Air Handgun Recommendation

[Christ464]

I am looking for help in deciding on an air gun for indoor handgun practice. I am a long time handgun shooter. I take my shooting seriously, having owned numerous fine shooting handguns over the years including a S&W M41. I currently shoot my Freedom Arms Model 97 revolver, which I dearly love. I also shoot my Diana 5G springer, which I find to be a fine pistol with the caveats that it is a PITA to cock and I find the recoil to be a bit annoying. It is, however, accurate enough for my needs and has a decent trigger and sights. I don't find myself shooting more than about 15 rounds before I become annoyed with shooting it due to its cocking effort. Here are some of my requirements and wish list:
* I do not wish to be saddled with a scuba type tank. A hand pump is not an objection if necessary.
* I would like it to be comparable in accuracy to my 5G.
* Good adjustable open sights are required. Being able to add a red dot such as a Fastfire III in the future would be great. My eyes will not last forever.
* I do not shoot in weather extremes.
* I do not compete.
* Maintainability/availability would be great
I really don't have objections to paying decent money for a good pistol if necessary. As I said, I take shooting seriously. Model 41s and 97s do not come cheap, but if there is an outstanding bargain that meets my needs, so much the better. I hope I am being realistic in my wants. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[dv8eod]

Any of the Sig Sauers would probably fit your needs. The 360 and M17 triggers closely match the real thing. There are mods for the M17 to tighten things up that aren't too complicated. And it field strips that makes it easier. They also run on CO² so as long as they are shot in a stable environment, consistency will be good.
They probably won't compete with a competition gun, but they don't cost as much as a comp gun either.
There are plenty of CO² guns that are reasonable in cost and with a little work can meet your requirements.

 

[Long_Gun_Dallas]

Well, as far as triggers go, the crosman 1701 has an excellent one, but is discontinued. Still can be found for sale on eBay or here sometimes. Is a single shot to my knowledge.

Extremely accurate short range pistol.

Snow peak pp700 is another single shot pcp that is very accurate. Trigger can be adjusted to be very respectable. Costs less than a 1701. Though I'm not up to date on availability of these, but they do come up in the classifieds from time to time. Krale was also selling them recently.

The snow peak cp2 or air bug is a good co2 variant and multi shot.

 

[JimBianchi]

My Diana Airbug is an accurate fun repeater pistol on CO2. I bought a Buck Rail moderator for it and it is whisper quiet. I shoot indoors target at 10m but have taken it to 25m and it was still excellent. I get 50+ shots @700fps. I picked .177 and it likes most pellets.

The same gun comes as a PCP but I bought its' better looking sister the PP800r and its a great PCP repeater and uses the same mag as the Airbug.

 

[shambozzie]

This zoraki ultra check a lot of your boxes. Fantastic trigger, great sights, very accurate and Pic rails. Love mine

 

[Bob-in-WV]

Sounds to me a Crosman 2240 would meet your requirements easily. You can mod to your hearts desire or shoot as is. It is a single shot co2 pistol that is under a c note.

 

[Sawney Bean]

Since you're planning on using it indoors for target practice the only power source I would consider is CO2. With a CO2 gun you can get something that has a similar size and weight as your powder burners, gets around 40 shots per cylinder and doesn't require any special cocking or charging procedure. The only real downsides to CO2 for target practice are the cost of the cylinders and the effects of cold on the cylinders. The powerlets are still fairly cheap though and if you're shooting indoors the only time cold will be a problem is if you do a lot of rapid-fire shooting.

Personally, I'd look for a vintage Crosman like a Crosman 600 or a MkI/Mk II.

 

[jccams]

This zoraki ultra check a lot of your boxes. Fantastic trigger, great sights, very accurate and Pic rails. Love mine

View attachment 429213

View attachment 429216

I agree if you don't mind 2 or 3 pumps it is great, very accurate and hits hard. I have a micro reflex sight on mine.

 

[Northwoods22]

It's a bit on the expensive side, but well worth the money in my opinion. The Weihrauch HW75. It's a single stroke pneumatic, easy compression stroke, quality build throughout. Great adjustable sights, well designed adjustable trigger, recoilless and relatively quiet. Outstanding accuracy at 10m. Bought mine last summer, and it's quickly become my favorite pistol.

And it's optics ready.

