The FWB 600 10-meter target rifle.
This report covers:
- Where we were
- Where we are
- However
- The test
- Sight in
- Qiang Yuan Training pellets
- The trigger
- H&N Finale Match Light
- RWS R10 Match Heavy
- Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
- RWS R10 Match Pistol
- Discussion
- Summary
It’s been awhile since we looked at the FWB 600. In Part 3 which ran early last December I discovered that the rifle had a Running Target front sight. That made the rifle shoot 5 inches below the aim point when the rear sight was adjusted as high as it would go. I had to put the rear sight up on a BKL riser block to raise the impact near the bullseye, but that made the rifle shoot too high with the rear sight adjusted as low as it would go. Today I see if I can correct that. You’re going to see some good shooting today!
This is a front sight for a running target rifle. This is the sight that came with the rifle when I got it. The regular 10 meter front sight would be down level with the silver muzzle cap.
The BKL rear sight riser fits the FWB 600.This is what I had to do to get the pellets up in the target with that tall front sight.
I contacted Scott Pilkington from whom I got the rifle and he agreed that the front sight I had wasn’t the right one for the rifle. So we swapped and he sent me a replacement front sight.
This is the correct front sight for the FWB 600.
Sight riser removed.
Where we were
In Part Three I shot five-shot groups with six different pellets. In all that I got four gold dollar groups that were smaller than 0.15-inches between centers. The other two groups were silver trimes — groups smaller than 0.2-inches between centers. I told you then that it was the first time I had even shot a 10 meter rifle and gotten no groups that used a dime (groups that measure 0.20-inches or larger between centers) for comparison.
Where we are
Today I shot five 5-shot groups, using all but one of the pellets from the Part Three test. Four groups were gold dollar groups and one was a Indian silver Chakram — a group smaller than one-tenth inches between centers.
However
Yes, there is a however today. This time I couldn’t get the groups high enough to hit the center of the target. The rear sight was adjusted as high as it goes and the groups are still too low. Oh, well — that means I have to change something and shoot it again. Oooookay — if I gotta!
The test
I shot from 10 meters off a sandbag rest. I used the target sights that come with the rifle. I shot 5-shot groups.
Sight in
I sighted in with Qiang Yuan Training pellets. The first two shots were about 5 inches low and off to the right. So I cranked in a lot of elevation and, after three more shots, ran out of vertical adjustment. All my groups will be low today.
Qiang Yuan Training pellets
The FWB 600 put five Qiang Yuan Training pellets into a group that measures 0.148-inches between centers.
The FWB 600 put five Qiang Yuan pellets into this 0.148-inch group at 10 meters.
The trigger
I have to comment on the 600’s trigger. It is superb! It’s better than the trigger on my FWB 300S, and that’s saying a lot. The beauty of the 600 trigger is I can hold at stage two and wait until the bull is perfectly centered and then wish off the shot. This trigger is as nice as the one on my TX200 Mark III, now that I have adjusted it.
H&N Finale Match Light
Next to be tested were five H&N Finale Match Light pellets. The group they made looks larger than it is. There is a large tear at the bottom of the group that was not made by a pellet. The actual group is little more than two pellet holes wide. It measures 0.101-inches between centers.
I enlarged this image to show what I’m talking about. That large triangular hole under the two upper pellet holes is just a tear in the paper. Examination of the back of the target reveals it. Only the two upper holes constitute the 5-shot group that measures 0.101-inches between centers.
RWS R10 Match Heavy
Okay, the RWS R10 Match Heavy pellet gave us a 0.078-inch group in Part Three. That’s good for a silver Chakram today, but I wasn’t using that comparison coin back then. It was the smallest group in the Part Three test.
Today five of the same pellets went into a group that measures 0.119-inches between centers. Not as small as last time and you can thank BB for that — not the rifle.
Five RWS R10 Match Heavy pellets went into 0.119-inches at 10 meters.
Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
The next pellet I tested was the Sig Match Ballistic Alloy pellet. In Part Three they were the second most accurate, producing a group that measured 0.09-inches between centers. The comparison coin would have been a Chakram if I had been using them. Today five of them went into 0.127-inches at 10 meters. It was a very good group — just not as good as before.
The FWB 600 put five Sig Match Ballistic Alloy pellets into a 0.127-inch group at 10 meters.
