TargetTalk

Is the IZH 46M a decent starter air pistol for 10m matches?

If so, what is best for “feeding” it? Qustion is for both practice and matches?

Thanks,

TimC;

Welcome to TT.
The Izzy is an outstanding beginners 10m air pistol.
I shot one for a while.
It will put pellets in the same hole as any higher end pistol will as long as you do your part.

As far as feeding it, just feed it pellets :)
If you want to shoot a cheaper quality pellet, try RWS Hobby.
I gave up testing pellets a long time ago.
I just shoot R10 match for practice and matches(the light ones for pistol).

I shoot an LP1 PCP now cause I wanted to move forward but the Izzy will not hold you back.

Hope this helps.

Clarence

Agreed. I won a gold and a bronze medal in 3-round local matches (180 shots over 2 days) in my first year and only moved on to a Pardini K10 because I got a good price on a used one with a Rink grip. The 1kg weight of the Pardini seemed a good idea because I'd managed to hurt my shoulder (weight lifting, not Baikal lifting) and the heavier pistol was hard to use after that injury. Once I got through the healing and rebuilding stuff with my shoulder I found the Baikal's weight a bit annoying only because it was noticeably heavier than the Pardini, and I wanted by then to have my backup pistol feel the same as my new main pistol. Since then I've modified the Baikal so it's a lot lighter (much metal shaving on the cylinder and cocking lever and elsewhere) so they two are very close to the same feel.

So I waffle. Can't quite decide which I like better. There's no difference in accuracy. The Baikal's much quieter and that's nice for home practice, especially in the evening. The Pardini's fun for not having to crank the cocking lever on every shot, but really, after a couple of months with the Baikal I stopped noticing that effort.

So anyway, yeah, the Baikal 46 or 46m are plenty good for getting started in competition. I've heard of scores over 580 being shot with these pistols, and many shooters take theirs to well over 550. The biggest stumbling block is the grip, which must either be heavily modified for comfortable, stable use or replaced with something more sensibly designed. Some putty and basic woodworking skills should get you a long way with the stock grip, along with any readings you can track down on how to approach grip carving.

Should I use the “RWS R10 Match .177 Cal, 7.0 Grains” or the “RWS R10 Match Heavy .177 Cal, 8.2 Grains”?

Am I correct in assuming that staying with a ‘wadcutter’ would be best for shooting paper? I remember back in the early 1980s when I was shooting PPC, the .38 wadcutters cut a neat crisp hole in the paper for scoring. Just not sure if this applies to .177 pellets.

Thanks for any input.

Tim

Stay with a wadcutter, and try both pellets. My Izzy likes the heavier pellets better than the light ones.

My Izzy likes the ehavier pellets better than the light ones.

Curious - mine preferred the lightest I could feed it. RWS Meisterkugeln until I found that their Hobby pellets did just as well. No need to spend the money on R-10s until your scores approach 560.

RWS Basic did very well in my tests, and are even cheaper (most places).

My testing showed no change in accuracy between heavy and light pellets, but I got an extra 35-45 f.p.s. with light ones. That's a nice benefit with low powered guns and crap targets.

What Clarence said was perfectly correct, but he neglected the added performance caused by farkling. I think he wants it to be his shooting "secret."

Rover!!! Not farkling!!! You know that we never tell noobs about farkling - someone could get hurt!

Jeez ...

Roger

I made a 100 shot bench rested group with Frankonia Jagd pellets (RWS Basics) that is barely larger than the size of a dime. It is a capable 10 meter pistol in the right hands...

william,

I also found it curious. As a new pistol shooter, still struggling with consistency (as well as vision) I think it may just be that when I do not reject a shot the "flingers" (as my son calls them) are further out with light pellets because they are out of the barrel before the barrel begins to return to the center.

I plan to try light pellets again as I get my consistent.

As Rover has generously pointed out my secret to everyone.
Thanks Rover...
This is "farkling "

Clarence

The IZH46M is certainly capable of shooting very high scores. The best value 10m AP for sure. One minor problem is that they shouldn't really be "fired" (i.e. "discharging gas") without a pellet. If you shoot a formal competition, this can make things a bit tricky when officials test the trigger weight. Not only is it bad for the piston, it can blow out the rubber o-ring seals which is a real PITA if you are about to shoot a formal match. If you have an understanding official, you might be allowed to trigger test with a felt cleaning pellet loaded (with maybe a cloth over the muzzle to catch the felt). This will save the piston and your o-rings and is pretty safe but there are no guarantees that an official will allow this.

Fortitudo Dei wrote:The IZH46M is certainly capable of shooting very high scores. The best value 10m AP for sure. One minor problem is that they shouldn't really be "fired" (i.e. "discharging gas") without a pellet. If you shoot a formal competition, this can make things a bit tricky when officials test the trigger weight. Not only is it bad for the piston, it can blow out the rubber o-ring seals which is a real PITA if you are about to shoot a formal match. If you have an understanding official, you might be allowed to trigger test with a felt cleaning pellet loaded (with maybe a cloth over the muzzle to catch the felt). This will save the piston and your o-rings and is pretty safe but there are no guarantees that an official will allow this.

Sorry, I don't mean to be rude but my 2 years' experience with the 46m begs to differ. I've fired it without anything in the barrel hundreds of times with no ill effects, including the breech and transfer washers not flying out. Those washers have only blown out for me on two occasions, both within my first week with this pistol, and both times were owing to my failure to properly close the breech. After some carefully polishing of the tongue which locks the breech block against the barrel this ceased to be a problem. The rough steel wasn't giving me proper feedback when pressing it closed so that it seemed closed but was not. A partial lock will allow this block to be blown free of the barrel and the rush of compressed air will blast both washers out of their seats. By the way, both times this happened there was a pellet loaded, so that is irrelevant. I have read a number of forum comments in various forums stating that this is a common problem. Just part of the less than refined nature of Izzy manufacturing, and nothing a bit of careful polishing and attention can't fix.

Dammit, Clarence, I was chastised (and properly so) for revealing the existence of farkling to a newbie.

Farkling technology is known to only a few technicians and only to be revealed to Master (AA class) shooters who can take advantage of the enhanced, but dangerous, technology. You knew this when Scott Pilkington gave you exclusive access to this item.

Someone could get hurt!