Today reader RidgeRunner, shows us the Falke model 50 breakbarrel he got at the North Carolina airgun show. If you’d like to write a guest post for this blog, please email me at blogger@pyramydair.com.
Take it away, RidgeRunner
Falke model 50
by RidgeRunner
Falke model 50.
This report covers:
- What is it?
- What it is not
- At the range
- Pellets
- My thoughts
- What is it?
I picked this little jewel up at the tenth annual North Carolina airgun show at the beginning of November. What is it? It has to be one of the sweetest little young’un breakbarrels there ever was, that’s what. I know BB has the hots for that little thing that Diana made for a kid, and the truth is, I have never had the pleasure of playing with one, but this thing is awesome!
Back in 2011 BB wrote some about its bigger brothers, the Falke 70 and the Falke 90. Falke also made the 50 for the wee folk to have an air rifle like daddy. This is a no frills .177 plinker made back when safeties weren’t put on airguns. Don’t even think about scopes. This thing also has a leather piston seal. I am fairly certain the seal has been oiled and I am hoping I do not have to go into it, but I will if necessary.
What it is not
This is not a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination. To give some of you folks an idea what this air rifle is like, I am going to compare it to the HW30S which I have here.
The Falke 50 (bottom) is tiny, right? HW30 above.
The HW30S is a few inches longer and a few pounds heavier. The HW30S is a powerhouse compared to this little thing.
At the range
You know I have to shoot it. As small as this thing is, I will not be using the heavies in it as they will likely just tumble out. There is a pretty good chance I will be trying more than one pellet in it though.
Pellets
Surprise! With the sights adjusted as low as they would go, this little rifle kept shooting high. I shot the Predator GTO 6.79 grain and the H&N Match Pistol 7.56 grain in it at ten yards. To be quite honest, I was not impressed. Now the H&N Field Target Trophy 8.64 grain pellets did pretty good. Counting that one that was off on the edge of the paper, this was shooting 1.95 inches and if we throw that one away it was shooting 1.13 inches.
Not too shabby, eh?
As light as this thing is, I am surprised this old, fat, baldheaded, blind geezer did as well as I did. I just may have to try out something a little heavier in this little jewel.
My thoughts
Well, this little air rifle sure is a lot of fun to shoot. This is one of those popcorn airguns. You know, it’s one of those airguns you can shoot all day. It is real light, easy to cock and accurate enough to give those feral soda cans a fit out there for a pretty good ways. I can see why BB is addicted to these little things.
RidgeRunner,
That’s a real youths rifle you have there. Considering how high it’s shooting is there a possibility that the rifle barrel got bent?
Siraniko
Siraniko,
I am not sure about that, but after looking real closely at this thing and shooting it some, I do suspect that the rear sight has been bent down some. I will look real closely at the barrel and the bore and see if I can notice such.
Siraniko,
I just gave the barrel of this thing a good look see. Looking at the barrel itself, it does not appear to be bent, but it “seems” to be pointed upward a little when in battery. This may be due to wear on the top of the barrel block. Of course, it may be due to these old, tired eyes.
The truth is, I do not care. Will this little gem stay in my “collection”? Very likely, but who knows what the future holds. There are a few others that are going nowhere as long as I am alive. This just might end up being one of them. There are not that many folks out there who can talk me out of it. 😉
RidgeRunner,
Maybe give it the tissue paper test and see if the breech seal needs to made proud again? Then again if the rear sight got bent down some and some careful rebending fixes the point of aim or if you are simply satisfied hitting what you are aiming at why bother doing anything else?
Siraniko
If the gun shoots high, and the rear sight is as low as it can go (and then some), the solution is to increase the height of the front sight a little bit, or simply aim high. Also heavier pellets may (or may not) hit lower. Then again…
RR, I’m curious if deep-seating the lighter pellets would get them out the barrel a bit sooner and thus group in a different spot. Sometimes with the less powerful sproingers, deep-seating makes a big difference. Also your hold may change the point of impact, as you know
RG,
I am thinking on some of these things. Deep seating? Different hold? I have other things to bend y’all’s ear about.
