Looking for info on pistol shooting

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 5:10 pm

Hello everyone.I am looking for information on pistol shooting.Air and 22 cal.
Air pistol is not new to me.Let me tell you about myself.I grew up in France and when i was about 11 years old i join the air shooting club.
I did good,very good.In 1981,i finished 2nd in France championship.Then first place in 1982. I did not do good the following year due to a malfunction on the pistol.(trigger went off prematurly twice)Cost me a lots of points.I still got 4th place.
After that tournament,my life took a twist and gave up on shooting.
I came to the USA in Feb. 1984 and a few years later i was thinking about getting back to air pistol but there was nothing here (Norfolk VA)
So i never went back to it.But lately,i have been thinking about getting back,but this time going with 22 cal. I think i will have more luck finding a shooting club.I did some research on Pellet gun shooting club but no luck.
I think air gun is not so popular here as opposed to Europe.
I am used to shoot with Feinwerkbau model 65.At the time this was the most popular gun to use.
Is there a way for me to get informations on shooting with 22 cal?
I want to know about what are the standard.Like,What distance do you shoot? When i was shooting air gun the distance was 10 meters.
Also,Is it single hand?Or both?What size target do you use for that type of competition?
I am thinking about getting a Ruger 22/45 M.III to get started.Any pros?cons?
Maybe there is a air gun shooting club near me that i don;t know.
Anyone knows? I live in Norfolk VA.
Any info/tips would be great.Thanks

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 6:32 pm

Welcome to shooting in the US. There are lots of venues from which to choose. I'll keep my post to just a welcome and stand aside for the locals to tell you what is available.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 8:38 pm

http://www.njpistol.com/signup/show_contact_list.asp

Mike M. · Post by **Mike M.** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 9:37 pm

You live in one of the more active shooting areas. Attached is the match information for shoots in Chesapeake, VA.

jerber · Post by **jerber** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:52 pm

Thank you for the link.This really help.I am going sunday to watch the competition(s)Hopefully i can get some answers there.

Alexander · Post by **Alexander** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 3:56 pm

I am thinking about getting a Ruger 22/45 M.III to get started.Any pros?cons?

A very good gun for shooting at empty tin cans at 2 metres. True expert shooters can hit tin cans with it even at 5 metres. Repeatedly, though not always. :-P

Alexander

jerber · Post by **jerber** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 5:57 pm

Alexander wrote:
I am thinking about getting a Ruger 22/45 M.III to get started.Any pros?cons?

A very good gun for shooting at empty tin cans at 2 metres. True expert shooters can hit tin cans with it even at 5 metres. Repeatedly, though not always. :-P

Alexander

So what are you trying to say?????

Joakim · Post by **Joakim** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 1:38 am

jerber wrote:
Alexander wrote:A very good gun for shooting at empty tin cans at 2 metres. True expert shooters can hit tin cans with it even at 5 metres. Repeatedly, though not always. :-P
So what are you trying to say?????

Probably, Alex is trying to say that it's not the best choice for a serious competition shooter, while still being humourous about it. There is a reason for this double stance.

The problem with cheaper pistols is not that it's impossible to achieve good scores with them. If there's a .22 out there that's not capable of shooting 50's at 25 metres in the right hand, I have yet to see it. The problem is only that it might be a little more difficult to achieve the high scores. How much more difficult will depend on a lot of things, especially on how much adjustments you are going to want for the pistol to suit your hand, stance, sight preference, and general technique. A major difference between older/cheaper guns and newer/more expensive ones will almost invariably be the number of possible adjustments.

That said, there is another reason to buy that particular gun. It's designed to be similar to a 1911 .45, so if you're going to shoot that too (say, in Bullseye competition), you will have an advantage from having practiced with something similar. But if you're primarily interested in ISSF Standard Pistol or ISSF Rapid Fire Pistol and don't have a tight budget, there certainly are better options.

Alexander · Post by **Alexander** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 7:24 am

Joakim wrote:But if you're primarily interested in ISSF Standard Pistol or ISSF Rapid Fire Pistol and don't have a tight budget, there certainly are better options.

I would like to add that there are more than a few ISSF member countries that shoot .22 Sport Pistol not just among juniors and women (as per international rules), but also among men, with great popularity.

Alexander
(who is trying to improve his Standard Pistol scores right now; if it were not for these pesky nasty flyers, two sixes, or even a six and a five in a series of 20, among many nines and some tens... :-( )

jerber · Post by **jerber** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 7:29 am

Joakim wrote:
jerber wrote:
Alexander wrote:A very good gun for shooting at empty tin cans at 2 metres. True expert shooters can hit tin cans with it even at 5 metres. Repeatedly, though not always. :-P
So what are you trying to say?????
Probably, Alex is trying to say that it's not the best choice for a serious competition shooter, while still being humourous about it. There is a reason for this double stance.

The problem with cheaper pistols is not that it's impossible to achieve good scores with them. If there's a .22 out there that's not capable of shooting 50's at 25 metres in the right hand, I have yet to see it. The problem is only that it might be a little more difficult to achieve the high scores. How much more difficult will depend on a lot of things, especially on how much adjustments you are going to want for the pistol to suit your hand, stance, sight preference, and general technique. A major difference between older/cheaper guns and newer/more expensive ones will almost invariably be the number of possible adjustments.

