TargetTalk

I am in the market for a new air rifle, and have been looking at the new Feinwerkbau 700 ALU, the Anschutz 8002 ALU, the Walther Protouch, and the Hammerli AR50 pro.

I am currently shooting an Anschutz 8002 wood stock club gun (the fact that it is a wood 8002 speaks a lot about its age.)

But I also shoot a Feinwerkbau 2700 in smallbore.

Any ideas?

I currently own a Hammerli AR-50, and unfortunately have a sad tail about it. It was purchased one year and four months ago. After attempts to change the velocity of the pellet towards a normal range, it was determined that something was wrong with the air rifle, as it would shoot one good shot when adjusted, for instance 570 feet per second, and than drop back to 490 feet per second. We sent it to Larry's Guns in Maine, where after six months, he replaced and repaired parts on the regulator, since Walther could not supply him any new materials without waiting one year. Once I got it back, we fiddled with it again because it still shot to slow. When I called him, he told me that he had adjusted it to 170 mps, of which he had tested for 20 shots. Perhaps their is something still wrong with the gun, or maybe the adjuster valve got jolted during shipping. Either way, I am sending it back tomorrow. My point being, repairs for this gun or service is extremely limited. However, if it worked properly, it would be an extremely nice gun to own, and I have listed below the pros and cons.

Front sight: 22 mm Gehmann, mine came with an adjustable aperature.
Rear sight: Shorter Hammerli AR-50 sight, feels very tough to break. Very easy to zero the sights, the knobs lift up and can easily be reset to zero without having to loosen a screw to do so, such as the Anschutz rear sights.
Trigger: Light with a very clean release, trigger blade is comfortable, but I broke mine trying to take it off and attatch it upside down. It broke because it is made of a cheap plastic. I will have to order the Silver Anschutz trigger blade, as the blade itself will tighten on the Hammerli trigger screw.
Pistol grip: Very well designed grip, has pro-grip on the outside, and other sizes can be ordered from Larry's guns. Two screws on the left side of the gun adjust the grip, the screw allows you to turn the pistol grip. Once you have set the rotation, you want to tighten that screw before loosening the second. The second screw allows the pistol grip to be slid up and down the rail, and also allows you to pivit the pistol grip away from the gun, or all the way against it, making it straight up and down. Because it does not pivit to the left (mine is right handed), you can easily set it straight up and down. This pistol grip adjustment is extremely well designed, and is a considerable improvement over the aluminum stocks of Anschutz.
Cheek-piece, very angular, adjusts side to side and can be moved forwards or backwards by taking out the screws and putting them in other pre-drilled and threaded holes. Nearly identical the Anschutz 2002 cheek-pieces. The cheek-piece unit is fitted into a rectangular slot and moved up and down by hand, and then tightened by one screw. Micro adjustments are difficult, as it has to be done by hand, I am not a fan of it, and it puts this stock at a disadvantage. The cheek-piece can be rotated towards or away from your face, but be sure to tighten the screws very tight. Mole-foam and a little electrical tape makes the cheek-piece much more comfortable.
Butt-plate carrier lengthened and shortened by loosening two crews on the right side, slides in and out by hand, similar design to the cheek-piece.
Butt-plate carrier: Is easily angled by loosening one screw.
Butt-plate: MEC Contact II, vastly superior to the Anschutz air rifle buttplate.

Balance and wight can be adjusted by three (Mine only came with two) sliding weights attatched to a rod on the buttplate carrier. Can be easily taken off. Two movable weights can be attached to the side of the stock adjacent to the cheek-piece (one on each side). Then can also be set into three holes under the cylinder to move the balance of the rifle forward. The barrel itself is a very short barrel with a long bloop tube, allowing you to adjust the sighting lenght. The air rifle itself is not as front heavy as other brands that I have picked up.

Loading port: Action snaps back with a push of the button, and is well below the sight rail, making it impossible for the bolt to hit the Sight at any point on the rail. It is then pushed forward, and as long as you are not dry-firing the air rifle, its is pushed forward with very little effort. These features save a significant amount of loading time.

