Feinwerkbau P700 or Anschütz 9003

[Confused]

Hey. Im sitting in with really difficult decision and im wondering if someone can help me. I want to buy a new air rifle and have to choose between a Feinwerkbau p700 or anschütz 9003 premium S2. According to stats the 9003 is completely vibration free. Is that true? I shot with a p700 before and really liked it but am not sure if the 9003 has more advantages.
Any help will be appreciated!!

[methosb]

As I see it, quality wise all of the air rifles are about the same, the choice is merely which feels best to you and what kind of deal you can get. I think the main things that I contemplate when buying an air rifle are:
- cost
- balance: some like their rifle to be more front heavy than others
- fit: the different shapes of the stocks at the back end of the rifle can make them feel a little different around your arms and your chest and some prefer one stock over another
- feel on trigger release: all of the rifles feel different on release, some find the Anschutz S2s and the Steyrs feel too dead for them and like a bit more feedback from the rifle.

So, the best thing to do is try and find other shooters around your area and see if you can try their rifle out and just see what feels better to you. None of the top tier air rifles are better than the others it all comes down to preference really. If cost is a big factor then you might find the FWB to be a better deal as they already come with sights which the 9003 doesn't.

[anschutz]

Also consider the Anschutz 8002 this rifle doesn't have the absorber, and gives more feedback on shot release than the 9003. Apart from that, what Methosb says is good advice, try and find the one which best suits you,

[Rutty]

Try and find an Anschutz and try it, then you are in a position to compare. If you cannot find one then you have already answered your own question:

I shot with a p700 before and really liked it

I don't believe that in technical terms there is much to choose between the leading makes. So the fact that you like shooting a particular rifle assumes more importance.

Rutty

[laxratnd]

The best way to do it is to try each rifle and to see which one feels best to you. I have the FWB 700 and i love it. Its a great rifle. I have also shot the 9003 but did not like it as much. See which one you like best but my vote goes towards the fwb.

lax

[NiteKitti]

I have a P700 (wood, not aliminium) and i've loved it since the first time i shot with it. I've been shooting with it for 4 years now and never even considered getting a new/different rifle.
Not too long ago i tried out the 9003 and it felt really good as well, but i guess its all about how the rifle is set up for you.
You cannot just borrow someone else's rifle and try to shoot with it, you will have to set up the rifles for yourself and then compare them to know which one you like best.

[jansson]

I will definitely go with the one that feels best. Your feel is the most important when you shoot so you have too like the rifle otherwise it will not work. I can only give my opinion on the P700 alu, had it for 4 years and like it. Like the balance and the general feel of it. But there are things that don't work like the dry-firing mechanism which has broken once (replaced now) and are not really for long training sessions. The diopter and loading arm don't go together with extra raiser blocks and height adjustments of the cheek piece is not perfect, don't go up high enough. I've got some other complaints too but they are more due to personal wishes, but still, it's a good rifle, and so far i haven't tried one i liked as much.
The best reply you can get is try them both out and then decide, good luck!

[pwh]

I have a neck like a Giraffe and never had any problems with the amount of cheek rise adjustment on a FWB 700. Of course, then again, I have a MEC butt plate on mine which has a lot of horizontal adjustment as I never really cared for the butt plate that came with the 700 but I suppose I was spoiled from having the MEC on another rifle.

As for riser blocks, of which I have, I never encountered any problem whatsoever with the cocking lever.
Again, a long neck! As for raising the cheek piece very high is there not some ISSF rule about how much distance there can be from the bottom of the butt plate to the top of the cheek piece? I might very well be mistaken on that point. By all means, if you can try out each rifle that would be the way to go. As for me, I’m quite happy with my FWB 700.


~Phil

[Jordan F.]

Phil I believe you are allowed 220mm between the bottom of the butplate and the centerline of the barrel, and then another 60mm between the centere of the barrel and the centre of the front aperature, but I do not believe there is a rule retaining to the distance allowed from the top of the cheekpiece to the bottom of the butplate.

From my experiences with my FWB with the cheekpiece all the way up the front aperature is just at 60mm so any further up on the cheekpiece and the gun would not pass inspection.

Regarding the first question I like my FWB 700 alu a lot and it has worked well for me. I have had it for a little over a year without any problems what so ever. A lot of adjustments on it - I don't like the butplate a whole lot however.

[Rutty]

Here is the link to the ISSF Rules:
http://www.issf-shooting.org/default.as ... linkid=401

The table at para 7.4.3.7 tells you all you would ever want to know.

Rutty

[peepsight]

The original question asked our advice on which air rifle, Anschutz 9003 S2 or FWB 700 Alu.
I would much prefer to put the FWB up against the Anschutz 8002, but that's just me.
Go try both if you can, then make your mind up.
There is not a best air rifle because if there was everbody and his brother would be using it.
I personally don't like the very soft no recoil at all 9003 as i like a little feed back when firing but i guess others will like it for that dead feel.
The FWB probably has the best medal track record of all followed by Walther.
Peepsight

[pwh]

Phil I believe you are allowed 220mm between the bottom of the butplate and the centerline of the barrel, and then another 60mm between the centere of the barrel and the centre of the front aperature, but I do not believe there is a rule retaining to the distance allowed from the top of the cheekpiece to the bottom of the butplate.

