.22 rimfire target pistols

[rapidboy1]

Grip being a big part of SP / RF, a decent aftermarket solution might be easier found for a 1911 platform than a buckmark ?

Does a LBP have to be manufactured as a LBR or could a regular target pistol be converted ?

[McTrucky]

Grip being a big part of SP / RF, a decent aftermarket solution might be easier found for a 1911 platform than a buckmark ?

Does a LBP have to be manufactured as a LBR or could a regular target pistol be converted ?

Grips, yes. I have no idea about Buckmark grips, but do think I could mold/carve an option for the 1911. I had a Delta Elite before the ban, and that was similar to the 1911 I believe.

Conversions - this is a can of worms.... If a gun is imported as section 5 it cannot be converted to section 1. It can be imported as parts, and if not assembled prior to modification could be built as a section 1. However, we spoke with a manufacturer back in the day, and they had local laws which meant they had to declare/register all gun types they made, so the parts are controlled and so on...
A Buckmark Section 1 rifle is a derivation of the pistol - with some extra wood bolted on, and a longer barrel. So if you took a Buckmark rifle, and cut the barrel to 300mm it would still be a rifle. If you then replaced the foot long stock with a foot long rod.... is it now a pistol or a rifle....?

It seems a mockery that there is no definition of a pistol/handgun, and that a cartridge gun must have a barrel of 12" and an over all length of 24", and then to distinguish between pistols and rifles for licensing purposes when they conform to the same rules on dimensions.

[andrew375]

I share the frustration! Not just with the lack of availability of a "proper" (for want of a better word) target pistol but also with the lack of appreciation of what one is. A die cast replica of a colt 1911 is in no way comparable with my GSP!

I did buy one of the Britarms long barrel pistols, but this,although it showed some promise, it is not as highly developed as the walther and I cannot get a left-hand grip for it. The bit that they got right though was to keep the front sight in the right place rather than put at the end of the barrel.

The frustrating thing is that it wouldn't take much for Walther to make a limited batch of GSPs that could be legally possessed in england,scotland and wales, after all they are not exactly mass produced anyway. As with the Britarms the barrel can be bored out, a 30 cm long cylindrical barrel screwed and locked in place and a coat hanger fixed into the rear of the lower frame. These are the only changes needed. Whilst it still won't comply with ISSF dimensional rules neither of the alterations could be seen as being of benefit to the shooter, on the contrary they handicap the shooter, in particular the longer barrel results in longer barrel time for the bullet. The real GSP has a barrel of only 4.2 inches (107 m.m.), the coat hanger just gets in the way.

[rapidboy1]

I was thinking the Pardini would be an ideal candidate with the way the barrel / shroud is attached, a single screw and less than a minute has the barrel removed.

It might be worth a conversation with Paul Cutts if anybody is serious about a "proper" UK .22 target pistol.....

[zooma]

I am not sure if these are still available here in the UK, but I shot with a High Standard Military Victor for a few years (back in the day) and with a Leslie Bower anatomical grip fitted, it worked very well for me.

[andrew375]

[QUOTE=rapidboy1;8238303]I was thinking the Pardini would be an ideal candidate with the way the barrel / shroud is attached, a single screw and less than a minute has the barrel removed.

It might be worth a conversation with Paul Cutts if anybody is serious about a "proper" UK .22 target pistol...../QUOTE]

Who's paul cutts? Bear in mind that down converting from sec.5 to sec.1 is not allowed, so the pistol either has to be made to comply with our sec.1 restrictions or converted in another country and imported. Otherwise I would simply have had my GSP modified and kept it, along with my (Colt) .22 conversion unit and frame of my 1911 A1.

[rapidboy1]

Paul Cutts - Diverse Trading is the UK importer for Pardini, he would be the person to approach to see if Pardini would make a UK spec version of the SP or SPRF pistols.