TargetTalk

So, my landlord called me last night and told me to meet him at an address like 40km from my house this morning. I get there, and he has lined up 5 shooters that let me demo their guns on an indoor range specifically for 10m. I got to fire the Styer L-10, the FWB Picollo, the FWB P44, the Walther LP400 & the Morini CE162 (I believe that's what it was). It was pretty awesome, I must say, even if I didn't understand a word the guys were saying! I think I fired about 50 pellets through each pistol and the guy who knew some English was firing off about 100 words per second trying to keep up with the older men who were talking about the different weapons. They basically told me to shoot as much as I wanted, just to refill their cylinders when I was done. Pumping up 5 cylinders is a chore guys! LOL!

I was really impressed with all of the pistols, though I couldn't notice a real difference in them. The one that I think fit me the best, and that I was able to hold (what I would call) a group with, was the Walther LP400. The grip felt right in my hand (it was a stock grip as where all of the others had custom fit Rink Grips, which is why they probably felt off in my hand looking back at it), the weight seemed right (had two sliding weights on the business end of the barrel), and it seemed like I was able to hold the front sight better with it. I thanked them all and turned to my landlord to see if he was ready to leave. He motioned for me to follow him.

We went to a store called Frankonia (a sporting goods store here in Germany), and he talked with the young guy at the counter, handed him a business card, and the guy walked back and brought out an LP400 Carbon, pump, pellets, a match box and a Walther locking metal case. He rang it all up, and I was shocked that there was such a huge discount. I got all of this for right at 1000 Euro. Uh... that AP, on their shelf, was 1329! To say I got a discount is an understatement! I immediately surrendered my credit card & a VAT (Value Added Tax) exemption form, and walked away with my new hobby in hand.

We went back to the range and the oldest gentleman that was in the group that let me shoot their pistols, was still there. This guy looked about late 50's early 60's. My landlord handed him the pistol, he loaded it, ran out a target. Fire, reload, fire, reload, fire, reload, fire, reload, fire. Ran the target back in and they were all in the center ring! The guy said (in VERY broken English), I'm 72, no excuse! Handed me the gun back, shook my hand, and walked away! AMAZING day guys, AMAZING!

Now, where's me a Rika for sale?!?!?!

It sounds like a wonderful day. Did you find out the older gentleman's name? He easily could have been a former Olympian. I have been fortunate enough to shoot next to Arnie Vitarbo at Phoenix. He is still one heck of a good shot.

Now you damned well better learn to speak German! You're going to be hanging out at their clubs.

Too soon for the "I told ya so" line?

Yup, time to pick up more German so you can interact at the local club.

Don't worry about a RIKA, you're a long way from seeing any benefit from a trainer. Worry about the basics (fundamentals). Everyone words them a little differently, but those are:

Stance/head position/non-shooting arm
NPA
Grip
Trigger control
sights
breathing
follow through

The first I'd focus on is sight alignment, though that's tied in pretty tightly with grip. Learn to build a consistent grip and make sure that when you raise the pistol, the sights are perfectly aligned. Do it with your eyes closed to check (don't cheat yourself), do it on a blank wall, do it with your eyes open, hold, then closed for a count of 30 before opening to check again.

Once you can do that while just holding the pistol, then make sure it doesn't move while dry-firing.

Anyway, that's where I would start (yes, toss in some plinking cause it's fun, try to avoid shooting at real targets for awhile though, not much good comes from that in the beginning).

Have fun.

Yeah... it was pretty outstanding. The older gentleman's name was Erich. I didn't get a last name. I wish I was going to be shooting at this range we were on today... it was pretty nice, and I have been to some awesome indoor ranges in the states. I still have to get the landlord to take me to a more local club... 40-50km's is too far to commute. As far as plinking, not sure that is going to happen. May landlord already told me definately no on setting up an indoor range... :(... and German gun laws are pretty strict in regards to shooting outside other than hunting from what I have read.

Anyway, yes, I guess I will be doing what I have been for the past 3 years, learning some functional German so I can communicate some with the guys at the range.

Thanks for the "roadmap" on getting started! I will definately be looking into developing a daily routine.

Congrats. It sounds like a great buy.

The Walther LG400 is very flexible.
Don't worry about Rika at this stage. Get used to the Walther and then start the adjustment: Sights, grip, barrel weights, grip weight, cant..etc. Batch testing different brand and caliber of pellets to find the one you like. Dissemble the pistol for a little bit to learn more. Adjust the trigger weight (always 500g, but how you are going to distribute the 500g between first and second stage is up to you).
If you are not happy with the grip, get a custom one.
Have patience. Every time you did an adjustment you may go backwards...but eventually you will get everything right and your score and groupings will keep improving.

Yeah, I'm not going to even attempt to claim to understand all the adjustments this pistol is capable of. I know I can add weight to the front of the barrel to help stabilize the sights.

I was looking on Walther's website & they have a design your own AP/AR application. They show 2 trigger configurations. Anyone have any clue as to what the difference would be? The trigger on the model I have can move forward & back, up & down & the area the finger pad rests on can rotate in and out (basically angling the trigger). The other one looks more solid (as it is a larger group of metal parts). Any ideas?

Wow! Now you can hook up all your stateside buddies on TargetTalk! :-)

kingsolo wrote:Yeah, I'm not going to even attempt to claim to understand all the adjustments this pistol is capable of. I know I can add weight to the front of the barrel to help stabilize the sights.

I was looking on Walther's website & they have a design your own AP/AR application. They show 2 trigger configurations. Anyone have any clue as to what the difference would be? The trigger on the model I have can move forward & back, up & down & the area the finger pad rests on can rotate in and out (basically angling the trigger). The other one looks more solid (as it is a larger group of metal parts). Any ideas?

I think best is for you to shot the pistol for a while, and then think about modifications. It is so much dependent on your own way of shooting, that will probably be more stable in some time.