TargetTalk

Greetings,

What is the Brand and Model of the pistol used on the following Lapua WebPage?

http://www.lapua.com/en/ammunition/calibers/32-s-w-lwc

Looks like I may have to start saving my money!!! I hope it comes in 32 WadCutter.

Cheers,

Dave

I believe it's Tesro TS 22 or TS 32.

I also believe it is a Tesro

Definately a Tesro.

With either a chamber flag or a stovepipe!

Tesro and Match Guns doesn't seem to like the US market. They have no agents here!!! Too bad I would be a good customer!!!

PFribley wrote:Tesro and Match Guns doesn't seem to like the US market. They have no agents here!!! Too bad I would be a good customer!!!

Or is it a case of Agents in the US don't like Tesro and Match Guns?

I was of the understanding that a U.S. Matchguns importer/distributor had been appointed last year and was based in Florida.

Any update on this rumour ?

What would be the market for Matchgun or Tesro in the USA? NRA Bullseye (precision pistol,etc) is not a vibrant shooting sport, but still holds the lead in the number of USA shooters. ISSF 25M (aside from the trouble of finding a 25 m (27.3 yd) range) is not popular and it is difficult to find anyone shooting this discipline. Not that it isn't good, just not that many are involved.

Also, I've seen and handled a Matchgun. It's OK, but parts, service and support are missing. Sending a pistol back to Italy or Germany for service is unacceptable. Most dealers/distributors are or were gunsmiths out of necessity.

Neat guns, I like them and might even be an owner if available. But, IMO (and all this is my opinion) I think Pardini has most of the market.

Some people will buy them just because they are different. That's probably not enough to support much of an import stream.

As for shooting disciplines, there COULD be more interest, but the focus on defensive center-fire shooting in the US has siphoned off a lot of shooters who might like to compete in bullseye pistol. I learned to shoot as a teenager in northern New Mexico, and there was no organized competition between clubs, partly because they were all spread out.

I went to college in Boston, and the Greater Boston Pistol League (GBPL) was a very active concern. It shot a gallery match course on Tuesday evening from October through April. There were at least a dozen clubs involved, many with multiple teams. We had up to six divisions based on skill level. Despite being in one of the most anti-gun states in the country, I've never seen or heard of this level of activity elsewhere. I lived in Silicon Valley for 3 years, and there was NOTHING like it. I joined a local trap shooting league after failing to find anything more than widely scattered monthly .22 matches.

Over time, more & more new shooters got siphoned off by the lure of defensive/action shooting, and some clubs got shut down for various reasons. Even with massive anti-gun sentiment in the state, the League is still going strong, but there are only 8 or 9 clubs shooting in 2 divisions. The A Division shoots a 600 match, and the B Division still shoots the 300 Gallery Match. There are about 100 shooters, and we've switched to a handicap system to encourage the newcomers. If anything, that has actually lead to some growth.

It may just be a New England thing because everyone is packed in close. If you live south of Boston, there is a South Shore League, and further north there is the Merrimac Valley League. All very active.

As for pistols, those that can afford them shoot mostly Pardinis, with plenty of Walthers and a few Benellis. There is at least a couple people shooting old Browning Medalists, an IZH, a Hammerli & Feinwerkbau or two and a few other oddballs. Of the two top shooters in the GPBL, one shoots a Pardini The other guy shot one for a couple years before giving up on it as too unreliable. He now shoots a Marvel .22 conversion on a 1911 frame.

There is certainly a market for fancy new .22 pistols around here. In order to make a go of it, you'd need a good write up in a bunch of the gun magazines, lots of YouTube videos, and to get them in the hands of at least one or two top shooters. You would want EXCELLENT USA based service & parts, and self-help videos like Steyr provides for those who don't want to ship their pistols back & forth for service.

