The FWB 600 10-meter target rifle.
This report covers:
- Getting ready
- The BKL elevation riser
- AirForce to the rescue
- The test
- RWS R10 Match Heavy
- RWS R10 Match Pistol
- Qiang Yuan Training pellets
- H&N Finale Match Light
- H&N Finale Match Heavy
- Discussion
- Summary
Oh, boy, did BB ever get angry today! This report will interest BB more than the rest of you readers, I betcha. Read on to find out what got BB so flustered.
Getting ready
Last time I tested the FWB 600 I mounted the new front sight I received from Scott Pilkington. But then the rear sight was too low on even the highest adjustment. My groups were all low in the bull.
I received lots of advice, including the fact that my rear sight seems too low for the FWB 600. I noted that the sight doesn’t say FWB anywhere so I think it’s aftermarket. I thought I had extra FWB peep sights but if I do I haven’t been able to find them. I have plenty of Diana peeps, but the only other FWB peep is mounted on my 300.
I spent an hour looking around for the peep before conceding I just didn’t have one. Whatever to do?
The BKL elevation riser
First I tried installing the BKL elevation riser that was on the rifle before. But now it made the shots land too high, no matter how low I adjusted the rear sight.
AirForce to the rescue
Fortunately the AirForce Edge peep sight that I have has a huge amount of vertical adjustability which is just what I need. I have one and it was mounted on my HW 50S, but now it’s on the 600. The first shot hit the target on the bull I aimed at but low and to the right. After many more shots I had the rifle hitting close to the center of the bull, which is all I cared about. Since I would be testing different pellets there would be no attempt to adjust the rear sight any more.
The AirForce Edge peep sight is ideal for my problem! It adjusts up and down a lot, in addition to the fine click adjustments.
By the time I had the sight on the rifle I was very agitated, so I didn’t think my groups would be anything special, and they really aren’t for what we know this rifle can do. But they did demonstrate that I still have a tiny bit of discipline going for me.
The test
I shot the rifle off a sandbag rest at 10 meters. I shot 5-shot groups with each pellet. And for the most part I shot pellets I have tested before, so we have a baseline for comparison.
RWS R10 Match Heavy
My first group was five RWS R10 Match Heavy pellets. They went into a group that measured 0.091-inches between centers. That earns a silver Chackrum — the smallest comparison coin I have. In Part 3 five of the same pellet went into 0.078-inches and in Part 4 five made a 0.119-inch group. I think this pellet is very consistent in this rifle.
The FWB 600 put five RWS R10 Match Heavy pellets into a 0.091-inch group at 10 meters.
RWS R10 Match Pistol
Next to be tested was the RWS R10 Match Pistol pellet. The 600 put five of them into a 0.118-inch group at 10 meters. In Part 3 five of the same pellets made a 0.179-inch group and in Part four they went into 0.085-inches. So we are hanging in there but not as consistently with this pellet.
The FWB 600 put five RWS R10 Match Pistol pellets into a 0.118-inch group at 10 meters.
Qiang Yuan Training pellets
Next up were five Chinese Qiang Yuan Training pellets. Today the 600 put five into 0.109-inches at 10 meters. In Part 3 five made a 0.113-inch group and in Part four they went into 0.148-inches. This pellet is fairly stable in this rifle and today’s group is the best so far.
Five Qiang Yuan Training pellets went into 0.109-inches at 10 meters.
H&N Finale Match Light
The fourth pellet I tested was the H&N Finale Match Light. In Part 3 five went into a 0.102-inch group at 10 meters and in Part 4 five made a 0.101-inch group. That was great but today five made a 0.177-inch group at 10 meters. It was the largest group of the test and the only one to earn the silver three-cent piece called a trime for comparison.
Five H&N Finale Match Light pellets made a 0.177-inch group at 10 meters. It’s the largest group of the test.
H&N Finale Match Heavy
The last pellet I tested today was the H&N Finale Match Heavy pellet. I didn’t test this pellet in either Parts 3 or 4, so this is out first look at how it performs in the FWB 600. Five made a 0.094-inch group at 10 meters. It’s the second smallest group of the test and it earns the silver Chuckram comparison coin.
