New shooter, Baikal grip shaping, and questions
Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2016 3:40 pm
Hi all,
New member here, just thought I’d introduce myself and share my recent shooting experiences. I started shooting 10m Air Pistol a few months ago, and after reading lots of threads on this forum I figured it was about time I joined.
I’ve been shooting airguns for a couple of years, but until now it’s mainly been air rifle (casual Hunter Field Target-style plinking and paper punching) and rapid-fire air pistol (Iron Plate Action Shooting). My main passion for shooting is around accuracy and precision and I was finding that I had less and less free weekends to visit the local shooting club to really stretch the rifles out to 50+ yds, so I wanted something that I could do on a shorter range. 10m AP fit the description nicely, but I immediately had a dilemma – I normally shoot left handed (rifle and pistol) but all the decent 10m air pistols come with right-handed grips, and sourcing a left-handed one is expensive over here (UK).
I tried holding my other pistol (Umarex CO2 Colt 1911) in the traditional 10m AP stance/grip, and found that it felt so alien and different to a Weaver stance that if I was going to have to learn how to hold a pistol again then I might as well do it with the ‘right’ hand. I practiced with the Umarex pistol for a while, but even in single action it has a pretty horrid trigger and they’re not known for their accuracy, so it was time to invest in the right tool for the job.
A PCP pistol was out of the question due to price, so I looked at three SSPs - the Baikal IZH 46M, the FAS 6004, and the Gamo Compact. After reading lots of reviews the Baikal seemed the best bet and thankfully my local dealer was able to order one in for me (it’s not the type of thing you see over here outside of specialist suppliers).
I won’t bother posting a full review of the Baikal (mine’s labelled MP-46M rather than being an Izzy, but I gather they’re identical) as there are already plenty out there, but suffice to say I’m very pleased with it and it far outshoots my capabilities.
A lot of the Baikal reviews I read said that the grip is on the large side, and that most shooters will need to adjust it to fit them. After shooting it for a while I found this odd, as I have fairly small hands and it fitted me quite well. It was only after shooting it for a while that I realised I was holding the grip wrong, and that while it felt comfortable I was holding the pistol at an angle so when I pulled the trigger it was pulling the gun slightly to the side rather than straight back. Once I gripped the pistol ‘properly’ I did indeed find it was uncomfortably large and it was time to get some sanding done. I looked at third-party grips like Woods and Waters and Rink, but until I can shoot better I can’t justify the cost.
I treated myself to a Dremel for my birthday and started working on the grip. I read a few guides online and followed the general process of holding the gun, making some pencil marks on the grip for where my hand sat, and then sanding with the rotary sanding drum. Once I had the majority of the wood removed and the grip felt comfortable, I changed to 240->400->600 grit wet and dry paper to make final adjustments and sand the wood smooth.
Here is the grip after the first round of shaping:
At this point the grip largely felt right and when I held the gun out the bore axis lined up with my hand and arm, but there were still pockets of empty space in some areas between my hand and the grip that needed filling. I’ve no idea if you can buy Morini grip paste over here for a sensible price, but I just used regular wood filler. I tried matching the wood colour first, but it didn't look great so I used grey for contrast instead - this is never going to be a 'pretty' gun anyway (I understand it has the nickname ‘industrial stapler’).
My technique was to work out where the 'pockets' were, apply wood filler to these areas, then put some cling film (I think you call it saran wrap in the US?) over the top and squeeze the grip in my hand. This left a fairly close imprint of my hand in the required areas. Once the filler had started to dry I peeled off the cling film to let the air cure the filler properly, then once completely dry it was sanded. A couple of extra bits of filler were added afterwards to raise areas that needed it, then these were again sanded until I was happy with the grip. A coat of Birchwood Casey Stock Oil was applied to the grip to protect it and match the original finish.
Here is the 'finished' grip in its current state:
I’m now at the point where the grip fits like a glove and feels a lot more stable. I also moved the trigger back a little and it now feels like I’m pulling straight back instead of to the side. I think the trigger might benefit from being a little lighter, but for now it’s not the biggest problem (my lack of skill is) so I’m leaving it alone until I make a trigger weighing system to make sure it’s not too close to <500g.
My personal training has basically been down to lots of research, and then trying to implement what I learn in practice. I don’t have a coach nor am I member of a club that shoots this discipline, so I’m a complete amateur. I have been working my way through Don Nygord’s Notes and I believe I’ve now got the grip and breathing elements fairly well sorted.