Just getting the export process sorted out and bringing a few into the country won't do it. If someone isn't willing to really make an investment in really getting into the US market, it will have to be a sideline business for those who want to shoot something exotic. At least by now, it sounds like they have the bugs worked out. I also don't know how they would be priced. If you can sell them for $1500, I think there is a big hole in the US market at that price point. However, I doubt they could do that.

All the pistol matches I've attended have been held on Tuesday evenings - it's been that way for at least the last 30 years (probably longer). That's just Bullseye, since no one shoots anything similar that I can discern. There is some talk of air pistol, but if that gets started, it will probably be held on Tuesday evenings - unless it is run by Bullseye shooters.

Shooting ISSF (formerly ISU) with some slight modifications for 25 yards vs 25 meters would be interesting - at least to me. Yes, 'practical shooting', IPSC, and action shooting have taken participants from bullseye shooting, or as it is now called 'precision shooting'. At least there is still some form of competitive shooting. It's no wonder the USA has a hard time competing in the Olympics at shooting - there is no 'Cowboy Action' event ;-).

In the Boston area, there are at least two monthly air pistol matches. The one at my club typically gets around 25 shooters, and they occasionally fill all 30 spots (10 point, 3 relays). We are about to get motorized carriers and move to a new building that will support 13 firing points instead of 10.

The state Olympics ("Bay State Games") has been doing air pistol & free pistol in the summer. I'm hoping they will continue to do free pistol because it's the only local match in that discipline.

Back when the NRA was in charge of international shooting, there was actually a lot more interest, at least around here. I think splitting off into USA Shooting really derailed a lot of people. We had free pistol matches at a 40 point range that were sold out.

10M_Stan wrote:ISSF 25M (aside from the trouble of finding a 25 m (27.3 yd) range) is not popular and it is difficult to find anyone shooting this discipline.

Just an aside:
While their webstore seems to be notorious for not being accessible, the Shooting Federation of Canada sells scaled ISSF targets.
At the club I used to shoot at we used the 20 yard targets.

http://sfc-ftc.ca/en/home.html

Neat guns, I like them and might even be an owner if available. But, IMO (and all this is my opinion) I think Pardini has most of the market.

I think this is probably not relevant to a small companies like Matchguns or Tesro. They produce a limited number of specialist pistols for ISSF shooting events worldwide. However the people that do own them in a country such as the U.S. would benefit enormously from a locally based importer/distribution network with the ability to provide both technical and spare parts backup.

There is also the possibility that more effort has not been shown by Matchguns and Tesro to establish an Importer within the U.S. because of the different approach to competitive pistol shooting events and the somewhat limited acceptance of I.S.S.F. events considering the size of the U.S. market.

10M_Stan wrote: What would be the market for Matchgun or Tesro in the USA? Also, I've seen and handled a Matchgun. It's OK, ..
Neat guns, I like them and might even be an owner if available. But, IMO (and all this is my opinion) I think Pardini has most of the market.

Pardini may have most of the market for .22 rf and .32 cf in Europe and in the US. But the Matchguns pistols are gaining favor in Europa, as the initial reliability issues (of the MG2) have been sorted out.
The Matchguns MG 5 may be a preferable FP, condidering the costly Marini 84s. The Pardini FP, btw, has only gained minor following in Europe.
I have owned a Matchguns MG2 and a Matchguns MG5, for several years. I admit I had to get improved replacement parts from Italy to my MG2 (mine is an early production specimen) to make it work properly. Due to its ergonimics, it is a joy to use.

I have owned multiple mg2’s and my relatively late 51xx RF model with the optional ergal front weight weighs 884 grm. and yet has less recoil than any other pistol I have owned....a sheer delight !

+1.
In terms of form there may be some unusual visual features but in terms of function and feedback for me nothing compares with MG2RF. It really became evident after I used some other equipment for a while.
Shooting MG5E is pure heaven.
I'm not a 570 shooter but for internal mental rewardment I've not shot with anything better than either of them.
Both guns have reshaped Rink grips as the original factory grips wouldn't point properly for me.