Fancy air pistols for practice?

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AlexisCreek

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Coincidentally I picked up an older Olympic level 10m air pistol a couple of weeks ago. Now that the ranges are all suddenly closed, I'm happy to be shooting it (discretely) in my back yard. Anyone else doing likewise? Mine is a Walther CP2 Match, pre-charged with liquid C02 from a fire extinguisher type of tank into a cylinder hanging under the barrel. It must be 25 years old, beautifully made and highly accurate at 10m. It, not me -- this is one of those guns that makes you look good, while quietly whispering that it'll always be better than you are. The black on an official ISSF/Olympic target for 10m air pistol is 55mm (about 2 1/4 inches), and the 10 ring's tiny, so it's challenging, even with zero recoil. I normally shoot ISSF Standard pistol, 22 LR at 25m, one handed (using reduced targets when on 20 yard ranges). This pre-charged C02 technology has been overtaken by scuba air among international competitors, but CO2 is said to have some advantages (more shots per charge, and the pressure/velocity does not drop off as you get close to emptying the cylinder). Nice long barrel so a long sight line, but also quite unforgiving if you mess up your alignment. I had been looking for one for a while, and spent a Saturday afternoon driving out to a rural gun store where it popped up on consignment, an estate gun unfired for about ten years. And now that I think of it, Justin won't be coming for this one. Competition air pistols are all under 500 fps. And even the high end German pellets are cheap.
 
While mine aren't fancy, I have 2 1911-style, a Luger-style, and a really nice little PPK-style CO2, plus a plastic S&W 5906ish that shoots pellets or BB's. Great to shoot in the house when my wife is away. :p
 
We have a few of the older CO2 air pistols at our club, along with the newer Steyr LP2's. They are still as accurate now as they were when new.

I have a 10m air pistol range set up in my basement.
 
10M air pistol range here in the basement too ! Pardini K12 - which is a reasonably current "Olympic level" A/P -- beautifully made piece of machinery - its way better than me ! Technique has got to be perfect or its very un-forgiving. re-charge cylinders from a scuba tank - about 200 shots from a cylinder fill. Filled the scuba tank last fall - $12.00 - shot 5000+ pellets ($95) over the winter.
 
Over time I've picked up a Feinwerkbau 65, an IZH-46m, a Chiappa FAS 6004 and a bunch of Webleys of different vintages. When you get through with punching paper, the Dollar Store is a source for inexpensive reactive targets - pellets: the bona fide cause of dinosaur extinction. I set them up in front of a trap in an effort to catch the pellets which I'm planning to cast into BP roundball - just need to apply for a Federal recycling grant.
 
I am using a Glock 19X for IDPA and I recently bought a replica Glock 19X blow back air pistol to practice while at my office. I also had Gray Fox Stratigic make me a holster that will fit the 19X with my Mantis X dry firing system on it

Since the air gun I bought is a Glock licensed replica of the 19x it is pretty damn close to the real thing, which is great because its so close to the real gun in terms of look and fit

I also bought a Sig Sauer shooting bay, with target reset which is a lot of fun in the office. I bought lead core copper plated bb's that flatten when they hit metal or hard surfaces so they dont bounce back
 
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I have an old Gamo Falcon (fixed barrel, underlever) that has good sights and trigger, and shoots better than I can. Great for trying to hit bulleyes at 10m.
 
Since i don't have a range membership anymore my replica air pistols get alot of use. Mine are a 1911 kwc full blowback backwater and a glock 19.
 
Absolutely, but not just for practice. AP matches are some of the most difficult to shoot well and tons of fun. I’m shooting a Pardini K12 and I wish I was as good as the pistol.
 
calgarycanada said:
Thanks but I’m looking for pellet guns.
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The Steyr LP10 is an airgun. One of the best as I understand it. And AirgunsPlus is a dealer who sell them and other Steyr airguns as well as other guns, air or firearm types. Perhaps by "pellet guns" you're meaning something besides a competition type airgun?

I have a Pardini K12, which is a .177" competition model airgun. Used it for a little while in competition, earned some medals, managed to get very close to 'Master' level but not quite before my shoulder suffered a rotator cuff injury in related training and I dropped out. The Pardini sees duty as a night vision/scope equipped ratter now, a job to which it is very well suited thanks to the innate precision.
 
calgarycanada said:
Which Canadian dealer are you guys using?
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I got the Pardini from Western Marksman; not my favourite place to deal with TBH, but the only show in town for Pardini. If you decide you need a Pardini negotiate the price and watch what they try to charge for tax.

Harvey at airguns plus is great to deal with; fair prices no BS. Jocelyn at Cibles targets is also excellent. Between the two Steyr, Morini, Matchguns, Walther, and FWB are all on offer.
 
TT1900 said:
Absolutely, but not just for practice. AP matches are some of the most difficult to shoot well and tons of fun. I’m shooting a Pardini K12 and I wish I was as good as the pistol.
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I'm beginning to see why! After practicing with my new-to-me CP2 for a week, I'm going to start at the local air gun club as soon as it reopens. Challenging, and fun.
 
I picked up a used CP2 last fall but it needs some new seals in gun and tanks so haven't really used it.
Looking forward to it so I better source the seals soon.

Not planning on doing serious target shooting through, mostly plinking away and doing informal paper punching :)
 
GerardSamija said:
I've had two Pardini pistols from WesternMarksman, and John has been fine to deal with. Jocelyn at Cibles is good too.
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I agree, John is “fine” to deal with, but when I see tax charged at 12% vice 5% while residing in AB I’m not thrilled. Happened three separate times to myself and once to a friend. First time I chalked it up to a mistake, second time I became suspicious, third time I damn near choked. Was corrected each time after I pointed it out, but still....friend had the same outcome. Maybe it’s just me, but when I’m spending Pardini money I expect better than “fine”.
 
I've got a CZ Olympic style air pistol that's way more accurate than I'll ever be. The test target that came with it has all the shots in the same hole, barely bigger than a .177 pellet. I haven't shot it much, should do it more and try to get good at it. Saw a thing on YouTube a couple weeks ago where someone used a knife to split a bullet and pop 2 balloons at once, so the kids and I went outside to try with my air pistol. Didn't have any problem making that happen from about 5' away.
Kristian
 
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