Five of the H&N Finale Match Heavy pellets made a 0.094-inch group at 10 meters.
Discussion
Where does today’s test leave us? Well the FWB 600 now has a rear sight that allows the groups to be centered in the bull. But it’s not an FWB rear sight. However, there is no evidence that the rear sight that came with the rifle was original, either. For now this sight will do.
I’m of the opinion that this 600 will outshoot my FWB 300. So that’s a test I would like to conduct. I think what I’d do is research the 300 and select what seems to be the most accurate pellet or maybe two pellets, then shoot several groups with each rifle with their most accurate pellets to see which one comes out on top. If you have a different idea or think I should add something, please let me know. Just as long as it’s shot at 10 meters with the right (target) sights and not with a scope!
Now — why am I more interested in the outcome of today’s test than you, as I said in the beginning? Because it demonstrates that even when I’m upset I can still calm down enough to hold a good group. That’s why I like this rifle so much. Because if the group is very large it has to be because of me.
Summary
The FWB 600 is proving to be the most accurate target air rifle I have ever tested. The trigger is certainly superb and it would seem that I can still shoot good enough to conduct a test with this rifle.
Well folks, it’s WordPress again. When I checked it was indeed scheduled to publish first thing this morning. But I still had to publish it manually.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
BB
That’s OK BB. We hate WordPress also.
There is a point at which you cannot achieve any more accuracy. I had that issue right from the get go.. My second air rifle was a FWB601. I very quickly became bored with it. Stay away from these air rifles unless you are going to compete.
RidgeRunner,
So too much accuracy is boring, eh? ;^) Perhaps the solution is mini-sniping.
/blog/2011/08/mini-sniping/?swcfpc=1
Michael
Michael,
Agreed, Mini-sniping has always been a favorite activity that all my airguns participate in 🙂
Cheerios, Froot Loops and Honeycomb cereal are preferred targets – cheap, easy to see, explode nicely and biodegradable. Fun stuff!
Hank
Wint-O-Green (wintergreen) Lifesavers at dusk. (See if you can make ’em spark!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4-eY8dZB9k
Michael
I can see me doing that in the future. Too late for the FWB601.
why do you say that? I have shot tiny groups at 35 yds with that rifle and the FWB 300. shooting them at 10 yds is boring they just go into a ragged hole
***Stay away from these air rifles unless you are going to compete***
Disagree RR, I use my 10 meter airguns for all kinds of shooting that they have adequate power for 🙂
I have absolute confidence in their accuracy so I know for sure who missed because it was not the hardware LOL!
Cheers!
Hank
R.R.
Although I consider myself far from being an average shooter compared to this blog’s standards I really enjoy the HW45 and recently a 16 fpe D350, 0.177. They somehow make me think that I am shooting a muzzleloader, at least from what I have read about them. Never shot one actually. Still the whole experience brings a smile to my face, equal to those I am having shooting the bullseye out with a pcp or an HW30.
A couple of nice airguns.
Just keep sending pellet down range and soon you will be ahead of us.
I have to agree with RR on this one, stay away unless you are going to compete, or shoot really small targets out past 10m.
Ian.
This is why I am selling my HM1000X. It has become boring to shoot.
The American Gal who won the Olympic Gold at the 2016 Games beat a 2 timw Olympic Champion and a 3 time World Champion by 1/10th of a mm.
When shooting you are only competing against yourself.
Aim small, miss small.
-Y
Yes you can shoot, B.B.; your worst groups will always be way better than FM’s best. And yes, WordPress is annoying. But you did not pick it as the platform for this blog.
That rear sight problem reminded me to ask if there was any chance of seeing you review the Crosman precision diopter sights? I don’t think I’ve seen them covered anywhere.
Derrick,
Yes, I suppose there is a chance of that. I just ordered an FWB target peep off eBay, so give me some time to digest that. Maybe I could just ask Pyramyd AIR for one to test like an airgun?
