TargetTalk

Is the FWB C55p any good, I have a chance to purchase one and wanted opions before I do.

John

At this moment there is according to my knowledge only 2 match class 5-shot air pistols in production: the FWB 55 and the Steyr 55.
The Steyrs are more often seen at the ranges than the FWB 55.
I tried both before selecting the Steyr.
Both guns have some reputation for unintended multiple discharges. The FWB has a screw at the rear side of the frame that can be turned to (often, but not always) cure this. To cure the Steyr this is more difficult as you would have to adjust the pellet velocity and/or the sear engagement after having removed the grip.

The FWB is a well made gun, like most FWB guns, and it will give you reliable service for many years. Which one to choose, the Steyr or the FWB is probably only a matter of taste.

to my knowledge the C55 has not been in production for almost 2 years now. I don't know if FWB plans to bring out another repeater or not. It would seem likely given that the Air Pistol Rapid Fire will only grow.

The Steyr LP5 (and its newer cosmetically only different brother the LP50) has been an extremly reliable shooting platform. It was built right from the beginining and has been unchanged in roughly 15 years of production. We sell lots of them.

But the original quetion was about C55. If I had a good deal on C55 , I would not be afraid to buy it at all. A C5 is much more problematic. If I was looking at a Steyr and C55 side by side at the same price, I would get the Steyr.

I would disagree in that the Steyr's are 99.99+ % reliable. I use the LP5 and have never <touches wood> had a single problem, of any description in about 3 years fairly moderate use. In contrast I know one guy who has the FWB gun and it's been back to the dealers a few times in under a year.

In addition in the UK we have a lot of competitions using 5 shot AP's and the vast majority on the line are steyrs (5's or 50's). If there is ever a malfunction it is always one of the less popular makes. I don't recall ever seeing a problem with a steyr.

Rob.

I am looking at the Steyr and FWB semi autos and was wondering if the Aeron B98 had any problems. It is certainly a lot cheaper than the others.

I have shot both the Steyr and FWB and neither one could work thru a whole magazine of 5 shots without a malfunction of some sort.

Thanks!

TomF wrote:I have shot both the Steyr and FWB and neither one could work thru a whole magazine of 5 shots without a malfunction of some sort.

Then they should be serviced by somebody who knows what they are doing. I have had an LP5 since 1997 and the last time I had a malfunction was............I can't remember that far back.

Thanks David, I totally agree. The fact is they had been serviced, but obviously not enough.

Now has anyone had any experience with the Aeron B98? And as I originally asked, any problems?

Thanks!

Tom if you had problems with the Steyr, I doubt you'd be happy with the Aeron. The ones I have tried had very poor tirggers as compared to either the Steyr or FWB and also had multiple discharges. You really get what you pay for but as you are paying much less you might also have lower expectations.

I have an LP5 and it has seen lots of use and has never had a malfunction to date. I've not only shot it myself but lent it to many others so that they could try the rapid fire events.

I thought the LP50 also had the ported barrel which would make more than cosmetically different than the LP5.

My LP5 has a ported barrel. Perhaps the early ones did not? I think the major differences between the LP5 and 50 are an integral stabilizer, the method of attaching the barrel weights, and integral manometers for the cylinders. However, this is getting away from the original thread - I agree with Pilkington's advice above - if you have found a good deal on a FWB C55, you should buy it. I bought a used LP5P instead of a new Aeron B98 (for the same money) and don't regret it one bit.

To Lee Jr.:

My LP 5 has 2 cylinders. Both have integral manometers. But the earlier LP 5`s did not. One had to screw in a supplied manometer to cheque the pressure. Awkvard was the word.

The LP 50 has a "stabiliser" (or "absorber" followong the FWB terminology).

Hiya

Does anyone know if the FWB C55P comes with a single-shot magazine, or whether such an item is at all available for it?

Our university matches are standard pistol, but most of my competitions are single shot, and I was thinking of selling my FAS 604 to help with the cost of a s/h FWB I've spotted at a great price.

Cheers!

While I have only fired one sleeve of pellets through mine it has never failed me.

