TargetTalk

I've searched pretty well, and found little info on this gun, so....

What's the general opinion on these? I own a Daisy pneumatic now and would love to upgrade without going to CA or CO2. Baikal's a great deal, but I just don't like the feel. I DO remember reading somewhere that the FWB's, though "one-holers" are very sensitive and harder to shoot accurately, due to the vibration. Any truth to that?

Anything else to consider? Is a re-seal reasonable $ ?

I've been offered a nice one at an attractive price and I'm kinda "on the fence".

Can someone give me a push? :)

Thanks for any input!

These are strictly my personal feelings about the 80 - NOT a definitive "rating". It is beautifully made, a joy to handle and admire, but not a lot of fun to shoot. I don't like the feel of the trigger, which is not very adjustable, and I don't like all the movement of large hunks of metal when firing, especially considering that the movement and weight are well above the gripping area. Clearly it is capable of world-class results in the right hands, but I just don't like shooting it.

In contrast, I find just about any single stroke pneumatic (SSP) very enjoyable to shoot. If I were looking to upgrade from a Daisy without going to CA or CO2, I would look at new/used SSPs including the IZH. If I had to choose between the IZH and the 80 for serious shooting, I would pick the IZH in a heartbeat for its trigger and firing behavior, even though I have a problem with the forward weight balance.

HTH,
FredB

I have once tried the Feinwerkbau 100 and it was ok. It was easier to shoot with than model 65. My trainer has done 393 of 400 in a competition with an old Feinwerkbau 65. The shooter and the trigger control of the shooter makes the biggest difference...

Here is a detailed link in german about the 100 model.

http://www.co2air.de/wbb2/thread.php?threadid=1914&

I have had a FWB 80 and I did well with it.
The model 65 has a possibility to choose 500 gram and 1000gram or was it 1450 gram? Otherwise it is almost the same pistol.

Be aware though that the 2 springs in the pistol may be weak and it may be hard to find replacement where you are.

Kent

I had one of these 20 years ago for a few years.

The FWB65 and later the FWB80 were the best shows in town at the time as the Original 10 was dogged with the weight/balance, the FAS 604 (un-tuned) lacked velocity for reliability out of the box for 10m and the Crossman CO2 was literally lethal and we avoided!

The trigger has a lot of adjustments possible. If the screw with the red paint has been played with, the engagement may need checking at the same time it is serviced unless you know seriously your way around triggers.

The 80 was replaced with the 90 that sported an electronic trigger but the 65 as I recall was still sold in parallel. A CO2 model came out quite a few years later. The 65 had a lock that disabled the sledge and a 1360g trigger simulator, as I recall this feature was removed from the 80 and not implemented in the 90.

The sight line is high but has good elevation and wind adjustable and also has an adjustable rear sight width with interchangeable foresight elements.

My local club as one as a club gun that has been used and abused for decades and still easily holds the 9 ring at 10m, I am sure it could do better if it were serviced! The springs need replacing every few years as do the plastic bits. If you get a chance, test fire it and make sure the recoil sledge movement is smooth and the lock-up is positive.

65/80s are one of my favorite airguns, yes, newer models are less strenous, but they can shoots 10.9s all day long if you do you part.
Check it and make sure that it is not spitting plastic....if it is, rebuilds are generally 100-125 for parts and labor, but even if the springs are weak, it will shoot respectable scores.

Thanks for all the great feedback!

PaulT wrote: the Crossman CO2 was literally lethal and we avoided!

Paul,

Please tell us more about this - I have never heard about it before.

Also, by the way, the 80 trigger does not have a lot of adjustments. I currently own one with its original manual, and I am pretty sure that, other than the usual length-of-pull blade adjustment, there is only one multi-purpose adjustment (for sear, pre-travel and after-travel/stop) and one for overall weight. I have been unable to adjust mine even close to what I would like, as it is not possible to increase the very short pre-travel, let alone alter first and second stage weights. In contrast the Diana 10's trigger is a marvel of adjustability.

Thanks,
FredB

I shot a FWB 80 competitively until reasonably recently, and found it accurate and consistent. It is a fairly heavy pistol, at around 1.2kg, but balances well. I also wasn't particularly fond of the trigger - nothing really wrong with it, but the sensation of "sliding backwards to release" just didn't appeal. The trigger was light and crisp, though. The top part of the pistol recoils rearward, thus absorbing much of the recoil, so there is little movement on firing. Not as smooth as a modern PCP, but you pays your money.....! As far a durability goes, I put something like 18000 pellets through mine in the 2 years-odd I owned it, with no problems. The piston in these is sealed by a steel ring, so is very unlikely to be worn too badly. They're beautifully made, and my best effort with mine was a 553/600, admittedly in practice! As a stepping stone between the Daisy and an expensive PCP pistol, my opinion is that the FWB 80 would be a sound choice, if you can get it for a good price.

