Steyr LP-50, LP-50E or LP-S. Input needed, please.

[DaveHealy]

Good evening.

I am currently involved strictly in IHMSA silhouette shooting using a Baikal IZH-46M.

I am doing OK for an old guy and I’m sure the Izzy is better than I am, but I appreciate fine craftsmanship and engineering, thus I am drawn to the Steyrs like a moth to the flame.

So, which to buy?

Do I buy the new LP-S Silhouette as it is designed for this discipline (however I am unable to see its advantage)?

Do I buy a current LP-50 even though I’ve heard about some trigger drawbacks?

Do I wait for the LP-50E electronic trigger? Can’t find anything out about it and worry that the E-trigger may be a disappointment.

Can any of you astute guys give me your gut feeling, or a direction, or a friend of a friend in Austria whose cousin shot the new E-trigger and hated or loved it?

Is there any insight currently available or should I just hold-off until someone else buys one in August and reviews it?

Thanks for your patience and consideration.

-dave-
Medford, Oregon

[David Levene]

I can give no advice about IHMSA silhouette shooting or the LP-S as I know nothing about them.

I will say though that I would not recommend buying an LP50 now; wait until you have tried an LP50E as it could be the solution to the biggest problem of the Steyr 5-shot.

If they can get the trigger quality up to the standard of top single shot pistols then they will have a great piece of kit.

[DaveHealy]

Thanks David!

That bit of insight has helped me greatly.

Wait, it is.

Thanks again.

-dave-
Medford, Oregon

[pilkguns not logged in]

While I hate to have a hint of appearing to disagree with David, I must say that the LP50 trigger is an excellant trigger, and 99.9% of all shooters who shot only that would think its one of the best they ever put their finger on. For those that prefer a roll trigger, the LP50 is more than acceptable. For those used to something more subtle and very crisp, the LP1 and the LP10 triggers can be tuned more to their liking but to leave a new shooter an impression that the LP50 has a bad trigger in the overall scheme of things is a not correct.

[David Levene]

While I hate to have a hint of appearing to disagree with David.......

That's OK Scott, it just proves that even you can be wrong sometimes ;-)

Being serious, you are of course correct. A new shooter would probably find the LP50 mechanical trigger to be more than acceptable.

I know several highly skilled and experienced shooters who are happy to use one in the AP60 match just so they have consistency across all of the events they shoot (remember that we also shoot the 25m events with them here in the UK).

I suppose I have become set in my ways over the years having become used to the crispness of well set up FAS triggers in the 1980s and '90s and then the 162EI (which still amazes me when it lifts the weight) in the last 8-9 years.

[Isabel1130]

On the issue of triggers, I have an LP10 and enjoy the trigger quite a bit however I have found that lighter for me is not better. The lighter the trigger was the less I could feel the first stage and predict when the shot was going to break. I managed to crank up the weight to the point where it is similar to the weight on my .22 Hammerli and feels much the same. My groups have tightenened up considerably over the last few days because I am now using the trigger to stabilize the sights as opposed to having to use hold alone to fire the pistol. I actually prefer a trigger with roll so I am anxiously awaitng my LP50 to see if it can be set up to mimic my .45. Isabel

[luftskytter as guest]

What I really read here, is that you have to find out yourself what kind of trigger you like, and I guess one of the great ifs is whether to try an electronic trigger.
.
I've got the Izzy too, and the trigger is reasonable when properly adjusted, but my favourite toy is the MAtch Guns MG1E with electronic trigger. Some people don't like these things, but for me there's no doubt: the electronic trigger solves all the problems and really has no limitations, except you need new batteries once in a while. You can adjust it whichever way you want, light or heavy, and there are no mechanical parts creating unwanted "feelings" in the mechanism.

I don't know if the LP50 electronic is similar, and you have to find out for yourself. Personally I believe that it's hangups, prejudice and "personal problems" that stop people from going electronic: it just makes sense!

[DaveHealy]

I greatly appreciate you guys thinking out loud, it certainly helps a new guy like me.

I have shot the LP-50 and thought it had a great trigger. I also think the Izzy has a good trigger, certainly better than my Colt Gold Cup which is all I have to compare them with.

I have never shot an electronic trigger like a Morini, but the concept of activating a solenoid each and every time with exactly the same force appeals to my sense of order and my engineering background.

But, I’ve been wrong before.

To make my decision easier, I was just advised that the LP-S is too long for IHMSA competition. So, strike that contender.

In my naïve reasoning, I cannot believe that Steyr would jeopardize its international standing by installing an inferior electronic trigger in the LP-10 and LP-50. I would believe that they have done extensive testing to assure the new triggers are up to (Morini) standards.

But, I’ve been wrong before. :)

-dave-
Medford, Oregon

[Isabel1130]

Dave, at one time I owned a Colt Gold Cup. The trigger was not good. I had a chance to attend at USAMU clinic when I was at Ft Sill in the 80's and all of their guns that were issued to us on the line, beat the Gold Cup by a mile. A gun with an excellent trigger will really help your performance in sustained fire. The woman next to me at Camp Perry had her Gold Cup disabled on the firing line and borrowed a gun from her coach. Her groups got tighter immediately. The trigger was that much better on the borrowed gun. Isabel.

[DaveHealy]

Yes, I’ll have to agree with you, Isabel. Out of the box, the Gold Cup trigger leaves something to be desired. I had the complete gun reworked by a noted .45 gunsmith and things improved greatly, but I wouldn’t consider it anywhere near stellar, however.

You and the others that posted are fortunate in that you’ve been able to shoot many of the quality weapons so you can compare each of them. In our small club we don’t have a vast array of quality weapons to fondle. Sigh. Sometimes forums such as this are our only resource.

I’ve pretty much given up bullseye for air pistol. AP is something that really interests me and I want to have the best hardware available as I only want to buy it once. No more gun collections to gather dust, just usable weapons.

It’s going to be very difficult for me to wait until August, but that’s what I’m going to have to do. :(

-dave-
Medford, Oregon

[Fred Mannis]

Dave,
Last year I shot NRA AP Silhouette with the IZH46 (iron sights) and the LP50 (TrueGlow 2x red dot scope). The LP50, with some mods, is an excellent pistol for silhouette. The 5 shot mag gives you much more time to take the shot. While I normally shoot a pistol with a crisp trigger in 10M AP competition, I have no problems with the slight roll of the LP50 trigger for silhouette.
The two mods were mounting the red dot in place of the rear sight so I could use a proper two hand hold; and changing the grip angle (much less rake) to accommodate a two hand hold.
I agree with the other comments, that you should wait for the LP50E.

BTW, I put a set of Martens peep sights on the IZH and it really improved my scores.

Fred