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Piston shooters

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scotton said:
Shooting piston is like dating a crazy woman. Some days are fantastic and everything just works. Other days (most days?) things are a little out of whack and you have to chase the zero around to figure out where things are going. And like dating a crazy woman, it can be fun and challenging, but you wind up asking yourself "what am I doing? this doesn't have to be this hard". A lot.
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The trick to "dating" crazy women is confining the relationship to where it belongs; and away from family, "friends", and far, FAR from the altar! Having twice violated this truism myself, once again I speak as the Voice Of Experience. And although I wouldn't take for some of those most-"memorable" experiences, I consider myself lucky to have survived two psycho-wives.

During my last reconnection with #1 (for me, #4 for her) I asked, "How many times have you been married now, Jackie?" She replied, "Eight; but only 6 husbands." Soon as I told her I wasn't interested in marrying again she lost interest.

Number 2 almost killed me, took a quarter-century of my best years, and $100K to finally rid myself of. The day she drove away (destined for Portland, Oregon) was one of the best days of my life!🤪

The ensuing four years have been nothing less than spectacular; just me and the girl of my dreams spending quality time together on 30 acres of Texas heaven on Earth, and sharing it with a few dozen good airgun friends.

Full Group GP.jpeg


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After swearing off springers for several years I've now added three to the toy-chest, and toyed with the thought of shooting FT with them. But then recall the times I tried in decades past, only to discover them too analogous to ex-wives! How so?

As I've stated on this forum- "Not every airgunner enjoys a violent chain of events taking place under his face every time he trips the trigger".:unsure::oops::eek:

🤣
 
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AirNGasman said:
As I've stated on this forum- "Not every airgunner enjoys a violent chain of events taking place under his face every time he trips the trigger".:unsure::oops::eek:

🤣
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I was reminded of this fact a couple of weeks ago. I recently got a firearm buddy addicted to airguns at the club. Hes been shooting powder for 60yrs and wanted something to shoot in his basement (his wife didn't appreciate rimfire being shot in the house😆 )

He bought some cheap Beeman break barrel which managed to break in a month. He asked me to find him something nice and gave me a pretty good budget to play with. Found him an FWB 300. Fast forward a month and he asks me to get him a second 300 so he can scope it for 25m bench rest with me. Done deal but I told him to try my TX so he could play some Field Target too. My TX is pretty well tuned so I thought he'd love it. He took one shot with that gun and hated everything about it. Too much recoil and too hard to cock.

He has 2x 300s now and I'll try to get him hooked on PCP this month.
 
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Anyone who willingly relocates to Portland is certifiable. I know; I was born 50 miles south of there.
Having dipped a toe in the money pit of PCPs and quickly withdrawn it, I hope to shoot FT again with a springer before too awful long. I understand the allure of PCPs; they can be scary accurate and are incredibly, even inherently shootable. To me, an apt comparison of springer to PCP would be traditional archery tackle to a compound. It takes days, weeks, months of real practice to consistently put an arrow in the bullseye with a long bow. It takes about 20 minutes with a compound. It's one of those "Is it the getting there or the journey that is important to you?" things ...
 
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Billinoregon said:
Anyone who willingly relocates to Portland is certifiable. I know; I was born 50 miles south of there.
Having dipped a toe in the money pit of PCPs and quickly withdrawn it, I hope to shoot FT again with a springer before too awful long. I understand the allure of PCPs; they can be scary accurate and are incredibly, even inherently shootable. To me, an apt comparison of springer to PCP would be traditional archery tackle to a compound. It takes days, weeks, months of real practice to consistently put an arrow in the bullseye with a long bow. It takes about 20 minutes with a compound. It's one of those "Is it the getting there or the journey that is important to you?" things ...
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"Anyone who willingly relocates to Portland is certifiable." Oh, SHE IS! Suffice to say the straw that finally broke the camel's back was the 2016 election; whereupon her madness increased to hysterical TDS. To quote this mornings text from her daughter (who became Conservative in 2022 and relocated from Portland to Salem), "Remind me to tell you about the lies she's made up". I can't post her other quotes about her mom here.

My bicycle store logo water bottles included this adage- "It is the journey that matters, not the destination."

I just put the five bows I'm not claiming as my own in a very upscale artisan gallery in Clifton, Texas. And though retired from bow-building, I still consider myself an archer. Mind you, not a good archer! But a great bowyer-

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We have much in common, Bill. Glad you escaped LaLa Land, Bud. Hope you're enjoying Little Ol' TEXAS!(y)
 
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beerthief said:
Had a chance to buy a Whiscombe 50 ? in a box . I was assured it was all there but no stock . I didn't know what i was passing up at the time .
Anyone have a size 14 boot to kick my butt with ?
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I would love to own one, but I can't afford it. Just the dry cleaning bills for the tuxedo would break me.
 