 

[primaz]

I am looking for help in deciding on an air gun for indoor handgun practice. I am a long time handgun shooter. I take my shooting seriously, having owned numerous fine shooting handguns over the years including a S&W M41. I currently shoot my Freedom Arms Model 97 revolver, which I dearly love. I also shoot my Diana 5G springer, which I find to be a fine pistol with the caveats that it is a PITA to cock and I find the recoil to be a bit annoying. It is, however, accurate enough for my needs and has a decent trigger and sights. I don't find myself shooting more than about 15 rounds before I become annoyed with shooting it due to its cocking effort. Here are some of my requirements and wish list:
* I do not wish to be saddled with a scuba type tank. A hand pump is not an objection if necessary.
* I would like it to be comparable in accuracy to my 5G.
* Good adjustable open sights are required. Being able to add a red dot such as a Fastfire III in the future would be great. My eyes will not last forever.
* I do not shoot in weather extremes.
* I do not compete.
* Maintainability/availability would be great
I really don't have objections to paying decent money for a good pistol if necessary. As I said, I take shooting seriously. Model 41s and 97s do not come cheap, but if there is an outstanding bargain that meets my needs, so much the better. I hope I am being realistic in my wants. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

since you do not compete and like the power/enjoyment of regular firearm pistols I would suggest the Huben GK1. I have a Barretta and used to shoot a lot of various pistols, rifles but after getting into airguns, I find I can get now the power, accuracy and fun without needing to waste as long as I shoot or more cleaning the guns thanks to the beauty of airguns.

The Huben GK1 has just left all of the other pistol models/brands in the dust. It is available in .22 and .25 will put down 70+ foot pounds, 17 or 19 rounds in the magazine, semi-auto, very reliable, very accurate. It is on the more expensive side but with all of the performance and build quality it is well worth it. There are some great folks on forum whom have designed nice looking good performance moderators so you can easily shoot it indoors or in your backyard. Once you get into the modern performance air pistols and rifles without the need for hours of maintenance, expensive ammo, you may find yourself shooting them instead of your conventional fire arms most of the time as I have. Most people are tuning their GK1 from 700 to 900 feet per second and getting a full 17 or 19 rounds with a very consistent FPS and with the proven Huben semi-auto action that they have used for many years on rifles used now for this pistol, putting hundreds to thousands of rounds becomes addictive and cheap. Once you get into the modern performance air guns and pistols refilling them with a lightweight carbon fiber fill tank is easy and air compressors are now very affordable.

 

[Trunion]

I have a good bakers dozen of air pistols but the two that I get to use most often are the umarex Buck Mark and the Crosman PSM45. The Buck Mark is a pellet gun and the Crosman a bb... and both are springers which for me is the best part. I keep them in my workshop and I will take a few shots from time to time at a paper target at a very close range of 15 feet. The guns are very affordable and in in my opinion, pretty darn good pistols for maintaining my hand gun skills.

 

[AirNGasman]

I am looking for help in deciding on an air gun for indoor handgun practice. I am a long time handgun shooter. I take my shooting seriously, having owned numerous fine shooting handguns over the years including a S&W M41. I currently shoot my Freedom Arms Model 97 revolver, which I dearly love. I also shoot my Diana 5G springer, which I find to be a fine pistol with the caveats that it is a PITA to cock and I find the recoil to be a bit annoying. It is, however, accurate enough for my needs and has a decent trigger and sights. I don't find myself shooting more than about 15 rounds before I become annoyed with shooting it due to its cocking effort. Here are some of my requirements and wish list:
* I do not wish to be saddled with a scuba type tank. A hand pump is not an objection if necessary.
* I would like it to be comparable in accuracy to my 5G.
* Good adjustable open sights are required. Being able to add a red dot such as a Fastfire III in the future would be great. My eyes will not last forever.
* I do not shoot in weather extremes.
* I do not compete.
* Maintainability/availability would be great
I really don't have objections to paying decent money for a good pistol if necessary. As I said, I take shooting seriously. Model 41s and 97s do not come cheap, but if there is an outstanding bargain that meets my needs, so much the better. I hope I am being realistic in my wants. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

The good news is you're not being as unrealistic in your wants as most posts like your's. That being the case I'll reply with good information, rather than sarcasm. Also, you and I have much in common as pertains handguns, including Model 41s and Freedom Arms.

Forget spring-piston pistols. I've written many times they are the most challenging pistols on Earth to get good results with; and who needs that kind of aggravation when you could be having fun instead? I'll answer that- masochists. Anything I recommend will shoot rings around a 5G in human hands.

