TargetTalk

I have had the Steyr LP50 on my short-list for a long time but now I see that Steyr is offering a silhouette pistol called the LP S.

At this point in my air pistol career, I am strictly shooting IHMSA air pistol silhouette, so I am wondering is there is an advantage to either one of these pistols in this discipline? Or would the LP50 tend to be more versitle overall in other disciplines?

Your thoughts are appreciated.

-dave-
Medford, Oregon

ming wrote:I have had the Steyr LP50 on my short-list for a long time but now I see that Steyr is offering a silhouette pistol called the LP S.

At this point in my air pistol career, I am strictly shooting IHMSA air pistol silhouette, so I am wondering is there is an advantage to either one of these pistols in this discipline? Or would the LP50 tend to be more versitle overall in other disciplines?

Your thoughts are appreciated.

-dave-
Medford, Oregon

I use my LP50 for silhouette and have been looking at the LP S. I find it awkward to hold the LP50 because of the compensator holes on the top and the magazine sticking out on the left. The LP S appears to overcome these problems, but I haven't seen or held one, so I may be wrong. The other big advantage of the LP S is the ability to change from open to any sight configuration. The gun is just barely into production so I plan to wait a while. Pilkington is willing to special order it, but the price is higher than an LP50.

Despite the problems mentioned with the LP50, I am using it with a 2x TruGlow red dot scope and shooting in the low 30's. Not needing to reload after each target means I have almost another minute of shooting time available for the five target set.

The LP50 can be used for 10M AP, though the trigger leaves a lot to be desired. If you are really interested in 10M, I would get a separate pistol designed for that event.

Indeed, the LP S is very new, I think you won't receive a lot of feedback.

I see one other difference between the two:
- The LP 50 grip is identical in shape to the LP10, i.e. designed for precision shooting with a big rake.
- The LP S has a two hand shooting grip which is much more vertical

I don't think that the LP50 grip will fit well for silhouette shooting. Of course you can mount a more vertical grip on the LP50 (such grips exists from a long time for people used to big bore pistols) but it will increase the price of the pistol. I do not know if the LP S grip will fit on an LP50 (the g (the LP10 grip for instance doesn't fit immediately on the LP50).

Finally, I confirm what Fred says: the trigger of the LP50 is by far not as good for precision shooting as the one of the LP10 => if you want to seriously shoot 10m precision, you would need an LP10.

Thanks to you both for responding so helpfully.

Fred, I wondered about the magazine in the LP50 causing some awkward grip problems and you confirmed it. The trigger situation I was not aware. Who would think?

And jipe, thanks for the heads-up on the grip, I never even considered it. As the dollars add up quite fast, I didn’t really want to add to the total by adding new grips. Thanks for pointing that out. Also for confirming what Fred said about the trigger. Don’t need that.

So now I need to see the LP S before I chose between that and the LP10, I think I’ve succeeded in eliminating the LP50. I was planning to attend my first NRA show in Phoenix in the spring, Perhaps Steyr attends these shows and I can see the ‘S’ before I make up my mind.

Hard to wait that long, however.

Again, my thanks to you both for helping me shorten my short-list.

-dave-
Medford, Oregon

jipe wrote: I don't think that the LP50 grip will fit well for silhouette shooting. Of course you can mount a more vertical grip on the LP50 (such grips exists from a long time for people used to big bore pistols) but it will increase the price of the pistol.

The rake of the LP50 grip does indeed make it awkward to use for two handed silhouette shooting. I replaced the rear grip adjustment screws with much longer screws so that I could adjust the grip to an almost vertical position. Not pretty, but works very well.

Ming, as I alluded in my previous note, it is possible to mount an optical sight so that the left hand holding the barrel is clear of the vent holes as well as the magazine. Not a taco grip, but works for me.

Fred