Cheap Pistol Practice
April 12th, 2010Fifty Bucks Buys More Than You’d Think
This is pretty surprising.
A while back I bought a CO2-powered BB pistol, to practice point-shooting. I have been distracted by various things, so I haven’t used it much. Today I decided to get back to it.
I set a target up in the garage. I shot a few rounds at 10 feet, to see what the gun was like, and most of them went into a pretty small area. I could not get 7 yards away, due to space limitations, but I was able to get past 6 yards. I reloaded and started again. Here is the result.
As you can see, for all intents and purposes, within twenty feet, this thing is as accurate as a Glock. You just have to get used to the fact that the BBs go a little to the right. The consistency is what matters. I don’t care if the gun shoots to point of aim.
The results are even better than they look. I had a hard time seeing the sights in the garage, and I have not eaten in a long time, so I am a little wobbly. The gun will definitely shoot better once I eat and put some white paint on the front sight.
This is a fantastic thing. Any time I want, I can go out and work on my marksmanship, and the results will be meaningful. There is no recoil to speak of, so you lose some of the challenge of avoiding anticipation, but that’s what? Five percent of accuracy? I shoot a .22 a little better than a .357, but not all that much. Most of the BB experience should apply to real guns.
I’m already learning good stuff. For example, lighting matters. I’m glad I put night sights on my Glock, because even in the relatively bright light of the garage, I can barely see where the BB Makarov is pointing.
I should be able to use each target for six rounds of shooting, if I put six small pieces of white tape on it to use as marks. Because the gun shoots to the right, I can’t shoot at the right side of the target, but still, six times eighteen shots (the capacity of the magazine) will be pretty economical.
I can’t swear the gun is the reason the shots are veering, but I don’t think I could screw up this badly with an accurate gun. Ordinarily, my big problem is shooting low and to the left. These BBs went in the other direction, suggesting the gun is at fault.
Pretty impressive for a tiny smoothbore pistol that cost 50 bucks. And I get to reuse the BBs!
To practice point-shooting, I’ll need a larger backstop. A tiny box full of newspapers won’t do it. I suppose one easy solution would be a flat box with a bunch of Miami Heralds in it, but I’d need a box at least two feet square.
The box I’m using works great. The BBs go in, hit the newspapers, and fall.
I wish I could adjust the sights. But what do you want for fifty bucks?
April 12th, 2010 at 7:36 PM
Musta been one of those unpredictable and infamous garage crosswinds come up!
April 12th, 2010 at 8:35 PM
My old shooting partner has a bullet trap that’s about 2 feet square. It’s a snail design with a bucket under it to catch the spent bullets. It was designed to stop .22 rimfire but we mostly used it to catch pellets. The air gun practice is well worth the time and (small) cost, the muscle memory gained is priceless. At least it was for me.
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My Dad had a little setback today, some bleeding in his urine brought on some clots so he got another catheter to flush the clots. Then another bag of blood to replace what has been leaking for the last couple of days. He has a metal valve that requires blood thinners that bring on all kinds of problems like this one. He is still improving overall, I think….
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Thanks again for prayers.
April 12th, 2010 at 9:18 PM
You might try filing the left side of the front sight to make it center that way just a hair…. but then for a smoothbore gun, I think you are getting outstanding results. I may have to buy me one…..
April 13th, 2010 at 12:28 AM
Arright, what make and model number is your BB pistol? Where’d you get it?
Gerry N.
April 13th, 2010 at 7:04 AM
Ummm if you want to use the target twice, why not rotate it 180 degrees to put the group you just shot on the other side?
April 13th, 2010 at 7:41 AM
“I get to reuse the BB’s”
I wouldn’t have told that dude…
April 13th, 2010 at 8:05 AM
I have airsoft pistols I use like this. They’re not as accurate unfortunately, but they fit in the same holsters and have all the same controls.
The one thing to be aware of is that you can’t practice recoil control if you don’t have recoil. So these are great for trigger work, aiming practice, presentation drills, etc. but they won’t help you build speed with a real gun.
April 13th, 2010 at 8:41 AM
“Arright, what make and model number is your BB pistol? Where’d you get it?”
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I got it from Pyramid Air, and I think the brand name is Umarex. If you look for “Makarov,” this is what you’ll find.
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“Ummm if you want to use the target twice, why not rotate it 180 degrees to put the group you just shot on the other side?”
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That doesn’t make sense for a number of reasons.
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“The one thing to be aware of is that you can’t practice recoil control if you don’t have recoil.”
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As I noted, this is a small part of accuracy, so BB practice is well worth my time. You would think it would matter a lot when it comes to reacquisition, but so far, it looks like it’s not that big a factor. When I’m firing repeat shots in a hurry, reacquisition is hard regardless of what I’m shooting.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:31 AM
As for recoil…what if you could attach some kind of electric solenoid or compressed air plunger that would simulate the “kick”?
April 14th, 2010 at 1:19 PM
Good shooting, Steve- you might try benchresting your pistol to check its point of aim and make sure you’re pulling the trigger straight back as you fire. From Jeff Cooper’s ‘To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth’- the Guru of modern combat pistol technique- it’s ‘Front sight-Press’, ‘Front sight-Press’ ie the human eye can’t focus on three different objects(rear sight, front sight, target) at the same time, so focus on the front sight and use the ‘flash sight-picture’.
Do this correctly a few thousand times and get back to us!
Also, I strongly recommend obtaining a BB, pellet or airsoft pistol of the same persuasion as you carry to build and reinforce muscle memory in the six steps of the firing stroke and to evaluate your holster, location and placement including your usual garments. Nothing worse than grabbing a fistful of t-shirt or giving yourself a ‘wedgie’ at the most inopportune time!
April 14th, 2010 at 3:01 PM
“Steve- you might try benchresting your pistol to check its point of aim and make sure you’re pulling the trigger straight back as you fire.”
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Worth trying, but I think a 2″ error at 7 yards would have shown up by now with my real pistols.