FWB 601

[bReTt]

What are the ins and outs of one of these?  The FWB 601

Any experiences good or bad?

I know it’s an FWB and that alone says a lot about quality to me. 

What are you 600 series owners doing with yours? 

I may be considering one.  Not sure if it’s just overlap with the FWB300S that I already have?  Same thing, slightly different as far as function (not talking power plant)?  I’m aware of the difference between spring power and SSP. 

Anyway, thanks for entertaining my random questions!

[T-Higgs]

Hi Brett,
I owned a 603 for several years. I bought it needing a rebuild which was not hard. The trigger is fantastic. Adjustable 13 different ways or something crazy like that. The 603 has a recoil buffer which the 601 does not have. It’s a SSP, how much recoil can there be?!...  you’d be hard pressed to find a more accurate 10 meter rifle. You’ll probably never lose a dime on the gun when and if you ever resell. I only sold mine because it was right handed.
   In my opinion, it is one of the ugliest stocks in the ten meter world. Most are yellow/amber laminate and just not great looking.  I refinished mine and another for a shooting buddy.
    There are at least six  600 series rifles being used in the group of guys I shoot ten meter against (actually all six are 603 variants).  Every one of them is a shooter.
   They are a bit of a pain to scope. You have to cut down the loading gate and mount your scope a bit high and cantileved.

[WHITEFANG]

I second this. My FWB601 was a blast. Accuate as all get out. You got to remember to shut the gate. Lol 💀
As usual mine was scoped. Had to cut the gate down for the scope but no big deal. You got to learn to work the spring cocking and again the gate come up when you cock it. No safety but the gate can be used as a safety. The gun will not fire with the gate open. Very good solid build. Not bad to work on as mentioned.
Not a high for gun. About like the Diana 75 in power but a accuate gun.
Mine had the blupptube in it. Made no noise. Many complain of a pop that the SSP guns make but with the mod it is a spit and that's it.
Mine I had to make a mod to push the butt pad back scoped but it looked factory. Even made some of the extensions for others.
Nice gun pictured. Mine was the blond laminated. Very good feel to the hand. Trigger, great as mentioned.
You would like  one. 💀

[Jason_Garvin]

Brett,

I had a 603, ended up selling it.  Not to bash it really, it had a louder pop when fired, little slower than the 300's.  The shrouded barrel may have been aluminium.  Not as dressy as the 300's.  Probably more along the lines of comparing a new 5.0 mustang and fuel injection versus a 1970 BB Chevelle SS 4 barrel.

Jason

[T-Higgs]

Mine I had to make a mod to push the butt pad back scoped but it looked factory. Even made some of the extensions for others.

Good point Fang. I forgot about the butt stock extension. I made several of them for the guys I shoot with. The darker rifle I posted has one on it because it’s scoped. The other rifle was mine and had open sights at that point and did not require the extension.
   Also, as you mention,  a blooptube does wonders for the sound. Turns a loud pop into a quiet pht. Hardly a sound. As a side note, I just made a blooptube for my CO2 Walther CG90 ten meter rifle and it works just as well 😎. A must have...

[Hoosier Daddy]

I have had one on my watch list for a while....
Feinwerkbau quality... what is not to love?



PS: Brett I am STILL kickin myself for not buying your Anschutz when I had the chance. 

[bReTt]

I have had one on my watch list for a while....
Feinwerkbau quality... what is not to love?



PS: Brett I am STILL kickin myself for not buying your Anschutz when I had the chance. 

In still l kicking myself for selling it!

[bReTt]

This is all good stuff! 
Thanks for the insights.
I was wondering how tough it would be to scope it. I do like to swap sights just to keep things fresh.  I don't think that I would want to have to modify the rifle to mount a scope.  Not sure about having to get "special" mounts and that sort of thing either..... 

Still thinking....

Tim, you improved those stocks a hundred fold adding that color and finish.  That's exactly what I had in mind should I decide to try one.  Well done my man!

[T-Higgs]

This explains a bit about short gating the FWB 600 series rifles.
https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=121056.msg1172846#msg1172846

[Bob H.]

i have had my 601 for about 6 months now. It has great accuracy.  The trigger is wonderful.  I'm shooting peep sights with an Eagle Eye and and a clear front sight insert.  I'm not as steady as I used to be, the Eagle Eye accentuates my unsteadiness.

After having and shooting my 300S, the 601 is not as friendly to actuate and cock.  If I concentrate on only 601 in the future, that difference will be minimized.

I'm fond of the comb, and the laminated stock. I've removed the secondary barrel weight.  The 300S and the 601 are classy sisters, much alike   in style and looks, yet noticeabily different.

I'm a lucky ol' man to have to have both of these FWBs.  I grin every time I snuggle up to one of them.

BobH.

[justinp61]

  I have a 601 and two 300's, in a 50 shot 10M match the 601 is worth 3-5 points on average over the 300's. The 601 is a very smooth shooter, absolutely no recoil, great trigger and a very comfortable stock. I'm not a fan of the looks of the plywood stock and will probably refinish mine at some point. I prefer my 300's as they are a little more challenging to shoot well and I like walnut and deep bluing. That being said I don't see me selling the 601, it's so easy to shoot and stupid accurate.

