Competition pistol choice?

[fcat]

thanks for all the input, guys. I'm off to the Bisley shop tomorrow to try a few, I'll let you know what happens next week...

[P30man]

Might see you there, I have to pick up a trigger test weight tomorrow afternoon.

[SteveR]

thanks for all the input, guys. I'm off to the Bisley shop tomorrow to try a few, I'll let you know what happens next week...

Last time I went to a shop to try a few I dented my Credit card . Hope you find the right pistol for you.

Cheers,

Steve.

[Peter Pig]

Somewhat of topic,will the Air Arms Alpha fit in the ISSF box? with the air cylinder in the grip it looks a bit lumpy.
I would hate to buy one and not be able to use it in comps.

[Falcon25]

I went through the same process myself and decided on a pistol based on spec. and popularity. However when I shot various pistols at the club I found I could achieve consistently better scores than any other pistol with a FWB P34 belonging to a club mate. In the end I tracked one down that is identical.

My advice would be not to buy new until you have shot that gun on the range and put through 20-30 shots to assess your performance. If you get started with any decent s/h top rank pistol you should be able to get most of the cost back to purchase new once you are sure it will give the best results to justify the investment.

I had a set of Rink grips made for my gun, as I don’t have standard Med. hands and they are a great improvement.

[P30man]

I agree with Falcon25, I had Rink grips made for my P30, it was like shooting with a new Pistol, now whether some of that was in the head or not I never worked it out, however it did improve the average and increase the prize count.

[Iain K D]

Somewhat of topic,will the Air Arms Alpha fit in the ISSF box?

From the brief mention of it on P62 of the May issue of Target Sports (I'm not sure I want to quote that article again, mind):

"The pistol conforms to the ISSF dimensions for international air pistol competition "

Iain

[Peter Pig]

From the brief mention of it on P62 of the May issue of Target Sports (I'm not sure I want to quote that article again, mind):

"The pistol conforms to the ISSF dimensions for international air pistol competition "

Iain

Many thanks for that Ian, I knew someone would know.

Peter

[fcat]

I knew it was going to be a bad idea but I still went over to Bisley on Sat...

Credit card is in pain and will be for a while but what the hell, you only live once - although that could be quite a short life if SWMBO finds out what it cost..

Still, a Steyr LP50 is a very fine bit of kit, just hope I can shoot well enough to justify it.



Nothing to do with pistols, but on the sunject of debt, a wise man once said:

If you owe the bank 10 grand then you're in trouble. If you owe the bank 10 billion, then the bank's in trouble. Of course the clever trick is to get from the first situation to the second without the bank noticing...

[eredel]

I knew it was going to be a bad idea but I still went over to Bisley on Sat...

Credit card is in pain and will be for a while but what the hell, you only live once - although that could be quite a short life if SWMBO finds out what it cost..

Still, a Steyr LP50 is a very fine bit of kit, just hope I can shoot well enough to justify it.



Nothing to do with pistols, but on the sunject of debt, a wise man once said:

If you owe the bank 10 grand then you're in trouble. If you owe the bank 10 billion, then the bank's in trouble. Of course the clever trick is to get from the first situation to the second without the bank noticing...

As you probably tried them...how did the LP50 compare to the rest of the Steyrs such as LP5 and LP 10?....
Congrats on your purchase you lucky person!!!
Eric.

[fcat]

Eric,

Can't comment on the LP5 as I haven't tried it - I suspect it's off the product list and replaced by the LP50? I had a look at the FWB P44 which is simlar to the P10. Very nice indeed but a touch more expensive without any very obvious benefits. The shop didn't have a P58 in stock but at some £1300 it had rather ruled itself out. The Morini 162E with the electronic trigger was facinating but being a bit of a luddite, I feel pistols should be examples of precision mechanical engineering and I can't quite get on with using electonics. Pure prejudice I know. So back to Steyr and some comments and initial impressions.

The single shot LP10 & the 5 shot LP50 are, not surprisingly, very similar in many respects. Same range of grips, same adjustability, same sights, etc. The LP50 is slightly heavier by about 90gm but that extra weight - presumably associated with the magazine mechanism - is not really noticeable in any absolute sense and doesn't feel like it has altered the balance of the pistol significantly. (OK, my hands and arms were supplied by JCB, other more sensibly proportioned shooters may have the finesse to be able to appreciate the difference !)

