Shot a FWB sport 127 earlier.

[look no hands]

Hi all, I saw a FWB sport at Knibbs today and asked to have a few shots, to be honest the external build quality looked good but what a disappointment on firing, the stock didn't fit me very well but the trigger was awful (even the triggers on my Mercs are better), couldn't tell when it was going to go off and when it did the resulting twang was teeth shattering, I can understand why HW dominated the sales charts, I'm just glad it wasn't one of those "meet your hero" rifles as I would have been upset and I'm not downing it because its German either.

Pete

[joffy]

My 124 is OK.......never going to be an 80 beater due to the weight difference

[look no hands]

My 124 is OK.......never going to be an 80 beater due to the weight difference

The trouble is, it only takes one rifle that hasn't been looked after and it can put you off that rifle for life, I expect had it had had some sort of tuning then it may have softened the blow a bit but I expected more, you can't tell what someone has done to the inside of a rifle from new, so may have been far better out if the box.

[Muskett]

If the piston head hasn't been replaced it will be cheese by now, and be rough as heck.

A well serviced FWB Sport should sound and feel like most well put together springers. Polished and tuned then very nice. They have barrels that will put pellet on pellet, the rest is getting a shooting technique to match them.
The FWB Sports stock is, like most stocks, set up for iron sights. Any scope needs to be fitted quite low, and not some big lump of a scope either.
Yes, the triggers are squidgy, but you get used to them.

Sports are best shot sporting style which is smooth and fast. Shoot them slow deliberate, target style, and they will be a disappointment. The style difference is a bit like shooting a 20b featherweight game gun and a heavy deliberate trap gun.
Whatever, works for you, though a couple of shots in a shop will never tell the whole story. Same goes for peering through scopes.

[Geezer]

If the piston head hasn't been replaced it will be cheese by now, and be rough as heck.

A well serviced FWB Sport should sound and feel like most well put together springers. Polished and tuned then very nice. They have barrels that will put pellet on pellet, the rest is getting a shooting technique to match them.
The FWB Sports stock is, like most stocks, set up for iron sights. Any scope needs to be fitted quite low, and not some big lump of a scope either.
Yes, the triggers are squidgy, but you get used to them.

Sports are best shot sporting style which is smooth and fast. Shoot them slow deliberate, target style, and they will be a disappointment. The style difference is a bit like shooting a 20b featherweight game gun and a heavy deliberate trap gun.
Whatever, works for you, though a couple of shots in a shop will never tell the whole story. Same goes for peering through scopes.

That’s my experience. A Sport in good nick is a great rifle.

[gtfreight]

I bought my current 124 a few years ago and invested in a Maccari trigger which cost about £100 with taxes (about the same price as the complete gun when new in 1979) and was worried that it wouldn't make much of a difference. It did and now has a nice crisp let off (ok, it's not a Rekord but it's good enough for me) plus the safety has been spot on since. The gun now behaves really well with the V-Mach kit which I also fitted.
I bought it out of nostalgia and spent a lot more on it than I'd ever recuperate if I decided to sell it but I don't think I ever will.
I also have one of the new Sports and it doesn't shoot as quietly as the original but my goodness it's accurate with Exacts 8.44 in 4.50.

[Shed tuner]

and there's a fairly easy mod to get a true 2 stage trigger, which will of course be very predicatable

If it's that rough, I'd say it needs resealing..

[deejayuu]

and there's a fairly easy mod to get a true 2 stage trigger, which will of course be very predicatable

If it's that rough, I'd say it needs resealing..

Do tell/show please.

[Tinram]

Agree with previous comments…can’t let one bad apple put you off a classic! Had my FWB sport over 40 years…among a sizeable collection, it still “stands up” as the classic it is!!

[maximus]

As has been said, you have to appreciate that you are shooting something that is 40 ish years old. If you are lucky it will be an unmolested example which just needs a service to bring it up to the mark. The ones I've shot had a defined 2nd stage on the trigger so it probably just needs adjustment. The piston seals are noted for becoming cheese like which of course could of made the one you shot seem rough.

[Shed tuner]

Do tell/show please.

original thread: http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread....or-a-FWB-Sport

updated with new pix: http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread....ge-trigger-mod

[Craig-P]

Don't let that put you off, Pete.
My 124 doesn't have the most refined manners and as has already been mentioned, the trigger unit is never going to worry a HW/CD etc unit.
There are a few points of wear to look out for but they're simple rifles to work on and can be made very nice to shoot. The barrels are also something else ( providing they've not been hacked off at the muzzle ).
But I'll happily take a bit of a bark on firing and a trigger that isn't exactly match quality when a forty odd year old rifle will do five shot groups like this at thirty yards:

[Shed tuner]

I hope you didn't cheat and use a scope for those Craig ?

[Craig-P]

I hope you didn't cheat and use a scope for those Craig ?

I did, mate. But in my defence it was a rough old lump of a scope

[MartynB]

I did, mate. But in my defence it was a rough old lump of a scope

Still impressive accuracy, I have a 127, must have a go on it