BB
In Part 3, there’s a picture of the rear sight and its clearly marked “FWB” on the top of the dovetail clamp. Its about the fourth picture in the blog post.
Yes, I was hoping you could borrow a set of the Crosman sights from PA. Of course, it never occurred to me that you might try them on this FWB…
Derrick,
That mark is bogus! I will show it in detail when my new/old FWB sight arrives. I will say more about the marking then.
BB
Now that’s a dirty trick.
Derrick,
Yes, it is. It appears to have been done to deceive. I think this sight might be a Chinese knockoff made for the BS4 rifle. I’ll have more to say next time.
BB
Wow. I’d like to say try the weird Haenel diopter, but I believe it needs a cross slot. I see that you ordered a FWB sight–hopefully that’ll do it. Its hard to believe that all these diopters have such different height requirements. I’ve only run into fit issues when the diopter was made for a flat base but the gun’s receiver has a radius.
B.B.,
Might you print up some targets with the WordPress logo as the bull? (Nah, that might cause you some legal headaches.)
Michael
To compare two similarly highly accurate airguns (only), I would try to eliminate as much as possible the human element. For example, clamping them down and using a remote trigger might do that job.
However, this also seems a bit pointless to me, because, aren’t they supposed to be a tool to best help the shooter compete with other shooters?! Size, weight, shape and adjustability of the whole seem as important as an accurate barrel.
Or put another way: don’t you just love it when an airgun set up is so accurate that the results show up the human operator?! 🙂
BB,
I’m sort of wishing for a three way shoot off between the spring piston FWB300s, the SSP FWB600 and a PCP Crosman Challenger or Air Force Edge (?).
Siraniko
PS Section H&N Finale Match Heavy 2nd sentence: “I didn’t test this pellet in either Parts 3 or 4, so this is out (our) first look at how it performs in the FWV (FWB) 600.”
Siraniko,
Fixed the typo, thanks.
Your three-way shootoff would be good if I can swing it.
BB
BB
Love the 10 meter rifle reports. I don’t get tired of making itty bitty holes but prefer stretching them out to 25 yards even if they aren’t designed for anything but 10 meters. A few years back Gunfun 1 and I were commenting on my FWB300S group sizes comparing an artillery hold vs bag rested. He convinced me that a FWB300S would shoot smaller groups at 10 meters when rested directly on a shooting bag. Since I was doing the shooting what kind of test would be most conclusive? I chose the military test because as you once said to me, “more is better”.
The military test requires 5 shots each to 5 different targets or bulls. Determine the average score of the 5 groups. Also consider the best single group. So I shot .50 pellets in total using one pellet the rifle likes. The winner was clearly the 25 shots with the rifle rested on a bag. Before this 10 meter test I had been back and forth with different winners shooting 10 shot groups.
Deck
Well, I guess it was going to happen sooner or later. My wife and I have the plague.
RR
Take Ivermectin — the horse kind if you can find it. I got it on Sunday and took Ivermectin on Monday and the symptoms were gone in 4 to 6 hours.
BB
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier), really good (!) to hear that Ivermectin worked so well for you.
Please, would you elaborate a little, you see, I know next to nothing about it, other than that it can be of help.
Thanks.
hihihi,
Ivermectin is a horse deworming medicine and it is given by weight, which is on the plunger of the applicator. I just works quite well.
BB
Oh no! Sorry to hear that. This is a particularly inconvenient time of year to catch the flu (if that is indeed what I think you have)..
Remember to take the traditional medications (vitamins c and d, zink, etc – I hear Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine or such have proven helpful too) and you’ll both be fine again in a fortnight. Otherwise it’ll take a good two weeks! 🙂
Fortnight?
It is the Chinese plague, not the flu.
Pray both of you will get better soon; no advice to offer since so far we’ve been lucky. We did get vaccinated/boosted on the advice of my brother-in-law who is a primary care doc and my cardiologist friend.
Update: Mrs. FM was telling me there is a new drug, Paxlovid, which may be helpful.
https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/13-things-to-know-paxlovid-covid-19
RR
Sorry to hear that. On the plus side, it is likely the Omicron variant, which seems to be more of a three or four day thing. Just do what you normally do for the flu and you should kick it by the weekend.
Ed
I think you are right. It feels like the flu.
RidgeRunner,
Sorry to hear that!
Is it the bubonic, pneumonic, and/or septicemic? Or are you talking about the most recent Chinese one originally for export only but got away on them.
FM talks about the drug Paxlovid but there is a growing suspicion that is somehow involved with folks getting side effects that look like a reinfection.
My prayers for the quick recovery of you and the love of your life!
Shootski
It’s the Chinese Plague.
I do not understand why everybody is so upset with the Chinese and their zero tolerance. Their economy is shut down. This is the perfect time to learn to not be dependent on XI and the gang. Officially recognize the Republic of China as an independent nation and flip old Xi the bird.
RidgeRunner,
Not me!
The Chinese history tells us that they are forever doomed to play the same roll in their rise and fall cyclical existence. The falls have historically taken centuries for them to overcome.
shootski
The problem here is we are too dependent on those commies. This time they will likely drag us down with them. I have personally met those Chinese commies. They are cordially invited to kiss my patootie.
We’re on the same page; my heart goes out to the Chinese people, but only they can fix it, perhaps with a little help from their friends.
RidgeRunner,
Get well soon. I’ll be including you and your wife in my prayers. As long as you are not obese, elderly or with significant co-morbidities you should pull through just fine. Despite what people say the vaccines work fine not to prevent infection, but more on minimizing the severity of it.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
I appreciate your prayers.
My wife and I as well RR. Wishing you the best!!
I sincerely thank you. We are well on the way to mending now. I do find I tire easy at the moment.
B.B.
Now that is what I call NICE SHOOTING. Very nice.
Hw much should it cost to reseal this gun? Guy at the range just bought one and it need resealing.
-Y
Yogi,
I would guess $150-200 but I really don’t know.
BB
B.B.,
Nice shooting! That rifle and you deserve a FWB rear sight and not anything else!
PA has an OEM (FWB) rear sight for pre-order with a early summer ETA.
Spendy but it is OEM and claimed to work with your model and most other FWB 10 Meter rifles.
shootski
Shootski
No link?
Gunfun1,
Link? No time earlier I have been busy installing a 3″ Stainless downpipe and Catback Maptune exhaust system on my VIGGEN. It sounds AWESOME and adds a few more Horsepower…eventually I will get it over 400! 100 HP per cylinder. Love what SAAB knew about Turbochargers.
./product/feinwerkbau-rear-sight-assembly-11mm-dovetail?a=8130
shootski
shootski ,
I bought an original online this morning.
BB
Hope you get a good ORIGINAL one and for a reasonable price!
GOD bless the children, good teachers, and parents of Texas! May he give strength to those suffering at the hands of an evil deed.
shootski
Shootski
Well hope that it’s good for that price. The sight that is.
And you know you shouldn’t get Gunfun1 talking about cars. But. 🙂 I had a 2005 Dodge SRT 4 that I bought new that was making 525 hp 500 foot pounds of tourqe and running 11.65 in the quarter mile at a 132 mph. Drove it 60 miles a day back and forth to work then drag raced it on Saturdays. Was very dependable. Had it for about 5 years and sold it and that guy dro e it and racedit for 4 more years then he sold. Don’t know what happened to it after that.
BB
Since it shoots so good you should shoot some groups 10 yards farther out each time and see where the groups do start falling apart.
Maybe it is only a 10 meter gun. Or maybe it’s a 30 yard gun or even a 50 yard gun.
You know what old Gunfun1 would be doing if he owned the gun. 🙂
B.B. I am down with the Covid right now and have been continuing to work through your old blogs. I recently bought a new current version Weihrauch HW30s. I really enjoy your old blogs on vintage springers and besides the Diana 27, what other, if any vintage springers would you say are comparable or even better than the current 30s? Kind of BBs top 5 smoothest shooting springers. Not interested in power, just smooth shooting, easy cocking and accurate.
