New (to me) MPL pistol

[Frog]

Hi,

I picked up a Gamo Centre off of this BBS and it pitched up yesterday (cheers gduk1!).

Whilst a bit tatty for £35 it was a good buy. It's already been stripped, lubed and rebuilt with smoothed spring ends and a brass piston liner plus a couple of new screws. I am quite pleased with it BUT wow do I need to relearn how to shoot a kicker pistol...
Its been ages since I shot one and, somehow, I remember it being easier than it is now - or maybe I am comparing my current results with those I get with a recoiless pistol...

Reading back to the earlier days of the MPL league on here these used to be quite popular but much less so now it seems... I wonder why they fell from favour?

I can just about manage to keep 5 shots in the black on a 6yd target but it ain't easy! Great fun to shoot though.

I may use it in the next MPL season...

Cheers

Frog

[zooma]

Hi Duncan,

When we used to shoot the 10 meter MPL as a club event we used to give the "kickers" a 2 point per card bonus as that was thought to be a reasonable compensation factor to make a realistic comparison between what might have been scored with the same shooter if they had used a recoil-less MPL pistol at that distance.

Obviously we had to take a"stab in the dark" when we came up with any figure to use and this had to be modified as we gained "real life" experience after the first series had been completed.

The GAMO Centre became the favorite pistol to shoot in the 10 meter MPL for some time as it was good value when shot against a recoil-less pistol as it was often capable of scoring just as good - even though it was a kicker... and then you had the extra points bonus to add on top as well!!

The loose grip and letting the pistol "do its own thing" after the trigger is released took a bit of getting used to but once we realised that the pellet had already left the barrel before it jumped up in the air we began to understand it a little better.

When I penned the rules for the 6 yard MPL postal series it was decided not to give any kicker bonus as firstly we had some experience of just how good kickers can be shot and secondly the shorter distance also helps to reduce the difference more than what we experienced at 10 meters.

The Original Model 5 was another favorite and some got on well with the HW45 and Webley springers too ( ask IJ ), but the GAMO Centre was by far the most widely used MPL pistol because it was cheap to buy and with practice it became a formidable points scorer.

Not everyone got on with the GAMO Centre ( ask IJ again ) but many of us got on very well with it and after a strip and clean-up and some decent lube it was even better.

Stay with it - remember to hold it loose enough to let it kick and with practice you will come to terms with it and probably surprise yourself at what you can achieve with it.

Bob.

[Frog]

Hi Bob,

thanks for that explanation of the MPL history of these.

I may use it next for the next series (must put my order in!). You are right about the hold - loose is best and get it right and the recoil is very linear - front to back but get it wrong and it seems to twist and jump all over the place! Trying to strangle the beast into submission definitely does not work!

I shall keep practising as it's a fun shooter and a real challenge

Duncan

[zooma]

Hi Bob,

thanks for that explanation of the MPL history of these.

I may use it next for the next series (must put my order in!). You are right about the hold - loose is best and get it right and the recoil is very linear - front to back but get it wrong and it seems to twist and jump all over the place! Trying to strangle the beast into submission definitely does not work!

I shall keep practising as it's a fun shooter and a real challenge

Duncan

It will be good to see how you get on with it in the new 2015 MPL postal series.

I am sending out entry packs now so.......any time you are "ready to rumble" just let me know

[zooma]

Well Duncan, that looks like a really good thirty five quids worth - you are leading the first round of the MPL pistols series with it

What a great result

[Frog]

Well Duncan, that looks like a really good thirty five quids worth - you are leading the first round of the MPL pistols series with it

What a great result

I don't think that lead will last long Bob! Having said that It's a nice pistol to shoot and if I could get rid of the one flyer in every five shots it would score really well!
It punishes the slightest deviation from a good technique - for instance let your eye wander to the target when releasing the shot instead of keeping a focus on the sights and you have a 4 or 5 ...
I need to practice more with it! Still, it should improve my scores with other pistols (I hope!).

Frog

[zooma]

I don't think that lead will last long Bob! Having said that It's a nice pistol to shoot and if I could get rid of the one flyer in every five shots it would score really well!
It punishes the slightest deviation from a good technique - for instance let your eye wander to the target when releasing the shot instead of keeping a focus on the sights and you have a 4 or 5 ...
I need to practice more with it! Still, it should improve my scores with other pistols (I hope!).

Frog

I have exactly the same problem when I let my eye wander from the front sight to the target and suffer the same consequence!