George M

The early Crossman CO2 cylinders were not a robust as the later FWB and Walther CO2 cylinders. Several split or “broke rapidly” causing injury to their owners! One friend who was very competitive at the time had a lucky escape with his unit and quickly changed his kit (not to mention his underwear!).

Yes, the “parallel” trigger action was strange but I liked it as the overall package was very good. The Original 10 was very adjustable but a clumsy beast to shoot. Reliability, I have to say all of the FWB’s I have owned were reliable and well supported.

kiwi47 wrote:I also wasn't particularly fond of the trigger - nothing really wrong with it, but the sensation of "sliding backwards to release" just didn't appeal. The trigger was light and crisp, though.
George M

Kiwi47,

My 80 trigger is as you describe, but the reason I am dissatisfied with it is something different. Mine has an extremely short and light pretravel - it's more like a single stage trigger with a very small take-up, than like a true two stage trigger. I wonder if yours is/was the same, or if mine is peculiar to my particular gun? I look forward to your reply, as I have never had a chance to shoot another 80, and have been frustrated by this for a long time!

Thanks,
FredB

This is instructions from the book:

2.2.1
By loosening the screw at the side of the trigger, the trigger can be adjusted in a longitudinal and lateral direction.

2.2.2
The trigger point has been carefully adjusted at the factory, so that the pistol will fire directly after the trigger point is reached.

New adjustment of trigger point
If the shot is released without a trigger point is being felt, the trigger point screw must be turned to the right until the pistol cannot be fired. The trigger pull screw has now to be turned to the left in small steps until the pistol is just fired without the feel of trigger point. Then turn back trigger point screw for about ¼ turn (to the right). This should give the exact adjustment
If at any time the shot is not releasing the trigger point screw has been turned too much to the right. Proceed as above.

2.2.3
When adjusting trigger pull, the trigger stop is also adjusted at the same time.

2.2.4
The trigger weight is adjusted at factory to a minimum weight of 500 g. By turning the screw to the right the trigger weight can be increased, by turning to the left, the trigger weight is reduced.

(The original grouping picture is as good as the one that came with my LP10 or 162E)
Kent

Hi Fred,

Yes, the "first stage" was quite short, a movement of about 3mm, I recall. The spring controlling this first movement seemed to be quite soft, just sufficient to return the trigger if the shot was not released. Maybe the excerpt above from the owner's manual kindly supplied by Reinhamre might help you adjust it better. I've now moved on to an Anschutz, and the Feinwerkbau has gone to a colleague in my pistol club.

George

Hi George,

Thanks for the information - I suspected that was the case, but wanted to make sure. I do have the manual with the trigger adjustment instructions posted above, and have tried a number of times to improve the trigger feel.

As you can tell from a careful reading of the instructions, since the same screw adjusts the pre-travel, the sear (trigger point) and the after-travel (stop), there is apparently a fixed distance between the forward and rearward trigger position that cannot be altered. And of course the pre-travel weight is not adjustable.

However your comment did give me the idea that possibly I could substitute a stronger spring for the pre-travel. When I get a chance, I think I'll see if that's possible.

Anyway, thanks again for the info.

FredB

I recently tried a FWB 80 at the shooting range of a local shooting club and if I could find one in good condition I would probably consider buying one. I have tried the Gamo, a good pistol for the price but the FWB was more accurate for me. I surprised other people in the shooting club (as well as myself) how accurate I was with 10 yard targets and the FWB 80. My shooting arm ached after a while of constant shooting and after a short rest I was improving with my shooting. I am not a seriously trained shooter, even though I have used small bore weapons and trained myself to do that. If I was properly trained to use a target pistol like the FWB 80 I would make use of a pistol as good as that. Easier and quicker to load than the Gamo was.

I shot one for over a year in Gernany ,shooting on a local club team . I found it to be more suitted to my technique than the 65 but the score difference was seldom more than two points. I shot with the weights hanging off the barrel and steyed around 570 on my better days. Good shooting Bill Horton

Nothing wrong with the old FWB-80. After selling mine it took me two years with a Morini to get my scores back up the high 550s I was shooting with the FWB.
As a matter of interest I fired one the other night and my first three shots all went straight through the same hole. The next shot was 10mm away then the next two through the first hole again. That's when I stopped!
I can rarely get such a good group with the Morini!!