Buying first target pistol; have a few questions

[adrianS]

I'm going by the mantra "get the best you can afford". It worked well for me in smallbore rifle. Now that I've shifted focus, and realized how recouping budget from it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought, I'm ready to choose my next target weapon.

So my question pertains to Benelli and Pardini. How much difference is there between the non-rapidfire Pardini SP and the mp90s by Benelli? Is it worth down the line to have an RF Pardini, and how are the RF capabilities on the mp90s?

Thanks!

[Mike M.]

What event will you be shooting? If you aspire to shoot RF, do you have an RF bay available?

Generally, I'd advise a Pardini. They seem to be the most popular at the Olympic level for just about all ISSF events for repeating pistols.

[Shooter]

In the first place, the pistol is not a weapon. Please do not refer to it that way. It is a target pistol, period.

[Murph]

Pardini, by far. Easy to shoot and the best service available. Only major difference with a RF Pardini and a bullseye version is that the RF bolt was lightened making it a better RF cycling pistol. The heavier bolt of the bullseye pistols make them slightly more accurate at 50 yards. Just buy one that is suited for where you are competing in now. If you buy a bullseye pistol and later wanna shoot the international RF events, you just need to buy the lighter RF bolt that simply drops into your gun.
The Pardini SP series pistols are the best stock 22's in the world.

[adrianS]

Thanks guys. As to what rules I'm going to play by, most likely NRA, though I am planning shooting only iron sights. If having the lighter bolt or lighter pistol was any advantage at all, I'd like to spring for the RF version.

Murph, I think the non-RF Pardini SP is the one I'll be considering since Pardini USA seems to list it at a price point not much higher than the mp90s.

Sorry to offend you, Shooter. Yes I understand it's a target pistol. I was simply referring to a saying popular by gamers. "Choose your weapon!!" :)

Adrian

[pistol champ]

The Pardini has the ability to adjust everything you want on a gun. The trigger placement, weight, amount of roll, one stage or two stage, etc. The grip angle can be adjusted. The gun can be changed from 22 to centerfire in a half a minute so the exact same gun can be used for two parts of a match. This is also a very accurate gun right out of the box and will stay accurate for more rounds than most bullseye guys shoot in their life time.

[Tycho]

"The grip angle can be adjusted"... Wondering how you came up with that, and makes me wonder about the quality of the "advice" people are getting here. "Will stay accurate for more rounds than most bullseye guys" - that goes for any .22 pistol. "Trigger placement, weight, amount of roll, one stage or two stage" - I can do that on pretty much any pistol out there, including the Benelli. The .32 kit is inofficial and not supported by the factory if you get in trouble with it. So, wrong statements, no facts, all opinion, but not presented as such. There are arguments for the Pardini, and others for the Benelli, but none of them show up in this thread.

[yana]

I once felt all target pistols available at the shop; FWB, walther, tesro, benelli, matchguns, morini and pardini, and finially got a pardini. Best to hold still for mé.
Not the best ergo's though, but close

[Gwhite]

I have both a Pardini SP New and a Benelli MP90S. For reasons I can't figure out, the Benelli has always been more forgiving and shoots consistently higher scores for me than the Pardini. I prefer the design of the Pardini in several ways, and support from the factory/importer is better. I've tried to match the ergonomics of the Benelli (grip, weight, balance, trigger, etc.) with the Pardini, but you can't quite get there. I'm now shooting the Benelli exclusively.

Your mileage may vary...

[cloudswimmer]

In the first place, the pistol is not a weapon. Please do not refer to it that way. It is a target pistol, period.

Please explain how a gun that shoots a .22 caliber round that IS capable of taking human life is not a weapon? Is a .45ACP Bullseye pistol not considered a weapon either?

http://www.gunsandammo.com/blogs/defend ... -invasion/

[Gwhite]

You can also easily kill someone with a shovel, a baseball bat, or any number of pieces of sporting equipment. Do you refer to a hockey stick as a weapon? It's only a weapon if it is purchased for that purpose or is used as such.

[kevinweiho]

I do recall that a few years ago, "Steyr Sportwaffen" dropped the "waffen" on their airpistols. On older target gun manuals, you may still see the manufacturers mention their guns as "weapons" when storing or cleaning them.

