TargetTalk

My 4-H shooting group, age 10- 18, want to begin shooting air pistols. I currently won a IZH 46m that I like, but is hard for youngsters to pump. We have a Crosman 2300S CO2 pistol, so pumping is not an issue. It's not a bad gun, but not a great trigger. Another option is the Daisy 747. Again, not a great trigger , but also not very expensive guns to start with at $120-140 each (we need three). Any have any experince with these and a recommendation for another? Should I think about a couple of each so shooters can develop their own preference?

What about the Tau 7? A lot more money. Is it worth it at this level, or should I recommend it to someone to buy on their own if they develop a real interest?

Daisy 717 is even cheaper, but w/o the adjustable trigger of the 747 and the Walther barrel.

The Daisy 7x7 are front heavy, and when your hand sweats the plastic grip gets slippery and the pistol muzzle droops. Then you have to tighten your grip...tired..sore... The fix I have is to put a small piece of rubber "non-skid" on the backstrap. The non-skid keeps the grip from slipping in your hand, even if it is sweatty. All you need is maybe a 1"x1" square...OK maybe a few more pieces as you experiment. I got mine at my local Ace Hardware.

The only problem is, I don't know if that is competition legal to do.

I have tried the Daisy pistols and like one of the posts mentioned they are to front end heavy for young kids. The TAU 7 Junior has worked out the best so far without going over a thousand dollar range.

There will also be a new CA junior pistol comming out from Air Arms, supposedly at a reasonable price. I expect it wil be shown at the National Coach College in Colo Spgs next month.

Air Arms has been promising a pistol for years and from I have been told by some of the dealers it is not going to cheap.

I've seen the new air arms air pistol while I was at the Training Center in Colorado for the Junior Olympics but no price was mentioned. I also was able to hold but not shoot a new junior compressed air pistol from Morini with a fixed cylinder and a mechanical trigger. I was impressed, it had the shorter barrell and air cylinder and I was told it would be in the $700 price range. You could by it with your choice of two grips, one a smaller grip without the heel rest or the standard morini grip. I know the one I saw was for sale but I don't know if they are availble from USA shooting.

I coach 9 4-H air pistol shooters ranging from the 7th to the 12th grade and we made the committment to buy all of them compressed air pistols either Syeyr's or Morini's, their choice. After a lot of fund raising we were able to get the guns over a three year period. I spend a great deal of time with these kids and 31 more in our BB rifle and Air Rifle program and the money was worth it. They have guns they can actually handle and shoot.

Good Luck,
David Haire
Tift County Georgia 4-H

I've thought about what's been said here and I'm leaning away from the Crosmans and Daisys toward the Tau 7 Jr. if its still available. My logic is as follows; although I don't want to invest a great deal of money into high priced equipment when I'm not sure any of these kids will catch the pistol shooting bug, I realize that using hard to handle guns will more likely discourage them before they've given the sport a fair try. Better one easy to use, albeit entry level pistol like a Tua 7 junior than 5 Crosmans that they find muzzle heavy and difficult to use. I appreciate the feedback I've received and welcome any more you might have.

Good decision.

Next read up on the bulk fill process. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy. That would be a better mass training alternative to using co2 cartridges. They can use the cartridges at home, but bulk is cheaper in the long run for range use where you have a bunch of shooters.
...that is unless you have one of the co2 cartridge manufacturers give you a godfather deal on them.

I am afraid you have to invest in some good match pistol.

The reason is the one you mention: shooting with a cheap pistol is no fun.

There is also a huge difference in the pleasure of shooting between a compressed air pistol and a pistol with a compression lever, even with a very good one like the FWB LP65. This one can make very good scores but produces much less fun/pleasure.

I would also advise the Steyr LP2 or Morini with short barrel. The best one with a shorter barrel is the Anschutz LP@ ligth it is a real top pistol but its price is also very similar to the one of top pistols.

Another cheap option, almost as pleasant to shoot with, is to buy an used CO2 pistol like an LP1 or a CO2 FWB (there were several models, C25 is a very good one). CO2 is now disapearing and you can get one of these at a very low price.

Hi

Sedgwick County 4H bought Tau-7's a few years ago. On the upside, they're light, the trigger is adjustable, the sights are good, the sight notch can be changed out, and the front sight can be changed. They're CO2 guns, and easily re-fillable by 10 year old girls.

On the downside, they're a 4H open class air pistol which means that you have to shoot unsupported and one handed.

We also have a couple of 747's. On the upside, they're well made, and you can get left handed and right handed grips.

I don't remember anything about the triggers.

On the downside, they're heavy, REALLY heavy if you're a 10 year old girl.

Our pistol team all shoot tau-7's, we have an 11 year old girl (top score 151 of 200), a 12 year old girl (120 of 200), and a 12 or 13 year old boy who just started. They are all shooting the tau's unsupported one-handed. They all tried shooting the 747 two handed, but went back to the TAU's.

Mike
Wichita KS