TargetTalk

Hi, I would like to know if factory limiting air pistol to under 500 fps affects its performance and accuracy ? in Canada to circumvent the very strict gun control law Steyr and Morini air pistol are factory limited to under 500 fps. Can you actually tell the differences from a detuned vs a regular pistol? What would be the optimal setting for Steyr LP10 and Morini 162EI?.
Is it worth it to go through all the paperwork hassle to get a non-detuned pistol?
Thanks for your expert help

The short answer is no.

Firearm in Canada = 1) > 500fps AND 2) > 5.7 joules.

I had both pistols (Canada-specced) you mentioned and both are equally as accurate as the shooter. They simply have a shorter hammer spring and an accompanying letter from the importer that it is not a firearm.

Morini factory setting: 492-508 fps
Steyr factory setting: 508-525 fps

With a 7gr pellet you'll be right at the limit at 520fps, so in both cases you fall within the good side of the law. The difference is infinitesimal and some shooters do prefer lower velocity but that's a can of worms in itself.

Definitely NOT worth the hassle to go through the RPAL process.

Has there ever been a case where someone has been prosecuted for having an air pistol (ISSF style) that is slightly over the legal power/velocity limit?

Never heard of such a case, but then I've not heard of anyone setting up a chronograph at a competition to test for velocity legality either. Does that actually happen? I know here in Canada the RCMP are happy to chrony airguns used in the commission of a crime, as this adds another layer of prosecutorial power to their evidential roster. But I've never heard of a prosecution or even testing of a casual shooter's weapon if that shooter has been shooting in a safe manner in a legitimate location with no calls to police having been made to complain. So don't rob any banks with your competition AP and you ought to get away with a few fps over the limit.

I only know I don't want to be the first, so I ask for the signed legal paperwork to be on the safe side.

That's an interesting point about the paperwork. When you'd mentioned having a letter from the importer attesting to velocity I was a bit surprised, as in purchasing either of my Pardini air pistols I received no such documents. With the first it was second-hand, so not too surprising, though it was purchased from the dealer who had been using it in competitions. The second, the Pardini K12, was from the same dealer (westernmarksman.ca - John Berta) and there was no such documentation. The K12 out of the box Chronied at about 450fps with 7gr match pellets. It gradually warmed up in the coming months and settled in around 470fps after a few thousand shots. I found it easy to raise the velocity to 495fps using a 1.5mm thick aluminum washer behind the hammer spring, allowing a deeper punch and releasing more air. The body is not threaded deeply enough for the hammer spring adjusting cap to turn in further, but that would be another step one could take, simply tapping the threads a bit deeper. Of course for competition I have no need of higher velocity, as under 500fps is a more than sufficient and perfectly accurate velocity.

My K10 came to me shooting at something like 525fps. I learned some time after purchasing it that this was at the lower end of the spectrum for European AP shooters, and that Pardini themselves recommend a setting slightly faster than that. I know some Pardini AP shooters use up to 570fps with their K10 pistols, and mine had no limitation as does the K12, so it was a simple matter of tightening the valve spring to achieve that kind of velocity. Hardly rocket science - it's an adjustment as easily done as trigger or sight adjustments, using a coin to turn the cap on the rear of the frame. I don't know why EU shooters might use a higher speed, but I find no problem shooting slower pellets, and I get more shots per fill that way anyway so it saves me work at the pump.

Have to agree with you of course, that it wouldn't be fun to be a 'test case' in this regard.

I do know making adjustments to the velocity can have an impact on the group size. They should all be about 10 ring or smaller. Looking over test targets of mine when I was adjusting the velocity starting at 550fps I have groups just bigger than one pellet up to 4x the diameter.

Used LP10 and H&N pellets.