Which is the best air pistol for practice?

sametwinnie

sametwinnie

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I know there is a lot of model that look and feel like the real thing. This is why I ask for your opinion. I owned one a couple of years ago a S&W lookalike in steel but the trigger was horrible. Any suggestion??
 
Not intended as a hijack, am curious and it may tangentially answer your question - what is the savings over .22 pistol? Am thinking 500 pellets + 4x CO2 ~$20, same as .22 - but could be wrong, I dont shoot CO2 as my municipality prohibits the discharge of air guns so went with .22
 
If you want a good airgun, you have to spend money. Your "S&W lookalike", was a crosman, and it's not a bad gun considering it retailed for about 40 bucks, and still does, on sale.

If you want a good revolver "lookalike" though, you have to get one of S&W's actual airpistols. They run about $300 in Canada, and are identical in weight, weight distribution, dimensions, and trigger pull as S&W's powderburners.

I have one with a six inch barrel, and use it alot, as it's good practice that crosses over for when I shoot my .357 six inch. It's not identical to mine though, because I have a dan wesson revolver, not a smith. I clamped it into a vise though, and got groups about 1/4" at 9 meters, which is good enough for me.

If you shoot olympic style, you can get a twinmaster trainer, which is identical to twinmasters free pistols, and will run you $600 or more. I believe Twinmaster also makes a pistol with a grip similar to the 1911 as well, but I'd have to check again to be sure.

I've also heard that guys who shoot the 1911 in Bullseye, like the Weihrauch HW40, apparently it doesn't look at all like a 1911, but has a very very similar grip angle, trigger, and sight picture, and is also very accurate, but affordable, only about $200 or so.

Anyway, you get the picture. Not all powderburners have an airgun equivalent, but you will have to spend the money if you want the quality, there's no getting around that. A number of the "replica's" just look the same, and are for kids. Most guns that sell for 100 bucks fall into this category. If you want individual reviews, you might want to try the, "canadian airgun forum", as it has a larger following in airguns than CGN for now.
 
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lineofsight said:
Not intended as a hijack, am curious and it may tangentially answer your question - what is the savings over .22 pistol? Am thinking 500 pellets + 4x CO2 ~$20, same as .22 - but could be wrong, I dont shoot CO2 as my municipality prohibits the discharge of air guns so went with .22
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I don't know about you or the OP, but for me, it's not about the $$$. It's about the time and convenience. I can and do, shoot in my living room, almost every day. It's a half hour drive to my range.
 
Two antiques come to mind. The Crosman Mk1/Mk2, are a pretty good approximation of a Ruger semi-auto, and have decent triggers, and the copy of the Smith and Wesson Model 41 is good as well. The S&W was available with and without adjustable triggers, and the adjustable was better.

Dig through the paintball magazines, and find enough parts to either bulk fill them (they both use the same threads and cap style on the CO2 res) or tank them on a remote, and live with the hose.

IIRC Mac1 in the US sells adapters the will screw right on and allow bulk filling from a paintball tank. Makes shooting cheap.

Want recoil. Diana Model 5, or a FWB 65 series pistol. Both spring guns. They can be set up to recoil, or be recoilless. Best bet for cheap shooting. 1250 .177 pellets are under $15 at Ctire.

Want something that looks like a particular firearm, speak up and say which. Most of the 'look-alike' air pistols are only worth having if you really cannot get anything closer to the real thing in the way of firearms. The S&W/Walther/Umarex lookalikes are expensive and prone to breakages that cannot be easily fixed.
A fella I used to know ran an airgun shop and made a fair bit fixing them.

Buy a reliable, quality airgun to practice the mechanics of pistol shooting with, and get to the range with the real thing when you can.

I have several Crosman models, I have a 7Oz tank hanging off my Mk1. It gets shot about the most. I have several 150's that are nice plinkers, a 1377 that is cheap to shoot, even if it is more work...

If I were looking to buy, I'd probably try to find a IZH 46 or 46M, at this point. For way more money, the Twinmasters look pretty good, and a quantum step above that, one of the Olympic grade rapid fire Air Pistols.

For practicing drills, get a blue plastic training gun and have at, and never have to worry about patching holes in walls, etc.

Cheers
Trev
 
what will you be using it for, plinking cans, paper punching or hunting? Does it have to be a semi auto that resembles a real gun?

If you want a good quality semi auto with a nice trigger you're gona have to get something that shoots da/sa, a real S&W 8", Cp88 comp or beretta 92 would be a good choice.
 
Bobby Ironsights said:
...and are identical in weight, weight distribution, dimensions, and trigger pull as S&W's powderburners.

I clamped it into a vise though, and got groups about 1/4" at 9 meters, which is good enough for me.
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Good points on the criteria. Think thats more accurate that a lot of powder burners, wow.

