Looking for a pistol for the casual shooter? Short air rifles are perfect for beginners

Wondering how to use your free time? Are you at least a little bit interested in guns? Would you like to start somehow and find out if shooting will be fun for you? If you don't want to invest a lot in trying it out, a short air gun, either in the form of a pistol or a revolver, whose price won't hurt your wallet too much, is the right choice to start with. The choice should certainly be made according to the purpose, whether it is just for leisure shooting or for training shooting with a plan to improve and in the future get a long rifle, for example. So keep reading to find out how to make the right choice.

BREAK BARREL AIR PISTOLS

Break barrel air pistols work on a simple principle. You break the barrel, insert the pellet, snap the barrel back, aim and fire. Most models of such pistols also have a so-called grooved barrel, which greatly helps to refine the aiming at the target. They are single-shot, with no magazine. Such air pistols will be the right choice even for beginners who do not plan to switch to an air rifle in the future. However, they will also be suitable for those who want to switch to a break barrel air rifle, which works on the same principle of loading and firing. The projectile energy of this type of weapon is approximately between 3.0 and 7.5 Joules. Therefore, target shooting is ideal from a distance of approximately 5 to 10 meters. In the price range between 50 and 70 euros, we recommend the Spanish model GAMO P-900 and the Russian model Bajkal MP-53M. If you don't mind paying just a few extra euros, you can buy a unique French air pistol model Langley Pro Sniper with an additional stock for around 100 euros, with which you will surely have a lot of fun.

CO2 PISTOLS AND REVOLVERS

CO2 air pistols and revolvers are mostly replicas of the original firearms. Therefore, if you don't have a firearms license, but you have your dream gun model from e. g. action computer games, it is possible that you will find such a replica in the selection of air guns. They are powered by small 12 g CO2 cartridges that can last for about 50 shots and have magazines with different capacities. They can be divided into two groups, those that only shoot pellets and those that only shoot steel shots.

• Shooting pellets - they have a grooved barrel and they can be expected to be relatively accurate given their power. The projectile energy is generally around 3.0 Joules. Shooting at conventional 14 x 14 cm air rifle targets is ideal at around 5 meters. Compared to models shooting only steel shots, these are more expensive, but if you want to shoot more accurately, be sure to choose the pellet version. Replicas of the original models are also produced. Popular examples are the Walther CP 99, the Beretta 92 FS and certainly the legendary Austrian Glock 17 pistol. Some models have the so-called Blow-Back feature, which makes the slide of the pistol move with each shot, like on real self-loading pistols. A specific one is, for example, a revolver by the American brand CROSMAN model Vigilante, which can shoot both steel shot and classic pellets.

• Shooting steel shots - they do not have a grooved barrel, so they are much less accurate than the pellet versions. The projectile energy is also around 3.0 Joules. They are not suitable for shooting small targets as the dispersion of light steel shot is considerable. It is more suitable for shooting at larger targets, or objects such beverage cans (300-500 ml) and the like. Financially, shooting is less demanding, as the price of steel shots is noticeably lower than the price of pellets. You also pay less for the gun itself since they can be bought from around 50 Euros. Popular replicas shooting steel BBs are e. g. CZ SP-01 Shadow, CZ P-07 DUTY and Glock 17. Some models also have the so-called Blow-Back function. If you choose this type of gun, remember that they are designed for steel shots, not lead shots. You can seriously damage such a gun by loading lead pellets (shots).