TargetTalk

Rob wrote:I ran into "one" competetor who mimicked a revolver shooter with his GSP-32 . He said it was legal to regrasp the weapon using both hands and then assuming the ready position before the targets turned.

He was right Rob. It is perfectly legal, provided of course that the pistol stays pointed down range.

David,

You are correct about the old rule number. I simply use that 2001 book for quick reference. It's faster than checking the current pdf.

Regarding 8.6.1.2 and 8.6.1.3, they seem to conflict because there is no way that any pistol held at 45 degrees or less is pointed at the backstop. An AD from that position is going to hit the ground or floor, and *hopefully* the bullet will find the backstop. No big deal. It's just no one should assume an AD will hit the backstop as we've probably all seen ADs go in some strange directions.

One final thought. On all of the videos I've seen of recent CF or WSP competitions, it appears to me all of the competitors are lowering to 45 degrees and staying there until the next shot.

IPshooter wrote:Regarding 8.6.1.2 and 8.6.1.3, they seem to conflict because there is no way that any pistol held at 45 degrees or less is pointed at the backstop.

I don't actually see a conflict Stan. I think that you have to be pointing at the backstop OR be going to or at the Ready position. That is clarified in 8.6.1.2 with the words "....within the target backstop area before returning to the READY position...."

IPshooter wrote:One final thought. On all of the videos I've seen of recent CF or WSP competitions, it appears to me all of the competitors are lowering to 45 degrees and staying there until the next shot.

That seems sensible to me. When I was competing back in the days when you were allowed 2 allowable malfunctions, the only thing that would stop me from going straight back to the ready would be checking the gun if I had already had 2 AMs. That was the routine that worked for me, others may do something else. Nowadays, with the 1 AM rule, I think I would probably check the gun between shots after I had one (misfeed). If breaking the routine caused the odd 9 then so be it. That would be preferable to losing up to 40 points for an NAM.

[/quote]Regarding 8.6.1.2 and 8.6.1.3, they seem to conflict because there is no way that any pistol held at 45 degrees or less is pointed at the backstop. [/quote]

8.6.1.2 is a 'general' rule for all ISSF pistol regarding the direction of the pistol; 8.6.1.3 then goes on to cover the exceptions needed for the 25m Ready position.

Regards & season's greetings
Spencer C

The last time I shot CF (w/Lee Jr's Unique 32) it was at the end of a long day of competition. I had mentioned that my shooting arm was so tired that I had a hard time in the last string of Duel.

The gentleman next to me, a rather accomplished shooter, had mentioned that he would keep the gun pointed down range and then rest his elbow against his hip until he again assumed the ready position.

I intend to try this at the next match, but before that time I also intend on doing some gun lifting exercises to build up some more stamina.

Maybe I'm weird or just built that way but - one of the things that seems to help me with arm fatigue during the duel phase is to avoid bringing the gun down immediately after the shot.

It seems that at least for me, it is easier and less tiring to keep the gun pointed down range for an extra couple of seconds before bringing it back to the ready position.

Like I said - maybe I'm weird but holding the gun at the ready position seems much more tiring than just holding it straight out.

Either way, I'm sure some focused exercise would probably help too.

F. Paul

F. Paul in Denver wrote:... is to avoid bringing the gun down immediately after the shot...F. Paul

and a great time to do the follow through and analyse the shot AS IT LOOKED & FELT (not as it appears through a scope or monitor)?

Spencer C

A most excellent point from down under.

Spencer C and F Paul,

Very good advice. I will try this as well.

Thanks!

As said, the .32 semi-auto is the standard pistol for international center fire.

However, most of the people I talked with at Camp Perry do not like it much for Bullseye shooting. At that time, the European guns were optimized for 25 meters, and by 50 yards the slow barrel twist showed up as poor accuracy and sometimes completely keyholed bullets. The .32 with fixed barrel and blowback action seems like a good idea for Bullseye, but the Euro-guns just aren't quite good enough. With a faster twist rate in the barrel rifling, they would be excellent.

Benjamin,

I used to believe that as well - that the .32 as a caliber simply doesnt perform well enough out to 50 yards.

However, my personal observations have convinced me otherwise. At the World Masters Games I scored a fellow competitor by the name of Deepinder Singh who is a member of the Canadian Pistol Team. I saw Deep shoot some incredible 96 and 98 slow fire scores with a stock Pardini HP. He was shooting Lapua factory ammo which goes for about 29.00 per box of 50 here in the US.

One target and one gun does not a legend make but I'm no longer of the opinion that the caliber is not up to the task. I think if you match the right gun with the right ammo, the .32 will hold its own against ANY other centerfire gun including the venerable 1911 platform.

For sure the .32 is finnicky, but if you have the patience to match the gun to the ammo and put it in the hands of a capable shooter - the .32 is quite a performer.

I have also heard that there are custom after market barrels out there that provide a higher twist rate.

F. Paul in Denver wrote:I have also heard that there are custom after market barrels out there that provide a higher twist rate.

There are blanks to buy from Lothar Walther in Germany

http://www.lothar-walther.de/html/160.php

twist seems to be around 450 mm for .32 S&W L. Is that suitable or should it have steeper twist IYO?

I think a 285 mm blank is about 80 Euro. A reamer (from Clymer) is about 50 USD. The pardini barrel has a rather simple geometry, so a few hours in the machineshop and there is a new barrel to test (and still 140 mm blank for a second barrel)