As for my final thoughts, you should only consider purchasing one if it is either brand new, or you know it is in good working order.

themar773 wrote:I am in the market for a new air rifle, and have been looking at the new Feinwerkbau 700 ALU, the Anschutz 8002 ALU, the Walther Protouch, and the Hammerli AR50 pro.

I am currently shooting an Anschutz 8002 wood stock club gun (the fact that it is a wood 8002 speaks a lot about its age.)

But I also shoot a Feinwerkbau 2700 in smallbore.

Any ideas?

If it's a 8002 wood stock, I wouldn't think it's that old,do you mean a 2002 wood stocked rifle.
I currently shoot a Walther protouch, moved from a Fein 700, and love it.
Saying that all the Rifles you mention are good, it's a case of trying to find the one that you feel the most comfortable with, adjustments/weight/balance etc
Colin

Thank you both.

The Anzchutz that I am shooting is at least 5 to 6 years old... (it really is a 2002 labled as an 8002).

Colin, do you like the Protouch in terms of ajustability, have you ever had any issues with it, such as malfunctions or issues with customer service?

why did you switch from your old Air Rifle?

I was able to hold and fiddle around with (not fire though) the Anschutz 8002 s2, the 9003 s2, and the Feinwerkbau 700 alu.

I have fired the Hammerli AR50 PRO, and I very much enjoyed the rifle.

I was also able to hold the walther anatomic, but the Protouch was not in stock when I went out to Camp Perry.

the Fein was a nice rifle, I just could not get comfortable with it, always seemed front heavy, even with lead weight on the back, was using a Fein 603 wood stock.Went with the 700 thinking it would be better adjustment/set up but didn't work out for me.The 603 fitted me better,just it was a ssp
I tried the Walther at the Gun shop, just picked it up and it felt so balanced
No extra weights or anything on it, just adjusted the butt/pistol grip to suit and it seem to be so comfortable and balanced to bring up and hold.
The trigger is fantastic,the lock time is very quick,and the feel very precise.
The overall feel and quality of the Walther seems better than the Fein, that's my impression, but then it's a personal thing.What works for me may feel totally alien to someone else.
Take on board what others say, but in the end it's what you find works best for you.In an ideal world you could try them side by side, the shop I went to had all the makes you listed and you could pick up and compare.
You will always get people with negative/positive comments on all the makes you have listed.
Only one word of advise don't rush into it, take you time.See if others at the Club have the rifles you list and ask if you can look/pick up.
Most shooters I have come across are only to happy to help.
Colin

the Fein was a nice rifle, I just could not get comfortable with it, always seemed front heavy, even with lead weight on the back, was using a Fein 603 wood stock.Went with the 700 thinking it would be better adjustment/set up but didn't work out for me.The 603 fitted me better,just it was a ssp
I tried the Walther at the Gun shop, just picked it up and it felt so balanced
No extra weights or anything on it, just adjusted the butt/pistol grip to suit and it seem to be so comfortable and balanced to bring up and hold.
The trigger is fantastic,the lock time is very quick,and the feel very precise.
The overall feel and quality of the Walther seems better than the Fein, that's my impression, but then it's a personal thing.What works for me may feel totally alien to someone else.
Take on board what others say, but in the end it's what you find works best for you.In an ideal world you could try them side by side, the shop I went to had all the makes you listed and you could pick up and compare.
You will always get people with negative/positive comments on all the makes you have listed.
Only one word of advise don't rush into it, take you time.See if others at the Club have the rifles you list and ask if you can look/pick up.
Most shooters I have come across are only to happy to help.
Colin

thanks again,
The problem is that the club i belong to has begun to shed members due to age, and loss of interest. The one person that bought their own air rifle purchased a used air rifle at an auction. (one of the big time no-no's).
She has had nothing but trouble with it...

I do compete at another club very often, but all of the shooters there use Anschutz 8002 ALUs, so there is sort of a bias there...

But thanks for your imput and advice.

The main thing that I am concerned with is the reliability of the air rifle and the company, and the avalibility of the parts (if needed). This is because I know that all are capable of shooting a 600 even if I can't. But one may be vastly superiour in terms of service and reliability.
That being said it still comes down to which fits best...