I think I’m now at the point where my biggest struggles are physical and mental fatigue. If I shoot a 60-shot string, then I find my mind and arm tend to wander on the third and fourth groups of 10. I’m working on the physical side by trying the StrongLifts 5x5 (I have always had rubbish core muscles and hope this will improve them), and once that’s improved I will work on the mental side.
My first question to you all is what is a ‘good’ score for an amateur? I started using the TargetScan phone app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... n&hl=en_GB for Android, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/targets ... 45769?mt=8 for iOS) to track my scores and have found it is the perfect companion tool for tracking my ability.
When I first started keeping track of scores, I was shooting somewhere around 75-80ex100. I would typically shoot 30 shots in a practice session and score somewhere around 230-245, with the majority of shots being a 7 or an 8. If I scored 9s, 10s or 10xs, then it felt like luck as much as anything else.
Since finishing the grip shaping (only last week), my scores are more consistently over 80ex100 with mainly 9s, and I shot my personal best of 89-2x. Are these scores reasonable for someone who has been shooting for around four months now? I know I still have a massive amount to improve on and I'm enjoying myself so the score doesn't matter too much right now, but am I in the right ballpark? I would personally consider a 500ex600 to be a good score right now and I am working towards consistently achieving this. Below is a screenshot of a recent 60-shot session. As you can see, there are a lot of 'fliers' when the physical/mental fatigue kicks in. If you ignore these (if only scoring was that easy!) then to me it looks like a decent group for an amateur?
My second question is where is the 10 metres actually measured from? Is it from where the shooter stands, the muzzle of the pistol, or what? For practice I have just been taking 10 large paces between roughly where the gun is held and where I place my target. Not overly scientific but it should be about right. I need to measure it properly really and put a marker down.
My third question is around the ISSF rule "No part of the grip, frame or accessories may touch any part of the wrist." The heel rest on the Baikal extends quite far backwards and arguably comes into contact with the base of my wrist when my hand is angled in the shooting stance. Is this allowed or not allowed? Is it fairly common to find the Baikal 46M falls foul of rules in this way? I will try to take a photo of what I mean and post it here if it's not clear.
Thanks in advance for your time and reading this rather lengthy first post!
Chris
New member here, just thought I’d introduce myself and share my recent shooting experiences. I started shooting 10m Air Pistol a few months ago, and after reading lots of threads on this forum I figured it was about time I joined.
I’ve been shooting airguns for a couple of years, but until now it’s mainly been air rifle (casual Hunter Field Target-style plinking and paper punching) and rapid-fire air pistol (Iron Plate Action Shooting). My main passion for shooting is around accuracy and precision and I was finding that I had less and less free weekends to visit the local shooting club to really stretch the rifles out to 50+ yds, so I wanted something that I could do on a shorter range. 10m AP fit the description nicely, but I immediately had a dilemma – I normally shoot left handed (rifle and pistol) but all the decent 10m air pistols come with right-handed grips, and sourcing a left-handed one is expensive over here (UK).
I tried holding my other pistol (Umarex CO2 Colt 1911) in the traditional 10m AP stance/grip, and found that it felt so alien and different to a Weaver stance that if I was going to have to learn how to hold a pistol again then I might as well do it with the ‘right’ hand. I practiced with the Umarex pistol for a while, but even in single action it has a pretty horrid trigger and they’re not known for their accuracy, so it was time to invest in the right tool for the job.
A PCP pistol was out of the question due to price, so I looked at three SSPs - the Baikal IZH 46M, the FAS 6004, and the Gamo Compact. After reading lots of reviews the Baikal seemed the best bet and thankfully my local dealer was able to order one in for me (it’s not the type of thing you see over here outside of specialist suppliers).
I won’t bother posting a full review of the Baikal (mine’s labelled MP-46M rather than being an Izzy, but I gather they’re identical) as there are already plenty out there, but suffice to say I’m very pleased with it and it far outshoots my capabilities.
A lot of the Baikal reviews I read said that the grip is on the large side, and that most shooters will need to adjust it to fit them. After shooting it for a while I found this odd, as I have fairly small hands and it fitted me quite well. It was only after shooting it for a while that I realised I was holding the grip wrong, and that while it felt comfortable I was holding the pistol at an angle so when I pulled the trigger it was pulling the gun slightly to the side rather than straight back. Once I gripped the pistol ‘properly’ I did indeed find it was uncomfortably large and it was time to get some sanding done. I looked at third-party grips like Woods and Waters and Rink, but until I can shoot better I can’t justify the cost.