Bobby Ironsights said:
I don't know about you or the OP, but for me, it's not about the $$$. It's about the time and convenience. I can and do, shoot in my living room, almost every day. It's a half hour drive to my range.
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That be sweet, my wife makes me take my toys outside to play - shape of my lot means I have 7 neighbours...
 
Beer_drinker said:
what will you be using it for, plinking cans, paper punching or hunting? Does it have to be a semi auto that resembles a real gun?

If you want a good quality semi auto with a nice trigger you're gona have to get something that shoots da/sa, a real S&W 8", Cp88 comp or beretta 92 would be a good choice.
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I would prefer a semi-auto. I just want to do some plinking, mostly inside the house with a proper backup, in the basement.
I don't need something ultra accurate. Just something with a decent trigger that handle like the real one.
I was tempted by the Walther CP99 or something like that. Since I will shoot inside, I don't think a BB guns will be safe
 
sametwinnie said:
I would prefer a semi-auto. I just want to do some plinking, mostly inside the house with a proper backup, in the basement.
I don't need something ultra accurate. Just something with a decent trigger that handle like the real one.
I was tempted by the Walther CP99 or something like that. Since I will shoot inside, I don't think a BB guns will be safe
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a BB gun IS safe for indoor. i shoot everyday in my basement.

Just make a good target/backstop.

i use a big carboard box filled with sheets of pink styrofoam.

the pistol i use is the crossman pro 77, - 80$ , mag fed, blowback metal slide,
cheap extra mags.

go do a search on youtube, there are a lot of videos of it.
( both reviews and shooting vids)
 
I have the knock off version of the Weihrauch HW40 and it's pretty good. Nice trigger. It's called a Marksman 2004.
 
sametwinnie said:
I would prefer a semi-auto. I just want to do some plinking, mostly inside the house with a proper backup, in the basement.
I don't need something ultra accurate. Just something with a decent trigger that handle like the real one.
I was tempted by the Walther CP99 or something like that. Since I will shoot inside, I don't think a BB guns will be safe
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If you dont need something super accurate check cabela's or D&L airgun for the Walther CP99 compact. they sell for around $80.00, the slide blows back like a real semi auto pistol. I shoot mine indoors using a cardboard box filled with old stretch wrap. Like I said it is not very accurate but it is fun to shoot
 
I had a CP99 sport which go for usually under a hundred bucks new.It easily puts a clip full of pellets under an inch, freehand at 10 meters.They are easy on the co2 as well.They are quite well made for the money.
 
Webley Tempest

I have a Webley Tempest and a pellet trap so I can shoot in my basement. I really like the feel of the Tempest. It doesn't look like a powder burner but that doesn't matter to me.
 
Because I use a M&P9 for IPSC Production Division it was a no brainer for me to pick up a Uramex M&P BB air pistol. Now I go down into the basement and practice.
 
I have a Crosman 2240 which I use for indoor practice too. It's probably the best pistol in that price range and all kind of mods are available for it.

On a side note... My backstop is a 1/2" thick 2'x3' plywood board with 10 lbs Duck Seal Compound on it. The compound is 2" thick inside a 2"x2" wood frame which is large enough for the target. The paper simply sticks on top of the compound. This system won't win any beauty contests but is certainly very functional and silent. I can even shoot with my Diana RWS 34 .22 rifle and the compound will safely stop the pellets.
After about 50-80 shots I remove the pellets and recycle them. Approx. 50% of them are still good for a second round of shooting (after a bath in paint thinner) and the rest is molded down for bullets to my .44 cal. black powder revolver.
 
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gandalfe said:
I had a CP99 sport which go for usually under a hundred bucks new.It easily puts a clip full of pellets under an inch, freehand at 10 meters.They are easy on the co2 as well.They are quite well made for the money.
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What is the difference between the CP99 and the Walther P99 except the recoil feature and the price? It seem the same gun but at half the price.
 
CP99 has a metal slide and a singlaciton/de cocking feature.

Personally i wouldnt buy a CP99 Or CPS. I had one before and cant stand the super heavy long trigger, Its probably 15 lbs, heavier than my stock GP100 trigger.

One i really liked was the CP88, all metal construction, exposed hammer, accurate lighter reliable pull. It really felt like a handgun in regards to the others ive shot.

Or if you just want something cheap not too accurate like pie plates at 10m get a ppk.
Ive had a couple over the years and am looking for another. blow back and fun but more of a novelty versus a good plinker.

Like i said for a semi the CP88 is what i would get. Proably has a better resale price too.
Good luck with your purchase.
Also the Daisy .45 style bb gun is fairly decent.
IanC
 
Hi folks,

If you can get a hold of a .177 Webley Tempest they will generally put a smile on your face. I put a set of wood grips on mine from D and L Airguns. It feels like the real thing, I can shoot where ever I like and I don't worry about C02. Not as accurate as some, (I also shoot a Beeman P17 and an old Crossman 357 6") But I can hit 10 for 10 frozen juice can lids at 10 metres. I pull the trigger, they go "ping" I smile and that's what is all about for me. :)
 
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