FWB 700 Sights

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azuaro
Posts: 75
Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:08 pm
Location: Flathead Lake, Montana

FWB 700 Sights

Post by azuaro »

Dear Members,

I posted this very same message in the wrong thread so my apologies if you have seen it or answered my questions in that thread.

Today I received my Feinwerkbau 700 Aluminum in Red...it is a very and I mean VERY pretty rifle that is well balanced with an overall quality that is top of the line.

The only "but" if any, would be the sights ...

The rear sight has much plastic and don't seem sturdy and I have doubts about its accuracy, but this is only my personal perception as I have not shot the rifle and have no experience with these kind/brand of sights.

I may add that both front and rear sights are IDENTICAL in every way to the ones that came with my FWB 700 Basic, I modified this gun for FT and use a scope and never used either sights. Now I know that FWB uses the very same sights in the entry level and in their top of the line air rifles....

I am new to the sport and I don't have any experience with these FWB sights and any input or experience from you, FWB users will be most welcome.

I was considering switching to an Anschutz 9565 adjustable Iris but then I learned that there is model 9781, both seem to be identical (Iris with 5 filter & polarizer) and the difference relies in the aperture range...one goes from .8 to 2.2 mm. and the other from .5 to 3.0 mm.

The 9781 has more range and I wonder if there is a trade off in adjustability for having this advantage ? Is there really an advantage in having more aperture range for shooting air at 10 meters?

About the rear sight… is there something out there better or more precise made out of metal that will be a straight replacement of the FWB? or is it only the Iris that needs to be replaced?

Any suggestions or comments for the front sight and/or inserts?

Thanking you for your inputs and comments, please receive my best regards.

AZUARO
Flathead Lake, MT
pdeal
Posts: 517
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 9:06 am
Location: West Virginia

Post by pdeal »

The feinwerkbau sight is very satisfactory. I agree it is not the most impressive piece of workmanship but it does work very well. I have had mine apart and looked it over pretty well. Mine is on a P70 but I don't think they have changed the sight at all. Where the aperture is attached is on a spring loaded assembly and bears against the adjustment screws. It makes a nice backlash free setup. For air rifle it is a very good sight. As far as your rear iris I think for air rifle a polarizer is of no use at all.
peepsight
Posts: 479
Joined: Mon Sep 25, 2006 9:12 am
Location: London England

Post by peepsight »

pdeal is right, the FWB back sight is OK and many world class shooters use them.

As for an adjustable back sight iris, its an important piece of kit and a big aid to different lighting on different ranges.
Most shooters i know use from 0.9 - 1.3 for air rifle.
Also consider the eye relief from iris to eye, the FWB standard iris is quite long so replicate this. The Gehmann iris has a long collar with locking nut.
You are wasting your money on an iris with poleriser as it will have no effect on indoor ranges lit by artificial light.

Colour filters are useful and some shooters claim that certain colours enhance the contrast of the sight picture.
All colour filters will though reduce the amount of light entering the eye
But the trade off may be a better picture with a colour. Its for you to try it out and find what works for you.
azuaro
Posts: 75
Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:08 pm
Location: Flathead Lake, Montana

Post by azuaro »

Dear Members,

Thank you so much for the advice, I ordered a GEHMANN 568MC in .5 to 3.0 & 48 colors and received it today...

It is amazing and seems to work very well...a major improvement over the original FWB…

I am still waiting for the GEHMANN SPIRIT LEVEL RECEIVER RAIL CLAMP and the GEHMANN FRONT IRIS CLEAR (2.9-4.9mm - 22mm) those will arrive next Monday...

Now the only problem that I have is that my wife is now telling me that "I will need to hire a good shooter for doing all of the competition" because I don’t have any more room for good excuses about lousy shooting! je, je!

Thanks once again and please receive my best regards,

AZUARO
Flathead Lake, MT
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Jordan F.
Posts: 163
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2007 10:03 am
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Post by Jordan F. »

Azuaro - sounds like you are on the right track. Those accessories you ordered are the exact same I ordered (excpet i bough 565 instead of 568) and am very happy with each and every one of them. I did have a bit of trouble with the sight on my feinwerkbau .22 so I ordered a gehmann 395 sight and like it very much. It seems better quality than the sight that came with my feinwerkbau. I had a heck of a time getting it on there, but overall it is very good.
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pwh
Posts: 143
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 7:02 pm
Location: Chicago, Ill.

Re: FWB 700 Sights

Post by pwh »

azuaro wrote:
The rear sight has much plastic and don't seem sturdy and I have doubts about its accuracy
The sights are not made of plastic on the 700 and are by all means very accurate. You must be referring the housing of the rear sight. Every internal part of it is indeed made of metal. I did however replace the rear sight (not the entire thing but just the rear peep sight) with a Gehmann adjustable that I had from my FWB 300S as I had it on hand and became accustomed to it. Other than that the 700 rear sight is by all means very well made.

~Phil
azuaro
Posts: 75
Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:08 pm
Location: Flathead Lake, Montana

Post by azuaro »

Yes Phil...I was referring to the plastic housing but at the same time I was concerned about the "fragile" appearance of the rest of the rear sight. When you compare it to a Gehmann which is made of 100% CNC machined metal, the FWB looks pretty finicky.

I did the same you did, I replaced the peep sight with a GEHMANN 568MC and the front iris with a GEHMANN FRONT IRIS CLEAR; I really like this combination and as you say, the FWB rear seems to hold its adjustments and accuracy very well...if it ever fails there is always the option of replacing it with a Gehmann or similar.

The FWB 700 aluminum is a very well balanced and accurate machine, It took me a little while to get used to it because I am coming from wood stocks but the more I shoot it the more I like it and this rifle will stay long with me.

Regards,

AZUARO
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pwh
Posts: 143
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 7:02 pm
Location: Chicago, Ill.

Post by pwh »

Yep, its always nice to have the option of changing various things to ones liking. I'm still considering about getting a pair of riser blocks. I'd like approx 10mm+ more height.
As for getting used to the AL stock I'll have to agree. I'm also getting accustomed to it and making small adjustments as I go along. It is indeed a very nice rifle.
For what its worth I was watching the ISSF 10M World Cup rifle from Bejing and those that were using the FWB for the most part had the original rear sight on. If it sits well with those championship shooters its certainly more than good enough for me!

~Phil
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