TargetTalk

I am a junior air pistol shooter. I have been using the club gun, a Tau Jr. I am in a small jr club that mostly does air riffle. I need to buy a gun with a better grip and longer sight radius. I am not sure what to purchase. My goal is to shoot at the Jr. Olympics and Nationals. Can you recommend an air pistol that will help me reach my goals and serve me in college also? Where should I shop for the pistol? Are there any good used guns on the market? Thank you for any tips to help me. I am in Oklahoma.

Okie,
Go for the best, highest quality air pistol you can get: Steyr. When I competed, I tried and used many types. The Steyr I shot produced the best results and held up better than any other manufacturer's air pistol. The trigger, in particular, stayed crisp and released consistently.

From time to time, I notice used Steyrs on the buy-sell-trade portion of this forum. You might be able to get a good deal direct from the manufacturer. Otherwise prepare to pay retail and that's high. Be patient and you'll get what you want.

Good luck.

Retired

By all means, getting a used Steyr (if you can find one you can afford) would be an excellent choice. If that proves difficult, I wouldn't wait too long to consider other good used air pistols. For example, if you find a good price on a used Morini, I wouldn't pass it up. If you search the archives, you will find plenty of info on the pros & cons of other other brands like Walther, Hammerli & Feinwerkbau. Personally, I would avoid Walther & Hammerli (which is now owned by Walther) because of bad experiences with support for older pistols.

All of these are plenty accurate clamped in a rest. The best pistol for YOU will be the one whose ergonomics (sights, balance, grip & trigger) allow you to extract that fundamental accuracy easily. That's awfully hard to predict up front. If you can, try to find local shooters with high end pistols that you can try. The grips won't be right, but you can at least get a feel for the other issues.

I got tired of dealing with gas tanks for filling, and now have a Hill pump for my PCP pistols. I highly recommend that approach for an individual. If you belong to an active club where others can share the expense, a tank isn't a bad way to go.

Come down to Dallas and shoot with Teamshootingstars.org . We have a few high end pistols you can try and I can arrange a visit with Neil Stepp of I.S.S. (only 20 minutes from our club) where you can put hands on several types of pistols. You can contact me thru the above web site or call 214-735-7066.

Brooks