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I like shooting them all! I love a piston gun(well some) and I love PCP. I shoot a pcp more accurately and with more consistency and do I get the same satisfaction knocking over a face plate with the pcp as the piston, hell yes! One style is not more satisfying than the other to me. It's like bow hunting(when I still did) started with compounds then hunted the last 15yrs with traditional just for something new and different to learn. Now I have a crossbow that is more accurate than I was ever with a regular bow.
If I was held down and had to choose to get 2 guns (back up)setup for hunter class it would be 2 PCPs(daystates) set up identical. Why, the repeatability with the guns. I don't care if you have the same exact setups for piston guns(97s,tx,54s) same tune kits heck even the same guy tuning them if you send them off. They will not be similar in consistency or ease of transition from one to another. BUT I still love shooting them.
The ultimate goal is to have fun squeezing that trigger.

Jon
 
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I like piston but haven’t shot mine lately but need to. It makes you a better shooter. I like to fact you can get a nice rifle like a HW97 or TX200 and have the top piston rifle made for way less than a top PCP. They are simple. No filling with air. I don’t not find they change point of impact. It’s just a matter as me as the shooter getting into the groove. Every time I thought my point of impact changed and I changed my sight setting I found myself back to my original sight setting not too far into the match as I got settled in. Piston rifles are just as accurate as PCP rifles. You just have to learn how to shoot them. WFTF Piston is really the purest form of the sport. I enjoy both Piston and PCP. I am fortunate to have nice rifles in both to use depending on the mood I am in.
 
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Wow, a lot of interesting replies/responses above.....
OK, I shoot piston, namely open class piston. Yes, I like the challenge, and NO, I am not obsessive about it. It is just fun!
I have two TX200's, both tuned to sub 12 fpe and it is a frickin' blast to shoot. I don't have to worry about running out of air. The guns are incredibly accurate, but it forces you to shoot with the best technique....period.
If you practice the basics, press the trigger straight back, do not choke the crap out of the gun, and follow through......you end up with a good shot most of the time.
You will learn to read the wind better. You will learn to set up your shot the same every time. You can watch the tail end of your pellet in flight. That is fun to do...

I shot PCP for a long time. That has turned out to be an equipment game. If you learn how to shoot, anyone can shoot a pcp. Heck, I taught my wife how to do it and she never shot before. She got bored hitting the bullseye all the time. I would get her set up, she would start shooting, and the next thing I knew, she was out of air already. I was getting tired of setting up myself, only to have to get up again and again to refill her gun. I am glad she tried, but then she moved on to something else. never did get the piston bug.

I like being able to deliver shot after shot where I aim them. If I miss, or the pellet goes awry, it is more than likely me doing something wrong. Like I said, it forces you to use the correct technique. with that comes good scores.

After taking so much abuse from my fellow club members, and then have them see me outshoot them, they started to take notice. Now, we have quite a few club members getting their own springers. As a matter of fact, our weekly Tuesday TRAC matches have the 4th Tuesday of each month designated as pistol / piston. These guys are learning, and they are getting pretty damn good about it, as well. It is to the point where this past spring, the club hosted the first piston only state championship. It was just a one day event to see what kind of interest there was, but we had 16 shooters; most of them from our club! In 2025 we will have a 2-day shoot in April.

Don't be intimidated by the piston powerplant. It is fun to shoot. It is also a heck of a lot less expensive than a pcp! Learn to shoot a springer well and you will shoot ANYTHING well. It is just a matter of learning the gun.
 
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Mark.in.AZ said:
Wow, a lot of interesting replies/responses above.....
OK, I shoot piston, namely open class piston. Yes, I like the challenge, and NO, I am not obsessive about it. It is just fun!
I have two TX200's, both tuned to sub 12 fpe and it is a frickin' blast to shoot. I don't have to worry about running out of air. The guns are incredibly accurate, but it forces you to shoot with the best technique....period.
If you practice the basics, press the trigger straight back, do not choke the crap out of the gun, and follow through......you end up with a good shot most of the time.
You will learn to read the wind better. You will learn to set up your shot the same every time. You can watch the tail end of your pellet in flight. That is fun to do...

I shot PCP for a long time. That has turned out to be an equipment game. If you learn how to shoot, anyone can shoot a pcp. Heck, I taught my wife how to do it and she never shot before. She got bored hitting the bullseye all the time. I would get her set up, she would start shooting, and the next thing I knew, she was out of air already. I was getting tired of setting up myself, only to have to get up again and again to refill her gun. I am glad she tried, but then she moved on to something else. never did get the piston bug.

