Long or compact

[Steevyg]

Hey everyone, I’m still shooting my Gamo compact, although not very well at the moment, due to having Covid. Looking at some of the potential new match pistols I might invest in, in due course, I noticed that the ‘regular’ sized guns, have very long sight lines, compared to my Gamo (about 315mm). Having investigated the difference between long and compact models, I found that shorter sight pistols (compacts) are more suited to newer shooters and are suitable for scores upto around 550. Long sight pistols more suited to scores over that. What are shooters thoughts/experiences on this?

[PirateJohn]

Dunno. I got my Pardini K12 when I was at about 510 back in October and using it regularly has helped me improve and now I'm in the 540s. It's a matter of getting used to the fact that the sights move more so you won't get the perfect sight picture you get with the shorter barrel, but doing craploads of dry-fire reps on a blank wall helped me a lot with that.

[Gwhite]

The college team I help coach has all sorts of air pistols, and all sorts of students. We've got big guys in ROTC, tiny Asian women, and everything in between.

In general, I would recommend a longer pistol unless there is a physical limitation to your arm strength. You can shorten the sight radius on many of the higher end pistols if you find the amplified sight wobble unsettling. The longer pistol will be more stable due to the increased moment of inertia. You will also get more shots per fill. If the weight turns out to be an issue, you can always use a short cylinder.

[Samson]

longer sight line = larger sight alignment difference for the same alignment error = easier to notice small alignment errors = better.
AND
longer pistol = more mass at the front = more inertia = less front sight jitter.

There's a reason why the distance between the front and rear sights are one of the most thoroughly checked factors during equipment checks. It's straight up better.

[Steevyg]

Thanks for your replies guys, you’ve given me more to think about regarding this choice.

[rmca]

In general, I would recommend a longer pistol unless there is a physical limitation to your arm strength. You can shorten the sight radius on many of the higher end pistols if you find the amplified sight wobble unsettling. The longer pistol will be more stable due to the increased moment of inertia. You will also get more shots per fill. If the weight turns out to be an issue, you can always use a short cylinder.

+1

[David M]

longer sight line = larger sight alignment difference for the same alignment error = easier to notice small alignment errors = better.
AND
longer pistol = more mass at the front = more inertia = less front sight jitter.

There's a reason why the distance between the front and rear sights are one of the most thoroughly checked factors during equipment checks. It's straight up better.

Sight radius is not the only difference. In fact some short barrel air pistols have a rear sight extension so have the same sight radius as the long versions.
The big difference is both the total weight and the point of balance in the hand.
Tank size does not matter as you only need a match plus sighters at any one time. Fill after each match.
The longer, nose heavy pistol has a higher moment of inertia and hence a slower and longer movement on the shot trace. It is more forgiving to poor trigger shots with the extra weight but usually spends less sighting time in the ten ring.
The shorter lighter pistol has a higher frequency movement and a shorter trace on the target and more time in the ten ring. But will hammer poor trigger release with a shot further out.
A good compromise is a long barrel fitted with a short tank (CofG back into the hand), this gave the best scatt trace and the highest score.

[Steevyg]

Thanks David M, that’s a great insight and most useful information.

[Grippy]

(CofG back into the hand)

Is this to be understood literally or do you just mean "towards the hand"? I tried estimating center of gravity by balancing guns and found most of the long guns I have access to have the center about 3cm ahead of the trigger blade (and I have long fingers). Even with the tank removed it at best is at the trigger position.

[Rover]

Quick and dirty: wrap some solder around the tank. Add more or less and slide the solder back and forth until you get the "feel" you want. Take it from there.

[brent375hh]

Watch lots of World Cup finals on YouTube. Hundreds of shooters and their coaches can't be wrong.

[ddk576]

Watch lots of World Cup finals on YouTube. Hundreds of shooters and their coaches can't be wrong.

Definitely!!!