TargetTalk

Used to use Winchester P22 .22LR ammo years ago in my 1986 Walther GSP and found the ammo to be very low velocity meaning the pistol was ideal to shoot Standard pistol event. Can't get P22 anymore and find other ammo to be atleast 100 FPS faster but the recovery rate to point of aim takes a lot longer. Naturally scores have dropped off. Thought of getting a barrel weight to aid recovery. Any suggestions?

low velocity ammo you might look at is RWS Super Pistol 250 that starts at 260m/s and then Lapua pistol OSP that starts at 277m/s. They tend to be expensive though. The entire RWS line is also lower velocity than competitors according to their published data (they are about 285m/s) and it would be suitable. For practice i have used lately Geko pistol that is relative inexpensive and has low velocity.

Published data tends to be a bit pointless unless you are using the same barrel length as they used for velocity testing.

The GSP has an extremely short barrel for a top class target pistol so, to be honest, comparing velocities by using published data is a waste of time.

gsp has 115mm barrel. lapua achieves their published result of pistol OSP with a 113 barrel and rws says that they used a 130mm barrel for their ammo. they are not using rifle length barrels for these pistol specific ammo so actual velocities in a gsp will not vary too much.
my objective experience with my mg-2 pistol is that rws (geko branded in my case) feels lower velocity and has less perceived recoil than sk, lapua or eley i have tried. certainly each pistol and shooter combination is unique but the published data is a good starting point.

Agree velocity of ammo can not be taken as gospel but sure they are an indication that different ammunition faster or slower! Does anyone supply RWS in New Zealand? I use RWS pellets but haven't seen .22LR over here. Any thoughts on the barrel weights? Many thanks.

I have a Walther of similar age to yours.
I use the pistol for both Standard pistol and Rapid fire. I found I needed a barrel weight to keep the gun steady.

I got a 65gram weight which is specially amde up to fit the Walther. I purchased it from A USA dealer - Earl, and got excellent service from him.

You will have to watch, if you are changing to Low velocity ammo, because there is a required speed of feet per second, and the low velocity may not meet the specifications under ISSF rules.

The weight will change the character of the gun, - firstly it makes it heavier, so check the weight at gun check. Low velocity may not operate the gun regularly, especially in cold conditions when the wax lubricant may get hard.
The ammo I use is CCI,or RWS green box, or Fiorcchi. I don't know what ammo is available to you in your part of the world, but make sure you test the gun in both hot and cold conditions when you put a barrel weight on.
Good Luck, Alex L. in sunny Melbourne.

Thanks Alex L.

I have managed to purchase a 40G barrel weight off the Walther OSP and yes it has made the gun heavier. I am going to try it out this weekend. Agree low velocity ammo sometimes causes malfunctions. When I used Winchester P22 2 malfunctions cost me the 1st place in one of our competitions in NZ but I did put a score up of 565 (Standard). I am using CCI at present but find the velocity a bit on the high side. Use Eley club in competition and find the velocity to be a little less than CCI but it is more than twice as much ($'s that is!). Velocity still higher than I would like.
Looking forward to trying the gun with weight on this weekend. Shooting in National in 3 weeks time.
Can't find any RWS .22LR over here (NZ), would like to try some!

Have put 40g barrel weight on my GSP from OSP and fitted a new Rink grip. CCI target ammo recoil has been reduced drastically so as far as I am concerned problem solved. Gun is still legal for competition so Nationals here we come.