Finally bit the bullet (LP500)

[bootneckbob]

Hello, I've been off here since back end of last year; injury and work mainly, but I also entered some other pistol online comps in the UK based forums which are x300 and x100. They are more for fun; I always felt the online 'comp' here was a higher standard and of course x600 so more demanding anyway.
SO, that's my preamble!
I have been shooting my Steyr Evo10e since 2016 and after 4-5 years I felt I should have been better with it and reminisced for another Walther. I was able to pick up a LP400 from an old clubmate so set about shooting both pistols and found my scores to be within 1% of each other using Target Scan over a couple of months. What did happen during this time was I broke my PB of 546 which had been a sticking point for a while. I found I was more consistent in the 550+ with a 573 best now.
Anyway, the intent was to keep one pistol (beware the man with one gun) and sell the other, but I didn't. Both pistols were very different but I liked both so kept them :-( It was around this time I started lusting after the LP500 but there was no way I could justify selling a perfectly good LP400 and my Steyr Evo10e (which I bought new) in order to buy a 500.

Roll on nearly 2 years and that itch hadn't gone, but to make this a little shorter I sold my LP400 to a clubmate and decided to just crack on with the Steyr (despite me thinking I shoot tighter with a Walther). Within a week, a get a call from another shooter I know who's a very good pistol shooter and he tells me he's selling his 500. Now this guy has lots of top end equipment and it's all top notch but I hate selling and always said I wouldn't sell my Evo to buy the Walther as I'd have to put money on top and that would be crazy (right?) So, with this in mind when he offered me an almost straight swap for my Steyr I had to say yes, despite me feeling like I've cheated on my wife by getting rid of it when its done nothing wrong; "it's not you it's me!"

So now I'm the owner of an almost (as good as) brand new LP 500 Expert (mech trigger). My first series last night resulted in 277x300, my last with the Steyr was 280 (with a best of 287). To be fair it's just like the 400 where the scores were pretty much the same but generally I've found the Walther want's to hit the 10 and unless I mess up it pretty much does. The Steyr always feels (after all these years) no matter how good the shot felt I'd be rewarded by a group dancing around the 10 ring.

I'm sure some of you very good experienced pistol shooters will be able to tell me exactly why that is and what I should have done, but I've always found the Walther grip out of the box to be perfect for me. My Steyr had a Rink for a few years after the original. I actually did ok locally with the original to be honest.

Well my coffee's all gone and the wife tells me I need to feed the animals so I best get on.

I hope to be more frequent on here and get back into the monthly comp. I've set myself a personal goal of beating 287 within a month! Honestly I know that's going to be hard but I'll be watching the average for consistency increasing just as hard!

Time to fall in love again......

[bootneckbob]

I know they've been out a while but it has some nice touches over the 400. Definitely more about style than substance; I'm thinking here about the carbon cylinder and hidden inline weight rail.

[Jerome]

Isn't the LP500 mechanical trigger configuration exactly the same as the LP400?

[brent375hh]

Isn't the LP500 mechanical trigger configuration exactly the same as the LP400?

Which is very close to the Hammerli 480 from the 90's. Which is not a knock on it, the Steyr geometry looks unchanged for generations as well.

[bootneckbob]

The trigger feels the same which is good in my opinion as I liked the 400. Is it the same...well no is as much as its easily removable or changed out for e trigger.
I wasn't going to go for the 500 for the reasons I stated earlier, but the way I've come to own this one I'm happy with. The 500 does have some nice subtle differences but yeah if I'm honest not much different to my 9 year old LP400. Cylinders good til '31 possibly 41 on the upside rather than needing (or advised) to be replaced next year.

[Jerome]

I bought the very last LP400 from the Australian distributor back in the middle of 2019 and probably the last SSP a little later as well. Electronic triggers offer no temptations for me so it's unlikely that I'll be missing-out on much with the new Walthers.