it seems like they were all very small changes as the basic 600 series was so good to start with.

See here: http://www.network54.com/Forum/79537...1,+602,+or+603


"
The Feinwerkbau (FWB) Model 600 air rifle was greatly anticipated when it was introduced in 1984. The first pneumatic match rifle, Walthers LGR, was then10 years old. While the LGR was truly a revolutionary match air rifle, not much had happened since its introduction except the refinement of existing spring piston rifles. These late spring piston match air rifles, the Anschutz LG 380 and the Diana Model 75, were certainly of high quality and very accurate. But spring piston technology of that era, with its complex recoil cancellation mechanisms and slow lock times, was no longer cutting edge. And air rifle competitors were tiring of the difficult cocking Walther LGR. Feinwerkbau, with its excellent but dated spring piston FWB 300, was in the position to introduce something truly new.

The FWB 600 included the following features:

A laminated hardwood stock with an adjustable cheekpiece and buttplate. The laminated stock was stronger at the wrist than walnut stocks used with the spring piston match rifles, and the distinctive appearance of the laminated stock announced a new era. The cheekpiece mechanism was simple yet easy to adjust. The butt-plate was vertically adjustable and could be adjusted for length using spacers.
A rifled barrel with a length of 16.6 inches. This inner barrel, however, was surrounded by a 25 long outer barrel tube that served several purposes. This arrangement allowed the loading port to be located near the rear sight, minimizing the time the slow moving pellet spent in the barrel, while allowing for a normal sight radius. The balance of the rifle could be adjusted moving (or removing) a sliding weight mounted on the outer barrel tube.
The cocking mechanism was hinged in the front with the power stroke on closing. This made it easier to cock than the Walther LGR, lessening shooter fatigue over a 60 shot match. It should be noted, however, that the cocking effort on the FWB 600 was greater than that of the spring piston match rifles.
An excellent two stage trigger, adjustable for pull weight and over-travel without tools.
A dovetail mounted match rear sight and an 18mm front globe sight. Sight riser blocks could easily be mounted to raise the line of sight.

Also revolutionary was the FWB C60, introduced in 1987. This rifle was equivalent to the FWB 600 except it used CO2 to propel the pellet rather than compressed air. The reason for offering CO2 as an alternate propellant was to eliminate the fatigue caused by operating the cocking lever during a match. While the fatigue of cocking the action for a single shot might seem minor, the cumulative fatigue caused by cocking the rifle up to eighty (for men, including sighters, a sixty shot match, and a ten shot final) times in a match is considerable. The FWB C60 eliminated this fatigue.

There were two other important side benefits of this new propellant. By disconnecting the CO2 cylinder, the shooter could train by dry-firing. More importantly, a shooter could now use the air rifle for 3-position practice. And while CO2 has been superseded by pre-compressed air, 3-position air rifle has evolved from a practice tool into a competitive discipline in its own right.

The FWB 601, introduced in 1988, was nearly identical to the FWB 600/C60 with the addition of a cocking arm latch to prevent accidental rebound of the cocking handle.

While the FWB 600/601 ruled 10 meter match air shooting after its introduction in 1984, by 1990 Walther, Anschutz and Diana had all introduced pneumatic match air rifles with the same basic layout as the FWB 600. This stiff competition led Feinwerkbau to introduce the FWB 602 in 1995. Improvements over the FWB 600/601incorporated into the FWB 602 included:

Pull length adjustments were controlled by a hex cap screw, eliminating the need for spacers. The cheekpiece mechanism was retained by a cap screw, making it easier to remove for adjustment.
The ergonomics of the stock were improved. A three point bedding system was implemented for mounting the barreled action in the stock.
A dry fire mechanism was added.
The trigger was improved to decrease lock-time. The ability to independently adjust overall pull weight and slack weight was added.
A completely new and vastly improved rear sight was introduced. The front sight diameter was increased to 22mm.

The FWB C62 was introduced at the same time as the FWB 602 and incorporated all of the improvements as the described above except the dry fire mechanism. To dry-fire a C62, shooters had to disconnect the CO2 cylinder.

When introduced in 1984, the FWB 600 was billed as recoilless. But of course this was not strictly true. An 8.2 gram pellet accelerating to 175 meters per second causes an equal and opposite reaction to the 4.9 kilogram rifle. The resulting muzzle movement is nearly imperceptible for the club shooter. However, it is a different matter for the international shooter competing at the very highest level. These shooters drive technical innovation among the highly competitive precision air rifle manufacturers. Accordingly, Feinwerkbau introduced the FWB 603 in1997. The FWB 603 was very similar to the FWB 602 with the addition of a vibration dampening compensator to eliminate the miniscule muzzle movement caused by the accelerating pellet.

Feinwerkbau replaced the FWB C62 with the P70 at the same time. The P70 was similar to the FWB 603 except that it used an air cylinder holding a pre-compressed air charge.

Pre-compressed air rifles proved very popular, both because they were easy to cock, and because they could be used for 3- position competition and practice. Although the FWB 603 is still listed for sale, pre-compressed air rifles now dominate the precision air rifle market. "

[zooma]

Thanks JG - nicely researched and tells me what I wanted to know.

The "dry fire" option and improved trigger do seem like a bonus over my 601 along with the other refinements.

Guess the closest relative to the 603 now in the 2011 Feinwerkbau production range is the 700 Universal?

[Herpquest]

Spot on JG66!
This sentence explains it to a T "The FWB 603 was very similar to the FWB 602 with the addition of a vibration dampening compensator to eliminate the miniscule muzzle movement caused by the accelerating pellet."
I have had the opportunity to fire a few pellets through my 603 by now, and I am extremely impressed with it. They take a bit of getting used to, but once you have got the hang of them, pellet on pellet is possible for even an old duffer like me.
Fortunately, the 603 that I was bought had been very well looked after and still appeared to be brand new when I took it from it's original styrene box and outer cardboard FWB box. Everything that had been delivered when new was still in the box, even the small, plastic bags with the FWB logo. Definitely a collector's dreeam!

ATB, Eric