I treated myself to a Dremel for my birthday and started working on the grip. I read a few guides online and followed the general process of holding the gun, making some pencil marks on the grip for where my hand sat, and then sanding with the rotary sanding drum. Once I had the majority of the wood removed and the grip felt comfortable, I changed to 240->400->600 grit wet and dry paper to make final adjustments and sand the wood smooth.
Here is the grip after the first round of shaping:
At this point the grip largely felt right and when I held the gun out the bore axis lined up with my hand and arm, but there were still pockets of empty space in some areas between my hand and the grip that needed filling. I’ve no idea if you can buy Morini grip paste over here for a sensible price, but I just used regular wood filler. I tried matching the wood colour first, but it didn't look great so I used grey for contrast instead - this is never going to be a 'pretty' gun anyway (I understand it has the nickname ‘industrial stapler’).
My technique was to work out where the 'pockets' were, apply wood filler to these areas, then put some cling film (I think you call it saran wrap in the US?) over the top and squeeze the grip in my hand. This left a fairly close imprint of my hand in the required areas. Once the filler had started to dry I peeled off the cling film to let the air cure the filler properly, then once completely dry it was sanded. A couple of extra bits of filler were added afterwards to raise areas that needed it, then these were again sanded until I was happy with the grip. A coat of Birchwood Casey Stock Oil was applied to the grip to protect it and match the original finish.
Here is the 'finished' grip in its current state:
I’m now at the point where the grip fits like a glove and feels a lot more stable. I also moved the trigger back a little and it now feels like I’m pulling straight back instead of to the side. I think the trigger might benefit from being a little lighter, but for now it’s not the biggest problem (my lack of skill is) so I’m leaving it alone until I make a trigger weighing system to make sure it’s not too close to <500g.
My personal training has basically been down to lots of research, and then trying to implement what I learn in practice. I don’t have a coach nor am I member of a club that shoots this discipline, so I’m a complete amateur. I have been working my way through Don Nygord’s Notes and I believe I’ve now got the grip and breathing elements fairly well sorted.
I think I’m now at the point where my biggest struggles are physical and mental fatigue. If I shoot a 60-shot string, then I find my mind and arm tend to wander on the third and fourth groups of 10. I’m working on the physical side by trying the StrongLifts 5x5 (I have always had rubbish core muscles and hope this will improve them), and once that’s improved I will work on the mental side.
My first question to you all is what is a ‘good’ score for an amateur? I started using the TargetScan phone app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... n&hl=en_GB for Android, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/targets ... 45769?mt=8 for iOS) to track my scores and have found it is the perfect companion tool for tracking my ability.
When I first started keeping track of scores, I was shooting somewhere around 75-80ex100. I would typically shoot 30 shots in a practice session and score somewhere around 230-245, with the majority of shots being a 7 or an 8. If I scored 9s, 10s or 10xs, then it felt like luck as much as anything else.
Since finishing the grip shaping (only last week), my scores are more consistently over 80ex100 with mainly 9s, and I shot my personal best of 89-2x. Are these scores reasonable for someone who has been shooting for around four months now? I know I still have a massive amount to improve on and I'm enjoying myself so the score doesn't matter too much right now, but am I in the right ballpark? I would personally consider a 500ex600 to be a good score right now and I am working towards consistently achieving this. Below is a screenshot of a recent 60-shot session. As you can see, there are a lot of 'fliers' when the physical/mental fatigue kicks in. If you ignore these (if only scoring was that easy!) then to me it looks like a decent group for an amateur?
My second question is where is the 10 metres actually measured from? Is it from where the shooter stands, the muzzle of the pistol, or what? For practice I have just been taking 10 large paces between roughly where the gun is held and where I place my target. Not overly scientific but it should be about right. I need to measure it properly really and put a marker down.
My third question is around the ISSF rule "No part of the grip, frame or accessories may touch any part of the wrist." The heel rest on the Baikal extends quite far backwards and arguably comes into contact with the base of my wrist when my hand is angled in the shooting stance. Is this allowed or not allowed? Is it fairly common to find the Baikal 46M falls foul of rules in this way? I will try to take a photo of what I mean and post it here if it's not clear.
Thanks in advance for your time and reading this rather lengthy first post!
Chris