TargetTalk

Good afternoon! After rebuilding a 300S for a friend about four years ago, I've been on the lookout for one to pick up for myself. Here in Coffee Country they are few and far between. Today was the first time I've found one since the one I rebuilt in '14. Now for the bad news. It's not even a basket case as the basket (bag) in which the innards were placed when the former owner took it apart for "cleaning" got dumped by his mother or wife (wasn't clear on that point). The current owner took it in lieu of cash for some deal he made and was looking for someone to rebuild it. When I pointed out how much was missing he seems to have changed his mind. I'm tempted to offer him a Daisy 120 to plink around with in exchange for the parts he's got. Here's what's on hand:

The barreled action with compression tube and piston. The springs have been compressed for the Good Lord only knows how long, but the doohickey between them looks to be in good shape (although I'd probably be installing a Maccari spring instead). Most of the pins in the trigger bar assembly are missing in action. The sledge system is also gone. The sights are gone as well, but for a scoped setup that's not an issue (although I'd love to have a 300S set up for 10 meter shooting).

The question is - are the parts available from Feinwerkbau? I've not sent an email yet as I'm cogitating on what to do about it. One downside is that it's in a lefthand stock (did FWB do a tyrolean stock on the 300S?) but there's a loong chance that could be sold on the used market here and recoup some of the cost of getting it going again. If I were up in the US I'd not give it a second look and would simply wait for a good deal on a complete used rifle, but here in Coffee Country there's not that many floating around - and they are priced near original retail price at that. Hence my curiosity about parts availability and cost.

Here are a couple of pictures of the trigger assembly - what's there.

AmBraCol wrote:The question is - are the parts available from Feinwerkbau? I've not sent an email yet as I'm cogitating on what to do about it.

Yes. Download and print the exploded diagram of the 300S from FWB. Check and jot down which parts are missing from the rifle. Send them a list of the required parts and request an invoice.

https://www.feinwerkbau.de/en/Service%2 ... d-drawings

Then you’d know if it’s worthwhile in rebuilding the rifle. Remember to order a spare set of seals...

http://www.waffencenter-gotha.de/shop/E ... 8_115.html
Try thisone.

kevinweiho wrote:

AmBraCol wrote:The question is - are the parts available from Feinwerkbau? I've not sent an email yet as I'm cogitating on what to do about it.

Yes. Download and print the exploded diagram of the 300S from FWB. Check and jot down which parts are missing from the rifle. Send them a list of the required parts and request an invoice.

https://www.feinwerkbau.de/en/Service%2 ... d-drawings

Then you’d know if it’s worthwhile in rebuilding the rifle. Remember to order a spare set of seals...

Thanks, Kevin! I see we're almost neighbors. :-)

In this case, I think it's going to be easier to highlight what's left and then write the rest down. :-D I'm going to see if I can work a swap for a functioning rifle (an old Daisy 120) and then start working on restoring the 300S, IF he's interested (he indicated he might be). I'm thinking about going with the Maccari spring instead of the factory one as I've had good results with his products in the past. Do you have any opinion on the Maccari breech seal and bumper?

Th. wrote:http://www.waffencenter-gotha.de/shop/E ... 8_115.html
Try thisone.

Thank you! My Deutsche is not very good, but Chrome translates the page and I see they've got the sledge which is good news. That's the part I was most worried about not finding.

AmBraCol wrote:I'm thinking about going with the Maccari spring instead of the factory one as I've had good results with his products in the past. Do you have any opinion on the Maccari breech seal and bumper?

FWB oem springs are pretty good as well and should last for many shots. I’ ve heard they’re oversized and need to be sanded down a bit in order to be installed.
FWB rubber seals were updated to longer lasting synthetic materials and have a perfect fit.

This isn't the first 300S I've worked on, rebuilt one for a friend a few years ago. But this one is my first one. It set me back one Daisy 120 with a Gamo 4X20 scope. It was in working order, this 300S isn't. Besides which, first I'll have to build a basket and then fill it with parts to get the start of a basket case! Here's what we've got at this point.








Yep, that's right! She's got a southpaw tyrolean stock! She's got a couple issues, other than needing a basket full of parts. First, there's no telling how long that spring has been compressed in there. But I've removed the entire trigger mechanism and it is STILL stuck in back. I'm not sure what's holding that piston in place. Any suggestions about ways to get it to slide forward a bit (preferably completely) and remove the tension from the spring? I can always use a spring compressor and remove it that way, but prefer to work with as little preload as possible!





