Tau 7 Junior or Tau 7 Compact?

[gsdjj]

I am trying to purchase a Tau 7 Junior for Tetrathlon use for our daughter.

I have emailed Tau and they dont have any Tau Junior right handed left but will have some ambidextrous ones soon. They recommend I buy the Compact. Not knowing anyting about pistols there doesnt appear to be much difference apart from nearly £100.

Can anybody give me a clue? The gun is for a right handed 8 year old girl to use.
Should I get her a right handed one and pay more or accept an ambidextrous one

[hwtyger]

The compact is the new junior. It has some differences. The Compact uses a mk8 look compensator and no longer the juniors' smaller grip. It looks like the normal tau 7 grip, adjustable too. The juniorgrip is not adjustable.
I'd always opt for r/h.

[Bjacobs571]

As your daughter is not 12 years old she is allowed to hold the pistol with two hands.
A RH grip will not be comfortable with a two handed grip.

Unless she is quite large for her age she may find a TAU 7 a bit heavy to use and if she has small hands it will be difficult for her to reach the trigger.
I coach a brother and sister for Tetrathlon and she uses a Beeman P17 pistol because it is light and she can hold the grip with two hands comfortably where as he uses a Gamo compact. They are both able to win the shooting part of the competition with the equipment they have. They are not the best target pistols you can get but they are cost effective and they wont run out of gas at a bad moment. There is a FAS604 on G.U.N.S.T.A.R which would worth considering at £245 it ha a RH grip but could be modified

[Rutty]

An added advantage of the FAS604 is the trigger reach is one of the shortest around. This makes it particularly suitable for small hands.

Rutty

[gsdjj]

She shoots the Beeman P17 at the moment, but its someone elses. She isnt getting on with it, but I do think it needs the sights setting up as she is always shooting high and to the right. Looking at websites it says it weights 1.7lbs which would be 771g. The Tau7 compact or junior says its 700g/680g (not sure what the second measurement is). I assumed that the Tau was going to be lighter. She is tall for her age (mainly wearing 11-12 year old clothes) but not heavily built.
The comment about shooting with 2 hands on a R/H grip isnt something I had though about though, so good point.
Many thanks for your help

[Bjacobs571]

I have only handled the standard Tau7 which is 1100g so much heaver than the compact or junior.
What doesn't she like about the P17?. You do need to adjust the sights so it is shooing in the right place for her.
Where is she aiming? I get my students to aim at the 8 just below the black half. If you try to aim in the black you cannot see the sights clearly to line them up correctly.

It may be difficult to import an air pistol as customs and the post office can be difficult about importing anything which technically is a firearm I think I may have heard of it being done.

[hwtyger]

The 17 may be light too, but its not especially designed for youth, as is the tau 7 jr.
Besides that, the 17 is not a matchpistol. It doesnt have the weight, balance, trigger and sight abilities the Tau 7 has.
As having to cock each time isnt a pro either for a youngster.
2 handed is indeed more uncomfortable with a r/h grip, but the right hand will fit better with a r/h grip than an ambi.
Tau is the ónly brand I know that really has a jr pistol. And not just a pistol with cutdown barrel and cilinder..
They're great, I have a jr myself.

[Bjacobs571]

The 17 may be light too, but its not especially designed for youth, as is the tau 7 jr.
Besides that, the 17 is not a matchpistol. It doesnt have the weight, balance, trigger and sight abilities the Tau 7 has.
As having to cock each time isnt a pro either for a youngster.
2 handed is indeed more uncomfortable with a r/h grip, but the right hand will fit better with a r/h grip than an ambi.
Tau is the ónly brand I know that really has a jr pistol. And not just a pistol with cutdown barrel and cilinder..
They're great, I have a jr myself.

With the competition the girl is shooting a match pistol is not necessary an advantage. At her age it can be shot with two hands and is a 10 shot course shot in 4 seconds exposures on a target the size of an A4 sheet of paper. A long barrel match pistol is not so good for acquiring a sight picture quickly. The equivalent of a standard or rapid fire pistol would be better. The competition also allows for an adult to load the pistol between each shot.

Pardini and Hammerli also make a jnr pistol as well but they may be out of his price range. ( the Pardini kid and the AR20P)

The Tau7 is a very competent match pistol but not all disciplines are best shot with a match pistol. I would not shoot Police pistol or service pistol with a match pistol as they are designed to be shot with a revolver and automatic pistol.

[gsdjj]

This is all such great information for us. Reading one reply, I am leaning towards still getting the Tau, then the last reply, I think, ah yes, very good points. I cant thank you enough for such great advice. There is so little help with these things. We only want to do the best for our daughter, but not without budget. Theres no point having "all the gear and no idea" if she still misses!
Yes indeed she holds the pistol with two hands, and shoots at 7 yards (or was it metres.. i forget).
Clearly the Beeman that she has now needs re adjusting. The screw that holds the rear sight in place (up or down) just spins, and I would think it should adjust in a graduated turn idea. We hadnt realised it had come loose so all her shots were way high as the rear sight was up at its highest point. I must see if its repairable, otherwise its back to the purchasing ideas!
Thank you so much again!
notveryhelpfulmum.com!