Looking for a good quality Match Pistol

[Tone]

Hi

I am looking for a good quality Match Pistol on behalf of a club to try and encourage more people/youngsters into taking up competitive target shooting.

Let me know if you have something budget around £800.

Thanks

Tony

[nige346]

There's an LP2 on here at the moment, A great pistol for new shooters especially youngsters due to its low weight, They are Reliable, will retain value and serve very well indeed as a club pistol with seals etc very easy to replace and parts/service at very reasonable prices.

[Tone]

Thanks Nigel, is this the one where the chap is looking or a swap?

[nige346]

Thanks Nigel, is this the one where the chap is looking or a swap?

yes, but always worth offering a cash alternative, failing that your budget would cover a very nice used LP2 or slightly older LP10, As i mentioned for weight reasons with youngsters the LP2 may be the better choice.

[silvershooter]

There is a LP10 on Guntrader at the moment for £850, trade seller. Inc 2 different size grips.

[defblade]

Have a look at the Hammerli AP20, it appears perfect for teaching as it is adjustable LH/RH and to size quickly and easily, and you can change the air bottle position to put weight forwards or back. Comfortably within your budget, too.

I'm about to buy one for my own use, but with an eye on it being good for my Scouts to use as well.

There isn't much about them on the internet - a few comments that the grip is a little small - I've tried one, I have a 95mm palm with quite long fingers and it went out to fit me OK (I'll be adding a little volume at the back of the grip, probably - and I think I can buy an extra of the vertical piece, so I plan to just modify that, then I can take if off and use a standard one for the youngsters - don't have to touch the main grip at all).

There are also some snarky comments about the gun in general, suggesting it's a bitsa and not up to the total quality of "proper" match guns.... well, it is half the price! The main realistic comment I can see is the cylinder threads may be a little delicate - so get a grown-up to put them on and off.
However, it's been on sale for 5 years or so, I'm guessing they would have discontinued it by now if it wasn't selling... and I can't find any available second hand, which I take as people who bought them like them and are keeping them - a good sign in my book.

[nige346]

Have a look at the Hammerli AP20, it appears perfect for teaching as it is adjustable LH/RH and to size quickly and easily, and you can change the air bottle position to put weight forwards or back. Comfortably within your budget, too.

I'm about to buy one for my own use, but with an eye on it being good for my Scouts to use as well.

There isn't much about them on the internet - a few comments that the grip is a little small - I've tried one, I have a 95mm palm with quite long fingers and it went out to fit me OK (I'll be adding a little volume at the back of the grip, probably - and I think I can buy an extra of the vertical piece, so I plan to just modify that, then I can take if off and use a standard one for the youngsters - don't have to touch the main grip at all).

There are also some snarky comments about the gun in general, suggesting it's a bitsa and not up to the total quality of "proper" match guns.... well, it is half the price! The main realistic comment I can see is the cylinder threads may be a little delicate - so get a grown-up to put them on and off.
However, it's been on sale for 5 years or so, I'm guessing they would have discontinued it by now if it wasn't selling... and I can't find any available second hand, which I take as people who bought them like them and are keeping them - a good sign in my book.

The issue with the thread is that the cylinder has a fine metric thread in aluminium, the adaptor is steel so strips the cylinder if care is not taken, This was also an issue on the LP400 so not just the lower cost Hammerll, I have seen many LP400 cylinders with stripped threads ( I was inspecting 2 last week) , a small amount of lube to prevent galling and ensuring the adaptor threads are clean should prevent the issue. The Hammerli option of moving the cylinder to a vertical position was also used in the Walther CPM1 and made for a very stable pistol due to moving the weight back and lower, it looked odd but I loved it and found the CPM very easy to shoot in this configuration, Do check the availability of spares however, I gave up on Walther due to shockingly poor service (( months waiting for a cylinder), hopefully they now have a better UK support system in place.

[defblade]

a small amount of lube to prevent galling and ensuring the adaptor threads are clean should prevent the issue.

FWB Special Lube for high pressure parts be ok for this?

[nige346]

FWB Special Lube for high pressure parts be ok for this?

Yes Keeping the adaptor clean does seem to be key also, A quick wipe over before fitting takes seconds but may save you the cost of a new cylinder, Not sure if the Hammerli comes with a steel or brass adaptor, it would worth getting a brass one if you can, best fittings may do them, Why Walther did this makes no sense, Aluminium and steel was never going to be a good mix, every other manufacture provides brass bottle adaptors.

[defblade]

Yes Keeping the adaptor clean does seem to be key also, A quick wipe over before fitting takes seconds but may save you the cost of a new cylinder, Not sure if the Hammerli comes with a steel or brass adaptor, it would worth getting a brass one if you can, best fittings may do them, Why Walther did this makes no sense, Aluminium and steel was never going to be a good mix, every other manufacture provides brass bottle adaptors.

Cheers

[Tone]

It looks like we are sorted with a nice LP10 so thanks for the interest, you guys on the BBS have been very helpful.

Tony

[nige346]

It looks like we are sorted with a nice LP10 so thanks for the interest, you guys on the BBS have been very helpful.

Tony

Good choice, The spot on service and spares back up from Harry Preston (Steyr UK) is a very good reason to buy a Steyr as a club gun.