CP88 competition adjustable open sights

[Indiana cajones]

Am I wasting money by spending £30-40 in a set of fully adjustable sights for a 6" CP88, enjoyed plinking with it at 10 yards but recently found out it could knock down a beer can at 25 yards just aiming 1/4" above the can. started to ponder getting a fully adjustable rear sight and blade, laser is pointless at that range (D.T's) but love the open sights shooting. Adapt gun? or buy better? advice please!!

[eredel]

Am I wasting money by spending £30-40 in a set of fully adjustable sights for a 6" CP88, enjoyed plinking with it at 10 yards but recently found out it could knock down a beer can at 25 yards just aiming 1/4" above the can. started to ponder getting a fully adjustable rear sight and blade, laser is pointless at that range (D.T's) but love the open sights shooting. Adapt gun? or buy better? advice please!!

Hi...I graduated up to the target pistols as I enjoyed shooting open sights so much...get along to a pistol club, the members will usually let you try theirs out...
Eric.

[derekm]

Learn to shoot at various ranges with the fixed sights and save the money towards a gun more suited to accuracy. The Umarex CO2 stable are good plinkers and good fun, but to refer to them as target models is a bit rich.

[cookie]

The Cp88 with adjustable sights will improve your shooting (I have them on mine) but it's still only a plinker, the next step up without spend too much money would be something along the lines of a Gamo Compact, HW40/Beeman P3 all are Single Stroke Pneumatic's and you should be able to source one on here for around £75-£100, or as suggested above carry on mastering the open sights with your CP88 and put some money away for a target pistol at a later date.

Jason

[Korium]

At 10metres my CP88 Comp would single-hole with a red-dot sight fitted, and I could hit a can up to 30 yards away if it was a still day, although the can would barely move.

If you enjoy the pistol it's worth improving the sights. The Umarex range has a reputation for poor accuracy of which poor standard sights are to blame IMO.

[Phantom Sniper]

The Umarex range has a reputation for poor accuracy of which poor standard sights are to blame IMO.

Dunno about that. I entered the UBC Co2 pistol comp with my CP99 and got a Bronze.
Given the reputation of having a bad trigger and poor sights, I found that it more than surpassed my expectations.
Now I have not been back into shooting for long and the Umarex I found handled nicely. Maybe its got poor sights and a bad trigger, but I guess I must be used to it and can shoot well with it.
Tony
Wassat old saying now? Oh yeah!"!Its a poor workman that blames his tools"
Learn to shoot with what you have, I did

[BigDuncs]

I have adjustable sights on my CP88 and I do think they were worth getting. The pistol(/revolver) is more accurate that people might think and is certainly more accurate than me.

[Korium]

Its a poor workman that blames his tools"

It's also relatively easy to spot that the standard sights are arsewipe for precise and accurate shooting.
Fixed sights are generally something fitted to keep it simple on a service pistol and keep the costs down.

Try the fixed sights Umarex against one with adjustable on, keep both in a stable rest. It should become obvious where certain issues lie.

[Indiana cajones]

I have adjustable sights on my CP88 and I do think they were worth getting. The pistol(/revolver) is more accurate that people might think and is certainly more accurate than me.

I agree mate, like others I thought it was a plinking gun but was pleasently surprised by its accuracy to 25 yards, used to fire Browning Hi-Power and Berretta 98F's years ago and love the weight and feel of the CO2 guns these days but iron 'combat sights' dont do them justice IMHO!

[Adam77K]

Fixed sights are as accurate as adjustable ones if you know where to aim

I have the CP88 comp with the standard sights. They are actually adjustable for windage, just slacken the allen bolt, move the sight and tighten. A bit more trial and error than click adjustable but once on just tighten up nice and firm and forget. Mine is just about spot on at 6 yards now. Pellets strike 1cm above the centre of the foresight. A sub 6 o'clock hold is better for paper targets but this is fine for plinking.

When I bought the pistol I looked at the price of the sights but now I wouldn't bother. If you really want that kind of precision from one of these, get a rail and a red dot.

[Gun Collector]

Another vote for sticking with what you've got here.

