My FWB 300s

[John_W.]

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across a pair of FWB 300s at the local gun shop, stuck back in a corner.
One was definitely in better shape than the other, and I bought it for $250.

When I showed it to my wife, she suggested I go buy the other as well. Good call on her part!

They are from a local Boy Scout camp and have been thoroughly used/abused.
The were both built in early 1972, just before the end of the original 300.

The first one is still a great shooter as is.

The second, the one in poorer condition, got an immediate overhaul with new springs and seal.
The first 5mm of the muzzle rifling was damaged so I drilled out the bore with a 3/8" titanium drill bit, polished the new crown with a bit of grinding compound, and it's shooting well!
The front sight base is damaged so I pulled the sights and installed a scope, a 1970-ish Hy-Skore.
The wood was refinished at least once, so I stripped and sanded and refinished it. Defiantly the nicer piece of wood!
I'm having a "Running Boar" style muzzle weight made that should be ready this week!


Having a good time w/ the "Twins"!

John

[broachoski]

Nice score! Doubled your investment. I've seen much worse.

[zielvier]

the wood-grain of the upper one looks GREAT!!!!!!
congrats, Jochen

PS: lucky to own a mint boxed one with cheek-pieces

[dtdtdtdt]

Really good scores!

The Blue book of airgun values that i looked at a couple months ago gave values of low of $350 to high of $700 for the standard 300S depending on condition.  I would guess from your description, the low end would be appropriate for yours even with fix ups not that what you did doesn't look great but collector pricing requires original finish and condition..  However, a good buyer might like what you did and go much higher.


The one that zielvier shows is the 300SU that the airgun book says $1400 for 98%-100% condition.

You guys make me jealous!!  I have a 300SU in less than great condition that shoots like a trooper!!

I'll look them up in the book again this afternoon and let you know if my memory fails me on pricing,

[AG72]

Good deal there, and realy good looking! Got a 300s universal from 1978, and ordered some new parts and spring to fix her up this weekend, and hopefuly i dont need to do it again for 30+ years... Almost trow her in the garbage, i have a hole forest of thumbs in my hand and should not tinker with anything that requiers some finess, destroyed the threads on the backstop when trying to screw the bolt in at the same time i pressed the gun down with the other hand... Need the proper tools for that!

[Buldawg76]

I have 4 300s in varying styles and conditions with the best being a walnut stocked Match L then 2 beech stocked Match Ls and a beech stocked Junior . All are in shooting condition with two having the Macarri Artic springs in them and two bone stock and all being rebuilt in the past year.

The Macarri springed ones shoot at 650 fps with AA/JSB 8.44s and the two stock ones shoot at 575 with the same pellets. They are easy to rebuild without a compressor since the spring are not very strong or under a lot of preload. They are all one hole guns out to 30 yards and I use the hot rodded junior to Shoot FT with and routinely drop targets out at the 55 yard range.

Mike

[bald1]

John,

  To say I'm envious would be a tremendous understatement. Congrats on an unbelieveable score!

  As an aside, the only "score" from a youth team I ever made was a vintage 1943 Remington 513-T MatchMaster .22LR that had been a WWII military "trainer" still marked "US Property" that went to a local VFW Junior Rifle Team.  I acquired it years later when they made a move to Anschutz .22s as lighter alternatives for the kids than the big bull barrelled near 9 pound 513-T.

[John_W.]

Thanks for the kind words!

It turns out they are 127 #'s apart, makes sense if they were part of a large-scale buy in 72 or 73.

They are stamped "Daisy" so I guess that makes them "4300"s?

No loss on the refinish as any original patina was ruined by some Boy Scout and a palm sander long ago!
I really like how the wood turned out on the scoped. I freshened up the stippling, but I'm not sure if I will paint it black or leave it natural.

These have a forestock just like the 150, but the same buttstock as the later 300S.

The scoped one has a 150-style trigger, the  peep sight has a Match trigger, both appear original to rifle.

Thanks for the info on the Macarri springs! I was just loking at those!

John

[Buldawg76]

Thanks for the kind words!

It turns out they are 127 #'s apart, makes sense if they were part of a large-scale buy in 72 or 73.

They are stamped "Daisy" so I guess that makes them "4300"s?

No loss on the refinish as any original patina was ruined by some Boy Scout and a palm sander long ago!
I really like how the wood turned out on the scoped. I freshened up the stippling, but I'm not sure if I will paint it black or leave it natural.

These have a forestock just like the 150, but the same buttstock as the later 300S.

The scoped one has a 150-style trigger, the  peep sight has a Match trigger, both appear original to rifle.

Thanks for the info on the Macarri springs! I was just loking at those!

John

John
The daisy marking as you have stated indicate that they were purchased by daisy for the youth shooting clubs such as the boy scouts and 4H ETC. Another way you can distinguish a Daisy from a FWB gun is the latch on the cocking arm in that the daisy has a rotating lever at the end of the arm and the FWB has a push down button on the arm to release it for cocking.

