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Thread: New target pistol for a junior

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
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    Warrington
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    Smile New target pistol for a junior

    Hi,

    I'm looking for some advice about the next target pistol for my lad. He's very much into his target pistol shooting and currently uses a Hammer AP20 with the ambidextrous grip. In order to get some consistency with the grip, is it worth moving to a pistol with a walnut grip? Hammerli is basically a Walther. A lot of shooters prefer Steyr. What's the reasoning or is it down to personal preference?

    Any advice/thoughts would be appreciated.

    P.S. he's the shooter, I'm the taxi driver!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Norwich
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    374
    A grip that fits your hand and has a palm shelf do aid consistency.

    These grips made by Thomas Rink may or may not be what you want but if they fit would be much simpler and cheaper than getting another pistol and then getting grips to fit your lads growing paws.

    https://www.formgriffe.de/en/shpSR.p...&p1=400&p2=255

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
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    Warrington
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    Thanks Thirdwheel, I'll check it out.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
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    Leighton Buzzard
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    12
    I find walnut stocks preferable to synthetic, but that's just my personal taste in terms of feel and aesthetics. More important than the material is a set of stocks which are made for the hand your son uses when shooting. An ambidextrous set is going to be a compromise over a set moulded for one side or the other. Things to look for are an adjustable palm shelf and an overall size which roughly fits your son's hand - you may have to test a few to find the best one. I have small hands and found the medium size stocks on the Hammerli AP20 Pro to be the right size for me - I wouldn't have thought that to be the case if I hadn't actually held the pistol.

    Looking at the AP20 and the AP20 Pro, the walnut stocks found on the AP20 Pro seem to be better designed than the synthetics on the AP20, with a proper thumb shelf and decent moulding overall, but your son may find that the finger grooves are not naturally placed for him, which will cause discomfort when shooting if that is the case.

    Steyr, Feinwerkbau, et al. all run in broadly the same price bracket when bought new (c. £1500-1700). If your son found that it was an issue inherent to the pistol that was hindering his results then a different pistol could be the solution, on the condition that he handles (and test fires as well, if possible) any alternative. A replacement set of stocks moulded for your son's shooting hand, and in the correct size, will probably cost about £200, and is likely to improve his shooting comfort and results.

    The reason some shooters prefer the likes of Steyr and Feinwerkbau is because those pistols are better made. They are much more refined, have more scope for adjustment, and are better engineered overall. The AP20 Pro I handled had nothing 'wrong' with it, but the Feinwerkbau P8X to which I compared it had much more 'right' about it. It's simply in another league, which is reflected in the price point.

    People who choose Feinwerkbau, Morini and Steyr do so because the guns which leave their doors are the very best available. I can give you an objective answer to the question 'why would someone buy a top-shelf pistol over a Hammerli?' I can't give you an objective answer to the question 'which of the top-shelf pistols is the best?' The question should be 'which of these pistols is the best for me?' and the shooter himself is the only person who can answer that.
    Walther LGR (.177)
    Weihrauch HW77 (.22)

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
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    Pendlebury, Greater Manchester
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    2,639
    Something to consider seriously is the fact that Steyr have a very good UK agent who can help with spares, repairs and warranty claims etc.. Walther, Pardini et al do not have this representation. So with Steyr you get product excellence and peace of mind.

    Oh and definitely walnut over synthetic grip material.
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  6. #6
    RobinC's Avatar
    RobinC is offline Awesome Shooting Coach and Author.
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    Junior Choice

    I would recommend the Steyr LP2 compact, we have several in our club, with juniors and seniors, I have one, and one of our seniors won the British championships with one a few years back. The standard walnut grips are great, and they do a small as a standard option.

    Harry Preston is the UK importer, he's a great guy, gives very good support, and is only just up the road from you, I suggest you have a chat with him.

    Have Fun
    Robin
    Walther KK500 Alutec expert special - Barnard .223 "wilde" in a Walther KK500 Alutec stock, mmm...tasty!! - Keppeler 6 mmBR with Walther grip and wood! I may be a Walther-phile?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
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    Rossendale and Formby
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    5,595
    If you do decide to go for an LP2 Junior I suggest you also buy a good pair of ear defenders at the same time.

    The pistols are excellent but they do go off with quite a "crack".

    When we had them in our club everyone kept saying "pardon - what did you say" and we also had a strange ringing noise in our ears for some time afterwards too!
    Rossendale Target Shooting Club. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening 7 - 10pm.

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