Feinwerkbau FWB 65 (and advice) wanted

[gromit]

Hello all,

Having decided I have enough regular spring pistols for the moment I have decided my next purchase should be a match pistol. From my research and reading the excellent posts on the subject here on the BBS I have decided that the FWB 65 might well be right for me.

So I thought I'd post a wanted advert here to 'beat the bushes' to see if I can convince any of you gents to part with yours.

Feel free to post here or PM me. Even if yours is not for sale your respective expertise and experience in the matter of 10m target pistol will be gratefully received.

Many thanks in advance, gromit

PS. I shall post this in both Sales> Wanted and Collectable Airguns. Ta

[Garvin]

Lots of FWB 65s, 80s and 90s come up on www.egun.de, the German auction site. Do an archive search on here for tips on registering etc.

[JerryC]

[QUOTE=gromit;2030094]Hello all,

Having decided I have enough regular spring pistols for the moment I have decided my next purchase should be a match pistol. From my research and reading the excellent posts on the subject here on the BBS I have decided that the FWB 65 might well be right for me. ....!"


A fine choice you will never regret!!

I have recently bought a model 65 and a model 90 (elecronic trigger) on egun.de in condition 8.5 to 9 and they are absolutely fabulous. Even compared with CO2 they fire almost recoillessly, but ooze character, good workmanship and top quality. There are many for sale, but go for a good one - a thing of beauty is a joy for ever! And remember that they were standard issue in shooting clubs for years, so one which shows wear may well be very well used!

All models, I believe, come with a standard grip or a match grip. The shaped match grip is very nice and gives the gun a lot of character. The standard grip tends to make it look like an ugly ducking (in my opinion) and is prone to showing wear much more than the match grip.

They are not cheap. Expect to pay 250 euros for one in condition 8.5. Not bad for something you could win the Olympics with! Of all the pistols (and rifles) I can grab and shoot, the FWBs get grabbed most!

Jerry

[gromit]

Excellent. Thank you very much gentlemen. I shall get on to the egun website directly and see what is about.

Regards, gromit

P.S. I agree you never regret buying quality. I wear an old Omega watch for just that reason! The egun site ist sehr gut. Mixed bag of 65's some lovely some not so much. I guess you pays your money and takes your choice...

[Jerry Cornelius]

Yup, I think my FWB 80 is my favourite air pistol (unless that is a tempest...).

Really well made, and a pleasure to shoot.

You'll not regret it.

[gromit]

Hi Jerry

Thanks for your input. With regards the electronic trigger on your 80, how reliable is it? I've not experienced such hi-tech wizardry on my current air pistol collection. I can see the merit in being able to have the right trigger pull for accuracy. I suppose they should be reliable as they are made in Germany and the rest of the pistol is constructed of quality materials.

Also I have been wondering how important it is to have the original case, manual and tools with the pistol. From a 'collector' point of view obviously more desirable and more expensive to purchase. Does anyone use the tools, I believe the 65 can have it's trigger pressure reset to emulate small bore pistol, a tool being required for this. Can't think when I would want to do this. If it's there I might want to play!

Also I have seen Diana/Original Model 6 Match pistols advertised. Is this model a like for like alternative for the FWB? They've been around for a while- there's a reference to them in my 1964 copy of Wesley's Airgun and Air pistols.

Thanks in advance for your help and input.

Cheers, gromit

[Hsing-ee]

The Original/Diana 6 is a nice recoilless pistol but not in the same class as the FWB 65.

The FWB 65 is recoilless by means of a sliding mechanism, the action slides back in a controlled way on the frame of the pistol so no recoil is felt. This mechanism can be locked on some models of the pistol, giving the recoil characteristics of a normal recoilling springer. It means the pistol kicks a little when you fire it, but not really like a firearm. If you are into that sort of thing the best thing is a Walther LP53 which does recoil in a similar way to a .22.

The FWB 65 will last forever and is an excellent choice. The mechanical trigger is superb, maybe if you are a top shooter you might need the electronic one on the 80.

[Garvin]

The electronic trigger is on the 90, not the 80. The sliding mechanism on all 65 models can be locked to give recoil if you have the small attachment that screws in just forward of the breech. A tall front sight element is needed for when recoil is activated. You can also switch the trigger to a 'firearm-like' heavier pull on the 65 by moving a simple adjuster. The triggers on the 65 and 80 mechanical models are fantastic and the 90 trigger is only marginally better with the disadvantage of the gun requiring batteries to function.

[JerryC]

I have just had my 90 with electronic trigger a couple of weeks. I've no reason to think it might be unreliable. It is nice and crisp, but the ordinary trigger is also nice. Depends how you set it!

Most FWBs were delivered in ordinary polystyrene boxes, which have perhaps the least sex appeal of any box I know. I don't think a box would add much to the collection value.

Get a good gun from someone who has not used it much (just like Leicas, many were bought on impulse and hardly used, but those which were used could have got used hard!!!).

Jerry

[gromit]

Hi.

Thanks to you all for the info. I have a much better idea about these pistols now than when I started this post. The free interchange of your experiences and expertise is much appreciated.

I shall let you know when I have secured myself one of these excellent pistols.

Best regards, gromit

[Nige]

Another bit of info as I've owned all 3 models and did well with them in our comps....the battery on the 90 model is a special one which can be obtained from the little battery company via mail order, they cost around £10 if I remember correctly. Mine ran out quite quickly.

I didn't know you could switch from electronic trigger to manual?

Nige

[skychaserltd]

My mate had one of these! nice gun its a good choice there quite plentyfull so take the pick of the best good cond you can find my mate paid £100 for a really nice one unboxed which i think was afair price they are a great gun but some people really seem to hike price up so pick and choose and wait for the right one at the right price

[pennineway.fswo]

Back in the 1980's and early 90's I was the Competition Secretary for the Yorkshire and Northern Counties Air Rifle and Pistol League

We ran 5 Open Shoots each year and we had as many as 110 shooters turn up to shoot 10 Metre air rifle and pistol on the day About 60% of these were air pistol shooters and the most popular pistols at the time were the FWB 65/80's and a few of the 90's. The FWB's usually took the medals
The shoots were run in accordance with NSRA and the UIT Rule Books

For pistol, each gun had to be trigger tested before the shooting detail to ensure that the 500 gm trigger weight could be lifted. A coloured sticker was then stuck onto the grips to show that the pistol was approved for use.

Many shooters tried very hard to get the trigger set up such that it just lifted the 500 gm weight

What was noticable was that the FWB 90's trigger seemed to stay at the correct setting over many months . However the 65's and 80's often needed adjusting in order to meet the 500 gm requirement

I am sure that if the shooters of the 65's and 80's had been content to set it at say 530 gms then it would have kept on passing the test from shoot to shoot.
I have owned 65's and 80's but never a 90 although I have shot one. The only real difference in the triggers that I could see was the additional adjustment for reach to trigger in the 80 and 90
All 3 pistols are still capable of competing at a high level however in these days in International Competitions less than 1 point can separate gold from silver and the Pre-charged guns do have the edge