I like being able to deliver shot after shot where I aim them. If I miss, or the pellet goes awry, it is more than likely me doing something wrong. Like I said, it forces you to use the correct technique. with that comes good scores.

After taking so much abuse from my fellow club members, and then have them see me outshoot them, they started to take notice. Now, we have quite a few club members getting their own springers. As a matter of fact, our weekly Tuesday TRAC matches have the 4th Tuesday of each month designated as pistol / piston. These guys are learning, and they are getting pretty damn good about it, as well. It is to the point where this past spring, the club hosted the first piston only state championship. It was just a one day event to see what kind of interest there was, but we had 16 shooters; most of them from our club! In 2025 we will have a 2-day shoot in April.

Don't be intimidated by the piston powerplant. It is fun to shoot. It is also a heck of a lot less expensive than a pcp! Learn to shoot a springer well and you will shoot ANYTHING well. It is just a matter of learning the gun.
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Well said Mark
 
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drsquall said:
I was pondering why people stay with piston for field target competition? I have just started field target and started with a tx and have shot maybe 5 matches with it hunter class. I averaged I think 32/60. Now I shot one match with a pcp in hunter class and shot a 49. I enjoyed hitting more targets and knowing the gun was doing its job just not me. I will say I had a better scope on the pcp than I did the piston so that could have made a little difference, maybe. I do like the idea of not having to have extra things for the match with the piston. Piston guns are for me a more challenge to shoot consistently but I like that challenge and I can get a top of the piston rifle for easily half or more off a top of line PCPs that are commonly used for serious competitors(raw,Daystate,fx, Thomas).
So why do you piston shooters stay with piston? Enjoyment?challenge?

I will continue to use both but around here you might have a one or 2 piston shooters max.

I do know I hate using holdover lol. I'm a clicker and shooting open in piston is even more rare. I also have to be honest with myself and realize that WFTF is not the most comfortable or stable position for my big butt. So it seems that you have to stay in Hunter class to have competition even though there isn't much in Piston.

If I'm to be honest I enjoy piston guns better but I enjoy hitting more targets more lol

So I guess I need to practice more. Lol

Jon
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I had the same experience as drsquall when starting with a piston gun then moving on to a PCP. I am a Motörhead friend and disciple and also a friend of Cameron’s and I 100% agree with everything Scott said about deriving enjoyment from PCP’s and the amount of practice and tuning a piston gun requires to shoot well. I do believe though a piston shooter can accelerate their progress by shooting a PCP for a while first. When one takes the huge variable a piston gun presents out of the equation one can more easily identify how to properly breath and squeeze, work on one’s ranging and see in real time (i.e., no vibration/watch the pellet in flight) the effects external forces such as wind have on POI. Once those are learned, add the piston gun, learn how to hold it and hope for the best.
 
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r1lover said:
I had the same experience as drsquall when starting with a piston gun then moving on to a PCP. I am a Motörhead friend and disciple and also a friend of Cameron’s and I 100% agree with everything Scott said about deriving enjoyment from PCP’s and the amount of practice and tuning a piston gun requires to shoot well. I do believe though a piston shooter can accelerate their progress by shooting a PCP for a while first. When one takes the huge variable a piston gun presents out of the equation one can more easily identify how to properly breath and squeeze, work on one’s ranging and see in real time (i.e., no vibration/watch the pellet in flight) the effects external forces such as wind have on POI. Once those are learned, add the piston gun, learn how to hold it and hope for the best.
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That is a good point, and one that I can agree with.
I started with a springer, switched over to PCP for quite a while, before integrating a springer back into my shooting "cycle". It is preferable to learn how to shoot with a PCP, but then fine tuning that technique when switching back to a springer. ALL of your little mistakes, that you get away with when shooting PCP, are magnified when shooting springer. Clean up your technique, practice consistency, and you are home free.

I mentioned that if you can shoot a springer well, you CAN shoot anything well. A little practice, a little soul-searching, a little more practice, a bit more practice, an honest assessment of your personal capabilities, a little more practice, and you are on the road to long term satisfaction......and it doesn't take long to do it. You just gotta make up your mind.

Way back when I was shooting competitive pistol, with the goal of making the US team for the Olympics (which never happened. My employers could care less about my dreams. They wanted my talents to make them as much money as possible), I trained with the US Team and attended Masters camp at USOTC at Colorado Springs. In one of our classroom sessions I learned something that I have applied to everything that I have done in life, so far. A simple two letter, 10 word saying that is as true today as it was back then.....

IF IT IS TO BE, IT IS UP TO ME.

If you want something bad enough, YOU are the one who has to make that happen. Enjoy the journey......
 
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