From my experiences with my FWB with the cheekpiece all the way up the front aperature is just at 60mm so any further up on the cheekpiece and the gun would not pass inspection.

Regarding the first question I like my FWB 700 alu a lot and it has worked well for me. I have had it for a little over a year without any problems what so ever. A lot of adjustments on it - I don't like the butplate a whole lot however.

Yep, it seems as though I somehow in my mind combined the measurements as one instead of the individual required measurements. Don’t understand just how far one could possibly wish to raise the cheek piece without going against the rules! Like said, I have a long neck and I believe I could still raise it more and stay within the given ISSF parameters but this of course is in combination with the lower adjustment I have with my MEC Free Position butt plate which, by the way, is in accordance with the ISSF rules. I’m of course referring to the measurements on my rifle and not the MEC butt plate itself here.

I’m not at all sure if my dislike for the FWB 700 Alu butt plate is based upon my having had and becoming used to the infinite adjustments one can make with the MEC Free Position and then seeing the lack of such adjustments with the butt plate that is on the 700. I think in all honesty that I still would have disliked it from seeing some of the butt plates that come as issue with other rifles. As a matter of fact as I type this the 700 butt plate sits in front of me and I still have a strong dislike for it but then again, that is JMHO. But, be that as it may and suffice to say that it was promptly removed and replaced with the MEC and I never looked back. Which brings us to what Peepsight had to say…………

The original question asked our advice on which air rifle, Anschutz 9003 S2 or FWB 700 Alu.
There is not a best air rifle because if there was everbody and his brother would be using it.
I personally don't like the very soft no recoil at all 9003 as i like a little feed back when firing but i guess others will like it for that dead feel.
The FWB probably has the best medal track record of all followed by Walther.
Peepsight

Now that is simply all too true! There is no best for the very simple reason Peepsight stated. If there was everyone would be buying it and all the others would be collecting dust on a dealer’s shelf!
All of the top make 10meter air rifles are excellent and will win matches time after time if in the right hand. Well…..the left hand to! Each has its own merits and little idiosyncrasies that one may dislike to some extent. Good example as just previously stated. I’m more than satisfied and very happy with my FWB 700 but, I simply did not like the butt plate. Then again, there are those who have other makes but may possibly think in the back of their mind that they would like one little feature on it to be like another make of rifle. It’s all a little bit of give and take and making the decision as to what outweighs one rifle against another to you and only you personally.

Hmm….gives me an idea as to a great discussion on my site!

Here is the link to the ISSF Rules:
http://www.issf-shooting.org/default.as ... linkid=401

The table at para 7.4.3.7 tells you all you would ever want to know.

Rutty

Thanks again Rutty. I finally got it through my thick head to make a copy of that and am going to have it laminated! I should have done that a long time ago!

~Phil

[ky99]

My son shoots a 700 fwb.His sights are raised to close to the legal limit.We ran out of height adjustment with his cheekpiece but the fix was easy.Made a aluminun spacer to go between the wood cheekpiece and the plate it bolts to.Material could have been wood or plastic instead,what ever you can work with the best.Also it is best to make it thick enough to get the adjustment back down down into the stock some as if the cheek adjust is out close to its upper limit it tends to rotate a little out of alignment when you tighten it.Like most say I don't think you can go wrong with FWB or 9002 or 8002.

[jansson]

As ky99 pointed out that is the problem with the cheek piece, but in the same way they fixed it, i did also. And about the sights disturbing the loading, it is true if you have raised it over the original hight adjustments (in my case 57 mm). Then "the head" of the loading arm goes against the sights when it's slided forward. But as everything else there are ways around it.
I feel the same way about the butt plate as pwh do and most people i know or see in competitions have replaced with MEC (me too). The thing that i dislike about it is no rubber on the bottom part and a bit too width in general (my opinion of course). But that is how it works when you get a rifle, adjust it to fit and then fix the problems that is built in or just don't suit you. The most important thing is to like it from start and which make it is isn't.

[Slowstdy]

I have a FWB 700 alu, and would love to replace the but plate with a MEC. How do you fit the MEC but plate to the FWB's. If you can a picture would do.

[pwh]

I have a FWB 700 alu, and would love to replace the but plate with a MEC. How do you fit the MEC but plate to the FWB's. If you can a picture would do.

If I get the time I'll try to take some pictures of how I did it. Other than that its not at all really hard to do. You simply have to buy a few machine screws and nuts. If you take the time to look it over closely you'll easily figure out just what you need to attach it on.

~Phil

[pwh]

This may not tell you too much as for the picture but, I didn't feel like removing the butt plate. I simply measured what size and length of Allen head machine screws that I needed. I also have a washer underneath the heads of the two Allen head screws that you can see in the picture. Its been sometime since I placed it on but I'm quite sure that I also have a washer and a lock washer on the other side (inside).
Bottom line, its only the two Allen head machine screws with the appropriate washers and lock washers. Very simple to do. Most hardware stores will have a large assortment of metric machine screws. Hope this is of some help.

~Phil