The best choice for your purposes might be a high-end single-stroke pneumatic, was it not for the cocking effort that (rightly) puts you off the 5G. By high-end SSP, I mean the HW75 (available) or FAS604 (not really available). But they're as hard-cocking as a 5G.

Since you stated "A hand pump is not an objection if necessary", the Crosman 1701P is your best choice by a country mile! It not only meets all your requisites better than anything else, but meets the quality standards you require (but didn't enunciate). And a hand pump is not necessary if you get a charging tank or compressor. Correction, WHEN you get a charging tank or compressor.

You'll keep that 1701P long after you've tried and been disappointed with everything else. Yes, they ARE that good.

BTW, as I've also written several times, they are also the easiest air pistols ever produced to service or soup-up. If you can change a light-bulb you can do anything you like to a 1701P.

And they're as accurate as any pistol at any price; be it in human hands or otherwise. At least as accurate as a S&W Model 41.

.

 

[boscoebrea]

Great info,the 1701 is great, nothing to beat it at 25yds, the 1720 is another great handpumpable PCP that is also great, more power,less shots.
To be blunt nothing is going to beat those 2 pistols anywhere near their price range

 

[davelarson]

Great advice here, the GK1 would be awesome for semiautomatic fun, and really accurate as well.
Hand pumping a pistol cylinder is fairly easy if you’re in decent condition.
Of the pistols mentioned I have a HW75 which is really nice and easy to cock, very accurate and feels great off hand.
I have a Zoraki ultra that is just as accurate as the HW75 at 15 yards.
But the 1701 stands out in my opinion, it feels great off hand, or scoped shooting off of bags.
They are incredibly accurate, and I agree that it would be a great choice.
Mine doesn’t have a moderator, but I shoot it indoors and it’s not very loud.
They must be really efficient with air because it’s just a pop even without a moderator.
Truly one hole accuracy at 10 yards.

 

[marflow 777]

i have nothing to offer really and if you think a 5g is hard to cock than all SSP pistols and all Spring pistols are out the window
of course a IZH 46m would be a SSP and the FWB 100 series pistols would stay in the running with some others

now the post by AirNGasman got my attention and this part of his post is utter nonsense

Forget spring-piston pistols. I've written many times they are the most challenging pistols on Earth to get good results with; and who needs that kind of aggravation when you could be having fun instead? I'll answer that- masochists. Anything I recommend will shoot rings around a 5G in human hands.


that statement leaves out a few prize pistols that are spring pistols
Diana model 6-6g-6m
Diana model 10
Feinwerkbau FWB Model 65-80-90

and i guess no one should buy them because they are no bloody fun, what bloody nonsense
if the poster wants a pistol like the 41 get an S&W 78g or 79g, the Zoraki hp-01-2 is a fine pistol but the effort to cock past 2 pumps would be to much for him
he would be better offer with a Steyr LP 50
https://www.steyr-sport.com/en/air-pistols/steyr-lp-50-lp-50-compact

and i completed with full power 1911 .45acp and that makes the 5g a baby gun

 

[primaz]

since you do not compete and like the power/enjoyment of regular firearm pistols I would suggest the Huben GK1. I have a Barretta and used to shoot a lot of various pistols, rifles but after getting into airguns, I find I can get now the power, accuracy and fun without needing to waste as long as I shoot or more cleaning the guns thanks to the beauty of airguns.

The Huben GK1 has just left all of the other pistol models/brands in the dust. It is available in .22 and .25 will put down 70+ foot pounds, 17 or 19 rounds in the magazine, semi-auto, very reliable, very accurate. It is on the more expensive side but with all of the performance and build quality it is well worth it. There are some great folks on forum whom have designed nice looking good performance moderators so you can easily shoot it indoors or in your backyard. Once you get into the modern performance air pistols and rifles without the need for hours of maintenance, expensive ammo, you may find yourself shooting them instead of your conventional fire arms most of the time as I have. Most people are tuning their GK1 from 700 to 900 feet per second and getting a full 17 or 19 rounds with a very consistent FPS and with the proven Huben semi-auto action that they have used for many years on rifles used now for this pistol, putting hundreds to thousands of rounds becomes addictive and cheap. Once you get into the modern performance air guns and pistols refilling them with a lightweight carbon fiber fill tank is easy and air compressors are now very affordable.