Next, there's a rough area where the anti-bear trap mechanism slides.






This isn't major as I'm hoping to obtain the entire trigger mechanism. Now that the rifle's mine I'll be checking with FWB. If not, then I'll see what turns up in other areas.

Well that's all I've got right now. I'll post here as the project develops. Any help or suggestions are welcome. Oh! Here's some things I KNOW I need for this rifle.

Front and rear FWB sight set
Trigger guard
Trigger guard/stock screws
Sledge system

Do any of y'all have an idea where those could be obtained? I'll be making up a list to send to FWB for a quote, but used parts are not a bad thing if they are priced right and in good condition. I'm sure I'll have more questions as this evolves.

Well, I snuck a bit of time to tackle the project again. Remember kids - DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! :o The spring compressor did not do much at all, the bolt came out and the piston/compression tube were still stuck together in the action as the screw was backed off, freeing the inner parts for movement - of which there was none. I wrapped the end piece in a heavy rag and tapped the inside of the end piece until it slid out. Then the piston got the same treatment. Always being careful to keep the lighter parts surrounded with a heavy rag to slow down the projectile potential. Not a good solution, but the best I could come up with in the circumstances. If you ever do the same, you're nuts and are responsible for any injuries or damage caused! Some twisting and turning of the pieces (still wrapped) caused them to finally separate. Here's the main components, along with a main spring assembly from a friend's rifle that's there to show how much of a set the springs of this rifle took from being compressed for so long.



Here's a look as the compression bumper seal, and the piston with the majority of the bumper removed.








I get the feeling it's going to be tough to reconstruct that piston bumper... a bit of epoxy to hold all that together perhaps? :o ;D ;D ;D




Here's a look at the inside of the compression chamber. That's going to take some doing to get clean!



This rifle doesn't seem to have been shot all that much. Even though the compression ring shows a bit of a mark - there's no discernible gap, essentially no wear in the piece.




So she's now in her basic component parts - what there is of her. Next step is to see if my friend will loan me his rifle to make sure that what's here is functional with missing parts (major assemblies, not individual parts) replaced. If so, we'll then move on to making a list of assemblies/parts needed and see what FWB can help us with. Then we'll see about filling in gaps from the used market.

Some might wonder at the effort made to restore this rifle, but we've got a shortage of 10 meter rifles/pistols of any sort around here, and this is the first left hand rifle I've seen. So although it's "outdated", it should still help someone to get an idea if they want to go to the effort and jump through the hoops to get into 10 meter shooting. Besides, it's fun to get an abused/neglected piece of equipment back into functioning shape!

Does anyone have a lead on an original front sight assembly for this rifle?

My hero!!!

I forgot to mention about this pic, the grunge on the walls of the compression chamber is from spraying penetrating oil in there to hopefully loosen stuff up to make it easier to clean later. I cleaned up the compression ring, but there's a bit of stuff still there that looks like a gap - it isn't.

Finally got time to sit down and list the parts needed to get her up and running again. Attached is a PDF of the request for a quote on the availability and cost of the needed parts, it was almost easier to list what we DO have on hand! :-D Last time we contacted them with a similar request they had the answer in our inbox in less than 24 hours.

Well, the first bit of parts for the rebuild project arrived. Ended up ordering from fleabay as FWB's price on the major assemblies was way more than I want to spring for on this rebuild. So the trigger bar assembly and the sledge assembly arrived today. Contrary to the seller's assertion, the trigger bar did NOT come with the trigger, trigger shoe and appropriate screws. So those will have to be sourced elsewhere, FWB or fleabay. Too busy this week so don't know when I'll get a chance to review the parts list and see what needs to be ordered from FWB. Will probably order springs, buffer and seal from both FWB and ARH, or at least the springs. It's fun to play around with different springs to see what these rifles can do.

In the meantime, do any of you have a lead on a trigger guard for the 300S? FWB no longer has them and fleabay isn't turning up results either. John McLeod of Custom Gun Parts in the UK is planning a run sometime in the future. Price will likely be around 70 pounds sterling. Don't want to pay that much and don't want to wait that long - if it's possible to hurry things up and save some pennies too. So ideas where to find a trigger guard are GREATLY appreciated.

Bit by bit, here we go!

I might have a front sight. I'll check tomorrow if I remember!

proneshooter wrote:I might have a front sight. I'll check tomorrow if I remember!

Thanks! I appreciate it!