TargetTalk

Hi folks,
I was shooting with the longest sight base I could use, then I tried a new pistol and was able to hold the sight steadier. (not steadier on the target, steadier between the sights) so I tried moving the sight base closer on my old pistol.
I liked it as the back sight is more in focus, so a crisper picture, and any flyers seemed to be less, but predictably it seems my groups are a bit bigger.

I will experiment with this tomorrow night, 20 short, 20 long, 10 short 10 long.
if I am not too embarrassed I will post the results :)

any thoughts, experience with this?

thanks,

Effective December 1rst, 2013, Pilkington Competition is only selling the Long version to advanced competitors
Effective December 1rst, 2013, Pilkington Competition is only selling the Compact version to most users
We believe in helping our customers excel in this sport, and we no longer believe that can be done by selling long versions of pistols to inexperienced users.


They are referring to the Steyr Air pistols-- there must be something to what you have discovered in your shooting.

Here in the States there is a type of shooting called Bulls eye (Precision Pistol is another name some clubs call it). We are allowed to use red-dot type sights. I’m older and believed that the dot might help me as my eyes are not what they were in the past. That proved to be a false assumption and I’ve recently removed the dots from all my pistols and gone back to irons.

At this point my eyes are bad enough that without correction-at arm’s length-my rear sight is a blur but my front is crystal clear and the target is a real blur; the perfect set up. I just need to be extra careful not to cross fire my neighbor’s targets. My front sight can be mounted in several locations; I’ll move it as my eyes change, as I’d rather hold off having to wear corrective lenses while I shoot as long as I can.

Conventional wisdom is:
The longer the sight radius, the easier it is to see angular errors and therefore should be more accurate.
BUT
The more you can see the errors the harder it is to accept and so confidence to fire is reduced and you tend to hang on and performance suffers.
Shorter radius is easier to shoot as the errors are masked and confidence is higher. Most people will shoot better with a compact pistol until they have the experience/skills to shoot well into the 550s.

So - shorter radius will get better results up to a point, then you should switch to longer sight radius. But realistically you will be able to shoot well into the 570s with a 'compact' pistol - but if you are thinking 580s plus, and have the ability to do this, you should have a longer sight radius.

Thanks McTrucky, hows the new Morini? :) I can hold my wife's Styer steadier sight wise, so will see what the targets are like tonight.

well, the results were interesting but not conclusive, I will need to test more targets.

basically the long sight base groups all looked better, but all had one flyer. short all had no flyers, but looked bigger/looser.

the groups not including flyers were:

Long 1=32mm, 2=31mm, 3=17mm.
short 1=24mm, 2=35mm, 3=39mm.

group including all flyers:

Long 1=36mm, 2=41mm, 3=27mm.
short 1=33mm, 2=35mm, 3=39mm.

average of all long groups =34.6mm, average of all short groups =35.6mm.

so you takes your pick! I was not shooting well last night and will need to do the test again to get a proper average.
the main feeling is that I liked the long site base better, but you had to watch as it is more twitchy! it also made the front sight look thinner, which I didn't like.
as usual, McTrucky, with his vast intellect, is correct.

so, action and conclusion. 1 do the test again and add the results. 2 move the front sight back the the second (shorter) position, leave the back sight where it is. as usual, it is the middle road that is best, until I can shoot 580 that is.....

I will post again the results of the second test, but am being sent to England next week so if I don't get my finger out it will not be for a while. :)

that's not enough data for averages, you need like a 100 series for each, and preferably shot one after another. The scores by the way, will most likely be the same (it depends of course how long and short we're talking about)

Hi Nick, did try to reply, but kept getting errors when posting.

New Morning is already broken for parts, that's what it is for, spares... Just got the electronics with me this weekend.

What and where are you doing in Englandshire? Get together for a spot of training in my part of the world?

mctrucky wrote:Hi Nick, did try to reply, but kept getting errors when posting.

New Morning is already broken for parts, that's what it is for, spares... Just got the electronics with me this weekend.

What and where are you doing in Englandshire? Get together for a spot of training in my part of the world?

Poor thing!

working in Darkest Nottinghamshire bud:) how far is that from you?

About four hours North... Mind you Andy is looking to get work in Derby which is on your doorstep.

I have a bit of time to experiment, so will be re-visiting this one, as I didn't get enough shooting last time. I will do another three 40 shot matches on the longest setting, med and short, and , if Im not too embarrassed I will publish the results.
40 shots live with SCATT, so I can get the over all wobble factor, at 10m. what fun!

I have a Steyr LP10 long, and would never consider a short or compact model. I like being able to move my sights out and see all my shake. It lets me know if something is wrong in my hold. I also do agree with how Pilk sells their pistols, and that they remove one tank before sending the gun to you made me not want to get mine from there. If you want that tank back (that originally shipped with it from Steyr) you have to pay to buy it back from them. That just doesn't seem ethical to me.