TargetTalk

I'm from the UK (South West England) and I have been reading the excellent advice on the current and archived forum.

I have been shooting FT and HFT for some time, but I have been tempted to have a go at 10 meter Air pistol.

I currently thinking or purchasing either a Steyr LP10, or Steyr LP50 - but following on the advice I have seen was hoping to find a club relatively local to get a feel for the sport.

From my searching on the web, it seems that finding any clubs is nearly impossible. Does anyone have any recomendations of places to start looking ? - I have bought the Target Sports magazine in the hope that it would have a list of clubs etc, but to no avail.

Many thanks for any help you can offer,

Steve.

Have you tried the club-finder section on the National Small-bore Rifle Association web site?

Steve,
And how about teling us where you live ? As David says the NSRA has a club finder service. Target sports are compiling a list of clubs as we speak, but I don't know that will be published. There are also a fair few Brits on here that may be able to point you in the right direction.

I know of a couple of clubs in Devon for example if you're in that vicinity and I don't live there.

Rob.

David,

Many thanks for the link, I'm going through the list of clubs it has at the moment.

Rob,

Sorry I kept it as vauge as South West Uk as I was happy to travel a bit if there wasn't a club in the same County, but yes I am actually on the Devon / Dorset border. Any recomendations you have would be very welcome.


Steve.

SteveT,


Consider setting up your own range - AT HOME.


Depending on how your home is set up and your level of enthsiasm for the AP discipline, you may find that with some innovation, you can find the requisite space to set up a target return system (manual or electric).

My wife bought me a Champion electric target return system for xmas a couple of years ago and I have enjoyed it immensely.

Of course, nothing beats the comraderie and challenge that accompanies live competition but dont let the inconvenience of driving a long distance to a club put you off.

Take care and good luck

F. Paul in Denver

Not sure home ranges would be legal in the UK. They are illegal in Australia and the UK has even more stringent rules than us.

Here an air pistol is categorised the same as a magnum pistol - they are both pistols and if your reason for owning one is target shooting then they can only be used legally on approved ranges.

Having said that I guess that quite a few people would be setting up ranges in sheds and just hoping that they never get caught because it means cancellation of handgun licence and loss of firearms.

There's no problem in setting up an airgun range at home in the UK providing that you ensure that the pellets only stay withing the property boundaries.

I consider it essential that anyone starting to shoot air pistol should join a club.

It is all very well for someone to try to learn the basics from books or (excellent) groups like this but, IMHO, face-to-face coaching/advice is infinately more preferable.

All too often we see people here who are relative novices trying to get too involved with the intricacies of technique without fully grasping that they need to learn the basics first. Air pistol shooting is about keeping the sights aligned and having a trigger release that doesn't disturb that alignment. These are simple concepts, but are too often overlooked in the headlong rush to become an expert.

I suspect that the UK is no different to any other country, not all clubs have qualified instructors or coaches. If a newcomer can find one that does then their enjoyment of, and longevity in, our sport is likely to be greatly enhanced.

Thanks for all the advice. As David mentioned there are no issues with using airguns / rifles on your own property in the UK - I already use the rifles in my garden at the moment.

I was looking for a club for a number of reasons :-

1. to try out both LP's to see which I prefer.
2. to pick up tips advice / coaching etc.

I was aiming to make use of the club facilities, and also practice at home.
I was initially just going to go out and buy the LP10, since it has some exceptional reviews, but since reading about the rapid fire side of things had also added the LP50 into the selection.

Steve.

Steve,
Well there's a club in Oakhampton for starters - not sure enough of my geography but it's the right end of the map for you. Ferndown is also I think in Dorset. I would also suggest you join http://forum.stirton.com and ask there - it's UK based and I'm sure there's quite a lot of shooters from the south west.

Rob.

Rob,

I've joined the forum you suggested, and I am going to contact Okehampton.

Thanks for the info,

Steve.

SteveR wrote:I was initially just going to go out and buy the LP10, since it has some exceptional reviews, but since reading about the rapid fire side of things had also added the LP50 into the selection.

There was a pretty recent thread, LP 10 or LP 50, that may help. Here in the US (and perhaps in other countries where cartridge guns are allowed) you will almost never see anything but slow-fire air pistol events. So you see lots of LP10's and never see (or at least, I've never seen) an LP50. And conversely, any timed or rapid fire strings you'd ever fire in a match here would be with cartridge guns, the most popular being .22.

But it's a different situation in the UK, where, as I understand it, there's no way private citizens can legally possess cartridge pistols. If you want to do RF there, it has to be with air. So, no surprise, the LP50 might be much more interesting for you where you live than it would be over here.

Still, if you're just thinking about getting your first gun and trying to choose between the LP10 and the LP50, I personally would go with the LP10. Bear in mind this is not the only gun you're ever going to buy. It's like potato chips: You can't eat just one. Nobody ever buys just one gun. If you enjoy the LP10, you'll probably buy the LP50 next and be thoroughly delighted to own them both. And if you look at it that way, that you expected you'll likely end up with both, given where you live, then I expect most people would agree that the LP10 should be first.

Good luck with your choice. Hope this was helpful.