LP10 Barrel Shroud Removal Opinions

[Andre]

I have a Steyr LP10 long, and out of curiosity I removed the barrel shroud and found it was a lot lighter at the front without all the excess metal. My question is, does anybody shoot a LP10 without the shroud? It will be more than an afternoon project to machine a new front sight base and compensator mount but I'm willing to do it if there is good reason to.

In the end it would look similar to the Lp@ without the rod weights.

[j-team]

Get an LP2 front sight, should go straight on.

[Scrench]

I'm the guy that believes balance is more important then weight, and that a lighter gun is far easier to hold on target once it's balanced properly. I bought every conceivable add-on for my LP10 to get it lighter because I thought the balance was more towards the front, and I like a neutral balance. I ended up taking off the shroud, adding a Nygard Turbo comp, a barrel weight, and using a short air cylinder. It ended up at 950g, exactly where I like it. I could have also left the rifle trigger on which would have made it even lighter. All that matters is how do YOU want it to feel. Take a look.

[conradin]

I use a LP2 compensator with Gehmann trigger guard weights. I prefer most of the weight to be where my hand is.

[therider]

I have a Steyr LP10 long, and out of curiosity I removed the barrel shroud and found it was a lot lighter at the front without all the excess metal. My question is, does anybody shoot a LP10 without the shroud? It will be more than an afternoon project to machine a new front sight base and compensator mount but I'm willing to do it if there is good reason to.

In the end it would look similar to the Lp@ without the rod weights.

At top level, Alexandra Zavala shoots with lp10 without shroud.

[DFWdude]

I agree with Scrench that balance is more important then weight.

The key to removing the shroud to balance the weight of the pistol is to replace the front sight with one including a muzzle compensator. Not difficult today, as all the top pistols have compensators of one sort or another. But back in the late '80s-early 90's, people thought a compensator on an Olympic Air Pistol was lunacy.

Everyone knows of Don Nygord's Turbo Comp of the day, because he was a top American shooter as well. But few know of my design, developed at the same time. Nygord's idea was to make a boxey item from heavier steel to weight the muzzle brake, with a single air vent at the muzzle.

My design was from aluminum, with several (3) vents positioned laterally, two larger vents at 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock, and a smaller vent at 6 o'clock. All were positioned before the sight post, to increase sight radius. The tapered sleeve moved forward or aft to block the vents to balance the effect of the air deflection to the shooter's preference.

Two forward-thinking members of the US Shooting Team -- Robert Plante (RIP), and Connie Petracek -- sported my design on their Steyr pistols, at least until the manufacturers decided the idea was not so wanky afterall. Hmmmmm....

I made muzzle brakes for Walthers, FWBs, and Pardinis, too. This was all during the CO2 era, when the guns shot 525fps (160m/s), and no one saw a need to shoot any faster. Of course, this Steyr CO2 Match (LP1-P) pictured below shot 605fps (185m/s), so muzzle flip was an issue. I still have this pistol and shoot it occasionally. It's rock steady with the muzzle compensator.

The LP2 front sight assembly looks tailor-made for the purpose at hand.

[Rover]

How about just buying a Anschutz@?