Nowadays, target gun manufacturers will not mention their products as "weapons".

[william]

"The grip angle can be adjusted"... Wondering how you came up with that, and makes me wonder about the quality of the "advice" people are getting here. "Will stay accurate for more rounds than most bullseye guys" - that goes for any .22 pistol. "Trigger placement, weight, amount of roll, one stage or two stage" - I can do that on pretty much any pistol out there, including the Benelli. The .32 kit is inofficial and not supported by the factory if you get in trouble with it. So, wrong statements, no facts, all opinion, but not presented as such. There are arguments for the Pardini, and others for the Benelli, but none of them show up in this thread.

Welcome back, old friend! Where have you been? Facts are so much to be preferred over crackpot opinions (as we often get from that guy in Arizona).

[Rover]

I'm sorry if common sense offends you.

[SPPcoach]

Nowadays, target gun manufacturers will not mention their products as "weapons".

Sport shooters on our side of the pond have worked hard to develop a well established aversion to the weapon word because of the politics behind the word. Anti's refer to entire classes of firearms with the "w" word. Hunter Education classes actively teach instructors and students not to use the "w" word when referring to hunting. The NRA teaches not to use the "w" word in most classes except for PPOTH, PPITH and ATP classes because those refer to personal defense. The 'American' version only uses the w word as it relates to a behavior. It is subjective.

The Europeans don't seem to share the subjective use of the word weapon. My brand new FWB P11 manual uses the weapon word consistently throughout the owners manual. The Europeans us the w word in a way that is objective.

[kevinweiho]

Nowadays, target gun manufacturers will not mention their products as "weapons".

Sport shooters on our side of the pond have worked hard to develop a well established aversion to the weapon word because of the politics behind the word. Anti's refer to entire classes of firearms with the "w" word. Hunter Education classes actively teach instructors and students not to use the "w" word when referring to hunting. The NRA teaches not to use the "w" word in most classes except for PPOTH, PPITH and ATP classes because those refer to personal defense. The 'American' version only uses the w word as it relates to a behavior. It is subjective.

The Europeans don't seem to share the subjective use of the word weapon. My brand new FWB P11 manual uses the weapon word consistently throughout the owners manual. The Europeans us the w word in a way that is objective.

Whenever the “w” word is used in the U.S., it is understood by many folks as “a thing designed or used for inflicting bodily harm or physical damage”. The U.S. has more firearms than people, (more than 350 million?) it’s kinda ironic that the Pro’s don’t want to call their guns as “weapons”, but “tools”, and the anti hoplophobes want to call all gun looking articles real or not as “weapons”.

Nope, the FWB P11 manual does not mention the “w” word, instead it consistently uses “air pistol” throughout the manual. The Europeans will use the term “weapon” when necessary, but with the current global situation regarding stricter gun laws, it is wise to avoid the “w” word.

[adrianS]

...but with the current global situation regarding stricter gun laws, it is wise to avoid the “w” word.

...point taken. Thanks.

[sakurama]

...and the anti hoplophobes...

I think that's actually a double negative political slur...

[SPPcoach]

Nope, the FWB P11 manual does not mention the “w” word, instead it consistently uses “air pistol” throughout the manual. The Europeans will use the term “weapon” when necessary, but with the current global situation regarding stricter gun laws, it is wise to avoid the “w” word.

I had to check my owners manuals. You are correct, the FWB does not use weapon. My Steyr Owners Manual does repeatedly use the word weapon to describe the LP50.
The manual is here http://www.pilkguns.com/steyr_lp50_manual.pdf
The PDF reader says it is page 3, but the manual says page 24. Same with PDF page 4, manual 26. And PDF page 7, manual 32 and 10 39 and 11 40.

[JamesH]

If it were my pick I'd choose the Pardini over the Benelli, they're similar but I went with the Pardini.

The RF is only an advantage for Olympic Rapid Fire, otherwise its no advantage, gets a bit dirtier and I guess we will see if all the lightening of the bolt causes any longevity issues.

The grip angle is not adjustable, there are issues with the trigger - as it comes from the factory its a good two stage trigger with a short second stage. Other trigger setups cause issues - inadequate sear engagement can cause the sear to become damaged, using the ball-spring screw to create a long second stage can give inconsistencies, the trigger return spring is sometimes not very strong.