6 yard pistol... Alecto or Compact?

[clarky]

clarky
Thanks for the insight on the compact I will have to get hold of one and give it a try.

Best cheers
george

Pleasure George. I am not trying to push Gamo products, indeed wish some manufacturer would come up with a 250 quid target/sport pistol like these but the Compact has to demand respect. Often a top 3 winner of the MPL matches in the target section of this forum and winner of 2 competitions at my own club that 30 shooters entered.....a proven performer across 20 years and more.
The grip is every bit as good/adjustable as anything fitted to a true match pistol and the trigger not far from good match pistols. Decent rifled barrel and a rear sight notch which can be adjusted in width to your own taste, or match spec. being quite a unique, useful feature. I have routinely shaved a couple of mm off Alecto 10mtr groups with our club model which is unmodified.
Try a 75 though if you can. The heft kills muzzle flip and the trigger is match grade. Sights perfect with no hint of tacky dayglo fibre optics anywhere near them. Clover leafs everytime at 10 mtrs with Hobby for around 415 fps.

[humperdingle]

Pleasure George. I am not trying to push Gamo products, indeed wish some manufacturer would come up with a 250 quid target/sport pistol like these but the Compact has to demand respect. Often a top 3 winner of the MPL matches in the target section of this forum and winner of 2 competitions at my own club that 30 shooters entered.....a proven performer across 20 years and more.
The grip is every bit as good/adjustable as anything fitted to a true match pistol and the trigger not far from good match pistols. Decent rifled barrel and a rear sight notch which can be adjusted in width to your own taste, or match spec. being quite a unique, useful feature. I have routinely shaved a couple of mm off Alecto 10mtr groups with our club model which is unmodified.
Try a 75 though if you can. The heft kills muzzle flip and the trigger is match grade. Sights perfect with no hint of tacky dayglo fibre optics anywhere near them. Clover leafs everytime at 10 mtrs with Hobby for around 415 fps.

Excellent, think that's made my mind up

[peteswright]

Excellent, think that's made my mind up

Having had both, for competition shooting, definitely the Gamo Compact, its designed for the job. The trigger can be improved, although I got used to mine as is. The Alecto is more of an all purpose gun. Both very accurate, but designed for different purposes. ATB. Pete.

[harvey_s]

As reasonable as the HW75 is - the trigger is far from match grade & whilst the Compact in standard trim is a little worse, it can be made much better than the 75's with just a little fettling at zero cost
Also the 75's grips can't hold candles to a Compact IMHO.

[clarky]

Disagreeing and agreeing with Harvey here. The 75 trigger is sublime...even better than the outstanding HW40 trigger. It can even be taken down in pressure to break below Match regulation rules. I can only think Harvey a casual user of a borrowed 75 or one which had not been given its full range of adjustment.
Try any forum to read about the performance of this trigger. Mine currently breaking at 1.2lbs with absolutely no creep on the second stage. Awesome.
I would however agree that the Compact grip trounces the 75s if only from the point of view of adjustment but for me its the classic drop wrist hold which is vital for match pistol shooting, that no 75 grip can do. Lovely piece of timber on the 75 though. Mine looks like luxury mahogany rather than walnut.

[peteswright]

Disagreeing and agreeing with Harvey here. The 75 trigger is sublime...even better than the outstanding HW40 trigger. It can even be taken down in pressure to break below Match regulation rules. I can only think Harvey a casual user of a borrowed 75 or one which had not been given its full range of adjustment.
Try any forum to read about the performance of this trigger. Mine currently breaking at 1.2lbs with absolutely no creep on the second stage. Awesome.
I would however agree that the Compact grip trounces the 75s if only from the point of view of adjustment but for me its the classic drop wrist hold which is vital for match pistol shooting, that no 75 grip can do. Lovely piece of timber on the 75 though. Mine looks like luxury mahogany rather than walnut.

+1 for clarky's comments above. I own the HW75 in preference to both Compact and Alecto which after extensive use and testing proved not to accord with my temperament, so sold them on. We all have our preferences as to aesthetics, hold style, trigger feel etc, and the 75 wins for me. I wonder if the OP and others understand the importance of the dropped wrist grip that match pistols offer and correct use of the palm shelf (read up on it). I personally dont like it,but if serious about comp's or just match technique, the grip style of the Compact and adjustment of sight width is the one to go for. ATB. Pete.

[ZaksGod]

the compact was the best most accurate pistol i have owned.better than my walther lp300.even shooting at 20m with geco pellets i could score very well,so well in fact a fellow member of my club said you just should not be able to do that with that gun pellet combination.only other that came close was the hw40

[clarky]

+1 for clarky's comments above. I own the HW75 in preference to both Compact and Alecto which after extensive use and testing proved not to accord with my temperament, so sold them on. We all have our preferences as to aesthetics, hold style, trigger feel etc, and the 75 wins for me. I wonder if the OP and others understand the importance of the dropped wrist grip that match pistols offer and correct use of the palm shelf (read up on it). I personally dont like it,but if serious about comp's or just match technique, the grip style of the Compact and adjustment of sight width is the one to go for. ATB. Pete.

