What air pistol to get

A lot of questions about buying things lately, I'll ask one of my own;

What is a good air pistol to complement a bullseye shooter? 

I'd like the following;
-Plausibly competitive for club level 10m
-1911-ish grips
-pcp
-dry fire capable
-cost that isn't astonishing

Obviously all of that is a stretch, but how close can I get?

Walther lp500

1911 style grips are a detriment to a good 10m air pistol, they are too long to balance correctly. The walther/hammerli ap20 pro is a reasonable option. A used steyr lp10 or morini 162 is probably a better option, but will take patience to find at the same price point as the ap20. If you want an electronic trigger I prefer the morini to the steyr. You can dryfire all three that I have mentioned.

Pardini’s air pistol is supposed to be good, same for the feinwerkbau, I just don’t have any experience with them.

I would stay away from benelli kites.

Hope this is helpful.

I'd second an LP10 mechanical. I *think* that Rink makes a symmetrical, plain grip that would be at least similar to a "normal" Pistol grip. But as Chris said, for competition purposes, you're better off with a standard ergo grip fit to your hand for balance reasons.

Dave

I went from a pardini k10 to a walther lp500 two years ago. Shot a match Sunday and was disappointed in my 562 as I shot a postal match at 570 a few days before. The lp is every bit as good or better than any high end ap out there. 

Fir my jr programs, I'm standardizing on AP20s. They ate very good guns for the money. The plastic grip is small for adults, but grips from the lp400/500 fit them

I like my Steyr LP10e for air pistol but if I did it again I'd get a mechanical trigger as they feel better to me. 

For fun and letting my friends shoot I have this:

https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t19505-rink-ambidextrous-grip-symmetric-1911-style-on-a-lp50c

Depends on what you want to practice. I bought a Steyr LP50 and never regretted it. You can practice any aspect of Bullseye.

Bill

The only down side to the LP50 is that if you want to shoot in a air match, you need to load the magazines singly. Not ideal in a finals situation.

The LP50 single shot mag is pretty easy to use. It extends after the shot for loading.

I tried the Pardini K12 trigger and I was very impressed, it is probably one of the nicest mechanical triggers out there. I still prefer an electronic trigger, it's easier to dry fire IMHO. My personal preference is Morini, I currently shoot 162EI, but thinking about upgrading to CM200...well, for no particular reason

My perspective is to buy once and cry once.  Buying a higher end model air pistol like a Morini, Steyr, Walther, etc. will probably save you money in the long run since you will only have to buy one (at least for a good while).  I personally decided to go with Steyr (Evo 10E) since the vendor I bought it from can service it when the time comes.  The electronic trigger on it is nice but not essential IMO.  If I had to to do again I think I'd go mechanical since I don't dry fire it much.  Among the top brands and models they are essentially equal in performance and it comes down to personal preference.  It doesn't have to be new but my advice would be to resist the urge to go too cheap if you want to get the most out of AP.   Besides, once that initial cost is over with it is all gravy from there since pellets and targets are not very expensive compared to ammo.

I purchased a Steyr EVO 10E and the price was, to quote Merick, quite astonishing.
But my average scores have gone up 10 points or so.

There are options where the price isn’t so astonishing.  Consider the Air Venturi V10 or the Air Venturi AV-46.  Both are plenty good for starting out doing club level shooting.

I don't think the cost is too astonishing compared to other things we routinely buy.  For example, new cars and trucks cost tens of thousands of dollars.  I paid for both my Pardini and Steyr by skipping the premium sound package and moon roof on my latest truck and still have money left over for a free pistol.

swissyhawk wrote:There are options where the price isn’t so astonishing.  Consider the Air Venturi V10 or the Air Venturi AV-46.  Both are plenty good for starting out doing club level shooting.

Those are both not PCP. I have and izh-46m, older version of the AV-46, and while it is accurate and the trigger is good, it is tiresome to shoot because the weight. The fps on both the V10 and the AV-46 is also on the lower side, tends to make scoring difficult

I Purchased a steyr EV 10. I really like the gun. It’s very accurate. I Purchased it because I’m left-handed and they have it in stock.

swissyhawk wrote:...Consider the Air Venturi V10 ...

Ever pinch your hand in an over-lever gun?  I'm not interested in doing that again.

Nope never had a problem with that

Just to clarify, my primary air pistol is a Morini 200. It is fantastic, and very easy to dry fire. Literally just pull the trigger. Easy to adjust, sights are wonderful. But... the electronics are housed in the grip, so swapping to a symmetrical, 1911-ish grip would be difficult, to say the least.

Dave

So I've never shot an e trigger (nor do I plan to), but hownis dry firing easier? On my lp500, I push the dry fire button in, cock and dry fire as many times as I want. when I want to live fire, push the button the other way and go... doesn't get much easier than that...

With an electronic trigger, you do not need to cock the action and you can dry fire with the action open.

So you have a different routine for dryfire than actual fire... ok...

10sandxs wrote:So you have a different routine for dryfire than actual fire... ok...

Have you ever seen someone discharge air when they thought they were dryfiring at a match? 10 points gone and everyone knows immediately. No different from hitting the dry fire button.

chiz1180 wrote:

10sandxs wrote:So you have a different routine for dryfire than actual fire... ok...

Have you ever seen someone discharge air when they thought they were dryfiring at a match? 10 points gone and everyone knows immediately. No different from hitting the dry fire button.

Seen electronics fail during a match on an lp10 or evo 10... can't remember which. Then there's the battery issue. Guess each has issues, I just don't see the value in electronic over really good mechanicals...

Batteries are no different that those in a red dot. A good electronic trigger is extremely consistent and often has less moving mass. I would argue steyr has a better mechanical trigger than electronic. Big fan of a mechanical LP10. Morini's electronic triggers (at least in the 162EI's) are very reliable and you can get a spare electronics module that can be swapped quickly if you compete heavily. Also every serious air shooter that I have shot with has a backup, IMO seals can be a bigger issue than electronics.