Buying my first air pistol! Recommendations please

[RS.]

Good Afternoon,

This is my first post. I am looking to acquire a high end air pistol for home use practice as a way to gain more trigger time for NRA bullseye / EIC and to compete in 10m air events. I am in Central Ohio. One lesson I learned the hard way over the last few years is to buy the best equipment up front as opposed to buying and selling ones way up the quality spectrum. My current .22 is a SP22 BE.


I've narrowed the selection to the LP10 and one of the Pardini models (K10/K12). Is there an advantage to having pardini for both .22 and air? Recommendations of one over the other? I'd like to get a used model to save money, maybe around $1100-1200. Any insight is appreciated. I'm new to all this.


Thank you.

[Rover]

Save MORE money and find a used Pardini K58, Walther LPM1, or FWB 100 series.

[Tangohammerli]

The last 9 Gold Medals in 10mt Air Pistol have, I believe been won by Shooters with Steyr LP air pistols....
If you went for the SP why not go for the Steyr LP10?

[spektr]

I dont know where you live BUT find an airpistol contest of guys in your loal area and shoot as many different guns as possible. We are all sort of like drug dealers in that we will do what we need to get you hooked, in a nice way...... My only must have now is that it needs to have a tank. SSPs or spring guns are fine, but toomuch work for me.....

[m1963]

Hello-

There is an air pistol match at Camp Perry (Port Clinton, Ohio) on 9/15/18. They rent Pardini K12's to competitors, first come first serve! Stop up and shoot one.

https://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php? ... atch=16132

We will be there, if you want to try a Morini 162 EI.

Kind regards,
m1963

[ChipEck]

Most certainly try before you buy. Not sure if you are anywhere near Wisconsin, but we run air pistol matches in Bloomer, Wisconsin. We are 90 miles straight east of Minneapolis.
You can have free use of a Pardini K12, Steyr LP50, Steyr Evo 10e, Morini CM200ei, some Feinwerkbau Model 2s, FAS, and some others. We do NOT sell any air pistols. Only have these available for kids, and people getting a taste of air pistol. Details at https://wisconsinairpistol.com

Entry fees will hopefully always be under $10 and that includes lunch and pellets.

Chip

[deadeyedick]

How can you break even at that price ?

[ChipEck]

My intent is to grow air pistol, not to make money. I firmly believe if I can get people to try it, they will fall in love with air pistol.

Chip

[deadeyedick]

Very commendable Chip.

[Mike M.]

Back to the OP...
The LP10 is the current gold standard in air pistols. Everybody else is trying to beat it.

As to Rover's comment, it's up to you. As a pure practice arm, an SSP gets rid of the cost and trouble of SCUBA tanks and/or pumps. If you expect to shoot it in a match, a PCP is a lot less bother. I personally use a PCP, but the way that FWB 100-series guns get snapped up, there's still a market.

[deadeyedick]

Back to the original OP...

You have answered your own question by saying you have learnt from experience to buy the best first up.

As has been agreed by the majority the Steyr evo 10e is at the “top of the tree” and as a result of .22 pistols having such balance/trigger ergonomic difference there is no valid reason to buy both calibres from the same manufacturer.

If starting from scratch I would not look beyond a Steyr for AP. This does not mean the others are inferior, just that if you buy another brand you will always wonder” should have bought the Steyr”....however you will not have similar thoughts about the rest if you buy the Steyr in the first place.

[kevinweiho]

If starting from scratch I would not look beyond a Steyr for AP. This does not mean the others are inferior, just that if you buy another brand you will always wonder” should have bought the Steyr”....however you will not have similar thoughts about the rest if you buy the Steyr in the first place.

The OP needs to listen to both his gut feeling AND head to pick the best air pistol. Different strokes for different folks...

[deadeyedick]

Because the OP has little to no experience is the reason he has reached out for guidance rather than allowing his gut feeling or aesthetics to make a decision that he may regret further down the track.

After many years and having owned most manufacturers products I do not recall one dissatisfied owner following the purchase of a Steyr.

It is obvious he does not wish to reinvent the wheel and simply wants the best to become acquainted with and improve with into the future.

In my opinion it is not a Ford/Chevrolet comparison, but rather a comparison of either to a Mercedes.

All being capable, but one having that something extra ingredient that has resulted from years of honing the design and manufacture. ( and no....I do not have shares in the Company )

[kevinweiho]

That “something extra” is Steyr’s capability to constantly win medals year in and year out… Don’t get me wrong, I still have and use my Steyr LP10 and I consider it to be a superior air pistol in every way, but I recently shot a friend’s Morini 162EI and REALLY liked the feeling.

I still insist that the OP should trust his gut feeling and use his head (if he can't try them out in person) to pick either the LP10 or a Pardini K10/K12, both are fine choices. Like the majority of us in this forum, I am quite sure in the future, his inner consciousness will tell him to try the other brands out there. Variety is the spice of life…

[David Levene]

The LP10 is the current gold standard in air pistols.

It's interesting to note that, at the World Championships in Changwon, 4 Morinis and 4 Steyrs were used to win Gold medals in the finals (Mixed Team, AP60W and AP60M, Senior and Junior).

[Rover]

For his stated purposes, he'll be fine with any top of the line, any style, used pistol. After a year or so, if he doesn't like it, he can sell it and buy something else. He doesn't have to spend thousands just to get into the game; hence SSP, PCP, or CO2.

[sparky]

If at all possible, I'd try before I buy.

FWIW, I've had a Steyr LP1, and handled a LP10 and a Morini 162ei. I currently own a Pardini K12.
My Steyr LP1 and the LP10 felt the same in the hand. I have short fingers and I found the reach to the trigger on the Steyrs to be a little long...there's only so much wood you can remove from the back of the grip until you hit the frame. I could shoot decent scores with it, but it didn't feel comfortable. My LP1 was beautiful though (it was one of the red/white/blue ones).

The Morini trigger felt great, but something about it didn't fit me well, and I can't quite put my finger on it. It might've just been that the grip didn't quite fit me, but it was a borrowed gun, so I wasn't going to mess with that. Plus, after reading about the horror stories of the lack of support from Walther when they discontinued their electronic trigger guns, I tend to favor mechanical triggers.

The Pardini K12 has been excellent. I added a Rink grip since I'm a lefty, and it fits like a glove. I don't have to feel like I'm straining to reach the trigger. IMHO, the trigger feel is better than the Steyr LP1 and LP10. That said, I haven't tried a Steyr LP10e.

As for who's winning with what, I wonder how much Steyr pays folks to shoot their guns? Might some of it be a bit of a "chicken or egg" argument? (Top shooters win with Steyr, influencing up and coming shooters to start with Steyr, etc.) As I recall, Morini had several wins in the past 25 years too. IIRC, in the last Olympics, wasn't the women's gold won with an old Steyr LP1?

[m1963]

Hello-

I said I would be at the Camp Perry air pistol match, next Saturday. I went to sign up for it tonight and found that I was waitlisted! They have 88 firing points! This has never happened, before! I am very happy that the range is full, and not happy to be waitlisted as I live 3 hours away.

Because of this, I have already signed up for the matches in October, November, and January.

To the OP, good luck if you got a spot!
m1963

[ChipEck]

Sorry for you, but ecstatic there is that much interest!!!

Chip