This old Feinwerkbau 124 was my first air rifle purchase. Think I was sixteen or seventeen at the time. I'd been reading the Beeman catalogs and wanted something decent. The R1 had come out recently and wasn't in this kid's budget, but the FWB 124D in the used gun rack certainly was. Several decades of repairs/upkeep/changes and modifications led to its current set up. Probably the most significant improvement was the hand made walnut stock from GunBroker. The stock was made by Serban Ionescue. It's a beautiful thing. The lines are so graceful and unique.
While shooting this the other day, I remembered I hadn't actually finished the replacement stock installation. Sure, the rifle was shootable, but it wasn't "done". At the time, I'd done a make-do arrangement with what used to be the built-in front sling loop and I neglected to install a rear sling stud.
Essentially, I needed a barrel band clamp and a screw stud.
Dug through the collection of pieces and parts, but didn't find that needed screw stud. A quick trip to the local "gunmart" was fruitless. They have a Glock section, a Smith and Wesson M&P section, all the Magpul gagets and a bunch of employees who won't even pretend to help. Was really a great experience. Went home, ordered a ten pack off ebay and checked it off the list.
A week later, I was awash in sling studs and trepidation.
Installing this little guy gave me great anxiety. The stock was beautifully finished. Was I about to ruin it? Would the stud be centered? Will the walnut splinter, crack, and tear? How many bad sling mounting jobs have I seen in the used gun racks at any given gun show?
Eventually, I'd checked, double-checked, re-checked, then double-re-checked everything--especially the drill bit size. And in a couple minutes, it was done and all my worry was for nothing. No, that's not really true. All my worry identified the potential problems I would run into during the installation and helped prevent them. Catastrophizing is often my super power.
The front end of things was less of a challenge. I found an Uncle Mike's barrel clamp for the front attachment point in a drawer--probably purchased and set aside years ago for this very project.
Just like that, the old girl was finally wearing a 1.25" Outdoor Connection Super Sling. While a leather sling might look more appropriate, its tough to beat the quick adjustability of the Super Sling.
Now, here's the rest of my unfinished business. The original FWB front sling swivel had to be removed because its flared width wouldn't fit through the longer forend of the new stock. I'd quickly installed a couple aluminum washers on either side of the rivet and said, "Good enough, I'll figure this out later". I was far more interested at the time whether the action fit into the stock. And besides, that original FWB mount was only sized for the old 22mm (7/8") carry straps.
So, I was all ready to go on the shorter rivet, then I opted to make a scope stop instead. Why? No good reason, except the gun still shot fine, now had a real sling, but springers from this period had scope stops. The procrastination made sense at the time.
It needed a scope stop.
As the Feinwerkbau was wearing UTG dovetail mounts, I wanted the scope stop to look like it was made to match. Found a UTG offset mount and cut off part of the clamp.
I like projects with the least amount of resistance. (I later added another mounting hole to that sacrificial mount so it's still functional.)
Cleaned it up in the milling machine.
Just needs a second clamping screw. I can't believe I've never made a scope stop before.
Tapped M5 to match the other thread.
Not shown: As conventional stop pins don't fit 124's, I wasn't going to drill and tap for one, but the practicality of having it won out. Now, it's compatible with most of my other rifles.
With no stop hole in the 124 tube, some friction paste will have to suffice.
Matched and replaced all the mounting hardware for continuity.
A plug screw fills the hole.
Looks like a good match and I've successfully put off making a cocking lever rivet for another day!
More soon.
