What would you say is the biggest challenge to overcome when you first started shooting pistol ft?
All you ft pistolero’s
- Thread starter Solo1
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STABLITY and what it took in finding a miens fitting & sitting yourself to flat as well various not typical surfaces or conditions.
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Currently im working on my grip ( will be shooting hunter) as the stock grip on my hw 44 didn’t suit my hand with styx. I should mention i have a 3-12 rifle scope on it too. Good to find some of the more difficult areas to practice on before summer
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In pistols set up ... cantilever scope way forward & if flexible enough get butt of pistol grip on a knee !!
It proved for me to be the final straw in getting stable enough to be scoring consistently higher.
1st pic off knee & second a more typical up on face .... Done both and most holds in between
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Out of curiosity - does anyone ever shoot pistol FT as if they are actually shooting a pistol? Use a handgun scope? It seems like all the setups use rifle scopes and awkward positions because of the short eye relief of rifle scopes.
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Unfortunately I’m unable to bend that far easily and would end up falling off my bucket if i tried! Lol but i will be sitting more upright like i do in regular ft. Thats why I’ve been spending so much time on my grip just trimmed a bit more off where my index finger rests to stop my left push. I think im really on to it now just put 5 out of 6 then 8 out of 10 thru a 1/2” at 10 meters!
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I shot Limited pistol FT the first couple times I competed, with a borrowed pistol. Limited pistol is easily the hardest of all flavors of field target. Shooting harness? Nope. Shooting sticks? Nope. And of course the WFTF guys may jump on and say theirs is the hardest, but I disagree because in Limited pistol, you're also limited to 12fpe, but don't get shooting gloves and jackets and hamsters and 80x scopes. Literally limited to your body, a 12x scope, and a 12fpe or less gun. Crazy hard. So, stability would be the greatest challenge there, in my opinion. (Yes, also limited to a 12x scope, but the wobble is bigger than the ranging by focus errors.
Hunter pistol is a bit different. Not too bad to get solid, as long as you can get the scope ocular on your eye, or put a eyecup on it to do the same. So, for Hunter Pistol i think that finding a reasonably priced scope that'll range well at 12x is a bigger challenge than the stability. I have a hard time dropping big money for a scope that I'm only going to use for a couple matches a year.
Hunter pistol is a bit different. Not too bad to get solid, as long as you can get the scope ocular on your eye, or put a eyecup on it to do the same. So, for Hunter Pistol i think that finding a reasonably priced scope that'll range well at 12x is a bigger challenge than the stability. I have a hard time dropping big money for a scope that I'm only going to use for a couple matches a year.
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Always looks to me like FT rifles without a butt stock. None of them seem to be actual “pistols” as one would generally think of a pistol in real life….
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Ty
For me, the biggest limitation in Limited Pistol is the 6” seat height limit combined with the 3” forend limit. On a course where the targets are hard to see, it’s very difficult to get into a stable position with the target in view. I mostly shoot Hunter Pistol, but I don’t typically use a bipod, so if the targets are all easily visible, I”ll often choose Limited.
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Thats cuz lots of guys chop off both ends of a rifle to be legal.
Pistol field target is an interesting situation where the rules shaped the equipment to the point that lots of guys are using rigs that are absurd for anything other than pistol field target.
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SqrlHntr
Member
So in my pistol journey I’ve opted for a pistol with Hawke Airmax touch 3-12x which has basically no eye relief. Contact with the cup is allowed so it gets tucked in tight to the face becoming a semi-solid point of contact and also allows for mounting far back for balance. Off hand is great too with the balance just over the trigger and eyecup contact. I’m sure the high power scopes yield some advantages but the near zero eye relief and balance made a world of difference for my shooting. Simple swap to the .177 parts for aafta.
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That may be but i get to knock down more targets!
It also seems to me that the rules were set up by a metallic silhouette shooter Last edited:
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"Always looks to me like FT rifles without a butt stock."
That's what it would be if I hadn't fought tooth and nail against those on the pistol FT rules committee lobbying for exactly that. You're welcome.
"None of them seem to be actual “pistols” as one would generally think of a pistol in real life…."
I tried; but the founder of pistol field target was only one voice of five (six if you count the chairman). Had it been up to only me, PFT would have an 8" and/or 10" barrel length limit, a 4, 6, and/or 9X magnification limit, and the rigs would look much more like what one would generally think of a pistol in real life. Sorry I failed to keep PFT more PISTOL-esque.
As I've stated on this forum many, MANY times before, the PFT rules we have are COMPROMISES between my old-school hunting handgun conception of what I wanted PFT to be, and a liberal, anything-goes-but-a-butt-stock contingent.
Wait... did I apologize above for failing? I take it back; I did ALL I could!
Oh, before I forget. "What would you say is the biggest challenge to overcome when you first started shooting pistol ft?"
The same biggest challenge to overcome when I first started Rifle FT competition, NRA (offhand) Silhouette Rifle and Pistol competitions, and Steel Challenge Rifle and Pistol (speed plates) competitions- finding a comfortable and natural-feeling shooting position.
That's what it would be if I hadn't fought tooth and nail against those on the pistol FT rules committee lobbying for exactly that. You're welcome.
"None of them seem to be actual “pistols” as one would generally think of a pistol in real life…."
I tried; but the founder of pistol field target was only one voice of five (six if you count the chairman). Had it been up to only me, PFT would have an 8" and/or 10" barrel length limit, a 4, 6, and/or 9X magnification limit, and the rigs would look much more like what one would generally think of a pistol in real life. Sorry I failed to keep PFT more PISTOL-esque.
As I've stated on this forum many, MANY times before, the PFT rules we have are COMPROMISES between my old-school hunting handgun conception of what I wanted PFT to be, and a liberal, anything-goes-but-a-butt-stock contingent.
Wait... did I apologize above for failing? I take it back; I did ALL I could!
Oh, before I forget. "What would you say is the biggest challenge to overcome when you first started shooting pistol ft?"
The same biggest challenge to overcome when I first started Rifle FT competition, NRA (offhand) Silhouette Rifle and Pistol competitions, and Steel Challenge Rifle and Pistol (speed plates) competitions- finding a comfortable and natural-feeling shooting position.
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Stability as Scott says. I started shooting pistol Hunter FT this year sitting on the stool, resting my elbows on my legs, not stable enough. Also tried Scott’s method bend over, unfortunately after welding for 38 years and having pinched nerves in my neck , it’s not a good feeling, although I could load up on Motrins before the shoot 
. So I sat on the ground on a bag, wrapped my arm around both my legs and rest the butt of the gun on my knee. You are kind of scrounched up in a ball, with an eyecup against your face, is a great improvement. Also the eyecup helps on the offhand lane for stability.
. So I sat on the ground on a bag, wrapped my arm around both my legs and rest the butt of the gun on my knee. You are kind of scrounched up in a ball, with an eyecup against your face, is a great improvement. Also the eyecup helps on the offhand lane for stability.Upvote 0
Since you’re in the know didn’t power come into play? Seems to me that most pistols that look like a pistol are lower fpe? Besides all that i think my version of the hw 44 looks more like this except it isn’t a single shot.
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