RR
As long as you’re in the ear-bending mood, how about some of the usual stuff, like length of pull (likely closer to 12″ than 14″) . Or how the trigger feels. Maybe even some chrony numbers if you like.
As for hitting high, I like the idea of running some heavy pellets through this young lady. I get the feeling that, since it doesn’t have an automatic safety that it also doesn’t have an anti-beartrap device, so I’m leaning toward Siraniko’s idea.
I can see a young enthusiast forgetting to hold onto the barrel while loading, having the barrel snap shut, and failing to mention it to the parents.
She is adorable and I can understand your thoughts on keeping her around long term.
Ed
Ed,
I am trying to get away from this little “old gal” as I just happened to pick her up at the recent NC show and I have some others that really are crying for my attention. I may come back to this one from time to time, but I am not planning on going “whole hawg” right now.
Very likely it will eventually happen as I am finding it difficult to just “put her away” for long. 😉
Siraniko,
You have yours coming.
RidgeRunner,
Now you’re talkin!!
These things can just put a smile on your face and make you want to keep shooting until all of the pellets are gone!!
There is just something about an old break barrel.
Thanks for sharing.
Bill
Bill,
Like I said, this thing is like eating popcorn. I do understand why BB likes to shoot his little Dianas all of the time. As I was showing in the picture, this thing is miniscule compared to the HW30. I can cock this thing without even thinking about it.
Something I failed to mention in my report about this little gem is that the breech seal is not in the barrel block as is with most break barrels, but surrounds the transfer port at the end of the compression chamber. The barrel lock chisel is also part of the main air rifle and not in the barrel block.
No mention of the trigger. Does it even have one?
If so, how is it?
-Y
Yogi,
Yes, it does have a trigger. You can call it that anyway. If you happen to look at the pictures, you will see it does indeed have one.
Is it adjustable? I do not think so. I have not found any way to do such yet. Not that I have looked. I do not care.
No, you will not like this little feral soda can popper. It is likely a little too old and small for you. You also have no way to mount a scope. It is just fun to shoot. No, it will not produce one-hole groups. Besides you, who cares?
Tailor-made for the youngsters and the pint-sized oldsters like FM! Obviously for you it delivers a lotta fun-bangs-for-the-buck and that is what it’s all about when it comes to airgunnery and other pasttimes as well.
FM,
It just might fit you. This thing is an awful lot of fun to plink with.
RR, tis everything you’ve said. And more! Falke was known for the quality they put in.
I’ll bet the farm it’s older than you are. Not to mention it’s also worth a heck of a lot more than you gave for it!!
Breeze,
It very likely does have a good bit of age on it. As for value, like beauty, it is in the eye of the beholder. For fun factor, I came out waaaay ahead. Dollar value, I could care less. I do believe I was on the better end of the deal though. 😉
Just so everybody knows, I did apply a little TIAT to the spring in this little gem before I took it out to the range. Now, the previous owner apparently was well aware this had a leather piston seal and oiled it well. Real well. One of these days I do hope it stops smoking so much. You would almost think it is a powder burner.
RidgeRunner
Falke Model 50’s were made with either a rifled or a seamless stainless steel smooth barrel based on what I have read about it. Which do you have?
Falke airguns were only produced in the 1950’s before stopping production for financial reasons or was it the loss of critical labor expertise? The name Falke (Falcon) certainly appeals at least to me.
Decksniper
Deck,
This one is most definitely rifled.
I’m starting to think that Ridgerunner is far less frugal than he would like us to believe. He is always pulling a rabbit (or in this case a bunny) out of his hat.
Jim H.,
Shhhh! We don’t want him to know that we know! 😉
BB
Unfortunately for my wallet, you know better.
Do not let my Scottish ancestors hear you saying that.
It is one of the most tiny airguns I have ever seen! 🙂
Did you checked the energy level?
tomek,
No, I did not. I did mention that my HW30S is a powerhouse compared to this little thing though.
RR, that is an elegant little rifle. A real treasure! Congrats.
RG,
This is one of those little popcorn air rifles. I would have never thought a sproinger would have less power than my HW30S, but this one has a long way to go to have that much power. As for getting rid of this little gem, there are a couple who may be able to talk this out of me, but not many.
