FWB Am I the only one who can't shoot a FWB 124...?

[razor62]

They are very overrated guns.

Unbalanced powerplants and light weight combined with a floppy barrel lockup and a mediocre trigger.....doesn't make for an easy gun to shoot well.

I've had a few myself and never got the amazing results that others claim to get. And I'm not a novice at the spring gun thing.

Strange how some folks don't seem to be experiencing the same problem while others are. Thanks for your input.

 

[razor62]

I have to ask, what other springers are you comparing it to?

It's a very cheaply made gun, with a very good barrel.

The barrel lockup is extremely weak, mostly due to the ball detent arrangement and longish barrel.

The breech shim setup is also not the best for strength with it having a spring washer on one side that you can never actually take the slop out of.

As far as the shot cycle goes they are harsh. The piston is large and diameter and very heavy relative to the weight of the rifle.

They were also plagued with compression tube diameter inconsistencies over the years. Some would be very tight, some oversized, and some with a taper towards the muzzle.

I do still have one that shoots well after some work. But I've counterbored the breech block to take solid bronze shims to help the lockup, and lightened the piston considerably to help reduce the hold sensitivity.

In stock form, they aren't the easiest guns to shoot consistently accurately by any means. The OP isn't alone in that.

Well, that makes me feel a little better. Thanks Thumper.

 

[razor62]

Thumper is a well-known FWB 124 critic, and a guy with a ton of experience. But the fact remains that untold FWB owners have very good experiences with theirs.

I don't think the FWB 124 is meant for shooting off a rest. They scream off hand capability. Not all guns shoot worth anything off a rest, but it doesn't mean the gun wasn't accurate.

That could be my whole issue. I'll try placing my hand, palm up between the forend and the bag and see if that makes any difference.
Thanks very much.

 

[razor62]

I also have had a HW that my brother still has and it shoots a little smoother and a little faster but is much harder to cock and is not as easy to take hunting for a couple of hours. Very nice for a springer too, it is the 58S one. The 124 shot excellent offhand and I didn't use any ridiculous techniques like the artillery hold either. I only shot it offhand and if target shooting the gun rested on my hand, gripping it, and the butt was on my shoulder. I smoked chipmunks at 50y with it, and pigeons off of a multistory old school. My lockup has never gotten loose but I did button a piston on one. Lastly, they are springers, I have shot the 300S too, and they are all violent compared to a PCP. The harshest that I have shot is probably a nitro piston Crosman, but even that shot dimed sized groups at 20y. I have seen a Gamo Whisper that could not shoot anything under 3" at 20y, except for one pellet that gave nickle sized groups. It is highly possible that people who are having accuracy problems just have not found the right pellet either. I fixed a Benjamin once making brass barrel shims to replace the factory plastic ones, but even that didn't feel loose. So yeah, I shot and worked on a number of springers too and I have come to the conclusion that they were great in their time but if you are going after smooth and accurate your path should lead elsewhere. All the springers feel and sound different, that's why people seem to still like them, you don't get that feedback from PCP, and you don't get people asking how to shoot their PCP accurately either. Regardless, the FWB124D was great in it's time, and is still a good springer, that never gave me a build or accuracy problem in 40 years. Maybe I am just lucky, or I got ones made early in their tooling cycle. They are definitely a pain to take apart, very long spring. To the OP, I would say to keep trying different pellets in different weights, and seating depth.

I will. Thank you. A good friend suggested a brand that works well in his guns. I'll try those next.

 

[razor62]

Bought the FWB 124 new over 40 years ago and as my only airgun it saw a lot of use. Routine maintenance (clean, lub, tighten hardware and the occasional breech seal) kept it shooting well. I eventually had to replace the piston seal and changed the spring at the same time. Still sees regular use, no problems.

Think people have trouble shooting the 124 because the long barrel and piston stroke requires a good follow through to stay on target.

I consider the 124 to be an off hand plinking/pesting rifle and it has always performed well for me. Never tried it for target shooting from a rest/bench don't think it's not designed for that.

IMHO, The 124 is a pleasant shooting rifle with a low cocking force that excells as an "all day shooter". I have 25 or so airguns - springers, SSPs and PCPs. The 124 is the airgun I grab for relaxation, it's my favorite "walk about" airgun.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers!

You are not alone, my friend. Lot's of folks have has similar experiences with these rifles. I'd love to join the fraternity of happy FWB 120 series rifle owners...

 

[razor62]

Have not noticed the design issues with the FWB 124 stated here. First I would say chono to check consistency and power, clean barrel and tighten screws. As far as quality, not much difference I notice from my HW 35E (but not as robust and certainly not as pretty) and I would say closer to my RWS 350 which is not that bad in quality of materials, looks and construction. Did not the Beeman catalog rate them as the most accurate break barrel sporter beating out the R1, R7, H35, Wischo and others back in the early 80s before the newer models which are dominating the springer FT competitions came out? I bought mine specifically because of that accuracy rating when the R1 in 1983 first came out and have not been disappointed. Why were they rated so high in accuracy if the design had all these problems? Not sure how the FW 124 compared in stated accuracy were when the R 9, HW 98, HW 97 and HW 77 came out. Probably the FWB 124 fell from 1st place. I had my supertuned Beeman FW 124B for 41 years and now can shoot nearly 1 hole 3 shot groups at 25 yards at times and clusters the majority of time off a bench with the artillery hold with JSB 10.34. This was after a new spring and tune from Airgunwerks which seemed made the shooting cycle smoother and faster, helped with accuracy and added more power. Not sure what it shot with the Silver Jets before as I did not shoot groups back then. I will say the gun is very hold sensitive and takes excellent consistency of hold, trigger pull and follow thru plus a lot of practice. When I delay in shooting the gun, accuracy initially is not that good. However cocking is smooth and just a solid thump. Maybe the length and time of piston travel makes it harder to shoot than say a HW 50 or R9 similar to the RWS 350. If I was buying now, I would probably pick the HW 98 or possibly the R9, RWS 54 or HW97 over a FWB 124D mainly for the more power but still with very good accuracy. As good as all these guns shoot, doubt much difference in the accuracy of the gun and all on my shooting skills. I am biased on the FWB 124D anyway as I spent a good portion of my honeymoon money on it a few months before our marriage and ended up in credit card debt the 1st day of marriage. Was also the day of our first fight as a married couple.

