Five high-performance spring-air target
rifles get a Test Report workout-Anschutz,
Winchester and three different Feinwerkbaus.
by JOHN T.AMBER/THE GUN DIGEST
These match air rifles are invariably furnished with micrometer-click rear sights, fully adjustable for windage and elevation, and with detachable interchangeable posts and apertures. These are excellent sights, if my limited experience with this lot of 5 rifles forms a basis for judgment, but I can say that they answered the helm in every respect whenever I wanted to move the point of impact. There is one thing to watch out for, however--disregard the markings on the elevation and windage knobs and simply move the sights in the U.S. fashion--the direction you want the shots to go--and you'll be OK. That is, clockwise for impact movement to the left, and counter clockwise for bringing the point of impact higher, and vice versa. Apparently some of these peep rear sight discs are assembled without any lubricant, and apparently tightened with a torque wrench! I had to use heavy pliers to remove a couple of them.
Target grade air rifles are now offered with an amazing variety of accessorics in general, almost to the point where they have about as many gadgets available as a rimfire or centerfire match rifle. With the latest FWB sent to us by Air Rifle Hq,. the kit contained the following items:2 spacers, each about 3/8-inch thick, to lengthen the vertically-adjustable buttplate; a "clearing" lens of about 1 1/2x for use in the globe front sight; another 1 1/2 power magnifler, combined with an adfustable aperture and a yellow filter, that Siebert-make last item very much--I'd bought two of them years ago in Germany, and they do much for my old eyes when I'm trying to use iron sights. An extra grip cap, this in addition to the grip cap already standard on the FWB 300, which has a small shelf of sorts running around the perimeter, and which acts nicely as a hand stop.
Small combination tools are standard with all of these rifles, these for adjusting the triggers, etc,. and the Anschutz is furnished with a cleaning kit as well--a pull-through, plus a couple of brushes, etc.
The 10-shot groups illustrated-- one for each of the 5 rifles--were selected to show how well the rifles can shoot. Some practice groups were, of course, much worse, but when I did my part and conditions were reasonably right, the targets shown resulted. These rifles will put 10 shots in to much smaller holes from a machine rest or in the hands of younger, keenersighted shooters.
RWS, H&N and Anschutz 177 pellets were used in testing the 5 rifles. RWS and H&N pellets were packed loose in small tins and packed individually as well. The Anschutz pellets were on hand only in the latter form.
Examined under a strong glass, it seemed to me that the H&N pellets showered a trifle less uniformity from one to another in comparison with RWS pellets, but I found no difference in their shooting. True, in the loose packing a few dented or deformed pellets were found--which is guarded against in the individual packaging--but these were easily detected and not used.
Minor imperfections were visible on all pellets examined, and I could see no real difference between the loose pellets-- of any brand--and the singlepellet pack. Aside from virtually all single-pack paleelts being uniformly good, it has been said that the more expensive (about twice the price) single-pellet packs carry pellet packs carry pellets selected by trial as showing superior accuracy. I couldn't detect any difference, but mine was a relatively brieftest,