Looking for my first Olympic airpistol

[Jetrider]

Hi there been reading alot on this forum and there are alot of valuable knowledge.

I'm looking to pick up my first own airpistol and I'm not aiming to become a superb shooter just doing it for fun while becoming better.
I live in Sweden and I'm also almost 50 years old soon.
There aren't that many 10m competitions were i live but I still want to purchase my own airpistol and don't want to use the clubs pistol further down the line.
Also gonna start with 22cal in a few months hopefully and already know what to get there.

So the ones I'm looking at is

Steyr Evo 10
Feinwerkbau p8x

And both are mechanical triggers.
I know the trigger is better on the FWB but I would also want to know is there any other manufactures to consider.
And also what's the advantage on an electronic trigger vs a mechanical.

All tips and pointers are more then welcome.
This is super fun and I'm hoping to be able to becoming even better and also find some competitions to attend further down the line.
PS alls the prices a re ridiculous high here a new steyr evo10 e costs around 3000$ so I'm also looking at the used market or purchasing from another country like Germany to get the price down.

[PirateJohn]

Pardini K12 and Morini 162 are also excellent pistols used often in international competitions. The Pardini is probably going to be cheaper, too.

[Jetrider]

Forgot to write I'm looking for a hazzle free airgun that don't require alot of maintence either.
Or atleast as little as possible.

[Jetrider]

Pardini K12 and Morini 162 are also excellent pistols used often in international competitions. The Pardini is probably going to be cheaper, too.

They are actually priced the same here in sweden Which would u choose and why.

[PirateJohn]

They are actually priced the same here in sweden Which would u choose and why.

Well, hard to say. The Morini has an electronic trigger, which is smoother than a mechanical trigger but also adds a point of possible failure.

The Pardini is also a lot heavier, by more than 100 grams. This can be either a good or bad thing. If you're strong enough to hold a heavy gun steadily, it can reduce the arc of movement because it has more inertia. It can also tire you out more.

The Morini, being lighter, can be easier to handle but harder to hold steady because of its lower inertia.

[David M]

1/ Buy the best you can afford to buy. Good quality Airpistols all hold their value over the years.
2/ Buy something in current production, it will ensure parts for the next ten to twenty years.
3/ Buy something with local dealer support just incase something goes wrong.
4/ Mechanical vs Electronic is personal feel, all are good. Most electronic fails are neglect, battery leak.
5/ Try to borrow as many as you can to try, then buy the one that feels good. Balance, trigger, feel etc.
Check local laws re-air tank, ISSF competition rules have a 10 year rule, most local OHS laws on small
aluminium air pressure vessles give them a 20 year life.
A 2 or 3 year older model may save you a little money.
Look at Walther, FWB, Morini, Styer and Pardini.

[Jetrider]

1/ Buy the best you can afford to buy. Good quality Airpistols all hold their value over the years.
2/ Buy something in current production, it will ensure parts for the next ten to twenty years.
3/ Buy something with local dealer support just incase something goes wrong.
4/ Mechanical vs Electronic is personal feel, all are good. Most electronic fails are neglect, battery leak.
5/ Try to borrow as many as you can to try, then buy the one that feels good. Balance, trigger, feel etc.
Check local laws re-air tank, ISSF competition rules have a 10 year rule, most local OHS laws on small
aluminium air pressure vessles give them a 20 year life.
A 2 or 3 year older model may save you a little money.
Look at Walther, FWB, Morini, Styer and Pardini.

Thanks for the input the thing is that like I've wrote earlier there aren't that many competitions here so many mostly used older FWB that the club has.
So I'm not gonna be able to try out different guns so I have to go by what people write and review.
I know that's not optimal but that's how it is for me.
I'm mostly looking at the Steyr Evo 10 and also the p8x...

[Rover]

My take on this is: buy a good used SSP. Forget all the additional expense of SCUBA etc., the aggravation of outdated cylinders, annoying inspections.
Most repairs are an O-ring.

Sure, I have PCPs. That's why I'm telling you to buy a SSP. Can't find one? Boo hoo.