To refresh the stippling use a black Marks A lot magic marker and it will look like new. Here is some more info on the different types that were made over the years.

http://www.topguns.ru/feinwerkbau-300s-sborka-razborka/

http://www.network54.com/Forum/79537/thread/1354312414/FWB+300+S+variations

Mike

[zielvier]

Just added some pictures from the "original set":

http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=117388.msg1129002#msg1129002

It was a very "cheap-find" 

atb Jochen

[Buldawg76]

Very nice score indeed Jochen

Mike

[MDriskill]

Wow those are nice!  Pretty wood on both of them.

As you pointed out in your original post, these guns are both model 300's.  Those were made for only a few years--they succeeded the original FWB match rifle, the model 150, in 1969.  The model 300S is a different gun, which replaced the 300 around 1972.

The 300 has a longer barrel than either the 150 or 300S.  The 300 has a long cocking lever with an outward-swinging hinged latch, on the 300S this was changed to a shorter lever with a push-down latch (this detail is not directly related to the brand marking on the gun).

The 300 had a plastic trigger blade, and the 300S had a re-designed trigger mechanism, including the separate blade which can be moved back and forth and rotated for adjustment. 

All that being said, one does see many transitional guns which have features from both models--the only way to be sure is to look at the model stamping on the receiver.  I'm intrigued by the lower gun in your photo, which appears to be a 300 with a 300S trigger, have never seen that combo before.

Daisy actually imported FWB match rifles for several years, including all three models (150, 300, and 300S).  I have a 1974 300S with Daisy markings.

[Mark 611]

 I would love to find another 300s lh or uni, heavy barrel, at a reasonable price. 

[zielvier]

Hi, here some self made modifications on my (2nd.)  fwb 300: trigger guard (solid alloy)  and adjustable (small) cheek piece. (to be continued ;-)   )
atb , Jochen

(scope : Bushnell AR 223  3-12x40 BDC -drop zone-)

[John_W.]

Wow those are nice!  Pretty wood on both of them.

As you pointed out in your original post, these guns are both model 300's.  Those were made for only a few years--they succeeded the original FWB match rifle, the model 150, in 1969.  The model 300S is a different gun, which replaced the 300 around 1972.

The 300 has a longer barrel than either the 150 or 300S.  The 300 has a long cocking lever with an outward-swinging hinged latch, on the 300S this was changed to a shorter lever with a push-down latch (this detail is not directly related to the brand marking on the gun).

The 300 had a plastic trigger blade, and the 300S had a re-designed trigger mechanism, including the separate blade which can be moved back and forth and rotated for adjustment. 

All that being said, one does see many transitional guns which have features from both models--the only way to be sure is to look at the model stamping on the receiver.  I'm intrigued by the lower gun in your photo, which appears to be a 300 with a 300S trigger, have never seen that combo before.

Daisy actually imported FWB match rifles for several years, including all three models (150, 300, and 300S).  I have a 1974 300S with Daisy markings.]

Mike,

Exactly! Scoped rifle has the plastic trigger from the 150, the other has the 300S trigger and appears to be original. According to the serial number records, these would have been among the last of the 300 series. That would explain the later trigger.
I really like the cocking lever latch, but they appear to be easily damaged with rough boy scout use...

I'm really happy with the way the wood turned out. You can't really see in the photo, but the stocks are different. The shape of the grip and comb is different and the stippled area is a slightly different shape. Also, one rifle has a single grove around the stipple, the other has two. Different stock "artists" I assume...

As I work on them, I'll probably shift the tread to the Vintage forum.

Beautiful "S" BTW...

John

[John_W.]

John,

  To say I'm envious would be a tremendous understatement. Congrats on an unbelieveable score!

  As an aside, the only "score" from a youth team I ever made was a vintage 1943 Remington 513-T MatchMaster .22LR that had been a WWII military "trainer" still marked "US Property" that went to a local VFW Junior Rifle Team.  I acquired it years later when they made a move to Anschutz .22s as lighter alternatives for the kids than the big bull barrelled near 9 pound 513-T.

Hey Bob!
That Remington bring back memories! When I lived in Superior, WI, the University still had (maybe still does?) a rifle range in the basemant of the Old Main building.
I used to go shoot with the team, but as I couldn't afford one of the expensive Anschutz .22s, I got to borrow a 40-X .22. Like yours, still marked "U.S. Property".

John

[MDriskill]

John,

  To say I'm envious would be a tremendous understatement. Congrats on an unbelieveable score!

  As an aside, the only "score" from a youth team I ever made was a vintage 1943 Remington 513-T MatchMaster .22LR that had been a WWII military "trainer" still marked "US Property" that went to a local VFW Junior Rifle Team.  I acquired it years later when they made a move to Anschutz .22s as lighter alternatives for the kids than the big bull barrelled near 9 pound 513-T.

Now I'm the one that's envious!  That old Remington is a beauty.  My dad had a 513-T he bought while in the Army in the 50's.  I used to shoot it as a kid, but darn him, he sold it off without my permission, LOL!  I do have the lighter 521-T target rifle which I love, for my tastes perhaps the finest all-round rimfire rifle ever, but really wish I had dad's Matchmaster.