Quote Originally Posted by Phil Russell View Post
Is or was it all about the rifles? I suggest not. The shooters are an important part of he equation. Persuade the top shooters that one brand is best and others will follow. So FWB develop an excellent reputation, so top shooters pick FWB and the system perpetuates itself. The Giss and FWB sledge systems may well have been equal in the performance potential stakes but shooter perception accounts for a lot.
Just my opinion ...
Cheers, Phil
Agreed. I also think (as a Giss fan) that the FWB may have been slightly better made, and more reliable. That matters if you are a serious 10M competitor. The longevity of 300s as club guns, in some cases for decades with next to no maintenance, speaks volumes.

As I’ve said before, I think the Giss is an amazing bit of engineering (and the sledge, by contrast, a bit crude), and I prefer the dead firing cycle of a well-set-up Diana, but the FWB’s record and reputation are stellar.

It can’t just be “monkey see, monkey do” - compare, say, in FT, how quickly the FWB124 came to rule the roost, then was dethroned by the 77, which was then superseded by the PCPs, all in about five or six years.

Competition is brutal on sorting the wheat from the chaff.