RWS R10 Match Pistol
The last pellet I tested today was the RWS R10 Match Pistol pellet. In Part Three five of them went into 0.179-inches at 10 meter. Today they cut that in less than half, going intro 0.085-inches at 10 meters This is the smallest group of today’s test and the only one that’s smaller than one-tenth inch.
The FWB 600 put five RWS R10 Match Pistol pellets into a 0.085-inch group at 10 meters.
Discussion
What got me writing about the FWB 600 was the Haenel 312 that I worked on yesterday. I wondered how it would compare to a world class 10-meter rifle and that’s when I discovered that I hadn’t reported on the new lower front sight on this FWB 600. And even with what I have done here I’m still not finished.
I want to get those pellets hitting the center of the bull — at least with some of the pellets. That’s what these rifles are for, and I don’t want to miss it. At this point it seems like I have to reinstall the BKL riser to do that. We shall see.
Summary
We talk a lot about the FWB 300. Well, I’m here to tell you that the 600-series single stroke pneumatics (models 600, 601, 602 and 603) are every bit as accurate and maybe even moreso. I know some of you own these rifles. Time to speak up!
B.B.
Now that is accurate! Not even pellet fussy.
On a lark, please take her out to 25 yards. Or shoot 10 shot groups?
Is this the holly grail of airguns? Simple, self-contained, and about as accurate as accurate gets.
-Y
Yogi,
I think Tom will have to look for an indoor 25 yard range to shoot this with a chance for demonstrating accuracy. The pellets are going so slow that they might be destabilizing already at 25 yards. Then again what could I know?
Siraniko
Siraniko
Now come on we know that you know about how this air gun stuff goes.
Read my reply to Yogi. And who knows about what the wind will do. If it was my gun ifor sure would be trying out to 25 yards and farther. I have a modified FWB 300s and had a factory FWB 300s. Both guns shot real well out to 50 yards. The modded 300s that I still have shoots good out past 50 yards. And yes of course with wind blowing and from what directions makes some kind of difference. But as it goes. You never know till you try.
Gunfun1,
I know you like to push things to the limit. But this rifle is pushing pellets slower than the FWB 300s which I know you have pushed to 50 yards. At 25 yards indoors I would say yes it can probably still produce acceptable groups. Outdoors is going to be another thing with even a small wind able to blow the pellets off course. Heavier pellets might help but they will definitely be going slower and need to make a higher arc to reach farther.
Siraniko
Siraniko
Only one way to find out. 😉
Siraniko,
BB has an indoor 25 yard range. I could pull off 10 meters, but Mrs. RR would have a fit.
At 25 yards those pellets are indeed going pretty slow. Even round nose does not help much.
Everyone,
I think Tom will look for any and every chance he gets to shoot this rifle. 🙂
BB
BB,
You have lots of reasons to shoot this rifle because you still have to find the proper combination of front and rear sight or even maybe scope it someday.
Siraniko
There is something so exquisite about shooting such a wonderfully accurate rifle, that it is difficult to stop. Perhaps better for our psyche if we didn’t as it makes all of our other rifles seem less attractive.
BB has a number of such rifles in his possession. It is a wonder he can tear himself away from using them to write about them.
Ed
Yogi
You know me. I’m all for a 25 yard test. I’m thinking it might just surprise us for the better out at 25 yards.
Yogi,
I had an FWB601. BB will probably remember it. Unfortunately, there is no “Holy Grail”. There is always a tradeoff. These things are superb at 10 meters. They are OK at 25 yards. They are horrible at 50 yards. That is with a scope at 25 and 50 yards.
This air rifle fits in a special niche. It was designed for 10-meter competition shooting. That is it. If you have a collection of 10-meter air rifles, one of this series is certainly worth adding to it.
RR,
I have no expectations over 25 yards with this 10M target rifle.
However, 25 yards should/might, be doable. Hopefully we will see?
-Y
Yogi,
At 25 yards with round nose pellets, it should do pretty decent, but there will be significant drop as it is running out of steam.
Once upon a time in a land far away, Webley was developing an air rifle called the Paradigm. It was a hybrid between an SSP and a sproinger. It was very smooth shooting, was not hold sensitive, was a nice bit of eye candy and developed about 12 FPE. It was also very hard to cock and was very complicated inside.
