24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3
#15948310 03/28/21
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 760
mp44 Offline OP
Campfire Regular
OP Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 760
I picked this rifle up recently. It was purchased new in late 1980. Over 40 years old and looks more like it was a well taken care of, 4 year old rifle. Consistent 1/2" groups at 25 yds, which is pretty good for a springer in my hands.

Anyone else own one of these classics? Pics?

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]


[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

BP-B2

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 10,639
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 10,639
I had one. The Deluxe version. It was stolen out of my pickup while my brother and I were fishing. That was about 1985, still pisses me off.


A true sportsman counts his achievements in proportion to the effort involved and fairness of the sport. - S. Pope
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 760
mp44 Offline OP
Campfire Regular
OP Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 760
Originally Posted by centershot
I had one. The Deluxe version. It was stolen out of my pickup while my brother and I were fishing. That was about 1985, still pisses me off.



That sux!!!

Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 330
M
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
M
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 330
Nice 124!

Original owner of a beautiful 124D. Some years ago, had a retired machinist pard CNC mill the piston skirt for 3- 13% PTFE Delrin buttons and I also installed a Maccari spring kit. Have a target with three touching holes at 50 yards with 8.4gr JSB Exact pellets. It also stacks the 10.4gr Exacts. 10X mil-quad SWFA in double-strap BKL rings with parallax ranges noted from 13-55 yards. Shoot outdoor Field Target with it on occasion. Starlings fear it....

If your 124D was new to my hands, I'd tear it down and replace seals (check out Air Rifle Headquarters) and lube with Krytox GPL 205 as a minimum. James' spring kit is a very nice upgrade that really smooths/quiets the shot cycle. Then you'd know for sure the condition of the piston seal, particularly if it is original and potentially failing. Decent groups at 25 paces is a good indication it's still OK. Also, lay a piece of toi-toi paper over the breech seal when fired to check its integrity. If you end up with confetti, that needs to be replaced too as noted below.

As a final note for those that aren't savvy to springers, NEVER dry fire one, use one with a damaged breech seal or use a flammable lube in the cylinder. They are designed such that the piston will stop just before the end of the cylinder as the pellet begins its forward movement down the bore, allowing the piston to slowly settle against the cylinder's end. If there's no pellet or the breech seal is toast, the piston seal will be pounded to death in short order. The air in the cylinder follows gas laws where as the pressure sharply rises as the cylinder volume correspondingly decreases, the internal air temp rises rapidly just like a diesel engine.

Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 760
mp44 Offline OP
Campfire Regular
OP Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 760
The owner said it was resealed in 2016 by a Beeman authorized dealer and then fired around 20X. Velocity over the chrony is very consistent. It was on the low side when I first received it, 700fps with 8.4 AA, but it has such a nice shot cycle plus I have PCPs for power, I probably will not bother with it for now.
I have put around 100 shots thru it and need to monitor the velocity to see if the seal is breaking in. I am also wondering if they only had the seal replaced and the rifle still has the 40+ year old spring in it as I only saw the seal mentioned in the hand written notes I received with the rifle

I do have a new spring and seal on the way.

IC B2

Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,993
K
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
K
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,993
Oh, I suspect it will do better than 1/2" at 25....
Wind, pellet selection, "shooter variable", etc can all be improved (unless you're shooting indoors).
And there's a lot of fun in working it all out.

Enjoy your new 124!


Work is what you do to finance your real life.....
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 330
M
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
M
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 330
A couple more hints....

As an addendum to the shot cycle physics noted above, don't oil the bore. Oiling will allow the pellet to move forward prematurely and not stop/slow the piston before hitting the end of the cylinder.

Might consider running a .22 patch tied in the middle of some 80# dacron fishing line or similar back & forth through the bore with a dab of JB Bore Paste to clean the lands/grooves and old pellet wax build-up. Clean out the resultant goo with a few patches moistened with isopropyl alcohol until they emerge clean and she squeaks her approval. Should tighten up your groups if old pellet wax had gummed up the bore's grooves....

Use some of James' moly lube on the barrel pivot and snug up the screws so the barrel doesn't droop under its own weight after being cocked but moves smoothly with your help. That will help keep the barrel from ever so slightly pivoting downward when the air pressure pushes against the pellet/breach. If you're getting any vertical stringing of your groups, might be the cause.

Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 16,505
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 16,505
Good info and advice. Yes, found one at a LGS, years ago, the gun shot HORRIBLY slow, had a friend who was an avid airgunner, took it apart - cleaned chamber and spring and relubed. A few years later the seal blew......bits were coming out of the chamber hole.....I replaced the seal, not overly difficult but the 124 can be fickle on re-assembly and it can get a key screw stripped if not precisely done.

That said, after the re-seal, as good as new, shot TIGHT......

124s, especially the D model are a Gem........wonderful triggers, modest cocking effort and SMOOTH shot cycle, oh VERY accurate. IIRC, they shot close to the FWB Match rifles which had a fixed barrel.

Enjoy! If your's does not get much over 700, you might decide on a new spring, and I might find a professional to do the job, just to avoid that risk noted above.

Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 760
mp44 Offline OP
Campfire Regular
OP Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 760
I guess I should mention this is probably my 10+ FWB 124 I have owned over the years. I am not much of a spring piston guy but I have been thru dozens and dozens of springers from Webleys, HWs, Beeman branded HWs,, Dianas, and Air Arms I purchased this last 124D out of nostalgia. It shoots so nice at the 9 fpe it almost seems like this is what the factory should have shot for ( pun intended ). Unless I suspect any damage I am going to leave it the way it is and actually enjoy shooting it but if I need some extra power I will pull out my .25 Air Wolf.

Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 219
A
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
A
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 219
Original FWB 124 factory piston seals are not made of a good material. Several aftermarket piston seals are much better material and should last much longer. If your 124 was resealed, it may not last long IF the new seal was of old stock oem seals, it may not last long at all. I’ve had a few 124’s both deluxe and sporter versions. The original seal just was of poor quality, but then it was developed in the early days of high performance spring piston rifles using synthetic materials instead of leather piston seals. The FWB is a high quality rifle, it just had this one part that is best when replaced with any of the new redesigned seals.
The AirGun Letter had a very good article(s) on some of the newest piston seals for the 124.
If your 124 has poor velocity, STOP shooting it! You may be hammering the piston face into the end of the receiver tube. Get it resealed and maybe a new spring. It’s nice to get a fitted mainspring guide and new lubricants too!

Last edited by Alaninga; 04/02/21.
IC B3

Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 760
mp44 Offline OP
Campfire Regular
OP Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 760
It was replaced in 2016 so I suspect it is a newer material. It also shoots smooth and consistent.

A few years back I purchased a 124 that was supposed to have been recently rebuilt. It was shooting slow so I took it apart and it had new parts but the seal needed to be fitted to the cylinder. I would sand a bit then re-install. With each sanding, the velocity crept up. after a few sandings, the velocity was up to factory specs.

Last edited by mp44; 04/02/21.
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 219
A
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
A
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 219
One of the 124 piston seal replacement articles in the AirGunLetter had to be fit that way. It had no compression groove (lip?) so the fitting was an important step. In fact I think Tom Gaylord may have burnt his first attempt at fitting this piston seal (too tight) and did a second. Was it a Maccari seal??
I wish I had kept my complete collection of AGLs, they were carry useful, especially since TG did so many spring and seal rebuilds for the R1.

Last edited by Alaninga; 04/02/21.
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,993
K
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
K
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,993
FWIW, I had John in PA reseal my 124 with the Maccari full power kit.
I would recommend both to anyone.


Work is what you do to finance your real life.....
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 321
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 321
I have one bought new back in late 1974 or early 75 from the old Air RIfle Headquartes in W. Va. It has been through two piston seal replacments/rebuilds in these years, the most recent last winter. My son and grandson were coming over and the grandson was wanting to shoot so I got it out after too many years of inactivity. It would only move the pellet a couple of inches and seal material was coming out of the cylinder vent hole. I sent it off to David Slade at Airgunwerks.com and it came back better than it ever has been. We were out shooting it this afternoon and my arm got sore from all the cocking. I had one of the Beeman Blue Ribbon scopes on it probably close to 40 years and went back a few weeks ago and put the Williams receiver sight back on that I had for a short time before the scope. Even at 75 years old I seem to have more fun with peep sights than with scopes, plus this rifle just handles better with iron sights.

Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 760
mp44 Offline OP
Campfire Regular
OP Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 760
I have had David Slade rebuild two FWB65s. He does wonderful work. One of the FWB124D I purchased a couple of years back had the seal ( original by the color ) coming apart. I took it apart with the intention of rebuilding it myself but I could not get all the seal material out of the front of the tube. The center of the seal came out but the outside edge had adhered to the tube. I had to box it up, along with the Maccari parts, and ship them to Scott Blair at airguntunes.com. He is also great to deal with.

Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 83
L
Campfire Greenhorn
Offline
Campfire Greenhorn
L
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 83
I purchased my FWB 124D in the early 80's, at the source (Beeman's store in San Rafael), with a 2.5x Blue Ribbon scope. Lots and lots of stories associated. Some years it gets shot lots. Other years rarely. It has accounted for lots of ground squirrels and a couple of opossums. And the turkey. Love it.
L
[img]https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/15988299/fwb-124d-takes-turkey[/img]
PS I hope I did the image posting procedure correctly!


If it weren't for the wonders of electricity, you'd be reading this post by candle light.
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 83
L
Campfire Greenhorn
Offline
Campfire Greenhorn
L
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 83
Oh and I meant to say that I have that same exact article from Peterson's Hunting somewhere in my files too! "Great minds think alike."


If it weren't for the wonders of electricity, you'd be reading this post by candle light.
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 14,027
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 14,027
[Linked Image]

Lou's turkey

Last edited by deerstalker; 04/13/21.

the consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded. Robert E Lee
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,964
P
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
P
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,964
I remember that article also. I read it when it came out when I was 15. Always wanted a 124


Guns don't kill people, it's mostly the bullets
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 83
L
Campfire Greenhorn
Offline
Campfire Greenhorn
L
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 83
Thank you for the help posting my photo Deerstalker.
A good friend of mine lives a bit south of Bonners Ferry.
I am hoping to get up to that beautiful part of the country this summer.
Lou


If it weren't for the wonders of electricity, you'd be reading this post by candle light.
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
137 members (2UP, 300_savage, 257 mag, 160user, 35, 10Glocks, 12 invisible), 1,813 guests, and 827 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,728
Posts18,400,776
Members73,822
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.169s Queries: 15 (0.002s) Memory: 0.8992 MB (Peak: 1.0556 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-29 09:58:15 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS