Pistol on a "budget"?

[Twodoctors]

Hi all,

I'm new to the sport and only got myself a Hammerli Black Force 800 Black Out kit last week. I actually was looking to buy a pistol, and Dan Wesson pellet revolver was in my sight. Now that I have spent the dosh on the rifle, I found myself still itching for a pistol!

My budget is now limited and am looking at the Crossman Vigilante or 2240. I also looked at the Remington 1911 with blowblack. Still have the Dan Wesson in my mind and the SW 586 also. I would also consider the Gammo P25. Essentially what I'm looking for is a fun gun that I can shoot target with (not just plinking, but actually hitting paper target properly), and maybe let me kids have a go under very close supervision. Top of my list are the Vigilante and 2240 at the moment, but I am open to suggestions.

Thanks.

Adrian

[TonyL]

Hi Adrian and a very warm welcome.

Crosman 2240. Fantastic value for money. If a single shot pistol fits your requirements, it ticks so many boxes...cheap purchase price, sturdy, very easy to work on/customise, powerful, accurate and a whole modding community out there. Check out the UK sites of G-Mac and SD Custom Designs. Also the US sites like Airgun Artisans.

As regards the Vigilante, I'd like some information myself on these, as I'm fancying one, so would welcome any feedback from owners on these.

Have you looked on the Pyramyd Airguns site? Quite a few video reviews on there, including the Vigilante.....

[Rickenbacker]

I've owned the S&W 586. It was very good, and capable of getting 10 shots in the black at 10M.

Some say the older gloss-finished version was better made than the newer matt-finished ones...

And welcome to the BBS, Doctors

[Twodoctors]

Thanks guys.

I've heard a lot of good things about the Vigilante and 2240. I'm sure both are equally accurate and only £10 difference between the two in Nottingham.

With the Vigilante I can easily add a red dot, and being .177 might be easier to shoot with the flatter trajectory. 10 shots magazine also means I can "rapid fire" in double action. It's no Dan Wesson (or Smith and Wesson) in terms of quality but you get what you paid for.

With the 2240, it's highly customisable. Probably more accurate than the Vigilante with its slightly longer barrel. It uses .22 so can use the same pellets as my rifle. It is single shot however, and adding scopes etc seems to require additional stuff (as it has no rails).

I'm leaning towards the Vigilante to be honest but I wonder whether I would/should save up for the 586 or Dan Wesson pellet. I don't think 586 has rails for attachments, and the Dan Wesson pellets loading sounds a bit of a faff. Or save up for another pellet pistol? Or would I miss out on the fun of customising my own 2240?

Hmmm. Decision decision...

Adrian

[blooregard]

The 2240 is a good pistol out of the box for the money, it might look a little cheap in places but all of the plastic parts can be replaced and it gets better with upgrades. A word of warning, they can get pricey once you get started, there is always something bigger, better and shinier to bolt onto it.

I was looking at a vigilante today, is it a re-styled Crosman 3576 ?? I could never get past the looks but they are well regarded.

I also like the Dan Wesson revolvers (I have 2), and I believe the Remington 1911 is the latest gun related name they have attached to the KWC 1911. I have a Tanfoglio and Blackwater version and both are great fun but they do shoot bb's so consider if this is something you can live with. Some batches have reliability issues (more with the magazine than the gun, due in part I think to a high demand for magazines at initial release) but these do seem to have been resolved now (I have 4 magazines of different ages and batches and all work fine).

BB guns are my favourite kinds of pistols but many dislike them due to lower power and accuracy, but as long as you can deal with ricochets I find they are far more fun to shoot if shooting quickly at back yard targets.

Of the pistols you mention you have all of the main types, think about what your main targets are going to be before making your choice. For accuracy I would go with a single shot pellet shooter, the 2240 is accurate for the money but try a few out if you can (The HW40 is not much more but is very good and not CO2 dependant). For rapid fire target shooting the Umarex pistols are good, if you just want to shred tin cans then you cannot go wrong with a blowback BB gun!

[harvey_s]

If you want to punch paper on a tight budget and be sure its your talent that is the limiting factor - then its the Gamo Compact or the HW40 if you want to accomdate smaller hands as well.
The others mentioned are fun, but will ultimately disappoint if accuracy is top of the list...

[peteswright]

Just bear in mind that a rifled barrel, smooth good trigger and pellets are going to give more chance of accuracy, whereas smooth bore and bb's are less consistent accuracy wise. ATB. Pete.

[Twodoctors]

Well, I stumbled across a Desert Eagle on GunStar, which happens to be around my part of the world. Managed to haggle down to £100, which seemed a fair price based on how much they go for in this and other forums. Comes with case, 2 magazine, some pellets (Uramex) and 1 CO2 (which has been used for testing and has since been spent to aid storage).

Boy is this thing loud though!

Time to find myself a scope/sight. I'm considering a reflex sight or red dot scope. Don't see a point in getting some decent as I think this is only ever good enough for plinking and very short-range target work... let me know if you have a Crossman 2240 or other similarly good pistol to sell...

Adrian