What air pistol to get

First topic message reminder :

A lot of questions about buying things lately, I'll ask one of my own;

What is a good air pistol to complement a bullseye shooter? 

I'd like the following;
-Plausibly competitive for club level 10m
-1911-ish grips
-pcp
-dry fire capable
-cost that isn't astonishing

Obviously all of that is a stretch, but how close can I get?

I looked into am electronic trigger for my lp500 to compare... to convert from mech to elect.. ~600... yeah... im good with mech...

10sandxs wrote:I looked into am electronic trigger for my lp500 to compare... to convert from mech to elect.. ~600... yeah... im good with mech...

I would agree with that, it is one of those things that can make more sense from an initial investment. It is not a difference that will give most people a measurable performance benefit.

After seeing examples of previous electronic trigger guns becoming orphans when the company no longer supports them (looking at you, Walther), I stick to mechanical trigger guns. I currently shoot a Pardini K12 and I'm very happy with it. I used to shoot an Steyr LP-1P and it was pretty good too, but I felt the reach to the trigger was a little too long for me. I'd imagine a LP-10 or EVO-10 mechanical would be a good choice too. What's nice about the Steyrs is that Steyr has kept their cylinders and many parts compatible over the past few generations, which would give me some confidence that I'd be able to keep and shoot one of their guns for a long time.

I also have an LP50 and it's nice, but if you want a crisp trigger set up at ~2# to train for .22 EIC matches, it's not the best choice.

Some may not know…Steyr has a trigger setup that goes up to 3.5#. The LP50 is great for timed fire/rapid fire practice. There is a single shot mag as well. An electronic trigger, while kool, is not always helpful as a training device for .22 IMHO. 
There is a 1911 style grip for it available. 
They will run through air faster than the Evo10 (single shot) tho. 
As the ergonomics of these pistols is decidedly ‘Euro style’, I personally never found that the 1911 grip was of any real benefit.  There may be a shorter version that might work better. 
Fwiw there is a mount for a micro red dot as well.
When it comes to this level of sport, going cheap never works out well, unless you’re lucky. You get what you pay for. Buy once, cry once. 
If you don’t already have: a decent tank and extra cylinders will set you back a bit as well. 
Ya gotta feed the thing!  Lol
YMMV. Good luck!

Fotomaniac wrote:Some may not know…Steyr has a trigger setup that goes up to 3.5#. The LP50 is great for timed fire/rapid fire practice. There is a single shot mag as well. An electronic trigger, while kool, is not always helpful as a training device for .22 IMHO. 
There is a 1911 style grip for it available. 
They will run through air faster than the Evo10 (single shot) tho. 

How can you get an LP50 trigger to be as crisp (at ~2#) as something like an MG2 EVO (my .22 EIC gun) or high-end .22 euro-pistol? At best I would call the LP50 a long mushy roll at 2#. It's not possible to adjust it that much, perhaps because of the "reset" function? It would require internal work or parts replacement, IMHO.

I own two LP50's with the heavier trigger springs and while the weight is def heavier than the stock trigger it still feels a bit different than my rimfire pistol triggers. I bought them so my wife and I could practice rapid fire in the off season and they have served their purpose in my opinion.

For a bit of cost savings over the LP50, I found an LP5 CO2 fill and added 1911 grips. I agree that the 1911 grips are not the best substitute for a real 1911 but okay. Also I have both a light and heavy trigger that came with mine. The trigger is definitely not a glass rod but I like it a lot. CO2 is easy to obtain and fill. Also there are lightweight aluminum cylinders because it stores as a liquid and pressure remains constant throughout discharge. On the downside, if it matters, cold temps reduce pressure and can affect velocity.

Well…tbh, one should not nor cannot expect to get the same exact trigger feel from an air pistol as they would from an actual .22.  That being said, some come closer than others, especially if they are a Euro style like: AW93, MG2, even the Walther GSP and Pardini. Personally, I prefer a “roll” trigger, so they come close. 

You can go down the rabbit hole, buying and selling pistols until you find “the one”, or locate other fellow shooters and get to try theirs to see which works best for you. Granted this may be an arduous task, but will save you time and $ in the long run. I know that it seems crazy but you might even want to consider a trip to the CMP range when they have a match, there you’ll most likely get to see almost every decent pistol available, perhaps even try each. Folks are very welcoming. 

You WILL experience the same learning curve with anything you choose: setting up the trigger, adjusting grips, finding the best pellets for accuracy etc. developing and perfecting your process. But you will see that the shooting process is the same and will transfer skills over to your .22 game if you are persistent and more especially consistent. ie: aiming, trigger control etc.