$620 for a recently refurbished FWB 80, good deal?

[lxvnrsw]

Found a gentleman who's willing to sell me a FWB 80 that's been recently refurbished for $620 for shipping. It appears to show no wear or blemishes. As a starter pistol is this a good deal, or am I better off getting an IZH 46m (either new or used, preferably used in my case)?

Also, does anyone know what size grips are usually supplied with stock FWB 80's? I need grips that are at least a large, and preferably an XL.

Sorry for bombing Targettalk with my posts, but I'm excited to get into the sport of 10m shooting and I've got tons of questions but not to terribly much money to blow...

[RandomShotz]

You do realize that this is a spring piston air gun? It is a sophisticated device and has a sliding receiver that compensates for recoil, but it represents the last of its kind. With the advent of single stroke pneumatics, the spring piston development for 10M AP faded away.

Is the Izzy really so ugly that you are willing to take a technological step backwards? It is the only currently manufactured option in SSP. Unless you are willing to wait for the right FWB 100 or one of its kin to come along, or climb up into the expense of a PCP (remember you have to have a tank or pump to fill the cylinders) then your choices are limited

I will throw out one possibility. I bought a used Morini that was supposed to have L grips, but actually had M. That is when I learned 2 things - 1) that I have XL hands, and 2) how to shoot with my pinky off the grip so that there was enough room for the rest of my hand. Most of the gripping is done by the first finger and the rest by the second anyway. I did this for several months until I could afford to buy XL Rink grips. Still, I entered the Bluegrass State Games with the too small grip and shot a 536 - not bad for a geezer who'd only been in the game about 8 months. YMMV of course, but maybe you could pop for the FWB 100 on Airgun Classified, start shooting and upgrade the grip when you get the cash.

Good luck

[j-team]

While the FWB model 80 is a fine peice of classic engineering, given the choice of that or an IZH46M, I would take the IZH. Especially if your intention is to improve your shooting.

[RMar]

They're great air pistols, even if they are from 30 years ago. I shot some fantastic scores with one myself. I understand there are some people that will even work on them to this day.

$620 is high. Full retail price 30 years ago from Beeman, who had the reputation of having the highest prices, was $595.

Good luck.

[Rover]

I second Roger Mar. I would rather have the FWB80 than a IZH; it's far higher quality.

Don't kid yourself, you can shoot excellent scores with one. That price seems a little high to me, too.

[GaryN]

Stock grips are probably medium.
But it all depends on the owner, they may have put on a larger or smaller grip.

Today I would go with a SSP, either FWB 10x series, Pardini K58 or IZH-46.
The reason is no moving mass to upset your shot.
You can still shoot well with the FWB-80, but I feel that it is easier to shoot well with a non-spring AP.

[Eurastus]

I agree with what many have said.

I own an 80, an Izzy, and a couple of 103's. I prefer to shoot them in that order; the 80 is fun for remembering the 1980's, the Izzy was a great starter gun, but the 103's are much easier to shoot well.

[jacques b gros]

I quit shooting last year, shoulder problems (both sides), but I think that the FWB was acceptable for the 40 shots they were used for.

In 60 shots the weight takes its toll. I know, I tried when decided to come back to shooting 4 yrs ago.

A well kept PCP is expensive, but if the price is within the market, one can always sell if the need arises.

[Sc0]

I think I picked up an almost NIB Walther LP201 for around $700 a few years ago and "think" I just now got it resealed properly. The pistol didn't have a single mark or bit of wear on it... (I like the old school 300bar hangy tank style, just wished the gun came with large grips and worked properly. The pistol came with Medium grips and luckily I found some Large Morini grips for $50? Also every single seal inside of the pistol disintegrated...) I say that if you want to go for an older pistol is to make sure you can get spares/seals for it before purchasing as it will make things go easier later on. (Most pistol makers have good support in this; Morini, FWB, Diana, Izzy 46M's, and Steyr to name a few.) Mac1 advertises a modified IZH-46M in which he replaces the seals on and does some extra work.

