Recommendations for good competition air pistol that won't break the bank

I'm looking to purchase a good quality air pistol with a quality trigger mechanism and anatomical formed grips, but I don't want to pay a small fortune for it. I don't know much about the competition grade air pistols. The best CO2 pistol I own is a Smith & Wesson Model 78 G .22 Cal CO2. I'm looking for something significantly better than this. I need some knowledgeable recommendations. Thanks.

I'm saving my pennies for a Baikal IZH-46. About $600 when they are in stock.

I just jumped into air pistol with the Baikal IZH-46.  It's nice!  I shot it in a match last weekend and was 7 points from the win against SteveT who has a much more expensive air pistol--I think his is a Mannlicher.

I will give you a range of air pistols from low to high:
http://www.champchoice.com/store/Main.aspx?p=ItemDetailOptions&item=747
The daisy 747 is "adequate".  I was able to maintain a 90% average with a borrowed one of these.  The trigger is plastic, the sights are plastic, but hey--it shoots decent.  90% would have won that match.
Cost: <$200
http://baikal.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/izh-46m
izh-46m.  All the things you are looking for in a single pump air pistol.  Will outshoot 99% of all shooters.  Very adjustable trigger.
Cost: $650ish
http://www.larrysguns.com/Products/HAMMERLI-AP20-AIR-PISTOL__HA279800.aspx
Hammerli AP-20=entry level air pistol with tank.
Cost: $899

Above that in the $1200-$2000 range is pretty much anything you might want--I'm guessing you aren't looking in that range but if you are www.champchoice.com has a nice selection in stock

I bought a Baikal IZH-46M, many years ago, and am very happy with it. Extremely accurate, only downside is you have to pump it (one stroke).

Running a Spring and a CO2 FWB here.  Just spent $200 to have the spring gun made as new.  These two are both a good 30 years old.   Russian, German, American..  If you are serious about your shooting I'd recommend you buy the best you can afford.

I owned a Biakal IZH-46 and it ripped up my elbow... Bought a Styer LP-10 and haven't looked back

The Izzy grips are huge and you should plan to work on them with a rasp!
Other pistol choices are Crosman custom shop. Especially, with the Walther barrel, very accurate. Alfa makes a good pistol in CO2 -- pcp will require a pump or tank.
Used guns are available at Pilkguns.

If you look around, you can find deals on used air pistols. That's a good way to start. I bought an IZH-46 a few years back. I like it. One day, I'll get a PCP.

Started son with a Daisy 717.  Accurate and inexpensive. Trigger job helped.  He progressed / scores increased and he was rewarded with a FWB 65.  FWB  very accurate

and still works great.  I shoot the #65 indoors for a little practice during the cold, rainy winter days !  John

"I owned a Biakal IZH-46 and it ripped up my elbow... Bought a Styer LP-10 and haven't looked back"

When I bought my IZH-46M I found I had to do some weight training to compensate for the weight and balance. After a while it is not bad. Too much grip rake can make your elbow sing if the muscles aren't ready for it. There are pictures on Targettalk of Jin Jong-Oh icing up his arm after a Free Pistol competition.

"The Izzy grips are huge and you should plan to work on them with a rasp!"

Some air pistol shooter on another board noted that the IZH ships with its grip wrapped in protective lumber. It is probably a good practice to ship with a rough grip if you have a coach to help you carve it, or another grip to model it on. Not having either at the time I bought a Rink grip for mine which I like a lot. The best practice would be to find someplace that had several pistols and try the different grips.

There are several guides for carving grips at target shooting websites, here is a good start: http://www.starreloaders.com/izh/larry/IzhGrip.htm

A used FWB, Steyr, Morini, Walther etc competition pistol would be better than the IZH. Check out some the classics at Bob's Airguns.com gallery http://bobsairguns.com/index.php?option=com_rokgallery&view=gallery&Itemid=38 Select "Gun Gallery > Pistols" from the top menu on the web page.

Air pistol events: http://www.usashooting.org/7-events/interactivecalendar

A place to watch for used air pistols posted for sale or to place a want-to-buy ad: http://www.targettalk.org/viewforum.php?f=7

Picked up a used Pardini K60 CO2 a few years ago for $450. Love it!
One cylinder charge lasts 400+ shots.

Thanks for the recommendations so far. Things are breaking out into 3 groups:

Inexpensive, but probably disappointing(?). Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Daisy 717 $160
Crosman Custom Shop Walther barrel $160
Daisy 747 $200

Affordable (used) and good quality
Baikal IZH-46 ~$600
Hammerli AP-20 ~$900
FWB 65 $???

Probably too expensive unless I find a great deal on a used pistol
Styer LP-10
Pardini
Morini
Walther

It looks like I will have to wait until I luck into finding a good used pistol.
Here's an important question: Is it worth buying the Crosman Custom Shop to train with in the meantime? Is the trigger the same as the trigger on the American Classic?

If anyone has a good quality air pistol for sale, please PM contact me.

