VarmintAir's Airgun Hunting Blog

Six Hunting Rifles In My Collection - That Are At the Top Of the Accuracy Pyramid.

FWB 300S sporter .177

Over the fifty plus years that I have been hunting, and shooting, both powder burners and airguns, there have been some rifles that have stood well above their peers in the accuracy department.  This FWB 300S is one of them.  I call it my 300S sporter.  It doesn't have the barrel sleeve, so that helps to keep the weight down, and the stock is some kind of hardwood that has been stained a dark brown.  I bought the rifle new, from Beeman, back in the early seventies, but there are no Beeman markings on the gun anywhere.  Interesting.

Accuracy wise, the gun is exceptional.  I use it to take ground squirrels, with head shots, out to 45 yards. This rifle will shoot either the 7.9 grain JSB Exact Express, or the 8.4 grain JSB Exact pellets really well, with a slight edge going to the 8.4 grain Exact .  The rifle generates just under 7 fpe at the muzzle.

With the race for more and more power in todays airguns, some folks miss out on just how effective, and efficient a gun like the FWB 300S can be, as a tool for controlling certain types of small vermin, such as ground squirrels.  

I've killed literally thousands, and thousands, of California Ground Squirrels with it over the years.  It's a keeper for sure.

FWB 300S Tyrolean .177

Another exceptional shooter is my FWB 300S Tyrolean.  It's basically the same gun as my 300S sporter, just sitting in a Tyrolean style walnut stock.  This rifle has the barrel weight/sleeve on it, and that adds some weight.  Especially out front.  Again, this rifle is death on ground squirrels out to 45 yards.  

The pellet of choice here is the 8.4 grain JSB Exact.  For some reason, the JSB Exact Express do not do well in this rifle.  It's a bit on the heavy side, but I really enjoy getting her out for a ground squirrel, or chipmunk hunt a couple of times a year.

FX/RWS/Rapier .22

The folks at FX Airguns in Sweden, make some exceptional air rifles. Somewhere along the way, they private labeled their Timber Wolf model as the Rapier, for RWS to market under their brand name.  The one that I own is one of the most accurate airguns in my collection.  In good conditions, it will literally put 18 grain JSB's through the same hole at 50 yards.  The sporter type turkish walnut stock, just adds to the classiness of this very accurate rifle.    

Instead of a magazine, this rifle has a two shot shuttle.  It works great, and I use it to hunt both ground squirrels in California, as well as tree squirrels and prairie dogs here in Arizona.

FX/RWS/Rapier .22 

FX 2000 .22, in factory walnut stock.

My FX 2000 was the first FX built gun that I purchased.  I acquired it used, and the fellow I got it from told me it was exceptionally accurate, and he wasn't wrong.  Like the RWS Rapier, this rifle will also stack 18 grain JSB's at 50 yards.

I used this rifle while filming the first half of my DVD, "Airgun Hunting the California Ground Squirrel."  The performance with both 15.9 grain JSB's, and 14.5 grain DYNAMIC tin pellets, has been exceptional.  This is the rifle that truly got me hooked on PCP's, pretty much for ever.

No recoil, superb accuracy, that easily surpasses many of my high dollar .22 rimfires, with power to cleanly take ground squirrels, and prairie dogs out to 100+ yards.  How can you not get hooked on that kind of performance.

FX 2000 .22, in custom Blackwidow laminate stock.

I have a Benjamin Marauder in .22, that I have been very, very, happy with, so when I heard that Crosman was going to bring the Marauder out in .25, I knew that I would have to add one to the collection, and I haven't been disappointed.  

My .22 Marauder is very accurate.  It hangs right with my AA 410 ERBSL, FX Whisper, and Logun MK II in that department.

My .25 Marauder however, is in that group I mentioned in the title of this story.  She is definitely at the top of the accuracy pyramid.

While pellet testing, I was blown away by the accuracy of this particular rifle.  The first year I hunted with her, I had her shooting the Beeman 31 grain Kodiaks.  I remember, that on my final sight-in target, she stacked five Kodiaks into a group at 65 yards, that I could easily cover with a dime.  I then went on to kill prairie dogs with her, out past 100 yards. Incredible accuracy and power, from a PCP that didn't cost a grand or two. This rifle is a keeper, and will remain in my collection for many years to come.   

Marauder .25, in custom laminate stock.

Last, but not least, in my collection of super accurate rifles, is the latest addition, my .22 caliber AA 510 TC.  I just added this rifle this past Spring.  

The design of this gun kind of intrigued me.  Instead of the usual big honkin bottle screwed into the end of the receiver, to increase shot count, the folks at AA went with twin cylinders mounted side by side. Much like with a side by side shotgun.

Having hunted quail with side by side 20's, and 12's, for many decades, I was curious about how this rifle would feel in my hands.   I love it.  It is a little bit muzzle heavy, and I like that in a long range varmint rifle.  I shoot from a Stoney Point telescoping bipod, and this rig sits very nicely on the bipod's yoke, and really helps when going for those long range shots in the wind.  

If you've followed any of my prairie dog hunt stories with this rifle, and watched any of the videos, then you've seen me take a bunch of dogs all of the way out to just shy of 100 yards with it.

The accuracy is definitely at the top of the accuracy pyramid in my collection.  Her pellet of choice is the 18 grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy.   

AA 510 TC .22

A lot of various guns have passed through my hands over the past five plus decades, but with very few exceptions, the ones that were exceptional, accuracy wise, are still in my collection. The vast majority of guns are accurate, but once in awhile, one comes along that is exceptionally so, and those are the ones that I really cherish, and they find a permanent home in my collection.

At the present time, these six rifles are the cream of the crop among the guns in my airsenal, and none of them are going anywhere, well............... except varmint and small game hunting.  

The FWB 300S - Varmint Rifle Extraordinaire

Five shots at 15 yards. JSB Exact Express. 

Five shots at 15 yards. JSB Exact Express.

In anticipation of hunting young California Ground Squirrels with this gun, I did a bit of scope swapping today. I still had the Leupold 3X9X33MM EFR mounted on my AA 410CRBSL Carbine from tree squirrel hunting last Fall.

What I discovered while tree squirrel hunting with that combo was, I need a scope on the 410CRBSL that has mildots. It was my first time hunting the Abert's tree squirrels, and I assumed that a 30/40 yard shot would be a long one. Wrong! I had a lot of shot opportunities at 60 to 75 yards. A mildot scope would have been very useful.

On the other hand, the Leupold 3X9 EFR is the perfect scope for the FWB 300S. I limit my shots to a max of 45 yards on ground squirrels with this gun. The duplex crosshair on it works just great with the FWB. I actually have two possible hard aim points with this scope. The first, obviously is the crosshair itself. The other is the tip of the post where the crosshair gets thicker. This also is an additional aimpoint, on the horizontal crosshair, for holding into the wind. Very handy really.

After swapping the scope onto the FWB 300S, I set up a target indoors at 15 yards, and zeroed the scope. The rifle loves 7.9 grain JSB Exact Express pellets. At the top of this story, I've included a couple of typical five shot, 15 yard groups.

I will ultimately sight it in, out-of-doors, at 35 yards and then shoot it at 40, and 45 yards, to get my hold over data. I will also shoot it at 20, 25, and 30 yards to get my hold under data. 

The young ground squirrels start coming above ground each year around the middle of May. They make great .177 caliber, recoilless match air rifle targets.

Most folks don't think of the FWB 300S, 10 meter match rifles  as varmint rifles, but to me they are just that, and very good ones too.

They deliver pin point accuracy, and the remaining power at 45 yards, with a well placed shot, is more than enough to kill a ground squirrel, so there really is no good reason to not hunt with them. I've been hunting with mine for close to 35 years. They truly are amazing air rifles.

At the ripe old age of 66, the years really fly by now, and I'm not trying to rush anything, but I can hardly wait for late May to get here.

Is the .177 caliber FWB 300S Powerful Enough to Hunt Ground Squirrels With?

Most people don't think of the FWB 300S rifles as hunting guns. They are pretty much thought of as target rifles. I guess I'm the odd man out, because I hunt with mine.

In it's day, the FWB 300S was at the top of the heap, as far as 10 meter recoilless Olympic Competition air rifles were concerned. In the mid 70's I purchased two of them in different configurations. The first one, I call a "sporter" model. It doesn't have any sights, has a somewhat slimmed down stock profile, and is set up for scope use only. It shoots an 8 grain pellet at an average velocity of 610 feet per second.

The second rifle is the FWB 300S Tyrolean stocked version, with adjustable match sights and the full length barrel weight. I removed the rear sight and mounted a scope on it. It shoots an 8 grain pellet right at 600 feet per second.

Both rifles are spring powered, recoilless, side levers.  The fit and finish on these guns is second to none. Not only are they beautiful to look at, but shooting them is one of airgunning's real treats . They generate about 6 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. Not power houses for sure, but with proper shot placement, they do get the job done and are a lot of fun to hunt with.

At ten meters, these guns as expected, will stack pellets one on top of another. The accuracy is truly astounding, but I'm not a target shooter, I'm a hunter. I found early on, that  these rifles within their limitations, were deadly on California Ground Squirrels.

Both rifles are set-up with scopes. The sporter has a Leupold 3X9X33mm duplex EFR on it, and the Tyrolean has a Bushnell Legend, 5X15X40mm mildot riding on her. Both scopes work out really well in the field.  

At first I limited my shots to around 20/25 yards, believing that distance was going to be about the effective range of the pellet/gun combination. What I found however, was the pellets were passing completely through the ground squirrels on head shots, so I started pushing the range out in five yard increments. The result was that I found the effective range for me, on California ground squirrels with the FWB 300S, was more like 45 yards.

On tree squirrels it was a different story. Those guys are tough critters, and are much harder to kill than their ground squirrel cousins.  I found it best to limit shots on tree squirrels to around 20/25 yards. 

The following is a story about a hunt I made with the FWB 300S sporter a couple of years ago. It was an amazing day in the field, and one I will remember for many years to come.

 

Today, I've decided to hunt an area on the ranch that sits at a high elevation, (5000 ft) and has a canopy of ancient (400/600 year old) oak trees. Because of the heavy canopy there isn't a whole lot of ground cover to hide the squirrels.

 

The area is covered with a lot of deadfall, old oak limbs, hollow stumps, old logs and such. The squirrels love to make their burrows in, around, and under these things.  They love to sit on top of an old brush pile, that they have built their den under, and survey their domain. It also gives them a quick escape route, should a predator suddenly appear in the area.

 

I've just received several of my airguns back from being tuned up by the folks at Beeman. One of them is a 30 plus year old Feinwerkbau 300S in .177 caliber. It has a semi-sporter weight stock. In it's day, a variation of this gun was the choice of Olympic Airgun Competitors world wide. It's a spring powered rifle, and is designed to have no recoil.

 

I decided to hunt with it today. It's truly amazing to shoot. The lack of recoil lets you watch the hole from the pellet appear in the target. In my case today, the targets were California ground squirrels.

 

I like to put the pellet in the spot on the squirrels head that's half way between the corner of it's eye, and the ear hole. Hit that spot and it's lights out just about every time. The FWB 300S makes doing that almost too easy. 

 

This years young are above ground now, making for a very target rich environment. It's also the perfect time to be hunting with the 300S. I don't usually get a lot of shots on adult ground squirrels under about 40 yards or so, but the young haven't been educated yet to all of the dangers in their world, so shots on them, from 25 yards on out are quite common.

The young squirrels haven't been kicked out of their dens by their mothers yet either, so multiple squirrel kills from one mound are also very common.

I hunted a small canyon that had produced good results in the past, and I wasn't disappointed today. I hadn't gone 25 yards when I saw the first group of four or five young squirrels near, on, and around a large mound. I took two of them off of the top of the mound before instinct told the others to get under ground.

That scene repeated itself many times over as I hunted my way up the canyon. I lost count of the number of squirrels I took that day, but it might have been a personal best. The temperature was perfect and the squirrels, young and old, were literally everywhere.

My longest shot was 43 yards, which is just about the outer limits of this guns ability in my hands, to cleanly make head shots on ground squirrels.

Other rifles of similar power, like the Beeman .177 R7 for example, would also work well against California Ground Squirrels at similar ranges. 

So, to answer the original question. Yes the FWB 300S is more than capable, in the accuracy and power departments, of taking California Ground Squirrels with head shots, out to 45 yards.  

 

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