Best Semi Auto Air Pistol

3

300magman

New member
Ok, first let me say that I am Canadian, so getting a "real" handgun is nearly impossible and actually being able to go out and shoot it is a pipe dream. So as much as I would love a .22 I'm forced to buy a "pellet" or "air" pistol

I just want something reliable, to take out and target shoot and have some fun with. I would however love it if there was something available that had enough velocity (power) to kill small game at close range....say a rabbit or a partridge with a head shot at 15 feet. And of course decent accuracy. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I would like semi auto and .177 cal if possible (I know there are .22 cal BBs out there but ammo would be difficult to find around here).

BTW I know very little about CO2 powered handguns or rifles, never owned anything smaller than a .22lr rifle before so feel free to pass along any pointers, tips, etc. Thanks
 
"...getting a "real" handgun is nearly impossible..." No it isn't. Go get your RPAL, join a club and you're all set.
Ontario allows air and pellet pistols with a MV of less than 500fps for small game, but you still require a small game hunting licence. An air pistol with a higher than 500fps MV is considered to be a firearm and all laws are applicable.
If you're not there already, come by http://www.canadiangunnutz.com.
Daisy makes a semi-auto. Using one just anywhere would attract all kinds of unwanted attention though.
 
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Ok, for you big city folks its doable with some paperwork....but for us in the country who don't have a gun club within 100km or a range within 200km it is NOT an option.

For the record I have not looked up every gun law that applies to handguns but my father had a large collection in his youth which he sold many many years ago when to quote his words "I needed a permit every time I wanted to clean them, and forget about taking them out to shoot them"

Around here we do our shooting against dirt banks on days when pits are not in operation, or in fields with a large pile of fallen and stacked trees as a backstop. We don't have fancy sanctioned locations where handguns are legal which makes them as practical as sportbikes on an icy highway.

A good semi auto (presumably CO2 powered) air pistol is just about the only practical way to go if you want to practice a lot or just have fun plinking.
 
My advise is get a match grade air pistol. Messing around with cheap airguns will only lead to frustration.
The Steyr LP50 is hands down the best semi auto air pistol, even better than a Feinwerkbau. It is not cheap, but you will shortly break even, as ammo does not really cost anything. Most air pistols are glorified toys (Crossman, Daisy, Umarex, Gamo). If you are serious about air pistols; Steyr is the way to go! Even if you do not want to shoot at a match level, it is still worth getting one!


LP50 Website
 
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If you want to hunt with it, and are limited by the 500 fps requirement but have no limit on the weight of the projectile, wouldn't it make much more sense to use some kind of big bore air pistol? Something like a 200 grain projectile moving at 500 fps? That would provide serious enough wallop to hunt small or mid size game. I have a hard time seeing a 8 grain, 500 fps projectile being used to hunt humanely.
 
BIG BORE...200GRAIN!!!! :eek: Are you talking about converting a 300win mag to run on compressed air! WOW

No, just plinking for me and as I said perhaps the occasional headshot oh a partridge or possibly rabbit from 10-15 feet. .177 at 500fps should be fine for the bird, not sure about the rabbit, try it once, if it doesn't work, don't try it again.
I just want something regular pistol sized....proportional to a large .45 at biggest. There are several at the local Canadian Tire, listing velocities from 300fps to 495fps...but they all look cheaply made with fixed plastic sights. I was just hoping to find something better quality.
 
Check out the Benjamin/ Sherridan Websights. They have a lot of pistols that would seem to fill your requirements. They are quality products. I speak from firsthand experience. My dad has a Ben. .22 pump pellet pistol that is about 50 years old, and is still going. I don't know if they still make it or not , but Sherridan used to make a .20 caliber pistol as well as their rifles. It has/had the weight of a .22 pellet, with speeds closer to a .177.
 
Most true semi-automatic air pistols are intended for match shooting. So they're pricey and don't produce sufficient velocities to hunt humanely.

The Drulov DU-10 could be an option. These are CO2 semi's that were designed for rapid fire competition. They can be tweaked to achieve higher velocities. I know that I've seen posts discussing them on airgunforum.ca.
 
I have a Benjamin Sheridan and it never worked properly. The Steyr LP 50 is apparently a 5.5 ft.-pd. and at .177 it is probably over 500fps. but it doesn't seem to be huge. It looks like a great pistol since it is a semi-auto and is of high quality but I'm not sure it's available in Canada. The Drulov Condor is a quality gun, too, but expensive and is only a 2.8 ft.-pd. I, too, am looking for a quality -500. I will be buying a Norica Marvic Gold which is a quality 6 ft-pd. but is a rifle and fairly heavy and has to be pumped and has only a 1-shot capacity. This can be gotten from D & L Airguns.

The laws are really bad since the upper limit for NLR (no license required) guns should be set only in muzzle energy and should be higher than 6 ft-pds., it should be at least 10 -30. And a reason for purchasing a firearm should include personal protection.
 
A used Crosman model 600 comes to mind. It's a CO2 powered, .22 cal. semi-auto pellet pistol that would seem to meet your requirements. The problem is locating one but there are more than a few out there.
 
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