Also, I have had many thoughts, questions, comments and compliments as I read these older entries. I am in 2007 now. Is it better to reply to the original blog or to a current one with an old question?
Bob,
It might be best to place your comment in the current blog and link to the old blog, BB will see all posts to the blog but most folks will not see the posts to older blogs.
Mike
HBUCS,
I second Mike’s suggestion. You hit two birds with one some by posting in the current blog. Not only does everyone see your question, but it also increases the chance of getting an answer. Although Tom is referred to as the Godfather there are a lot of sharp individuals in the blog who have provided answers to questions that have stumped him.
Siraniko
You have the Chinese Plague also? Your prayers are being reciprocated.
Any questions or answers are best done in the most recent blog. If you wish to refer to the old blog, that would be great.
As far as the HW30S is concerned, to the best of my limited knowledge, you will find none better in that class. I bought one for my grandson and recently put a Truglo front hooded sight and a Williams peep on the back. What a joy it is to shoot.
“I think what I’d do is research the 300 and select what seems to be the most accurate pellet or maybe two pellets, then shoot several groups with each rifle with their most accurate pellets to see which one comes out on top.”
B.B., I would cast my vote on that as the way to go. *thumbs up* 🙂
Until recently, these 10 m rifles were designed to be shot standing and consistent with a whole bunch of rules. With the advent of PCP, 10m is now shot three position – standing, kneeling, and prone – also under an ever-changing rule set meant to make sure everyone operates under the same conditions of equipment design, clothing support, etc. The fact that they produce one hole groups supported by benches or bags is expected and just gets the rifle in the door; the rest of the expense is to fit the gun to the shooter so he can attempt to approximate bench rest results. When we can do that, we will be on you tube olympic reporting videos, but it takes years of directed training and dedication. Boring is shooting one hole groups from a rest – challenging is trying to do just that from an unsupported standing position.
Mr. Pelletier…I have a FWB 602; stock, it met rules of the late 90’s. Those rules were relaxed and design now allows a higher sight system, and a much deeper forend. Compare the 600, 01, 02, 03 with the recent models of the 800x and other modern 10m rifles and you will see the difference. This allows a heads up, weight better supported position. Several companies offer both front and rear sight variable height risers, and adjustable depth forend risers (palm rests), which bring the older rifles closer to competitive to current issues. My point is if you get a matched riser system from TEC-HRO or Centra, you can solve two problems: the mismatched rear and front sight heights can be made to work together – raise one so their will be slack enough to lower the other, and a head-up position can be had. I recently posted a similar description of the problem on the Olympic rifle section of the Target Talk forum. The original poster had an almost identical problem to yours – mismatched sights!
The biggest difference between the ssp’s and pcp’s is not their inherent accuracy of course, but the freedom from exertion and reposition with each shot required of the ssp. Both types are respectfully accurate – I have the original demonstration cards from both my FWB 602 and 800W (walnut stock version of the 800x), each I bought new and still shot and each is (5) .177 pellet holes size stacked on each other.
Someone asked about resealing the 600 series rifles. There is an excellent detailed 2 part you tube video set that follows that process, and with care, most anyone can do it. The seals are about $75 from several sources. I successfully resealed mine in March, after about 22 years of on again and off again use.
If you become bored with precision bench or supported shooting, try precision shooting from an unsupported, standing position.
JE, with no apology for the length of my reply…I write in only about once every 5 years because it takes me about 4.9 years to compose my comments.
Goodenuf
Thanks for sharing your expertise. Lots of interesting stuff in your comments. Hope you will comment again soon.
For those of us old enough to have the shakes and tremors but blessed to still be able to enjoy the sport, just move out to 25 yards when 10 meters gets boring shooting from a rest. Those one hole groups will vanish.
Hope and pray those readers who have the pandemic will have mild symptoms and quick recoveries.
Deck