Before it came to market, Webley went belly up.
The airgun world is still searching for its “holy grail” and will not likely find it as each airgunner has their own idea for what that should be.
BB,
great shooting!
What’s up with those holes though? They look very ragged for wadcutters. Has this rifle slowed down significantly since your chrony test, is it the paper or something else?
Stephan
Stephan,
It’s probably the paper on those targets.
BB
I have had great results with Kruger targets, even with pellets in the mid 300’s.
Paul in Liberty County
BB,
I’m so glad you are coming back to the finest of the finest again 🙂
The 600 trigger is even better then 300s? It is literally impossible 🙂 hahahaha
Yesterday I hit the paper almost 400 times to conclude I need to hit it at least 10000 times more to really get closer to my new darling 300s.
I was asked during ma shooting session if I could bring back some life into the Walther mod.55 airgun. Of course I will bring it back to life. I will also check it for accuracy and V0 stability. Some guy found it after his grandpa pass away and proudly would like to shoot it as his grandpa did. It is enough reason for me to spend some time with this airgun. I will let you know about the outcome 🙂
The FWB600 is kinda sentimental to me, I adapted the shaft painted black to my HW50 custom. It is one of the best shaft I ever touched.
tomek,
Drool! FWB300S? Walther 55? You do get to play with some mighty fine airguns.
I had an FWB601. I had two FWB300S. As hard as it may be to believe, the FWB600 series trigger is better than the FWB300 series trigger.
You did what to your HW50?
RidgeRunner,
Ohhh… I did a lot to her 🙂 Please see the comments in this blog:
/blog/2021/12/hw-50s-part-9/?swcfpc=1
For you once again:
HW50_fullcustom.jpg
Life is too short to shoot trash. It must come again: denial to the trash 🙂
That sounds pretty cool! Most of my shooting these days is well under 12 FPE. I would really hate to try that rig out as I would probably want it.
You might look into polygonal rifling. It is not as rough on pellets as standard rifling.
P.S. I just looked at the picture. I do want it.
Ridge,
I will not touch this HW50 again. It is perfect now as it is. One thing would be the record trigger which I can swap – but to be honest… don’t have to. The not regulated is relative hard but very predictable. The barrel is totally unique right now.
tomek,
Well, you can always build another one.
RidgeRunner,
🙂 my wife will contact you directly when she accidentally will check the related expenses 🙂
BB,
I do not know what you have in the front sight, but I would go to a clear iris with a fairly small hole. Just my druthers.
RR,
There is a clear insert in the front sight.
BB
BB
Putting the BKL riser back under the rear sight may take groups too high but worth a try. If you have a Walther aperture that fits it may have enough adjustment to get POI on the bull. But even that would be temporary. You no doubt would expect the correct FWB600 front and rear sights to work.
Deck
Awesome.
That new Challenger looks kind of interesting.
/product/crosman-challenger-pcp-competition-pellet-rifle-open-sights?m=5330
Kind of expensive though. I guess they raised the price tag limit some.
RR
It certainly looks different than my Challenger 2009 that I competed with. But that was a while back and I see this new one is regulated. Mine was a 2000 psi fill and got just a bit over 60 shots to a fill. Had to carry a “buddy bottle” and refill once per match so I didn’t screw up the standing targets.
Mine competed pretty well and is still more capable than I am. Even at $999 the new one is still at the lower end of the precision rifles. Prices just keep going up,,,,
Ed
Edlee,
It is tempting, but my prejudices are more toward the AirForce Edge.
RR
When I bought mine, money was a bit limited so the Edge was out of my price range. Even the AA t-200 was about $100 dollars more. I competed against both of these fine rifles many times. You must remember that this wasn’t high level competition. It was for the Veterans Wheelchair Games.
I am happy to say that both I and the Challenger were more than put to the job. I have doubts that I could have done any better with another rifle ( and I did get to practice with FWBs and Anshutz,,s (?).
Ed
Ed,
Well, the Edge, Challenger, etc. are not likely to take you to the Olympics, but they sure are fun to shoot. Even more fun than those Olympian style air rifles.
Maybe you should try out one of these.
/product/air-venturi-av-46m-match-air-pistol?m=5257
They are not cheap, but they sure are fun.
This has my attention, I found some in stock somewhere else,can’t remember where now back in January but I don’t want to be the crash test dummy
/product/beeman-1380-pcp-competition-air-rifle?m=5190
SSC,
Now that is really tempting. As an entry level 10-meter air rifle, it likely would do just fine. It is likely made in China.
If you are really interested in a 10-meter air rifle, you might also think about a used one. For about the same price you may be able to find a used FWB 600 series or similar with sights. They usually all are very well taken care of.
Now, if you are just looking for a 10-meter air rifle to plink with, think about an AirForce Edge.
B.B.,
These groups are literally the kind you read about! Even with my lovely FWB 300S, I won’t ever make similarly small groups like you just did with the 601. One reason for this is that I haven’t learned to shoot in any other position besides standing, with the forearm rested. Or standing without a rest, which produces really large “groups.” There is too much of “me” in the shot to allow the gun to show it’s best.
I am very happy with my limited way of shooting air guns, but I’m missing out on seeing my gun’s true potential. Time to try a shooting bench, I suppose. But shooting benches take up space and get in the way! I fear that a folding bench will be too wobbly.
I made a test trial bench out of an ironing board, with a plywood cabinet door screwed to the top. It’s OK, not so great and I never use it because it’s such a silly, monstrous piece of junk! I sit on a 5-gallon bucket with a plastic seat/lid and adjust the height of the ironing board and try to make that stable “tripod” with my body and arms as they contact the board. It’s just not something that I gravitate to when I want to pop holes in paper.
But I think I do need a decent seat and table to see something close to the best groups that my guns can produce.
Will
Will
The folding table PA sells is suprisingly steady.
Deck
Since you are accustomed to standing already, maybe adapting a tripod such as a speaker stand used for a portable PA system could be helpful. Attaching a small table using a commercially available speaker stand adapter bracket will help minimize the “you” in your shooting. This shouldn’t be too costly of an experiment (check pawn shops) Clearly this setup would not be as stable as a bench, but could help as a mod to the way you already shoot.
Will S.,
DOA Shooting Bench
B.B. owns one and has used it to good effect. I own one and believe it IS the most stable and well constructed portable shooting bench ever made. It is heavy and portable in the sense that it isn’t fixed in place. It isn’t recommended to leave it out in the weather because the top is wood. You could leave the base out in the rain and snow with a waterproof bag over the cloth covered seat. You could also get away with a outdoor furniture table cover as long as the tornadic winds aren’t excessive!
https://www.doashootingbench.com/
Not cheap (buy once cry once)but I have tried more expensive portable benches and returned every one of those for being wobbly in the field. I have never felt a wobble with the DOA Bench regardless of the surface it was setup on.
shootski
No shame in using whatever tools, aids, devices or rigs work for you; for the 25-yd backyard range, the bench rest is a 96 gallon wheeled trash bin and old towels to steady the rifle. No sitting, but it works. At least it works for FM.
Will S.,
I second Remarq’s suggestions but advise a modified mic stand instead of speaker stand. They are dirt cheap on the ‘bay and on reverb.com. There is also this, but IMO it’s overpriced: /product/excalibur-cross-stix-shooting-rest?a=10119
Michael
My front sight on my 601 is similar to the one you have installed however the rear sight looks wrong as compared to mine, (Was this different for the running boar model?). As you can see from the photo my 601 has a very different sight and it sets higher.
slevane,
I wondered about that! Thank you for pointing that out.
BB
slevane,
I have the AirForce rear peep sight that adjusts over a huge range of elevations! If I can’t find the right FWB sight I’ll use that next time.
BB
One might be a 601 rear sight and the other a 600 sight.
It’s very possible. FWB does list different numbers for both sites in the exploded parts diagrams. However I do not see a separate parts diagram for running boar (all I see is the running boar was sold without sights to be used with a scope/user supplied sites ?). I do think there is a mismatch between the front and rear sight on this 600.
Thanks for the suggestions fellows! Shootski, the DOA bench is a fabulous piece of equipment! I really enjoyed looking at that! But it is too big and heavy to move around as a realistic option for me. But oh, if I had lots of woods out back! The shooting table from P/A is what I was hoping to approximate with my Frankentable.
What I do use is my father’s 1960s vintage camera tripod, with a rectangle of padded wood screwed on top as a rest for my off hand. Both the rest surface angle and the height are quickly adjustable and I think it’s excellent. I’d recommend that over leaning against the doorjamb!
Will
The MTM table from PA works fine especially if pressed against a deck rail, tree, solid post or anything stable. The bag weight helps remove any wobble. You can even lean against the table to keep it under tension. I sprayed Ballistol on the stainless folding legs and leave it outside. No sign of rust after a couple of years.
Deck
Deck
B.B.,
I just ran down to the basement to check if my FWB 601 has the correct front sight. Shoot! (Yeah, yeah, pun intended.) It is the currect one. My poor targets are all my fault. Correct sight; incorrect shooter! ;^)
Michael
B.B.,
“The 600’s trigger . . . is superb! It’s better than the trigger on my FWB 300S, and that’s saying a lot.”
You are correct on both counts, Master! ;^) I know the 300 series had different triggers depending on variant, but mine is an excellent feeling simple steel blade. My 601 has an excellent feel, but in addition to angle, pull distance, and pull weight(s), the finger pad (?) is rotationally adustable, so as a lefty, I can opt to adjust infinitely the degree to which it laterally faces outward.
Compared to my 300s, my 601 shoots less powerfully (my 300s is slightly hot for a 10-meter air rifle), cocks harder, is louder, and can’t be easily scoped. It is also a few pounds heavier with its bench rest riser (and given my 300s is a “Junior” model), but man, what a shooter. With it on a bench, I can feel nothing as a shot goes off. I am not keen to the suble sensations of an air rifle going off in general, so to me it is as good as inert.
Michael
B.B.,
Just curious, but on the subject of essentially perfectly accurate air rifles, if the edge-t0-edge measurement on a tagret group is .177 inches, what is the measurement of the group, .089? .0885? Is that what one would expect clamping a world-class Olympic Air rifle PCP in a vise and firing off five or ten world class wadcutters indoors at ten meters?
Michael
Three successive comments in short order! Did I just breach blog commenting etiquette? ;^)
Michael,
Measure edge-to-edge and subtract 0.177-inches from that number to get the center-to-center measurement.
Is it about what a vise-clamped rifle would do? Yeah — about. 🙂
BB
B.B.,
So the group measurement would be about zero? :^)
That means if I want to get to the potential of my 601, I would need to go from a group of ten shots that is a) at ten meters, b) from a shooting rest on a bench, and c) using JSB Match Premium Lights and measures .0.5 inches down to 0.0 inches, a 100% size decrease! My chances of accomplishing that is roughly 0.0!
Michael
Michael,
No. It means that a group that I say is 0.85-inches center-to-center measures 0.262-inches across the widest portion.
BB
0.177 minus 0.177 is zero. The measurement of a group that is 0.177 edge to edge would be zero inches? Measuring groups really is complicated!
B.B.
It seems that you are approaching the level of accuracy that might be achieved by a purely mechanical system. Vise-clamped, electronic let-off, etc. removing all of the human elements. Admirable for sure. I see this kind of performance and shake my head. I just want the chipmunks to fear me.
Dan
Minute-of-chipmunk!
B.B.,
In the spirit of a theoretically perfect group possibly theoretically measuring zero inches, here’s my favorite mathematical conundrum:
0.99 (with a repitend superscript) = 1.0
Michael
Michael,
Last time I check the Rulebook there is NO 0.0 since they have a built in error allowance that you may never go under.
Also a reasonably current 10m air rifle & pistol Primer: https://www.airgundepot.com/ten-meter-guide.html
Also: Starting with the 2017-2020 ISSF Rules, ISSF rules for paper target scoring were removed from
the ISSF General and Special Technical Rules and consolidated in this Annex A to the ISSF
General Technical Regulations. The Olympic Games shooting events and all ISSF World
Championships, World Cups and Junior World Cups must now be conducted on electronic
scoring targets, but the ISSF recognizes that some Continental Championships and many
national, regional and club level competitions continue to use paper targets. These Rules
for Paper Target Scoring are valid for governing competitions that use paper target scoring.
Other ISSF Rules, as appropriate, must be used to govern all other competition operations.
The tolerance given for paper gauges are 0.05+/0.00 so that means nothing smaller than 0.05 is possible for score.
shootski
Michael,
There is no division. SUBTRACT 0.177-inches from the wide diameter of the hole to get the center-to-center spread.
BB