If you are going with a SSP, I'd consider the FWB-65 over the IZH, considering the price tags. I hadn't realized that the Izzy costs over $600. You should be able to get a nice used FWB-65 for around $450 or so. If you don't mind getting into CO2, you can get some nice shooters for great prices over the newer scuba guns. The only drawbacks to the CO2, IMHO, is that you need to weigh the cylinders to prevent overfill, the cylinders should be cooled down prior to filling and if shooting in high temperatures, i.e. 90's you may loose velocity over compressed air guns. Before going to a Morini 162 EI, I shot a FWB model 2 (CO2). It had a good trigger and was very accurate.

I feel like the cheapskate in the bunch but I will throw my .02 in. For my in house plinking/practice on these winter days I use a Gamo made in Spain. They are as accurate as I am, trigger is adjustable to fit and the grips fit me. The trigger weight is factory set a little heavy but not over 4 lbs. I think it fits your criteria. It won't break the bank. My eyes don't like steel sights in indoor light so I mounted a dot. I may be the only one shooting one of these on this forum. I never hear anyone else mention them.

The Gamo Compact gets its own category: Inexpensive and has all the features I require!
Too bad it is discontinued. I can't find one anywhere on the internet.

4 of them listed here.

http://www.gunmart.net/gun_review/gamo_compact_pneumatic_air_pistol/

All those pistols are in the UK. Have you ever purchased an air pistol from someone outside of the USA? Is it difficult or expensive?

My main AP currently is a Walther CP2 CO2 and my backup is a Daisy 777.  Both are very old and pretty much obsolete.  I often find myself traveling without either and have shot a borrowed gun on many occasions.  As such, I have had the opportunity to try out several styles and have listed some thoughts:

I would suggest trying some before buying.  The Daisy versions cock from the side, the IZH, underneath and, of course, the CO2 and Pre-Charged Pneumatic (PCP) versions are charged by simply opening and closing the bolt.

There are also differences in loading, however.  The Daisy and many of the CO2 and PCP guns have a trough to drop the pellet into, while others, like the IZH are loaded by placing the pellet into the chamber.  I personally don't like the IZH loading procedure as much as I do the trough type.  However, some of the trough types have high sides and it is easy to drop the pellet and have it flip end to end.  This can be annoying.

If you go with a higher end, there are some with repeater capability, which can be helpful with BE Sustained Fire training.

With PCP and CO2, you will also need to consider sources for compressed air or CO2.  For the PCP guns, there are dates on the cylinders and tanks, beyond which you need to replace them.  If you buy a used gun, try to ascertain the cylinder dates, so you know when you will need to buy new ones.  Same thing for the tank, as air suppliers may need to inspect (or, may refuse to fill) tanks based on these dates.  It is possible to use a bicycle type pump for PCP, but that comes with its own details to consider.

There used to be CO2 pellet conversions for the 1911 around.  There may be some floating around the used market, still.  I can't say how good they were, but they did offer wad gun training with AP features.

There is also FAS604 or 6004 to look at. I think Airguns of Arizona is importing them.

Lots of oldies but goodies out there.  My FWB Model 2 still works like a new one.  Took me 20 years to talk a buddy out of my FWB 65.  Sent it to Tennessee for new seals and a new main spring.  It works and looks as new now.   The FWB 65 not be as high tech as the CO2 and Compressed air guns but it held every air pistol record in the books before the C02 guns like the Model 2 arrived on the scene.  I really enjoy shooting them both.   The physical effort required to run the 65 may be more than most are willing to deal with the C02 and compressed air guns currently available. 

 

OK, here's what I got. A used .177 Gamo Compact in excellent condition ($170) and a new .22 Webley Alecto ($228). Both have adjustable triggers and adjustable anatomical grips. The Webley has a 3-way adjustable trigger: angle, length of pull and travel. The plastic grips are medium/large. The Gamo has a 2-way adjustable trigger: travel and angle. The Gamo walnut grips are large/x-large. Both have adjustable palm rests. The trigger pull on the Webley is ~1.25 lbs and the Gamo is 2.25 lbs. Both have very nice adjustable rear target sights. The Webley has two different height front sight blades that are changed by rotating one blade in for the other. The Webley has a built in Weaver rail, but the cross slot is too far forward for most red dot sights that I already own. Also, the integral front sight ramp on the Webley is too high to mount a tube sight without using risers. Both have a similar pumping mechanism. The Webley can be pumped 1 to 3 times; the Gamo manual does not mention multiple pumping. Both pistols are a bargain for their relatively low costs. So far I like the GAMO grips better, but I like the Webley trigger better. Once I get a chance to shoot both a bit I will report back with my impressions.

I mounted a weaver rail on my Gamo by drilling thru the top and putting nuts on the mounting screws inside the frame. I used single nuts but you could make some kind of pre-tapped bar that would make a very strong mount. I used the flat two piece mount off of a Marlin 336 but I could of made the single mount work.

Len   ( good find on those pistols)

Sa-tevp wrote:There is also FAS604 or 6004 to look at. I think Airguns of Arizona is importing them.

I picked up the 6004 a couple months ago. I like it, but it has some trouble punching clean holes in printer paper, might do a bit better in target paper but I'm too cheap for that. It shoots where I point it at 10m, that's all I needed.