Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 25

Thread: Training with an air pistol?

  1. #1
    Member randyflycaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Missoula, MT

    Training with an air pistol?

    Folks,

    Shooting my 9mms are very expensive. I am thinking of buying an air pistol, so I am wondering how helpful would shooting an air pistol help me improve my trigger press.

    Thanks so much,

    Randy

  2. #2
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Lexington, SC
    Quote Originally Posted by randyflycaster View Post
    Folks,

    Shooting my 9mms are very expensive. I am thinking of buying an air pistol, so I am wondering how helpful would shooting an air pistol help me improve my trigger press.

    Thanks so much,

    Randy
    If you are working trigger press dry fire can be a great tool

  3. #3
    Member randyflycaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Missoula, MT
    When I dry fire the sights do not move. When I live fire my 9mm, well that is a different story. And then there's recoil that I have to control.

    Thanks,

    Randy

  4. #4
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    USA

    Training with an air pistol?

    Dry fire is a good recommendation, and a great way to practice your trigger control. Just set up a target that has a safe backstop, and focus on keeping a good sight picture all the way through the trigger pull. You can also incorporate drawing, reloads, target transitions, etc. It’s boring, but it’s free and beneficial to a lot of shooters, me included.

    An air pistol would give you one thing that dry fire doesn’t: hit confirmation. But, it would fall short of dry fire in precisely replicating the feel of the trigger in live fire, and an air pistol may not fit in your EDC holster(s). Neither an air pistol nor dry fire would give you realistic recoil, of course.

    ETA: In response to your second post: Do you think that the reason for the sight-movement difference between dry fire and live fire is recoil anticipation/flinching? If so, I doubt that an air pistol would help much. Perhaps you could try ball-and-dummy drills in which you mix dummy rounds in with live rounds in each magazine. That can help reduce recoil anticipation, or at least make it quite obvious.

  5. #5
    I have been training with Air Pistols for decades. Huge benefit. Great For POINT and SHOOT skills. All kinds of targets and drills. Some really nice replica gun out there. In Europe, Iron Plate shooting is very competitive. I have a range in my back yard, and in my garage.

  6. #6
    Site Supporter 0ddl0t's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Jefferson
    I have not found my air pistol clone to be that useful for training. It is lighter & doesn't balance the same, the trigger doesn't feel the same, it has no recoil, it does not shoot to the same point of impact beyond ~5 yards, and it is time consuming to reload especially every 3rd or so magazine when the CO2 cartridge runs out.

    It was a little useful for <5 yard point shooting, but a laser would do the same thing for even cheaper.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by 0ddl0t View Post
    I have not found my air pistol clone to be that useful for training. It is lighter & doesn't balance the same, the trigger doesn't feel the same, it has no recoil, it does not shoot to the same point of impact beyond ~5 yards, and it is time consuming to reload especially every 3rd or so magazine when the CO2 cartridge runs out.

    It was a little useful for <5 yard point shooting, but a laser would do the same thing for even cheaper.
    Laser? Sorry no comparison, Not even close. You do not need recoil for Point and shoot skills. Not sure what gun you have, but you do not seem to be in the same world I have been in for the past couple of decades. Time consuming? It takes about a 15 seconds to load a Co2 cartridge. How long does it take you to drive to a range. You do not have to have the same exact gun as your carry. I have about 15 different models.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEDuJQWiaRE

  8. #8
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Lexington, SC
    Quote Originally Posted by randyflycaster View Post
    When I dry fire the sights do not move. When I live fire my 9mm, well that is a different story. And then there's recoil that I have to control.

    Thanks,

    Randy
    That sounds more like recoil control than trigger control. If the sights dont move during dryfire sou ds like your trigger press is solid. If they move during live fire either its a flich or recoil control. I've found a .22lr trainer of my G19 to be a valuable. It has the same sights, trigger, and holster as my carry/competition guns. An air pistol is just too different for me in all but looks. Though they are fun to shoot. I gotta say though that although cheaper to shoot, I'm not sure either would be much help with a flinch or recoil management. What kind of issue do you have and perhaps we could help suggest the most effective means to train its improvement? With 9mm the sights are going to move... its just how much, how you track them, and how effective of a next sight picture you can get quickly. Good luck in your training!

  9. #9
    I would say Join a Air gun forum and start learning what they can really do would be a way to start. No offense, but if a person is really interested they are not going to get a lot of useful information from a Powder burner forum. There is a whole lot more to it than can be said here. And a reason why many train with them. And not only Pistols, but rifle competition is very competitive. I own a few Custom Spring Power Rifles that run about $600-800. PCP's can go into the thousands. Bench rest, field Competition, and on and on.

  10. #10
    Site Supporter 0ddl0t's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Jefferson
    I'm sure there are much better models than my airgun, but I wanted to practice with a clone of my carry pistol in my carry holster wearing my everyday clothing. The biggest disadvantage of this is the same for dry fire: it is very easy to "cheat your grip" and get acceptable results that would actually be detrimental with your carry pistol.


    I've found the laser to be a much better training tool. Point your gun where you think it is on target and hold the laser switch on: instant feedback how far off you aimed. Even better is dry firing: You can easily see the laser dip 3" on the wall across the room, but that same pistol movement barely moves the sights. This is also true in live fire: I can't tell you how many times I (and every other astute observer at the range) have seen my laser dip slightly just before the shot breaks - telling everyone I had a preignition push... I can also see whether the laser goes straight up in recoil and, if not, play around with my grip until it does.


    The airgun is more fun to get that plink plink audible feedback, but I just haven't found it that useful for developing the muscle & coordination skills to control a real-life snappy pistol.

User Tag List

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •