Target Sports

AIR PISTOL REVIEW: GAME, SET, MATCH

Created on 14th May 2009

MICK GAULT says Feinwerkbau's latest match air pistol is a real market leader

THE HUMBLE air pistol has come a long way since the late 1980s. Every now and then there's one that stands out and we enjoy a leap in air pistol evolution. Since I started my international shooting career in 1989 I have witnessed the introduction of the CO2 pistol, which in a few short years killed off the spring-powered pistol on the international circuit. A little later the Steyr LP1 was released onto the market and was a huge success. Then came the change to compressed air, which had several advantages over the use of CO2, and most manufacturers introduced modified versions of their existing pistols. There have been several different models released by the main manufacturers to date but changes have been minor until now, with the introduction of Feinwerkbau's P44.

I was introduced to this pistol last year and it immediately struck me as looking just right. Upon picking it up the weight hit me - it seemed very light. This was confirmed by a nearby set of scales which showed only 950g - my Morini weighs over 1,000g. The P44 has all the usual features expected on a modern air pistol: a dry-fire function, fully adjustable sights and trigger and a top-notch grip. The sights can be adjusted to allow for some canting of the pistol and the rear sight block is adjustable for height. Other features include a recoil absorber, a trigger shoe that can give total adjustment for your finger and a grip which can be removed without losing the adjustments you have made for cant or rake. The rear sight block can also be moved to alter the distance from the front sight. The pistol comes in a smart hard plastic case; there are very few tools supplied - just three Allan keys and a tool for removing the grip. There are two adapters: one for filling the air cylinders and another for bleeding them. There is also a spare cylinder - something other manufacturers charge extra for. Last but not least there is a very good operators' manual. The pistol itself has a matte-blue body, compensator and trigger-guard and the cylinders come in matte-grey.

Sights

The front sight is a standard metal post; the one fitted to my pistol is 4mm. It can be moved on the compensator into one of two positions.

The rearsight is a very complex unit and can be adjusted in a multitude of ways. Firstly the whole block can be moved back, increasing the sighting length. This can be done by taking the grip off, undoing a screw under the block and sliding the whole block back. According to the handbook you can get another 40mm in the sight length. Another adjustment can be made for those people who can't hold the pistol upright and have to cant. This adjustment is made by undoing two screws on top of the sight block. This allows you to move the sights by up to 15° left or right. There are engineers' marks on top of the rearsight to help you; each mark is equal to 5°.

Obviously the foresight has to be moved by the same amount. Unfortunately getting the foresight in the correct position can be a bit hit and miss as it has no engineers' markings. The overall result of moving the sights in one plane or another would be to give the impression the pistol is upright when it' s actually canted.

The rearsight can also be adjusted for height. The adjustment is made by taking the grip off and looking under the back sight. There is a very large screw which when turned the maximum amount will alter the point of impact by about 28mm on the target. This adjustment is necessary for those who aim either into the black or very low, where the normal sight adjustment would not be enough to bring them into the 10-ring. Be aware that the large screw is locked into place by a small screw on the right-hand side of the fixed part of the rearsight.

The rearsight has all the usual adjustments as well; these are clearly marked by arrows on top of the sight block for vertical and horizontal adjustments. Each click moves the point of impact by about 1.5mm. Also the rearsight blades can be adjusted to increase or decrease the light visible either side of the foresight blade when looking through them. FWB has clearly put a lot of thought into this rearsight, which is very well-engineered.

The trigger

I consider the trigger unit to be the most important part of any pistol. FWB has previously made some complex triggers which were a bit daunting when it came to making adjustments. This trigger unit is not electronic and has had input from pistol shooters, so it's been kept simple. The out-of-the-box trigger is a thing of beauty and could be mistaken for an electronic type.

The manual explains the trigger adjustment very well, but there are a few points I would like to make. For example, the sear adjustment is called ‘trigger point' while ‘trigger point weight' means the second-stage weight. ‘Trigger slack' means first-stage movement and ‘trigger slack weight' means first-stage weight. The rest of the explanations are very good. My advice to you is: don't make any adjustments until you've fired it first and read the manual several times.

When the grip is fitted the only adjustments you can make are to the first stage. This is quite handy if the pistol fails the trigger test weight as a minor adjustment to the first stage may be all it takes to get the thing through.

The trigger shoe can be moved to adjust for finger length and reach. The rail has some engineers' markings on it so if you need to move it for any reason it can be put back into the same place with ease, and can also be tilted to the left or right. The shoe is fitted to its holder by a ball joint and therefore can be moved to almost any angle. The result is a trigger shoe that will fit most shooters. It's best to try to get the trigger adjusted so that the pull is straight back and in line with the centre line of the barrel.

The dry-fire mechanism can be engaged by firstly cocking the pistol and then pushing in the button on the right hand side of the pistol. The button will then jump out on the left-hand side of the pistol and the letter ‘S' will be visible on the top of the button. Once this ‘S' (which stands for ‘safe') appears, the dry mechanism will be engaged.

The grip

The grip is first-class and comes in three different sizes: small, medium and large. It is made so that even the smallest hand can reach the trigger. It has the usual adjustable palm shelf and is fitted with a single screw located though the bottom of the grip. FWB seems to have thought of everything with regards to adjustments. With the grip removed you will find a small silver-coloured block that is a sort of interface between the grip and the pistol. On the block there are two small screws. These screws can be adjusted to alter the pistol's vertical position in the grip. This will also alter the cant. Once you have these adjustments right it does not matter if the grip has been removed as the block screws will be fixed. There is also adjustment for point. With the grip removed you will see two screws on the rear of the pistol. Moving these out will alter the pistol's natural aim point.

The absorber

The pistol is fitted with an absorber to reduce the effect of the pellet travelling down the barrel and its resultant recoil. FWB has placed a chunk of metal in the rear of the pistol that moves backwards when a pellet is fired, but this only works if the metal rod moves with the same force. An adjuster has been fitted to ensure it does. There is a simple check that can be carried out after firing a pellet and that is to slowly lift the cocking lever until a resistance is felt. I now know that this resistance is the rod hitting a screw head. When this happens there should be a gap of between 3mm and 6mm showing in the breech area between the moving bolt and the face it rests on. If this is the case all is well; if not an adjustment screw is located under the cocking lever when it is fully pulled back. All this screw does is increase or decrease the resistance it applies on the rod. Adjustments are only needed if the muzzle starts to flip on shot release, but be warned - the rod cannot compensate for poor trigger control.

The barrel

The barrel is made by Walther and is vented. The idea is to get rid of some of the gases behind the pellet before it leaves the barrel as excess air tends to reduce accuracy by deflecting the pellet slightly. Barrel weights can be added if required. Two 15g rods can be fitted by screws to the top of the pistol and further 30g weights can be fitted to the rods. I think you can fit about five of these 30g weights to the rods (these weights cost extra).

The compensator

The compensator's function is to vent the gases remaining behind the pellet in a controlled manner and re-stabilise the pellet on its final flight. It also retains the foresight.

This new pistol stands out above the rest of the market. FWB has really gone to town with this model and there is little negative to report. It has a first-class grip and a trigger so good I think it rivals the Morini's electronic trigger. Its low weight allows smaller shooters to use it and the hand can sit well into the grip, which caters for people with very small hands.

There are more great features. The trigger shoe is adjustable and should fit most fingers. The adjustments in the handbook are very clear. The idea of having the rearsight adjustable for cant angle to plus or minus 15° is a wonderful innovation but it's a shame the foresight doesn't have some kind of engineers' marks on the barrel, as this would have made it easier to adjust to the same angle as the rearsight. The absorber works extremely well but it can be a bit fiddly to adjust if it goes out of tolerance. The only other drawback is the price. The P44 doesn't come cheap, but in this case you really do get what you pay for.

Technical Specification

Barrel length: 233mm
Sight line: 360-400mm
Trigger shoe adjustment,
approx: 22mm
Total length, approx: 410mm
Total height, approx: 145mm
Pistol without weights,
approx: 950g
Trigger weight, approx : 500g
Trigger slack weight, approx (first stage): 500g
Trigger point weight, approx: 80-250g
SRP: £1,164
UK Distributor: Centra UK: 01483 756969