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Choosing an Air Pistol

We have divided our air pistol offerings into three groups to make choosing the perfect pistol even easier. Each of the groups provide you with a special, unique use for a pistol. Our suggestion is to determine what your use will be, then look for a pistol that fits your needs.

Sporters and Plinkers come in all shapes, styles and price ranges. You will find pistols powered by springs, CO2, compressed air (PCP) or from the single stroke of a manual lever. These guns are designed for the average shooter who wants loads of fun, above average power or a realistic look and feel. Sporters and plinkers offer the most diverse choices and many shooters will be drawn to these guns.

Target Pistols
Target pistols are highly accurate and typically available in .177 only. Pistols in this category are mainly powered by compressed air in either a multi-shot configuration or single-cock compression stroke configuration. Recoil is almost non-existent and these pistols usually contain many features that my be adjusted to your requirements. These pistols offer a transition between the sporters and the more expensive match guns. Most shooters will find these pistols to be far more accurate than they are and may be what you are looking for if accurate equipment is important without the high price tag.

Competition/Match Pistols
These pistols are the ultimate in accuracy. When shot placement is the ultimate goal, then these guns are for you.. Designed for 10-meter paper punching, these guns will give you the edge over even the best competitors

What makes your Air Pistol work.

The power of an air pistol is achieved in one of four power methods: CO2, compressed air, mechanical spring and single-cock pneumatic.

Most shooters are familiar with the CO2 powered pistol. From our earliest days we can all remember the little silver cylinders that powered these seemingly magic guns. Times have not changed from those early days. Many manufacturers still offer pistols powered by a 12 gram CO2 cylinder. As a point of fact, many match-quality pistols use CO2 although the storage and metering is somewhat more sophisticated. CO2 has its pro's and con's and one of them is it's susceptibility to temperature changes. Swings in air temperature can effect your pistols point of impact dramatically although many popular guns continue to use the CO2 cylinder despite that weakness. However, this weakness can be easily overcome by allowing the gun an hour or so to "adapt" to a current outside temperature. But still, they are at their best for inside shooting where temperature is constant and therefore not a factor. On the plus side, CO2 cartridges are convenient to carry, cheap to use and provide a consistent source of power.
A second method of power is the classic metal spring. Spring-powered air pistols range from the mild to the high powered. A real plus to a mechanical spring gun is that it contains it's own power supply. The shooter need only cock the gun to provide a never ending source of enjoyment.

A third type of power plant is the PCP which is powered from compressed air stored under high pressure within the gun. It is metered out on a shot by shot basis to provide the power for these guns. The PCP pistol provides a very consistent, recoilless shot-to-shot experience. While most PCP pistols are used for target or match shooting, a new breed of high powered pistols is appearing on the market and are used mainly for hunting and pest control. These pistols pack magnum class power which is a departure from the usual airgun pistol.

The fourth and last type of power plant is the single-cock pneumatic. Pistols of this type are powered by a single cock that compresses air and then is released when the trigger is pulled. These pistols provide a recoilless shooting action like a PCP and a never ending power plant like the spring pistol which makes them very popular with shooters. These pistols are not as powerful as a PCP pistol but they do contain their own power supply and do not require any cylinders like the CO2 pistol.