With that said, I should have forked out the money for a NEW PCP gun as it would have been cheaper and could have done more shooting/practice with it instead of tinkering with one to get up and running.

Deals come through but you just have to wait for them. (Well, Walther LPM1's, FWB103's and even 102's never seem to drop under $800 so those are excluded from the good deals remark.) Though if you want to tease yourself you can spy on the Eguns Deutsch board... I was sniped a few times on 102's and 103's..

[Russ]

Unfortunately, FWB older models 65 or 80 do not have a dry fire mechanism. This single issue will not allow you to use your full potential of your investment.

[lxvnrsw]

I let the seller know the price was just to high for me. Thanks a lot for all your input and advice guys!

[Russ]

Recently, I took an open water scuba diving class during which I learned an interesting concept. Someone who has a similar certification does not need to explain what it is. For someone who does not know what the buddy system is, I can shortly explain... You can not dive alone! It is critical to have someone who has the same level of knowledge (certification) to whom you can trust to be your partner during the diving experience from 30 minutes to 1 hour hour, depending on the depth of your dive. I believe it is important to bring a similar concept to our sport. To have some kind of knowledge or boost course, such as how to use your equipment and body while having someone around you who will be your training partner( Buddy).

Going back to your question, personsally, $620.00 for a FWB 80 in great condition is an honest price. $10.00 to $50.00 will not make any difference in your performance, but it is extremely critical what you will do with your equipment. A few weeks ago, I taught a two day class for a young gentleman whose performance is 540 AP. Based on his current targets, and watching what he is doing at the shooting range, I explained to him where at least 30 points are missing (570 AP target goal). After the two day class, he gained the confidence and knowledge of how to rebuild his performance to reach his target goal in a few months. I do not have any doubts of him achieving his target goal with a two months' of honest practice.

I see a good deal of technical information on TargeTalk, but no one is speaking about where to learn proper skills and knowledge of proper Olympic style pistol. Without this critical element, your investment is not fully appreciated. These are just only a few of my thoughts, about what I see in this particular topic.

[pilkguns]

[quote="Unfortunately, FWB older models 65 or 80 do not have a dry fire mechanism. This single issue will not allow you to use your full potential of your investment.[/quote]

they do not have dry fire mechanism per se, but they are deisgned to be dryfired, so no worries there

[Russ]

I started Olympic style target shooting in 1978, and FWB65 was my tool for many years. I constantly scored over 575 in many competitions with no problems, but in those days no one told us to dry fire with this pistol. You can hold it to develop your hold, but dry fire was prohibited due to the damage of this equipment. This is what I was told and I never did or will do it if I would purchase it. It is a great pistol and can perform 580 without any problems. So, if you tell us about aspects of how to do dry fire in those models, I will appreciate it and will try to learn something new. Thank you.

[JoeG]

Our moderator Scott is stating a little known fact regarding the dry fire capability of this series of FWB spring piston match pistols. Common rule of thumb is to never dry fire a spring piston gun, ie shoot without a pellet loaded and set to go. The wisdom was that without the resistance of the pellet in the barrel you would eventually if not immediately damage the piston seal if not worse by having it slam into the end of the compression chamber without the cushion provided by the pellet's resistance and back pressure as it is pushed down and out of the barrel.

My memory might be off on this but in an email with FWB in Germany a number of years ago they stated that these models have no problem being fired without a pellet in the breech. I was very much surprised to learn this and added to my already high respect I have for FWB both in their design and customer support.

Hopefully if I do have any of this jumbled Scott will clarify his statement for the benefit of all.

Best regards, Joe G.

[william]

Even if the pistol can be dry fired without harm, dry firing during prep period specifically prohibits discharge of gas (no adolescent humor, please); and dry firing during a match if it goes POP will count as a shot and cost you 10 points.

Please correct me if I'm wrong on either point.