TargetTalk

I’m wondering who are the pistol designers behind so many of the top target pistols of today. I know C. Moirni and Efim Khaydurov have been behind many of today’s target pistols, but who else is there?

For example, who designed the Parini line of pistols or the Walter SSP (did the top loading design come from FAS engineers/ designer)?

I suspect many small arms designers are developing combat style arms, but it would be nice to know who designed our target arms and give them the appropriate praise.

Are we aware of the next Morini or Efim... so up and coming designer...

Any insight would be appreciated.

Brian

Brian

I fully agree with your sentiments. Most of the German designers of such guns as FWB, Walther and Anschutz, seem to be un sung heroes and never seem to be promoted by the company they work for. They always seem to be faceless people hidden away in the dark depths of the factory.
It seems that most design work is by one or two gifted people who then employ a team to build a prototype.
I do know that Peter Romer designed most of the LP-300 & LG-300 range of Walther sporting weapons before he left the company some years ago to set up on his own with his son Daniel.

Peeps

Peeps,

That would likely mean Peter Romer is the owner/designer at Tessro?

Brian

Information about Pardini from www.pardini.it

Giampiero Pardini, knight of the Italian Republic and CONI Star of merit, has been one of the most prominent marksman in Italian target-shooting. He was born in 1941 in Camaiore, Tuscany, and he first “met” a gun by chance in 1970.

One of his friends had bought a gun and invited him to go to the shooting-range in Pietrasanta to test it: he fired five shots, and that was all. After three months Pardini fired fifty shoots consecutively: “staying in the black” didn’t seem to be too difficult and so started his brilliant career as a marksman.

He challenged himself in all the handgun shooting events, but the Free Pistol turned out to be his favourite. His previously dormantpassion for mechanics came out in Pardini-the marksman: the logical consequence was, at the beginning, to modify a a Free Pistol followed by the creation of a new trigger mechanism. Finally the creation of a completely new and original pistol, with which Pardini obtained a series of record scores.

The PGP 75 (the name of his first pistol) immediately attracted the attention of shooters in the event: he started receiving a lot of requests from marksmen, who,importantly, were able to improve their scores easily with the new pistol. This all persuaded Pardini, at the beginning of the 1980’s, to retire from competitive shooting and completely dedicate himself to the work of gunmaker.

Pardini can rightfully be proud of the fact that his company produces all the parts for his pistols. In the seaside resort in Lido di Camaiore where Pardini firearms has its headquarters we can find various workshops using computerised numerical control machinery: the blueing baths and the chromium-plating and their thermal treatment of components are also carried out at the hadquarters.

The barrels are Pardini’s latest “success”: due to the fact that there was no specific equipment on the market for this type of work. Pardini built and modified equipment that is now able to produce all calibres of barrels that are considered at the top-end of the market for their precision and quality.

Pardini’s equipment allows them to build a progressively narrowed barrel, from the start of therifling to the muzzle of the barrel, without “steps” thereby improving precision and a reduction in recoil. In a short time, Pardini has been able to produce a complete range of pistols for competition shooting. It is also important to state that all these pistols have allowed their numerous owners to reach an infinite number of wining results.

Paolo Tagini
(journalist, vice-director Armi Magazine)

Steyr LP series was the private work of self-employed "designer" Emil Senfter. Prototype of LP1 was made in his garage at home... as hobby work. He has also tried to sell single copies of pistol as "Senfter Air Pistol". Later he has tried to sell design to Walther and Walther has denied his offer.
After all prototype landed by Steyr Mannlicher. Some say that Emil is strange but talented.
Later he has made prototype of LP10 (in comparision to LP1 he has designed and added absorber. Absorber looks like FWB analogue but Emil has found something special and he could patent his absorber, although fast the same absorber system was already patented by Feinwerkbau).

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=patent+Emil+Senfter

Update: one of my friends has saved original "Senfter Air Pistol" (CO2). I will show fotos, when i get them.

Ruig

That was very interesting. They say the Steyr absorber is the most effective of all and Anschutz also use the Steyr absorber in their 9003 air rifle.

Peeps

Promised fotos:

http://toz35.blogspot.com/2009/10/emil- ... l-m84.html