Great story, JDR. I'm hoping that eventually, I'll have nothing but good words for these rifles.

 

[razor62]

In the 40+ years I've had my 124D, accuracy and ease of shooting the rifle well has never been an issue.
Over rated perhaps But looking back to what other spring piston guns of the era offered .. a real GEM was the FWB 124 !!
Are there better choices for competitive shooting & easier accuracy in this realm of Spring Piston Arms ... sure there is

Technique how shot is huge ... Shoulder pressure off the fore stock hand a must ! Keep trigger grip light and face light on the comb if at all.

Thank you, my friend. Sounds like it's a much more finicky rifle than most of my other piston rifles. I'm not giving up yet, though....

 

[klentz]

I have probably had eight to nine FWB 124's. Very early serial numbers had compression chamber issues and could not shoot to spec. Nonetheless they were still accurate but needed a different pellet to be accurate. The early ones liked the FTS pellets best but you had to find the right head size.

In stock form the FWB 124 needs a very light hold especially if it's a later serial number shooting to spec.

I think I sent three or four FWB 124's to Paul Watts for tuning and when they came back the trigger was comparable to a two stage Record and with a smooth shot cycle they didn't care how they were held. Still pellet picky but we're among the most accurate springers out of hundreds that I have owned.

 

[rob_g]

I've had my FWB124D since the late 70's. The only complaint is the trigger. I'd sure like a better trigger now that I know what a good trigger is like. My ignorance kept me happy for years until I added the TX200 and Red Wolf to the collection. It was an awesome squirrel, bunny and pigeon rifle.

 

[KWK]

I like mine and it shoots well but the barrel is too long for my taste. Some people put a muzzle brake on and then it's way out there. I made my slender break flush with the muzzle
If you can't shoot with a properly adjusted FWB124 trigger it isn't the trigger.........
I've certainly seen better built guns but my 124 works. It has a home here.

 

[KWK]

Two things,
Are the forks sprung? And the breech bolt lock screw works loose? The bellevue washer needs correct tension.
Do you have the correct breech O ring? And don't ask me the right size, I forget.......
Paul Watts posted great FWB 124 youtube videos.

 

[Motorhead]

I've had my FWB124D since the late 70's. The only complaint is the trigger. I'd sure like a better trigger now that I know what a good trigger is like. My ignorance kept me happy for years until I added the TX200 and Red Wolf to the collection. It was an awesome squirrel, bunny and pigeon rifle.

Just takes a tad softer spring under the safety slide and the trigger gets really nice !! .. So long as adjusted correctly otherwise.

 

[jkingrph]

I have had my 124d since late 1974 early 1975 and never had any problem with it shooting accurately. In the very early years I put a Beeman/williams receiver sight on it and that improved my accuracy expodentially. Sometime in the early 80's I got one of the Beeman 3-9 blue ribbon scopes and that was still another improvement. Along all those almost 50 years I had to have new piston seals, and probably mainsprings replaced, twice. After the last rebuild I took the scope off and went back to the receiver sight, which IMHO is better suited for the rifle. With either a receiver sight or scope I could shoot pellet size groups at 10-15 meters with no problem. For well over 40 -45 years it along with a FWB 300s was my only air rifle, and since have gotten several more, too many in fact, HW and Air Arms types. I did also get a new FWB sport and like some of the improvements/upgrades, but still compare everything else to my old 124.

 

[kingfisher61]

Kevin
It's your beard getting in the way! Lol

 

[thumper]

Just in case anyone was wondering how much I hate these old guns: https://www.airgunnation.com/threads/back-to-basics-squirrel-hunt-this-evening.826113/

 

[.20calguy]

Interesting thread! I never owned one, but back in the 80's Beeman sang very high praise for these. I've never heard a contrary word until now. Good reading.

Same here!

 

[thumper]

Interesting thread! I never owned one, but back in the 80's Beeman sang very high praise for these. I've never heard a contrary word until now. Good reading.

Of course he did, he wanted you to open your wallet for him!

 

[JDR]

Of course he did, he wanted you to open your wallet for him!

That Beeman catalog and the prior Air Rifle Headquarters catalog were more exciting for me as a kid than the Sears Christmas catalog when it first came in the mail in the 70s. As usual, could not afford a Beeman as a poor kid. Hoped for years for a Daisy BB gun for Christmas before I finally got one but had to share it with my brother. Dad made me to save my job money for college instead of spending it on a quality airgun. I remember when Beeman sold the Sheridan but promoted the FWB 124 over it for more pellet expansion. My wife says my deprived childhood is why she suffers so much grief when the credit card statement comes in including airguns and slingshots that I wanted a kid which started with the first credit card statement on our first month of marriage listing a FWB124D.

 

[1BadDart]

My friend that got me started in air guns and vintage 22 target rifles said he had a 124 many years ago and never could get it to shoot.

 

[Sawney Bean]

Of course he did, he wanted you to open your wallet for him!

I’m thinking they probably were among the best guns you could get back in the day, but that even springers have improved significantly in the past four decades.