TargetTalk

So I've managed to contract tennis elbow, from a combination of work (shooting a lot of full power .40 S&W), and hobby (holding a TOZ-35 in one hand for hours). Per my doctor I need to layoff both of those. I've got plenty of other things I can do at work besides shoot, but I'd like to keep my hand in pistol shooting. I can shoot something "very low recoil, and that is light." Immediately the first part made me think target pistol, but the second part has me worried. How much to air pistols weight? Are CO2 lighter then PCP or SSP, etc?

I had been considering an IZH-46 for a while, but they have a reputation for being heavy. As far I can find online they weight about as much as a TOZ. How light can I go and still have a reasonably accurate pistol, and what pistol would it be? I can always add weight if I need to to help settle the muzzle.

Thanks in advance, my elbow appreciates all of you.

-Jenrick

Alternatively I suppose I could shoot left handed and cross dominate. An airsoft gun would probably keep me busy for a while learning how to do that with any reasonable degree of accuracy.

We suffered through this last year. It was not fun. Rest is the best solution. Alternatively, we found that a band allowed us to continue shooting. (The band really works!):

http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Band-Sports-A ... lbow+brace

Essentially, it is not the pistol you are shooting causing the problem. It is the conditioning of your elbow. Time will heal the injury, and proper training will prevent future injury.

Cheers!
Brad

I also went through this a few years back. Using a band, I could continue to shoot .22 & air pistol, although it was sometimes painful. The band I used is relatively inexpensive, and is available at a lot of US drug stores. It is a "FUTURO Tennis Elbow Support", and costs about $11. I'd get two, and wash them regularly.

Also, heat before & ice after shooting helps, along with moderate doses of Ibuprofen. Mine still acts up occasionally, but it's largely a non-issue these days.

Thanks for the replies guys. I think I'm going to have to lay off free-pistol for a while due to the bent wrist position really stressing things. I'll try out the bands for other things though.

-Jenrick

The bent wrist position is supposed to be the relaxed postion of the wrist while shooting, not forced into alignment. Work on your grips!

Jenrick:

For your information, pistol weight:

Steyr LP10e 968 gr
Steyr LP10Ecompact 901 gr
Morini 162EI 1020 gr
Morini 162EM short 920 gr
Walther LP400 carbon 870 gr
Steyr LP2 905 gr
Steyr LP2 compact 780 gr
Feinwerkbaw P44 950 gr
Feinwerkbaw P44 shiort 870gr

Look for other posts on the accuracy of short guns, it is the same as the long versions

The bent wrist position is supposed to be the relaxed postion of the wrist while shooting, not forced into alignment. Work on your grips!

Correct to an extent. It's the wrist relaxing with a 2.5 lb weight that has to be held in a particular fashion which causes stress on the elbow that's the problem.

NanoZ thanks, that's exactly what I wanted to know.

-Jenrick

NanoZ. wrote:Jenrick:

For your information, pistol weight:

Steyr LP10e 968 gr
Steyr LP10Ecompact 901 gr
Morini 162EI 1020 gr
Morini 162EM short 920 gr
Walther LP400 carbon 870 gr
Steyr LP2 905 gr
Steyr LP2 compact 780 gr
Feinwerkbaw P44 950 gr
Feinwerkbaw P44 shiort 870gr

Look for other posts on the accuracy of short guns, it is the same as the long versions

IZH-46 1090gr
IZH-46M 1170gr

(per my scales)

LP2 Compact is probably the lightest you will find. You will not be able to out-shoot it, either.

David

Feinwerkbau P11 cca 730 g
Feinwerkbau P11 Piccolo cca 690 g

http://www.feinwerkbau.de/de/Sportwaffe ... Modell-P11

Wow! That P11 is light. My LP2 Compact is 807g with cylinder. I presume the measurement of the P11 is also with cylinder. The LP2 Compact is 650 without.

David

Sorry. I do not own a pistol P11. I estimate the weight of the cylinder about 160-170 g and the piccolo 140-150 g approx.

Petr

Steyr LP1P. 948 gram
Matchguns MGH1 1078 grams
Steyr LP10 978 gram

I could get another 30 gram out of either of the Steyr pistols with some innovative machine work. As well you could use the Steyr "short" cylinder and reduce the weight some more, but for a full size air pistol it would be pretty difficult to get much lighter.

