TargetTalk

I am based in the UK so most know our situation! I am having manufactured for winter training a Steyr LP50 that is shorter than the usual model and with additional weights for the replication of the feel and balance.

My next trip to Central Europe where I can take measurements post dates our UK Steyr specialists trip to Austria to collect the necessary parts by a week!

From actual owners of the Pardini .22 SP New Electronic (standard pistol NOT the Rapid Fire model!) I would much appreciate to know

1. Overall length
2. Total weight with standard factory weights installed in the barrel
3. Centre point of balance measured from the muzzle end.

Many thanks in advance.

Paul T (UK)

Paul,
You may already have the info off their website but if not;

Length 295mm (sight radius 220)
Weight 1095/1060 (Mechanical / electric - don't know which way round)

Obviously can't tell you about the balance because mine is sitting next to yours in the safe.

Rob.

Thanks Rob, but I need ACTUAL data please and the point of balance is very important.

I will get mine in a couple of weeks. But I doubt you want to wait so long for the measurements...

Paul,

I've done some measurements on mine, and will provide the following information...

Model = SP1 Electronic Catalog No. 15097
Grip = RH Medium, unmodified
Weight and Balance Condition = stock, 6 steel muzzle weight rods installed, empty magazine installed, unloaded chamber, slide in fully forward (ready to fire) position, hammer in the fired position

Overall Length = 30.3cm from muzzle to the rear-most portion of the grip/palmshelf.
Top Line Length = 26.3cm from muzzle to rear of grip immediately behind rear sight
Balance Point = 13.3cm from muzzle (if you look at a picture of the pistol the balance point is at the letter "P" in "SP1" engraved on the right hand side of the pistol frame)

Hope this info is helpful to you.


Mark.

Superb information, many thanks Mark.

Regards,
Paul

You could try to find the guy who put the electronic trigger into Ralf Schumann's LP5 - that would take the cake... Rumour says it was Emil Senfter...

Tycho, also many thanks!

I was not aware of a Ralph Schumann LP5 pistol with Electronics (nor were several others in GB when we discussed this project!) Would very much appreciate any information on this; for example, do we know what modifications that have been made to this pistol?

I will also ask our Steyr specialist who will be shortly visiting the factory in Austria.

Emil Senfter – is he Swiss, I ask as you may be aware we regularly visit Zurich to shoot, in fact, that is where some of us shoot rapid in-between centre fire and standard pistol.

From a modification stance, replicating within reason the 25m pistol with a 1kg trigger, reducing the sight radius, barrel length, adding weights & the centre point of balance (again, many thanks to Mark Briggs for this) plus replicating sight blade width etc. will help. Again, any additional info would be appreciated!

Regards
Paul

For you, Paul, there's no extra charge! ;-)

Hope you get your "SP1 Airgun" up and running to your liking. The one thing you'll not get with the airgun is the muzzle flip which is the bane of the Pardini, even with its weights and springs doing their best to tame it.

When you get a chance, drop me a quick pvt message as I'd like to hash over with you some info about the Pardini electronic trigger.

Right... that LP5 could be a urban legend, although I'm 90% sure I've seen it at some demo competition once, and more than one german shooter I know swears it exists. Besides, there was a time when a electronic trigger was very much in the planning at Steyr, serial production was actually communicated to be imminent. Of course, that was in the old days, before the MBO to Steyr Sportwaffen, and afterwards I could well imagine that they had other priorities. Especially as the 5 shot LP is more or less a dead horse, thanks to the ISSF. So, I'd guess that a prototype is lying around in some drawer. Of course I wouldn't be sure that it's identical to Ralf's, seeing that he used a Morini electronic in his Pardini RFP - a design of which there are surely less than 10 pistols in existence, and which wasn't continued by the original manufacturer. Rumours say that he got some help in building the RFP as well as the LP5 from Emil Senfter, ex chief designer at Steyr, but I have no way of verifying that. Senfter's Austrian and as far as I know happily retired somewhere in Tyrol. From my very personal standpoint - if I tried to do this today, I would go and ask Roger Geissbühler. He built Kiriakov's Hammerli 150E when he was working out of Lenzburg in the old days, so he has an idea of the electronics; besides, he's the Steyr and the Morini dealer for northern Switzerland, and a really very savvy guy. I'd think that the LP5 would not be all that difficult to modify, as the trigger itself is very simple and very accessible, and there seems more than enough space. You'd probably lose grip adjustability, though. I'm sure that if somebody actually tried to carry out that project, there would be other people interested in this, too, which could make it financially feasible.

Tycho, many thanks for a comprehensive reply.

Roger Geissbühler is well known to the GB squad, most of us have had our 25m pistol grips tuned by him and some of us our air and free grips as well. In fact the grip that will go on the short LP50 was made by Roger for my LP50. I will see how I progress with the LP50 when it arrives and confer with Roger re the electronic possibility as I will be taking some of our junior shooters to see him in Rotkreuz either later this year or early next.

One of the greatest challenges is the additional weight as well as its distribution. An early prototype short LP5 used the previous steel cylinder from a “short” LP1 compact when CO2 was used. Subsequent aluminium based cylinders are a lot lighter and we will be experimenting with the barrel weights and grip inserts to bulk up to a sensible training compromise.

The is a reasonable interest in the ISSF 10m standard/rapid events in the UK and a healthy LP5/50 market. With the rule changes, for non-UK shooters, the is possibly more opportunity for air pistol training using the standard models as no back-bar is required fort he grip.