As has been said elsewhere, and contrary to some opinion, the fixed sights are every bit as accurate as the adjustable type. The only advantage to an adjustable is that it will allow you to tailor the "perfect" sight picture to suit you.... But then again, that "perfect" picture will only apply to the distance it is set for. You either have to readjust for every other distance as you shoot, or you do as every other pistol shot does - Learn your gun, it's sight pictures at different ranges, and correspondingly hold a little Kentucky when taking the shot.

In many ways, I tend to treat my pistol shooting kinda like shotgun shooting. Over time you build up a mental library of the "ideal" sight pictures required to make different shots. "Aiming off" may sound a little daunting, and in some cases may even look all wrong, but the fact is, that if the shot strikes the target then it is right! Give it time. You'll be surprised how quickly you'll amass that "library" and how quickly you will adjust to picking the right picture. Eventually it will become second nature and you will find yourself making the adjustments quite naturally.

Now on the other hand, if you only want to shoot bullseyes all the time at a set distance, then yes I would say an adjustable might be of some benefit to you. But in truth the Umarex's are plinkers first and foremost, and if precision shooting is what you want to do, keep your money in your pocket and put it towards a proper target pistol. That would be a better investment in the long run.

[Gun Collector]

Another vote for sticking with what you've got here.

As has been said elsewhere, and contrary to some opinion, the fixed sights are every bit as accurate as the adjustable type. The only advantage to an adjustable is that it will allow you to tailor the "perfect" sight picture to suit you.... But then again, that "perfect" picture will only apply to the distance it is set for. You either have to readjust for every other distance as you shoot, or you do as every other pistol shot does - Learn your gun, it's sight pictures at different ranges, and correspondingly hold a little Kentucky when taking the shot.

In many ways, I tend to treat my pistol shooting kinda like shotgun shooting. Over time you build up a mental library of the "ideal" sight pictures required to make different shots. "Aiming off" may sound a little daunting, and in some cases may even look all wrong, but the fact is, that if the shot strikes the target then it is right! Give it time. You'll be surprised how quickly you'll amas that "library" and how quickly you will adjust to picking the right picture. Eventually it will become second nature and you will find yourself making the adjustments quite naturally.

Now on the other hand, if you only want to shoot bullseyes all the time at a set distance, then yes I would say an adjustable might be of some benefit to you. But in truth the Umarex's are plinkers first and foremost, and if precision shooting is what you want to do, keep your money in your pocket and put it towards a proper target pistol. That would be a better investment in the long run.

[Phil G]

The Cp88 with adjustable sights will improve your shooting (I have them on mine) but it's still only a plinker, the next step up without spend too much money would be something along the lines of a Gamo Compact, HW40/Beeman P3 all are Single Stroke Pneumatic's and you should be able to source one on here for around £75-£100, or as suggested above carry on mastering the open sights with your CP88 and put some money away for a target pistol at a later date.

Jason

Wise words. Save up for something better. Grow into your pistols, seems you might have outgrown your CP88

[BigDuncs]

Intersting points made above but I see it differently. If you KNOW that pistol shooting in a serious way is for you, fair enough. However, the adjustable sights allow me to have good fun with my CP88, which I certainly don't see as a plinker although that depends on your definition of plinker.
Aiming off due to misaligned sights is no fun and my CP88 is accurate enough to make the investment in open sights worthwhile.
I also have a HW 75, probably one of the better "target" type ones and I use the CP88 a lot more. It is good fun to have a reasonably accurate pistol that can fire multiple shots as opposed to a target type single shot. As ever, depends on how you see your shooting developing. I guess a CP88 with decent sights will suit the majority of people - but not everyone.

As I said, I have both, but love my nickel and wood CP88 with silencer!!!

It's the only pistol I have that I will never sell.

[derekm]

Aiming off due to misaligned sights is no fun and my CP88 is accurate enough to make the investment in open sights worthwhile.
I.

I would agree that "aiming off" is no fun, but the original sights are adjustable laterally/ windage and the only thing to learn is hold over/hold under, which would still be needed with adjustable sights if going in for practical pistol.

Fully adjustable sights are fine for set distances, but in this case are quite an expensive luxury ie. a good proportion of the cost of the new gun, at least in mail order days.

I put adjustables on an RWS C225 in the early days as it seemed a good idea. Then I learned a bit about pistol shooting and it all clicked!