You may find that you want to add some small amount of weight back (where you need it) for improved stability.

pbrejsa wrote:I do not own a pistol P11. I estimate the weight of the cylinder about . . . 140-150 g Petr

The FWB P11 Piccolo cylinder is 5.1 ounces.
That is a 6" ruler on the scale for a size reference.

Its not the same as tennis elbow which can be a bitch to get rid of, but I have been using air pistol to rehab after rotator cuff surgery on my shoulder. The pistol weighs about the same as the 2-4 lb weights the therapist has me using and it gave me a reason to get another gun that my wife had a hard time saying "no" to. Also, it has worked well to increase the strength in my shoulder and gives me an incentive to practice.

Gwhite wrote:I also went through this a few years back. Using a band, I could continue to shoot .22 & air pistol, although it was sometimes painful. The band I used is relatively inexpensive, and is available at a lot of US drug stores. It is a "FUTURO Tennis Elbow Support", and costs about $11. I'd get two, and wash them regularly.

Also, heat before & ice after shooting helps, along with moderate doses of Ibuprofen. Mine still acts up occasionally, but it's largely a non-issue these days.

It's definitely worth trying the band. I've been lifting weights for decades and about 10 years ago developed tendinitis in my upper forearm near my elbow. It got so bad that I couldn't shake hands without sharp pain shooting up my arm. The band took care of the problem and allowed me to keep lifting while the arm was healing. When I later lifted without the band, the tendinitis would resume. As a result, I now wear the band whenever I lift.

The key is to wear the band tight. Essentially, the band creates a new "contact point" for the muscles and tendons below the weak or injured portion.

BTW, as a long time competitive athlete, I have injured myself in a variety of ways and, inevitably, the doctors have told me to lay off for six weeks. That's the safe and easy advice. But it is problematic advice for people who are regularly active. I now have a doctor who is a jock and we no longer talk about laying off. Instead, we find other ways to get around the problems.

I have been rehabbing my elbow for a year now and have to be careful with pistol shooting. Mine started from lots of sportbike motorcycle riding.

Here are a few suggestions.

Shock Doctor makes a great elbow ice wrap with three ice packs in it. I think they label it for something other than elbow.

Point ice massage also helps.

The strap does help. Don't overuse it.

The strangest thing I found was how you sleep at night makes a difference! my Otho nurse gave me a wrist imobilizer to sleep with. I can tell when I stop using it that my recovery time is longer. I must have been constantly flexing my wrist when sleeping which used the elbow tendons.

Computer usage creates a condition known as Mouse Elbow. Be careful how you set up your computer. I find a mouse which puts my elbow at a neutral position has helped avoid using the tendons while mousing - mine is made by Evolulent. Also getting a keyboard without a number pad has put the mouse closer to my centerline so I am not engaging elbow muscles to use it (I am right handed).

I also get relief from doing self reflexology http://www.modernreflexology.com/acupre ... ow-relief/

Don't use that arm when driving, learn to give it that part of the day off.

The pain makes your shoulder tense up, learn how to relax the whole arm. you will be surprised how much tension you have become accustomed to holding.

Best of luck.

I mouse with my non-shooting hand. it took very little time to get used to. I didn't even swap the buttons, I just trained my left hand to use a right-handed mouse. Not only does this minimize the wear & tear on my shooting arm, I've always been concerned that hammering away on the left mouse button might be training poor trigger control into my finger.

As somebody who also suffers from tennis elbow I have recently found out that holding the pistol with more strength fixes the problem. Even when your arm is fully stretched and the elbow's locked out, contract your biceps. I contract the muscle before I stretch out the arm and keep the tension throughout the shot. This takes just enough weight off the elbow joint. My arm isn't angled or anything, it's completely locked out. If you relax the biceps, then the weight of the forearm and the pistol is completely on your joint and it can't be good

I make 150-200 shots per training with air pistol and always train longer than 2 hours and had some serious problems with the elbow. I still have but this seems to have fixed it. If I don't do it, the pain is quickly back.

P11 Piccolo can also be retrofitted with a P44 grip. Then you have an very capable and light weight air pistol. They do have a slight but noticeable recoil and a bit louder report compared to the LP and P44 series. The size and feel is a lot closer to a real weapon, than any of the full size 10 meter air pistols. If you are just practicing and not looking to compete in National matches, I think it would be a good fit, and you will be surprised at the accuracy, and wonderful triggers any of these guns have.