The LP10 has a very smooth breech loading mechanism with a left hand side lever. This could be comfortably operated with my left hand without altering my right hand grip. The pellet has to be inserted into the barrel which is slightly fiddly rather than dropped into a tray/channel and having it pushed into the barrel by closing the breech.

The LP50 has a 5 shot magazine ( single shot and blank mags for rapid test firing are extras at around £30 a pop!). The magazine cannot be inserted or ejected unless the pistol is cocked. This is done by grasping a pair of latches, one on either side (just above the trigger on the main body) and sliding the pair back using finger and thumb on left hand. More pressure than you might think is required to do this but the actual movement is no more than a 1mm. This action is no where near as "natural" as the LP10 or other single shot pistols but is not a big deal if you can count - after each shot the mechanism is automatically cocked, so after 5 shots the mag is empty but the mech is cocked - eject the mag, refill it, slot it back in and away you go without having to re-cock it. If you pull the trigger a 6th time, there is a dry fire click (no air is used) and the pistol will need to be cocked again before the mag can be ejected. The mag is inserted from the left against a light spring and clicks home very positively. Following each shot, it clicks back out to the left to present the next pellet in the breech. I thought this "click through" might produce a slight twitch but I couldn't really detect anything. On completion the mag naturally ejects into your left hand when you press the release switch. Neat.

Using the single shot mag, which is a requirement for standard 10m precision shooting, is more of a bother on a per shot basis. Again, you should only need to cock the pistol once during the entire session but ejecting the mag, loading a pellet, then re-inserting the mag is always going to be a bit more effort than using a conventional single shot mechanism. I find I have to put the pistol down as I need two hands to load the magazine; maybe with practice I can do it all one-handed. Due to asymmetric channel/machining, the mag can only be inserted the correct way round but it is quite easy in the heat of the moment to load the pellet into mag from the wrong side...

However while the LP50 might be slightly compromised as a single shot pistol, it is superb in 5 shot mode. It is fast, slick and oh so easy to get through loads of pellets and air. Compared to the old gas-ram FWB that I've used before, there is almost no kick at all and it has instantly reduced the semi-random scatter that used to be so evident in my shooting. I haven't tried playing with the trigger which appears to have more adjustment options than I've had hot dinners... First I'll get used to the pistol, then set it correctly for 500gm and only then will I try meddling. Certainly out of the box, the trigger feels light and clean. Similarly I won't play yet with small additional weights that can be slotted down either side of the barrel housing. The only thing I may change in the near future is the grip. Currently its a "large" but I may exchange that for "XL"...

In summary, for actual single shot competition, I would speculate that the LP10 is a fraction better than the LP50 as it is slightly less bother to operate but that is all and that may diminish with familiarity. Clearly for any form of rapid fire/multi-shot competition, the LP50 is the only option. To me, the LP50 is better for practice as you can take advantage of the 5 shot mag to remain focused on shooting for longer. For any sort of beer can battering, inappropriate as it may be, the LP50 is hugely impressive. You pays your money and takes your choice. Certainly no regrets so far.

If anyone is interested, I'll post some more comments when I've had the chance to use the pistol a bit more.

[eredel]

Fcat....that is a very informative appraisal and has given me more information than all my googling and I thank you for it.....
I'm a backyard/garage shooter at the moment but I like to think given more time and finding a club that I'll probably only need a single shot but I definitely lean towards the LP50.....I do know of a lovely early LP1 going for about £500 which I think is perhaps a little pricey? (any comments as to this price would be greatly appreciated).
Keep us informed how you get on especially if the Single loading gets any easier with practice....once again...thanks for the feedback..
Regards...Eric.

[derekm]

I would suggest starting with either a new or S/H Gamo Compact or a S/H Tau, Aeron or Alpha CO2. These are all capable of averages in the 90s, if you are.

During the journey up to the high 80s or low 90s, try as many high end pistols as you can, to find out which really suits you best, before lashing out £1k or more. If you go S/H for your starter pistol, chances are you will lose little or nothing when and if you upgrade.

[jonyb]

Eric,

Can't comment on the LP5 as I haven't tried it - I suspect it's off the product list and replaced by the LP50? I had a look at the FWB P44 which is simlar to the P10. Very nice indeed but a touch more expensive without any very obvious benefits. The shop didn't have a P58 in stock but at some £1300 it had rather ruled itself out. The Morini 162E with the electronic trigger was facinating but being a bit of a luddite, I feel pistols should be examples of precision mechanical engineering and I can't quite get on with using electonics. Pure prejudice I know. So back to Steyr and some comments and initial impressions.

The single shot LP10 & the 5 shot LP50 are, not surprisingly, very similar in many respects. Same range of grips, same adjustability, same sights, etc. The LP50 is slightly heavier by about 90gm but that extra weight - presumably associated with the magazine mechanism - is not really noticeable in any absolute sense and doesn't feel like it has altered the balance of the pistol significantly. (OK, my hands and arms were supplied by JCB, other more sensibly proportioned shooters may have the finesse to be able to appreciate the difference !)

The LP10 has a very smooth breech loading mechanism with a left hand side lever. This could be comfortably operated with my left hand without altering my right hand grip. The pellet has to be inserted into the barrel which is slightly fiddly rather than dropped into a tray/channel and having it pushed into the barrel by closing the breech.

The LP50 has a 5 shot magazine ( single shot and blank mags for rapid test firing are extras at around £30 a pop!). The magazine cannot be inserted or ejected unless the pistol is cocked. This is done by grasping a pair of latches, one on either side (just above the trigger on the main body) and sliding the pair back using finger and thumb on left hand. More pressure than you might think is required to do this but the actual movement is no more than a 1mm. This action is no where near as "natural" as the LP10 or other single shot pistols but is not a big deal if you can count - after each shot the mechanism is automatically cocked, so after 5 shots the mag is empty but the mech is cocked - eject the mag, refill it, slot it back in and away you go without having to re-cock it. If you pull the trigger a 6th time, there is a dry fire click (no air is used) and the pistol will need to be cocked again before the mag can be ejected. The mag is inserted from the left against a light spring and clicks home very positively. Following each shot, it clicks back out to the left to present the next pellet in the breech. I thought this "click through" might produce a slight twitch but I couldn't really detect anything. On completion the mag naturally ejects into your left hand when you press the release switch. Neat.

Using the single shot mag, which is a requirement for standard 10m precision shooting, is more of a bother on a per shot basis. Again, you should only need to cock the pistol once during the entire session but ejecting the mag, loading a pellet, then re-inserting the mag is always going to be a bit more effort than using a conventional single shot mechanism. I find I have to put the pistol down as I need two hands to load the magazine; maybe with practice I can do it all one-handed. Due to asymmetric channel/machining, the mag can only be inserted the correct way round but it is quite easy in the heat of the moment to load the pellet into mag from the wrong side...

However while the LP50 might be slightly compromised as a single shot pistol, it is superb in 5 shot mode. It is fast, slick and oh so easy to get through loads of pellets and air. Compared to the old gas-ram FWB that I've used before, there is almost no kick at all and it has instantly reduced the semi-random scatter that used to be so evident in my shooting. I haven't tried playing with the trigger which appears to have more adjustment options than I've had hot dinners... First I'll get used to the pistol, then set it correctly for 500gm and only then will I try meddling. Certainly out of the box, the trigger feels light and clean. Similarly I won't play yet with small additional weights that can be slotted down either side of the barrel housing. The only thing I may change in the near future is the grip. Currently its a "large" but I may exchange that for "XL"...

In summary, for actual single shot competition, I would speculate that the LP10 is a fraction better than the LP50 as it is slightly less bother to operate but that is all and that may diminish with familiarity. Clearly for any form of rapid fire/multi-shot competition, the LP50 is the only option. To me, the LP50 is better for practice as you can take advantage of the 5 shot mag to remain focused on shooting for longer. For any sort of beer can battering, inappropriate as it may be, the LP50 is hugely impressive. You pays your money and takes your choice. Certainly no regrets so far.

If anyone is interested, I'll post some more comments when I've had the chance to use the pistol a bit more.

congrats,a fine choice.on the two handed loading point-as the magazine ejects,leave it there.then place a pellet in the magazine and push home.
you will soon be able to do it blindfolded.
keep practising and enjoy. set your trigger slightly over 500grms to allow for differences in heat/humidity at various times.avoids embarressment at competition scruttineering.