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A shooting buddy of mine has asked me for advice regarding an air or CO2 powered pistol that he can use indoors to keep his eye sharp (and incidentally, combat cabin fever...) over this long, miserable winter we're having up here.

The depth of my ignorance on this subject is stunning. I'd appreciate input from anybody that shoots air pistols or has suggestions as to brands, models or types.

Thanks.

This is not off topic at all. Plus, I'm the only moderator here at GTOL.

Your friend has a great idea. He can use a CO2 powered pistol or even a spring cocking version. The springers are very accurate. He's going to need about thirty feet of clear shooting room for his air pistol range. Another great item to have is a .22 cal bullet trap. Midway has them, along with other fine firearms parts suppliers. Champion Bullet Trap I don't feel comfortable with the sheet metal style pellet traps for shooting these air pistols, so that's why I use the heavier, metal plate, .22 cal bullet trap.

I use a Beeman P-1 in my home range. It's a .177 cal springer model made to emulate the look and feel of a 1911 pistol.



I shoot pellets during those times when I cannot go out to the range to keep my hold sharp.

There are many other variants of air pistols Fienwerkbau has some nice pistols too, both springers and gas guns. Here is some great examples of gas guns off of Pilkguns website http://www.pilkguns.com/worldclassap.shtml

Hope this helps.

R,
Bullseye

I have a Daisy Avanti 717 single stroke pneumatic very nice for indoor practice.

I have been very happy with the Baikal IZH-46M that I purchased a couple of years ago. You can get these for about $300.00 and they are very accurate. I have been told that one can be very competitive in 10M air pistol competition with one. It is a spring cocker with an excellent trigger that is fully adjustable. The only negative I have found is that it is a tad muzzle heavy. The grips as they come from the factory are blocky target grips. Almost everybody grinds and sands them down to a shape which suits them. If you don't want to go to that trouble some really nice aftermarket grips are available.

DWS

I wholeheartedly agree with DancesWithSquirrels. I purchased my IZH over 7 years ago. They are scary accurate. If there is a group larger than 1/8" at 33 feet, it wasn't the gun. I shot mine with the trigger as low as 4 oz with no creep and no aftertravel. Best score was a 564 out of 600. I used it a lot to practice with open sights as I was still on my quest for a distinguished pistol shooter designation. After I acheived that in 2003 I promptly started neglecting the Izzy and my scores now hover around 500-520.

All the aforementioned inadequecies are there, slightly muzzle heavy and grips like a 2x4. But, the accuracy and trigger are mind boggleing. It will shoot as well as co2 and compressed air pistols costing 4 times as much, without the hassel of recharging the air/co2 cylinders. Their velocity runs about 100-150 fps less than air/co2 pistols so the holes aren't punched through the target as cleanly, but I can live with that.
FWIW

If you want to go a more inexpensive route, try the Crosman 1377 American Classic .177-Caliber Air Pistol.
This runs about $70. It is very accurate and worked well for me when I couldn't make it to the range.

Bud33 wrote:try the Crosman 1377 American Classic .177-Caliber Air Pistol.

I'm so glad someone spoke up for the "affordable" models.
I've had a Crosman 1322 for several years,
the pump-action saves on CO2, when it spends most of its time
in the closet... and allows varying the pressure.

? Do the CO2-models have a pressure adjustment ?
to permit some close-range/soft shots...
or is it just NN shots per CO2 cannister?

-- (cheap) toy

toyfj40 wrote:

Bud33 wrote:try the Crosman 1377 American Classic .177-Caliber Air Pistol.

I'm so glad someone spoke up for the "affordable" models.
I've had a Crosman 1322 for several years,
the pump-action saves on CO2, when it spends most of its time
in the closet... and allows varying the pressure.

? Do the CO2-models have a pressure adjustment ?
to permit some close-range/soft shots...
or is it just NN shots per CO2 cannister?

-- (cheap) toy

Looks like that might help cure my cabin fever Tex, what woiuld you recommend the .177 or .22?

first, I'm not sure the 1322 ( .22 pellet) model is still "available"...

second, I got it because I already had two .22 pellet rifles
and did not want to open-a-can-of-worms of a different caliber...

more seriously, just a thought... the 1377 might be "better"
for low-pressure indoor practice with the lighter-pellet

consider these, too:
http://www.crosman.com/airguns/rifles/co2/NS1204A

http://www.crosman.com/airguns/benjamin/HB22

IMHO, the 'Benjamin' (of "Benjamin/Sheridan" reputation)
might be a nice step-up, if a few $$ are not an obstacle...

look around the Crosman site, there are several "others",
the 2300S is rifled-CO2 for ~200 ...

good luck,
- toy

Right you are Roy, the 1322 is no longer manufactured. The 1377 is available from Midway USA for around $55.00, what pellet style would you recommend, know nothing about air gun an not a whole lot about real ones either.

Daisy wad cutter style pellets shoot good in my 1377.

bearandoldman wrote:Right you are Toy, the 1322 is no longer manufactured.
The 1377 is available from Midway USA for around $55.00,
what pellet style would you recommend.

on MidWayUSA.com search for:
Beeman Pellets
Gamo Pellets - #681030 is very popular...
--- #823549 is a variety-pack to sample a few different styles
RWS Pellets - has a variety-pack also

NOTE: of these three Pellet-mfg, it seems the .22 caliber pellets
are getting the user-ratings a bit more than .177 caliber...
I don't know what that means...

also, from the MidWayUSA main-page....
scroll down the left-menu to 'airguns'
for their broader selection...
in their AirPistol-selection they have a 'Colt 1911' .177 CO2 pistol...
the much cheaper Daisy 15XT is also "colt like"

I've been reloading/shooting my .30-30 Marlin&Winchester
along with "the" 1911 ... so these little 8-10grain pellets
just don't cut-it !!

You just can't beat big bullets, remember a 9mm will expand, but a .45 will never shrink.

Toy, I found a place on the internet where I can get a Crosman 1377C re manufactured air pistol for $34.90, Daisy pellets for $5.00 a box and just under $10.00 for shipping. Only problem is they do not have any in stock right now but are expected on the 14th of this month. May just take them up on this,.

bearandoldman wrote:Toy, I found a place on the internet where I can get a Crosman 1377C re manufactured air pistol for $34.90

I think I saw the SAME SITE, when I was browsing around...
it sure looked like a GoodDeal to me...

I've also had the Benjamin 392 .22 pump rifle for a number of years.
it has been made for a long time and still well rated...
much like the Ruger MKx ...

good luck, keep us posted on what happens...
-- toy