[Bret P]

I followed David M, advice when I brought an air pistol.
I went with a Steyr evo 10 manual. I had a choice of an electronic Morini, both were fantastic guns and the only reason I went for the Steyr was servicing. Easier to get a Steyr serviced in the UK compared to other makes.
You may have to travel to a gun shop in a main city to try out a couple of guns.
To be brutally honest, all the top guns will be better and more accurate than the human at the other end, so go with what feels right and what can be serviced easily.
I'm 51 and aiming for the top (ISSF competitions), so I brought a gun which would see me though to that goal. If you only want to shoot locally then you don't have to break the bank to get the best if your not too bothered about not shooting a row of tens.
If you think you may want to do national or higher competitions in the future, then you will have to buy a gun for that standard. Buy the best now, constant upgrading is a waste of time and money.
I know shooters who have both guns (Steyr and P8X), they seem to like them both equally. Most complaints appear to be directed to standard grips. P8X if brought new, you can get a customised meshpro grip, not sure if you have to order this direct from the factory or not, to get the grip. I've ordered a grip for my Sreyr, not got it yet, hopefully will be good.
Not sure if this is useful but good luck.

[Jetrider]

I followed David M, advice when I brought an air pistol.
I went with a Steyr evo 10 manual. I had a choice of an electronic Morini, both were fantastic guns and the only reason I went for the Steyr was servicing. Easier to get a Steyr serviced in the UK compared to other makes.
You may have to travel to a gun shop in a main city to try out a couple of guns.
To be brutally honest, all the top guns will be better and more accurate than the human at the other end, so go with what feels right and what can be serviced easily.
I'm 51 and aiming for the top (ISSF competitions), so I brought a gun which would see me though to that goal. If you only want to shoot locally then you don't have to break the bank to get the best if your not too bothered about not shooting a row of tens.
If you think you may want to do national or higher competitions in the future, then you will have to buy a gun for that standard. Buy the best now, constant upgrading is a waste of time and money.
I know shooters who have both guns (Steyr and P8X), they seem to like them both equally. Most complaints appear to be directed to standard grips. P8X if brought new, you can get a customised meshpro grip, not sure if you have to order this direct from the factory or not, to get the grip. I've ordered a grip for my Sreyr, not got it yet, hopefully will be good.
Not sure if this is useful but good luck.

Yes it was very helpful well I'm aiming to get better and also start attentind some competitions in the future.
Just want a pistol that feels good and I'm gonna ask a few people what they use and ask if it's possible to try them out.
Don't know how far one can go as I'm soon 49 years old but this is something I would like to do as long my body also thinks it's OK.
Like the the psychological part and also still learning.
I'm also looking into a Valter LP 500 and mostly beacuse it's priced much better then steyr and other pistols.
Just don't want to knock it off beacuse it's not as commonly used as steyr or Feinwerkbau or others.
I'm also gonna go for a mechanical trigger and also look up the services which one is easier to service and parts before I decide.
Its a bit like golf started with a cheap set and now reached a point that the clubs were hindering me from progressing.
But it stand in three brands as off today.

Steyr Evo 10
Valter LP 500
Feinwerkbau p8x
So gonna ask if anyone uses theese pistols and see if I can try them out.

[Bret P]

49 is a great age. The oldest person at a shootinh event was a 72 year old called Oscar Swahn, he was Swedish. Provided you keep yourself fit, train hard you can shoot at a high level for a long time.
Out of those three pistols I'll pick Steyr, but they are all good are very much a personal preference.
Take care
Bret

[Jetrider]

49 is a great age. The oldest person at a shootinh event was a 72 year old called Oscar Swahn, he was Swedish. Provided you keep yourself fit, train hard you can shoot at a high level for a long time.
Out of those three pistols I'll pick Steyr, but they are all good are very much a personal preference.
Take care
Bret

Ok good to hear. Training more and more and also started to excersice more and also some weight lifting.
And thank u for the input again much appreciated. And I'm most likely gonna go for the Steyr Evo 10 also but gonna go mechanic switch not an electric.

[KZMNT]

Speaking as a Walther LP500 owner - don't buy it just because its cheaper. It's a very different gun compared to the Steyr.

I personally appreciate how intuitive it is and how easy it is to customize, but it's also harder to make small incremental adjustments because it's all mostly made on the principle of loosening a screw and moving stuff around then tightening it (the grip and trigger position specifically).

It's hard to describe but just looking at the manual of each individual pistol, the Steyr and Walther are probably the most opposite of each other I can think of, I don't think they do a single thing the same way.

[Jetrider]

Speaking as a Walther LP500 owner - don't buy it just because its cheaper. It's a very different gun compared to the Steyr.

I personally appreciate how intuitive it is and how easy it is to customize, but it's also harder to make small incremental adjustments because it's all mostly made on the principle of loosening a screw and moving stuff around then tightening it (the grip and trigger position specifically).

It's hard to describe but just looking at the manual of each individual pistol, the Steyr and Walther are probably the most opposite of each other I can think of, I don't think they do a single thing the same way.