[WHITEFANG]

Yep they are shooters. The gate mod is nothing. You can buy Gates and cut gates. I made a 1/2 gate. Plastic will not last long. Really not much to it. Ended up cutting it. That or raise the scoop mount which with the adj cheek pad could be done. Just it would be super high. Easy to scope. Most of the 10 meter guns I've had I used weaver to dovetail with over hang. Just like I do the  BEEMAN /HW guns. Just depends in the scope focal.

[Brazos]

I picked up a left hand 601 a month ago and it is a nice rifle.  As stated by everyone it's a great shooter.  When you are left handed you grab one when you have the chance.  I can see though where the 602 or 603 with the dry fire capability would be nice.  I just wanted to do some casual 10M shooting and the 601 will be perfect for my needs. Mine has the blond laminate stock.  I would like to hear more from T-Higgs on how he refinished his stock and any pitfalls he encountered.  I never have cared for blond stocks but it is a very nice looking rifle.

[bReTt]

I would like to hear more from T-Higgs on how he refinished his stock and any pitfalls he encountered.  I never have cared for blond stocks but it is a very nice looking rifle.

Tim is a pro finisher/refinisher.  That’s his line of work so if anyone knows the ins and outs, it’s him.

[Brazos]

I figured he must be very good at refinishing stocks,  I have done a number of them and pretty confident in my skills.  I figure he might have a pointer or two.  I have never tried to refinish a laminate stock. 

[T-Higgs]

I picked up a left hand 601 a month ago and it is a nice rifle.  As stated by everyone it's a great shooter.  When you are left handed you grab one when you have the chance.  I can see though where the 602 or 603 with the dry fire capability would be nice.  I just wanted to do some casual 10M shooting and the 601 will be perfect for my needs. Mine has the blond laminate stock.  I would like to hear more from T-Higgs on how he refinished his stock and any pitfalls he encountered.  I never have cared for blond stocks but it is a very nice looking rifle.

Well, though I’ve only refinished 3 laminate stocks, they are relatively straightforward and similar to working with beech stocks. The wood can be a little finicky about taking color evenly. The edge of each laminate tends to soak in color creating a darker seam. The darker barn wood looking 603 was a bit scary. Upon testing the stain color I wanted, I thought I immediately ruined the stock. I had to clean and re-sand the stock again and then start by staining the stock a light wood tone. This helped fill the soft grain spots and seams with a light color so the blackb/brown stain didn’t penetrate so violently. It worked out very well but could have gone horrible. The lighter toned 603 in the pics was stained in a traditional manner and without incident.
   I have read when people say that you must be careful stripping laminates because the chemicals used can compromise the adhesive used between the laminations. I don’t know if this is true but I act as if it may be. I use citrus based stripper which actually works quite well and is easier on the wood as well as the user. My stains and finish are solvent based but I suppose you could use water based stains and finish. I have used water based stained and many jobs and it is an interesting product. The water based colors penetrate very deeply and can give intense color in hard to stain woods but the color can be very hard to remove if you’ve  gone too dark or you just don’t like the color. As with everything you stain, it’s best to test in an area before just jumping in with both feet. Not a lot of test area on a gun stock so choose wisely 
   I spray my finishes and mainly use catalyzed lacquer or two part conversion varnish. Both are solvent based as is the stain I use and I’ve havnt witnessed any delamination of the wood. I would suggest that you let your stain dry thoroughly before applying finish to allow all solvents to gas off before sealing. This is also important with water based stains. I dyed my R9 stock with green water based dye. It looked awesome but apparently I sprayed finish too soon and within 6 months, my finish started to crack and craze. First and only time this has ever happened to me so I’m pretty sure I compromised the finish with too much moisture left in the wood by the water based stain. Live and learn.
   Sanding these stocks is funny in that each lamination has its grain turned 90 degrees. You are constantly cross sanding something. Aggressive sanding will remove an entire lamination leaving the next one with the grain running a different way so be careful trying to remove large dents. I believe I finished by hand sanding to a relatively high grit as not to leave cross sanding marks anywhere. Larger areas near the comb can be hand sanded in line with the grain on that particular section of laminate alone.
   I hope that helps in some way. I can’t think of any other problems to look out far with laminates. I would just stay away from highly caustic strippers and proceed like normal being careful of staining technique. The laminations themselves add good interest to the look of the stock, color just accentuates the variation.

[Yogi]

  Probably more along the lines of comparing a new 5.0 mustang and fuel injection versus a 1970 BB Chevelle SS 4 barrel.

Jason

Hey, the new 'Tang is the best looking one since 1970...

-Y

[Samu Laine]

I used spirit based stain and rubbed it in with 1000 grit sanding pad, then finished it with linen oil. Turned out acceptable considering it was my first attempt of refinishing ANY stock.

[bReTt]

This post popped up in my “new posts”.  I just reread through it and I thought that I would share the 601 that I acquired just this past year.  It’s in fair shape, shoots well.  I really enjoy this rifle! 

Here it is next to my 300S

[splitbeing]

Brett, what are those peep sights on the right?