View attachment 429656

The picture above is with a moderator designed by forum members here and is only about 3" long yet will quiet the pistol even when the pistol is set for 800-1000 FPS. The GK1 is an amazing pistol and I do think it is more of a fit for someone whom likes to shoot gun powder guns as they have real power and you feel a mild kick that you do not with low power pistols. There are no other pistol that comes close to the power or accuracy of the GK1, If you tune the adjustment screw down you can shoot a lower FPS and without a moderator it is not very loud. Yet you can turn it up to shoot even slugs at high power and be able to be on target 100 + yards easily.

It is very versatile as there are stocks to turn it into more of a rifle if you want. 98% of all other air pistols are so weak at under 500 FPS, are single shot, or need to be cocked each shot, not able to shoot far distances, etc. Unless you are into competition and spend thousands on a accurate short distance competition gun the GK1 is so far a ahead of everything out there with accuracy, semi-auto big capacity, reliability, and power than is more than even many air rifles out there.

The OP said he is not into competition so that to me is why I think a GK1 is so much more fun to shoot than a more expensive target gun with no power. You can even have the power to shoot a 33 grain to 45 gran slug and put down 70 foot pounds to hunt small game accurately to 75 yards. I have shot a lot of guns and the GK1 is truly a game changer. The accuracy will really surprise you and for the GK1 700 FPS is low yet you can get shot strings as good a regulated gun for 19 rounds yet you can plink as fast as you can pull the trigger! I have never had an air pistol that is so much fun to shoot!

 

[silvershooter589]

Hatsan Jets are pretty cheap especially on sale these days. I don't know what a 5G is or if it has good accuracy. It's not the Rollys Royce the GK1 is by any means, but it fills a niche between CO2 guns and higher priced PCP pistols. Magazine fed with a choice of calibers. And it does have those flip up sights that you like.

Just a thought! Watch and read lots of reviews. Probably not your thing since you said you don't mind spending the extra $

 

[Septicdeath]

All vintage suggestions. For revolver practice it's hard to beat the Crosman 38T they were actually government and police training pistols before released to the public. Also the Crosman mk1 or mk2 both fine shooting pistols. And to mention the SW 78G and 79g are hard to beat.

 

[AirNGasman]

i have nothing to offer really and if you think a 5g is hard to cock than all SSP pistols and all Spring pistols are out the window
of course a IZH 46m would be a SSP and the FWB 100 series pistols would stay in the running with some others

now the post by AirNGasman got my attention and this part of his post is utter nonsense

Forget spring-piston pistols. I've written many times they are the most challenging pistols on Earth to get good results with; and who needs that kind of aggravation when you could be having fun instead? I'll answer that- masochists. Anything I recommend will shoot rings around a 5G in human hands.


that statement leaves out a few prize pistols that are spring pistols
Diana model 6-6g-6m
Diana model 10
Feinwerkbau FWB Model 65-80-90

and i guess no one should buy them because they are no bloody fun, what bloody nonsense
if the poster wants a pistol like the 41 get an S&W 78g or 79g, the Zoraki hp-01-2 is a fine pistol but the effort to cock past 2 pumps would be to much for him
he would be better offer with a Steyr LP 50
https://www.steyr-sport.com/en/air-pistols/steyr-lp-50-lp-50-compact

and i completed with full power 1911 .45acp and that makes the 5g a baby gun

"I guess no one should buy them (recoilless springers) because they are no bloody fun, what bloody nonsense". Wrong. You and I should buy them; the OP shouldn't! I considered recoilless springers, but ruled them out due to the OP's stated requisite, "Maintainability/availability would be great". I avoided steering him into into the black hole of searching for rarities in hopes of finding one in perfect functional condition without being ripped-off; or worse yet, buying one that requires servicing. Being a Realist, I assumed the OP would like to not only FIND a pistol meeting his requisites that is readily available, but be able to start shooting it from the get-go.

I considered mentioning the S&W 78/79G Co2 pistols, but rejected them for similar reasons to those in the previous paragraph.

Also considered the Zoraki, but rejected it for the same reason you stated.

The Steyrs? I quote, "What bloody nonsense."

I stand by my well-considered recommendation of the BEST choice for the OP's wants and needs.

.

 

[jkingrph]

Sounds to me a Crosman 2240 would meet your requirements easily. You can mod to your hearts desire or shoot as is. It is a single shot co2 pistol that is under a c note.

I built several Crosman 22xx types a couple of years ago. Got an Airbug about a week ago and honestly it is a lot more fun, especially with the magazine loaded. For a pistol the bolt on the left side is a plus. My Crosman's all have the 1721 triggers and other upgrades, a couple with Walther barrels, so very accurate, but just more cumbersome than the Airbug.