That's about bang on with my findings Pete.
I agree for sporting shooting with double hold, the HW75 wins hands down because the grip was designed with the classic isosceles double hold in mind. Apart from the outstanding trigger, its heft just seems to kill any slight movement.
The whole gun exudes build quality, with even the compression cylinder being blued steel. Heck of a gun.

[GwyneddATC]

I have read this thread with great interest as I too am looking for another pistol. The Alecto just seems a bit of a bulky gun to me personally and the 75 is too pricey even second hand. So now I am also thinking what to go for. I shoot 10m in my club and also semi plink out back. I am now lol

[peteswright]

I have read this thread with great interest as I too am looking for another pistol. The Alecto just seems a bit of a bulky gun to me personally and the 75 is too pricey even second hand. So now I am also thinking what to go for. I shoot 10m in my club and also semi plink out back. I am now lol

If you've got around £100 and like the feel of a "normal" grip you could do a lot worse the a Gamo PR45. You get everything that the Compact has except a quality trigger, but this can be improved or got used to (details on request) and obviously the walnut grip and palm shelf. In all other regards, its the same pistol and I prefer it because of the grip. Accuracy is spot on. ATB. Pete.

[harvey_s]

Personally I'd take the Compact every time over the PR45 - even new, the £60 price difference for the better walnut target grips with adj. palm shelf and adj. trigger shoe are a bargain.
Plus the Compacts are much more common as a S/H buy and then it becomes a steal...

[peteswright]

Personally I'd take the Compact every time over the PR45 - even new, the £60 price difference for the better walnut target grips with adj. palm shelf and adj. trigger shoe are a bargain.
Plus the Compacts are much more common as a S/H buy and then it becomes a steal...

You said personally, and thats my point. I've "personally" had all four pistols and agree with you about what you get with the Compact, I had it. But. I now only have the HW75 and Gamo PR45 (of guns mentioned) I shoot the PR45 better because I personally get on with standard grips and hated the way one has to hold the Compact and Alecto etc, we're not all the same and shouldn't just blindly do everything others suggest. I've found that sometimes its best to break the rules a bit to fit your own physiology.The HW75 and PR45 have a "shaped" grip but can be held in a variety of ways which suits my temperament and hand shape. If one can get desired results using a spud gun, then go for it. I'm not disagreeing with any of your points Harvey, Im sure you know lots more than me. All we can do is tell others our experiences with guns we've used and then its up to them. ATB. Pete.

[clarky]

This time completely agreeing with Harvey's comment.
Without the full grip control features and a very ordinary trigger, the PR45 version of the Compact isn't cutting it.
Also the relatively high level of plastic of the body of this pistol really needs all that wood to get the quality look/feel going.
Take the point regarding hold though. If your into 2 handed hold go with a 75.
I would say that the Compact is twice the pistol in quality look terms, where you maybe very disappointed owning a 45 when you get to pick up the Compact later on.
I have slightly outshot a 75 with a Compact using the target one hand grip, possibly owing to the dropped wrist hold but have outshot the Compact with the 75 using a sporting 2 handed hold. The 75 arguably the best 2 hand hold pistol ever made. Its certainly some of the experts favourite pistol ever.
Ive frequently put 2 pellets through the same hole at 6 to 8mtrs with this gun....even 5 shot groups barely opening to penny size groups at 10 mtrs

[Adam77K]

That's about bang on with my findings Pete.
I agree for sporting shooting with double hold, the HW75 wins hands down because the grip was designed with the classic isosceles double hold in mind. Apart from the outstanding trigger, its heft just seems to kill any slight movement.
The whole gun exudes build quality, with even the compression cylinder being blued steel. Heck of a gun.

Another vote for the 75 here! With mine I often beat my scores with my LP10. The 75's trigger doesn't feel special out of the box but it can be set up lovely. I haven't measured the pull weight on mine but wouldn't be surprised if it was similar to Clarky's. However the downside was to set it up with the 2nd stage I wanted, it made the first stage a bit too long. With the best will in the world though, the LP10's trigger is in another league, as it should be on a pistol which cost five times as much.

[peteswright]

This time completely agreeing with Harvey's comment.
Without the full grip control features and a very ordinary trigger, the PR45 version of the Compact isn't cutting it.
Also the relatively high level of plastic of the body of this pistol really needs all that wood to get the quality look/feel going.
Take the point regarding hold though. If your into 2 handed hold go with a 75.
I would say that the Compact is twice the pistol in quality look terms, where you maybe very disappointed owning a 45 when you get to pick up the Compact later on.
I have slightly outshot a 75 with a Compact using the target one hand grip, possibly owing to the dropped wrist hold but have outshot the Compact with the 75 using a sporting 2 handed hold. The 75 arguably the best 2 hand hold pistol ever made. Its certainly some of the experts favourite pistol ever.
Ive frequently put 2 pellets through the same hole at 6 to 8mtrs with this gun....even 5 shot groups barely opening to penny size groups at 10 mtrs

To put my last post in context, It was intended for the GWYNEDD ATC post. I felt the need to reply to Harvey's post which seemed to be dismissing what I was saying to GWYNEDD ATC in his search for another option. All getting confusing because I put Harvey's quote in my post. Apologies for how this has turned out. I repeat, the Compact is the better match pistol by design. The PR45 is a cheaper alternative if you can't get on with target grips and palm shelves. What a mess!!! My fault. ATB. Pete.