Dave C.

To NIC:
Do you have any idea why the FWB are offered at such a "great price"?

I think I do.

To 'guest'

No to sound rude or anything, but I do plan to have a look at the gun before committing to purchasing it. I'd love to be able to just get the Steyr, but sadly it's out of my price range.

If you do have any details on faults/problems with the gun could you perhaps post them, because I think they might be of interest to many people in this thread.

Thanks

Gentlemen,
Someone asked about the B-96.

I had three, I think. Bought one frrom a local dealer. Had frequent malfunctions (hencforth referred to as malfs). Was advised by Boris Plessenger, the importer to send it back to him. I did so. Upon the pistols return to me I got about two clips through it before it malfed.

Failure to feed was the problem. Boris advised me to send it back to him. I did so. He replaced the pistol with a newer model and advised me to cease any attempts to adjust anything.

That pistol worked for a couple of months. Then it also suffered failure to feed. Ignoring Dr. Plesinger's good advise, I, with the help of an article from "The Air Gun Letter" began to attempt adjustment of the trigger and sear adjustment. Got an improved trigger, but a new problem. Full automatic fire. Admitted to Boris my transgressions and he suggested that I return the pistol. I did so.

He sent me another pistol. Even later model (date of manufacturer). This pistol worked pretty well. I was able to adjust the trigger and sear and got to no malfs. Then It broke some parts. By this time Boris and I had become comfortable talking about the B-96. and he sent parts to fix the pistol.

My cost during this experience was limited to shipping and usually only the shipping to Boris, he paid the return. He was very cooperative and is not to be faulted in this situation.

After replacing the last part, the pusher/"snake head", I shot about half a tin of pellets through it with no malfs of any knid at all. The trigger worked fine, and the pistol was accurate, very accurate, as all of the B-96 pistols that I had were.

By this time I was a little shy of the B-96. Traded it off.

In my humble opinion, the B-96 is a pretty well designed pistol, with the action made of poor quality metals. These semi auto pistols have to have an action made of fine steel. Other wise. although you may be able to adjust and shoot the pistol, the adjustments wont hold and the parts will break.

Then I bought a LP-5 PCP, slightly used from ole Warren, at Pilkington's. That pistol was clearly of superior construction than the B-96. With all the B-96 experience I had had, I had no problem adjusting the trigger, and had ABSOLUTELY NO MALFS. Had to trade it in because I was using tooo many pellets and the multifire capability encourages me to fool around when I shoul;d be practicing. The single fire clip that came with the LP-5 is easy to use, in fact it is one of the easiest loading 10 m pistols. The trigger is not as good for single fire as the designated 10 m pistols, a little stiff. But no harder or rougher than the few .22 rimfire standard pistols in slow fire mode.

I understand that Aeron now has a PCP semi auto pistol. If they have not sourced a new supplier for the metal components in the action, I would hold little hope for it's success. If improvements have been made in the metals, then it might be OK.

I know people who's opinopn I respect, that say that the B-96 is a fine pistol, and report few if any malfs. But my experience has been different.

I am done now. I would buy a Steyr LP-5 or 50 from Pilkington Competition, if I was looking for a semi auto pellet pistol, used or new, they ain't let me down yet.

Respectfully,
Bubba

Production of the FWB has seased. The C55 was not a successful gun, and the factory has decided to stop production, I recon.

The main problem was the malfunctions. Mostly multiple discharges. In bad cases, a full magazine!
The factory was aware of the problem, and the C55 that I tested (which was a very early model or a prototype) had a screw at the right side of the frame, with graduations. This was for adjusting sear engagement when multiple discharges occured.

The only working and (relatively) sound 5 shot match air pistol today is the Steyr P5 og P50. I have been informed though (trough the grapewine) that two other factories are developing top end 5-shooters. One of which will probably have an electric trigger.

The only complains about the Steyr P5 / P50 are less than perfect triggers, occasional double discharges, and a relatively rapid wear rate of the alu magazines. Accuracy is reported to decline as the magazines wear.

The Steyr is the only alternative today, for roublefree shooting, it seems.