I would hope to be first o n that list.
We are all tied for first….
:o)
RG,
I do hate to burst your bubble, but you are not on the top either.
It’s OK. I have become used to being disappointed. That’s when you really appreciated when good things do happen. Like bagging a Sig ASP in .22 for less than 250. :o))
Breeze,
You are up there, but not at the top. Sorry dude.
Sorry dude. Depends what scale is used!
45Bravo or someone in the know:
I posted the below to Friday’s Blog just now (just read Friday’s blog). Not sure if any one would read it so I posted it here too.
Sorry, just now catching up on my missed blogs. This 3D printer stuff sounds like a game changer as far as being able to produce magazines. Some magazines are hard to get or just too darn expensive. I wonder if they (or someone) could produce firearm magazines too. I have backed away from some firearms because of no luck finding a spare magazine or the magazine price was over half the cost a the gun (old stuff).
That said, I have a question about 3D printing. Could it be possible to 3D print a set of open sights?
Doc
Doc Holiday,
I doubt the 3D printed ones would add value to the firearm. I haven’t, however, searched for any metal 3D printed magazines.
Given the way most loading actions function I also wonder about how many of any material would remain functional and for many reloading cycles.
Have you seen this: https://gunmagwarehouse.com/blog/out-of-production-firearms-how-to-find-mags-for-old-obscure-firearms/
might be of value to you.
shootski
RidgeRunner,
Another FUN read ;^)
How is the condition of the furniture on the Falke?
Bet your glad it doesn’t have the magazine issue that Doc H. is faced with!
There IS the upside to single shot or at least arms capable of being single loaded!
shootski
shootski,
This little gem is in pretty good shape, most especially for how old she it. There are a few little chips here and there, but nothing to really speak of. I know I am an old, fat, baldheaded geezer, but I like single shot.
RidgeRunner,
When i read this in the Body of your Guest Blog, “Surprise! With the sights adjusted as low as they would go, this little rifle kept shooting high.” My first thought was the same as Siraniko’s that your barrel is bent but since he covered that i just filed it in the back of my brain. But then this morning in a Reply you wrote this, “Now, the previous owner apparently was well aware this had a leather piston seal and oiled it well. Real well. One of these days I do hope it stops smoking so much. You would almost think it is a powder burner.” So my brain must have noticed but didn’t let me know what it thought about this smoking gun until after dinner.
Could it be shooting way above pay grade because it is an oil burner…doubt it is detonation with the low powered compression but just enough oil burning heat and extra pressure? I kind of agree with my brain and think once it smokes less it might shoot lower.
Just sayin’
But you are havin’ fun and that’s what counts.
shootski
shootski,
That could be why it is shooting a little high. As I have pointed out, the sights are not what they should be. I have been working on them some, so we will have to see what is going on now.
RidgeRunner,
It looks like you got yourself a nice little gem there! 🙂
Happy feral can popping to you,
dave
P.S. Walnut & Steel did a nice video on one of these:
“1950’s Falke model 50 177 youth break barrel, full review and plinking”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6IEM_HwSqQ
He was averaging 380 fps with 7-grain pellets for 2.3 fpe.
As you noted, not a powerhouse, but a super-fun little plinker! 😉
Dave,
I just watched that video. Either his has been very well taken care of or it has been refinished. Mine does not look as pretty as that one, but it sure is fun to shoot.
“… but it sure is fun to shoot.”
That’s what really counts! 😉
RR, if I had that rifle, I would likely name it “Rosemary’s Baby.” (Because it is a cute little devil…) You probably have to be either old enough to remember seeing the ‘70s movie “Rosemary’s Baby” (or at least to have seen the movie) to get that joke.
Joking aside, congratulations on a nice find. I hope you continue to enjoy it!
RR,
Look, it’s not as beautiful or accurate as a TX200 and not as powerful as an RWS 350 Magnum. I would just throw it in a dumpster.
Now I have a big two cubic yard dumpster here on my property and would be more than glad to dispose of it for you if you just send it to me. Just trying to help you out here and avoid any embarrassment you may encounter at a range with it.