Ok good to know first time anyone told me this.
Don't want to tinker to much.
I'm most likely gonna purchase the Evo 10 and I'm starting to look for a good used one seen a few which have been used for less then 2000 shots but they usually go very fast beacuse the market is so small here on used guns.

[rokada]

Don't know how far one can go as I'm soon 49 years old but this is something I would like to do as long my body also thinks it's OK.

I started shooting air pistol a couple of years ago, when I was nearly 10 years older than you are now. And I am certainly not the oldest one I see around me shooting air pistol. I believe that unless you have a real physical deficiency (or you are a very serious case of having no talent for shooting) you'll be fine. And while you probably won't go to Olympic Games, decent results on national level are definitely possible.

[Jetrider]

Don't know how far one can go as I'm soon 49 years old but this is something I would like to do as long my body also thinks it's OK.

I started shooting air pistol a couple of years ago, when I was nearly 10 years older than you are now. And I am certainly not the oldest one I see around me shooting air pistol. I believe that unless you have a real physical deficiency (or you are a very serious case of having no talent for shooting) you'll be fine. And while you probably won't go to Olympic Games, decent results on national level are definitely possible.

Well can't say I'm the best shooter but during a i shoot pretty ok for the little time I've been doing this.
If I'm not completely mistaken the very first time I practiced I shot 489 and I'm around 510 it's not perfect but I'm very new and can't practice more then once or twice a week now. That's gonna change but now it's at the most 5-6 times a month.
I'm.aiming for beeing able to beeing stable around 540-550 and upwards. Only time will tell but this is why I want my own gun and set it up as I want it. Now using the clubs Feinwerkbau pistols which are fine or even good but never know which one I will get.
There are others training also.

Not aiming for Olympics but if I can shoot around solid

[rokada]

I'm.aiming for beeing able to beeing stable around 540-550 and upwards.

I think it is well within your reach, even during the competitions. And 550 in Swedish Cup events would put you among the top 20 participants. That could be a nice feeling :)

Only time will tell but this is why I want my own gun and set it up as I want it.

Yes, without your own pistol (or, to be precise, without a pistol that you would be able to customize/adjust and keep it that way - you do not have to own it) it would be very difficult to achieve good results.

Now using the clubs Feinwerkbau pistols which are fine or even good but never know which one I will get.
There are others training also.

That's exactly what I meant :)

Just one advice: do not just train, but also take part in competitions. Because, as you will soon learn - if you haven't learned that already - it is your mind trying to deal with stress that keeps you from scoring really good. Get used to stress, peek on good shooters (how they prepare, how they shoot, how they behave when they scr*w up a shot). This will all do good to you and your results.

[Jetrider]

I'm.aiming for beeing able to beeing stable around 540-550 and upwards.

I think it is well within your reach, even during the competitions. And 550 in Swedish Cup events would put you among the top 20 participants. That could be a nice feeling :)

Only time will tell but this is why I want my own gun and set it up as I want it.

Yes, without your own pistol (or, to be precise, without a pistol that you would be able to customize/adjust and keep it that way - you do not have to own it) it would be very difficult to achieve good results.

Now using the clubs Feinwerkbau pistols which are fine or even good but never know which one I will get.
There are others training also.

That's exactly what I meant :)

Just one advice: do not just train, but also take part in competitions. Because, as you will soon learn - if you haven't learned that already - it is your mind trying to deal with stress that keeps you from scoring really good. Get used to stress, peek on good shooters (how they prepare, how they shoot, how they behave when they scr*w up a shot). This will all do good to you and your results.

Again gold tips for sure. I'm most definitely gonna do competitions also.
Its a good learning curve to see how others do things.
But the most important thing for me is having fun and I'm not easily stressed. Not under pressure either. Been golfing and that's a advantage for me beacuse I can refocus when needed.
And I'm also self-taught and almost a single handicapper.
Not the same thing as airpistol but can take things with me an adapt them into this line of sport.
Gonna be fun to see when I can start to do competitions and practice more how it will evolve.

[rokada]

But the most important thing for me is having fun and I'm not easily stressed. Not under pressure either.

I am also not very stressed when I know there is no way I'm gonna be in the top six (unless a miracle happens). But when there are real chances that I would be competing for the top three - now that's a different story :)

Been golfing and that's a advantage for me beacuse I can refocus when needed.

You are not the first person I have met that compares shooting and golf. There might really be someting to it...

Gonna be fun to see when I can start to do competitions and practice more how it will evolve.

Good luck :)