N/A Iron Sight Shootout: FWB 124 vs Crosman 6500

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I had a break in the action today and decided the weather was perfect for a quick shootout between two of my favorite iron sights guns, the FWB 124 and the Crosman 6500. For those of you who don't know what a 6500 is, it is a rebranded Anschutz 335 from the 80s (possibly into the 90s?). It's a pretty neat little gun and its sort of like the love child of a 124 and an LGV. 10/10 recommend you grab it if you stumble across one.

The FWB had a few advantages here. For starters it has a Williams peep sight aided by a circular 10m front insert. On top of that is probably puts out nearly 40% more power which probably helped immensely given the 10+ mph winds we have here today. Perfect weather for being outside but less so for a 9ftlb .177 pellet pooter at 30 meters....

FWB Sport Results:
10 shots, 30m, peeps, 0.96" ctc

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Crosman 6500 Results:
10 Shots, 30m, standard irons, 1.45"
Note: Far right shot had to have been me. I set this target back up and poked an 11th shot at it which landed inside the smaller group so thats the one I'm counting.

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The motion to grab an Anschutz 335 or Crosman 6500 if you get a chance, is seconded.
Well mannered, and very accurate rifles.

It's great to see them out and about!
I think it's one of my favorites because its just an absolute sleeper of a rifle. You pick it up and there really isn't too much thats special about it. Basic stock, basic sights, Crosman logo on top. The only real indication that it may be something great is the "Made in W Germany" stamp. I really didn't do it justice here as I'm not a particularly skilled irons shooter but once you toss a scope on it, it just stacks them.
 
My 6500 tips it's hand with the rear sight.
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It went from a 'buy it to try it' rifle, to a solid spot in the 'not gonna sell it' rack.

Once gone through and freshened up, I rate it as highly as a well sorted HW of equivalent power level.
Definitely no sleeper there! What rear sight is that?
 
To continue with the Anschutz theme
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Crosman 6300/ Anschutz 333.
Purchased from David Enoch at the Midwest Airgun Show earlier this month.

I went through the standard ritual of teardown and refurb, refreshing and rejuvenating. The OG leather seal was in fantastic shape, the spring was straight and there was very little moly grease smeared around. A pleasant surprise, as usually one expects to find globs of gunk and copious amounts of whatever grease was used.

Once sorted, the sight set up needed addressed.
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This unit, while serviceable, was not cutting it. My eyesight, and personal preference, requires the installation of some sort of peep sight. The Anschutz rear was drifted out of its transverse dovetail, and I started on a work around.
An 11mm Weihrauch diopter goes right on, and the Weihrauch stop pin engages the stop pin holes in the Anschutz receiver perfectly. The only rub with that set up is, you now have a diopter hanging off the rear of the receiver tube, and it ruined the lines of the rifle. I wanted a light sporter, not a half breed match rifle. For the same reason, I did not want to source another 6706 Anschutz sight for this rifle.

The work around for that situation is a Williams peep sight.
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I happened to have a pair of these Williams sights laying in spare rear sight box. This one was purchased with the OEM set screws missing, so it was drilled and tapped for 10/32 brass set screws to return it to serviceable condition.
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The one that I used was modified slightly.
The front set screw was removed, the hole was opened up with a .213 or #3 drill bit, and tapped for a 1/4-28 X 1/4 set screw.
The 1/4-28 screw engages the rearmost stop pin hole in the receiver nicely, and a small piece of shim stock was used under the rearmost OEM set screw to avoid marring the receiver.
End result is satisfaction with the sight line, and minute of squirrel head accuracy at 25 yds.

IMO, the 333 gives up very little to its big brother, the 335. I have not noticed any detriment associated with the lack of the locking barrel latch so far, and the accuracy is same same between the two rifles.
Again, this is my opinion, but the Crosman 6300/ Anschutz 333 rivals my infatuation with the Weihrauch 50 or 50S. It is a very easy rifle to shoot accurately, has the oomph for pesting at sensible range, and is light and lively in hand. If it came with a grooved forearm, I would declare it the equal of the HW.
 
The Anshutz 335 I owned was exceptionally accurate and benefitted above the FWB Sport for having a barrel lock.
The FWB Sports main area of weakness being its lock up quality.
Triggers and sights were comparable, while sleek styling was edged by the Sport.
In regard rifling, the 2 company's rivalled each other as the best around.

My own experience saw a better grouping 335 but only once you got the pellets right.
It's overly big TP made it quite pellet fussy and a little lower powered. The gun benefitted of using good sealing pellets like Superdomes to match the Sport.
One of the leading shooters at the infancy of the FT circuit in England chose a 335 to win many target shoots but favoured it in .22 but generally the Sport was the choice of most.
 
The Anshutz 335 I owned was exceptionally accurate and benefitted above the FWB Sport for having a barrel lock.
The FWB Sports main area of weakness being its lock up quality.
Triggers and sights were comparable, while sleek styling was edged by the Sport.
In regard rifling, the 2 company's rivalled each other as the best around.

My own experience saw a better grouping 335 but only once you got the pellets right.
It's overly big TP made it quite pellet fussy and a little lower powered. The gun benefitted of using good sealing pellets like Superdomes to match the Sport.
One of the leading shooters at the infancy of the FT circuit in England chose a 335 to win many target shoots but favoured it in .22 but generally the Sport was the choice of most.
As confirmation, my 335 and 333 both prefer the Superdomes, exactly as you mentioned.
 
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