As regards the "75" thanks Danny, I think you've given the last bit of info to confirm '77 as the first ones. And we know her standard stepped up moving from the 66 to the 75, and 77 was her first Championship medal so I think that fits.

And we know Dykes tried hard to get one as early as possible for her so we are now fairly sure it was '77. And the early side lever problems also fits as well.
Her's, which we think was the first into the UK jammed open in that championship and Dykes took a system off of their display one from their trade stand which she continued with. I do have a recollection of it jamming again in a match in Germany, and the factory either repaired it or replaced the action, I can't remember which.

We travelled about a lot then doing the various national events and International events, particularly in Europe, in that period from the European Championships in London in 1975 then up to 83 ish. The dominant rifle in the GB squad and also generally Internationally was definitely the FWB 300, the Anschutz was almost non existent, Pam's was the sole Original, and even the Walther LGR was initially very thin on the ground then.

The FWB 300 held the world record, it was very reliable, and they had a superb support team at every big meeting (even in the UK), and that counted for a lot. You could go to meetings, 150 people, all bar 2 or 3 were FWB's!
I think in "the day", FWB out marketed, and out serviced the competitors, and they built a loyalty that still holds almost to this day, and in the early days it took a brave man (or woman) to shoot some thing else.


I don't know why she went for the Original, she could have had any thing, she started with a 65 then a 66, so perhaps she had just got used to them, and perhaps typical female, liked being different. The 75, other than the problems was as good as the 300, the balance was a bit less muzzle weighted, the trigger was about the same when set up well (not so easy as the 300), and the recoil characteristic was nicer than the 300, and it was cheaper! But as far as we know she was the only one who shot one internationally.

Now the LGR, the early LGR's were a pig to cock which put off a lot of people, and especially women and light built men, there was also prejudice against the system, ie. air held under pressure, surely it would leak if you took a long aim? So basically it took a while to get accepted, so trust factor, and I think the other companies had no experience of SSP, whilst Walther had been building nice SSP pistols for a long time, and the others spring recoilless guns won everything so why bother? And the LGR still had a degree of subtle recoil (damn great hammer hitting the valve), as had the 300, the 75 was probably closer to recoilless. But the LGR and its much better later derivatives definitely moved on the game, the FWB 600 was a better design but the balance was awful, a FWB problem inherited by many others.

At that time, after a match in Southern Germany, all the foreign competitors were invited to Walther for a tour, my wife was asked why she did not shoot a Walther, she gave them a list! Too big grip, too long reach to the trigger, too difficult to load, etc, etc! The man she was talking to was Herr Walther Senior. Three months later she received the pre production LGR Junior, which suitably shortened and balanced, she shot until she retired from top level (and still has it), and we both shoot Walther to this day, act as ambassadors for them, and have a superb relation ship with the factory to this day.

I'm not that into classics, just nostalgia, which is why I'm looking to build this replica (or find the original), but I love the technology of the modern rifles which are million miles from those older era rifles.

We coach some youngsters, they are shooting scores higher than the old days world records, last training session I got out Pam's old LGR, they could not even cock it! Don't know they are born! Monty Python sketch any one?

Have Fun
Robin