That said, there is another reason to buy that particular gun. It's designed to be similar to a 1911 .45, so if you're going to shoot that too (say, in Bullseye competition), you will have an advantage from having practiced with something similar. But if you're primarily interested in ISSF Standard Pistol or ISSF Rapid Fire Pistol and don't have a tight budget, there certainly are better options.

Yes i do understand what he said,but the examlple is not really the best he could use.Shooting a tin can at 2 meters? and 5 meters?I think the Ruger is a little better than that.I did pretty good with it at 33 feets.
Anyway,I do understand the difference between a competition level pistol and a cheap one.Maybe i will be interested in ISSF.Don't know yet.I just want to get back into it.But i don't want to ditch $$$$ on a pistol right now if i'm not going to be serious.It's a lot easier to spend $ 400.00 right now and see where this is taking me.
I am going to an event today to watch.And will try to talk with some people.
I will get back to you guys and let you know how i feel about this.

Alexander · Post by **Alexander** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 7:38 am

jerber wrote:Yes i do understand what he said,but the examlple is not really the best he could use.

No. The nominated gun is not the best you could use. It is not even among the middle-of-the-road candidates.

If you seek a plinker that can still perform accurately in the hands of a very good shooter (and such guns exist), even then there are many many better choices than the Ruger 22/45.
If you seek a gun for ISSF-style shooting, forget it altogether. For good.

PS; A used Hämmerli 208/215 can be found here for 100 to 200 Euros. Easily. The market is *awash* with them - and I mean awash !

Alexander

Freepistol · Post by **Freepistol** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:07 am

jerber wrote:Yes i do understand what he said,but the examlple is not really the best he could use.Shooting a tin can at 2 meters? and 5 meters?I think the Ruger is a little better than that.I did pretty good with it at 33 feets.
Anyway,I do understand the difference between a competition level pistol and a cheap one.Maybe i will be interested in ISSF.Don't know yet.I just want to get back into it.But i don't want to ditch $$$$ on a pistol right now if i'm not going to be serious.It's a lot easier to spend $ 400.00 right now and see where this is taking me.
I am going to an event today to watch.And will try to talk with some people.
I will get back to you guys and let you know how i feel about this.

One thing to keep in mind about buying and selling pistols is if you buy a quality pistol for a reasonable price and decide it's "not for you", you can expect to recoup all the dough you spent on the purchase price.

jerber · Post by **jerber** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 3:27 pm

Freepistol wrote:
jerber wrote:Yes i do understand what he said,but the examlple is not really the best he could use.Shooting a tin can at 2 meters? and 5 meters?I think the Ruger is a little better than that.I did pretty good with it at 33 feets.
Anyway,I do understand the difference between a competition level pistol and a cheap one.Maybe i will be interested in ISSF.Don't know yet.I just want to get back into it.But i don't want to ditch $$$$ on a pistol right now if i'm not going to be serious.It's a lot easier to spend $ 400.00 right now and see where this is taking me.
I am going to an event today to watch.And will try to talk with some people.
I will get back to you guys and let you know how i feel about this.
One thing to keep in mind about buying and selling pistols is if you buy a quality pistol for a reasonable price and decide it's "not for you", you can expect to recoup all the dough you spent on the purchase price.

Yes,You are right.But then again,if it's not for me.i can just hang on to it.
$400.00 is not a big investment as opposed to spend $1000.00 +.
Beside,i think i am going to get back with air pistol.I just got back from this shooting club and got to shoot with an old Feinwerkbau 65!!!!
I did somewhat ok considering that i have not touch an air pistol in almost 30 years.
So now i'm going to be looking at air pistol.

jerber · Post by **jerber** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 3:37 pm

Alexander wrote:
jerber wrote:Yes i do understand what he said,but the examlple is not really the best he could use.
No. The nominated gun is not the best you could use. It is not even among the middle-of-the-road candidates.

If you seek a plinker that can still perform accurately in the hands of a very good shooter (and such guns exist), even then there are many many better choices than the Ruger 22/45.
If you seek a gun for ISSF-style shooting, forget it altogether. For good.

PS; A used Hämmerli 208/215 can be found here for 100 to 200 Euros. Easily. The market is *awash* with them - and I mean awash !

Alexander

Yes,i know,maybe not the best but i think it is ok for someone to get started to see if it's something that i want to get into.They are some other pistols that are just as good and better for the same or a little more money.And some for a little less.But right now i am putting the 22 cal. aside.I am going back to air pistol and then maybe i will get into the 22. This will give me time to educate myself on 22 cal.
Thank you for your input.

dam8 · Post by **dam8** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:46 am

just another quick point... if i spend 400 on a plinker style pistol, I can almost guarantee that i would have not gotten in to target style shooting as is is so difficult for me to shoot well with it.
I had as akid bought a beeman tempest air pistol. it took 10 years to get interested in target shooting because the tempest for me was impossible to shoot well consistently. 135.00 new, now i shoot a steer lp1 800 used and shoot something close to everyday