I very much enjoy Olympic 10M Air Pistol Shooting. I am buying a Steyr LP 10 E now. I have been shooting for a couple of months now, with a club pistol. I wonder how people feel this effects your ability to shoot combat pistols 9x19 and up… I felt it might improve accuracy but perhaps slow you down when you move from one 'target' to another? (In short, I carry a combat handgun daily for non-bulls eye eventualities.) What do you guys think?
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Effect of 10M air pistol practice on combat pistol shooting
- Thread starter Gatorpan
- Start date
I love shooting my 10m IZH-46M, but I don't feel it slows me down when shooting my wheelguns combat-action style, though. The trick for me was recognizing target and practical shooting as separate disciplines and to not try to shoot some hybrid. Tight little groups in the middle of a big A-zone tell me I just lost a bunch of time. The marksmanship skills gained by target shooting let me fill the A-zone faster (with special emphasis on "fill" and "faster").
air pistol
As long as youre striving for improvement every time the sear breaks, I think all types of shooting are beneficial. Air pistol also has the added benefits of being able to practice at home, IN home (no excuses- it's never too dark, cold, crowded, closed, etc. Your parlor is always open)
Keep in mind there's no reason you can't push the speed angle with an air pistol. "Front sight-press" doesn't need a 1911 to be valid. I did quite a bit of dry fire/air pistol back in my Action Shooting days, and it all helps.
As long as youre striving for improvement every time the sear breaks, I think all types of shooting are beneficial. Air pistol also has the added benefits of being able to practice at home, IN home (no excuses- it's never too dark, cold, crowded, closed, etc. Your parlor is always open)
Keep in mind there's no reason you can't push the speed angle with an air pistol. "Front sight-press" doesn't need a 1911 to be valid. I did quite a bit of dry fire/air pistol back in my Action Shooting days, and it all helps.
Sharpsdressed Man
Moderator
I believe a girl from Japan took top woman shooter in IPSC or IDPA many years ago, by practicing in Japan with airsofts, and then coming to the US for two weeks prior to the matches, and fire live ammo for the first time. A year or two of softair practice, two weeks of live ammo practice = Top Award. That is pretty darn impressive. Shows what can be done when you have the determination to do it.
It's not giving you much in the way of recoil control or of acquiring and firing at multiple targets. That doesn't mean it hurts anything just that it's not helping in those particular areas.
Generally speaking the better you can shoot in any handgun discipline the better you will shoot in all of them.
Generally speaking the better you can shoot in any handgun discipline the better you will shoot in all of them.
I shoot match APs pretty regularly and haven't noticed any problems when transitioning to other shooting styles. In my experience, they're great for training fundamentals like sight focus, shot release and trigger control. But the grip, stance, and shot process are so distinct that these aspects don't tend to carry over.
Match Pressure
All great comments guys. This story about the Japanese girl is amazing. I used to do a lot of speed /time combat matches against another top shooter. I have always been slower but I hit more. I think in combat that's important. MrBorland's comment about filling and faster are really relevant. I will keep that in mind.
I also think the match pressure prepares you for what Col. David Grossman calls the "Physiology of Combat", in his book: "On Combat". I feel that target shooting is probably better since after you shoot 4 x 10, the next 10 maybe the hardest shot in the world! Combat shooting does go fast and but those silhouette targets don't shoot back. How do you rate the aspect of match pressure in a Olympic format match as preparation for combat vs. IPSC type match?
All great comments guys. This story about the Japanese girl is amazing. I used to do a lot of speed /time combat matches against another top shooter. I have always been slower but I hit more. I think in combat that's important. MrBorland's comment about filling and faster are really relevant. I will keep that in mind.
I also think the match pressure prepares you for what Col. David Grossman calls the "Physiology of Combat", in his book: "On Combat". I feel that target shooting is probably better since after you shoot 4 x 10, the next 10 maybe the hardest shot in the world! Combat shooting does go fast and but those silhouette targets don't shoot back. How do you rate the aspect of match pressure in a Olympic format match as preparation for combat vs. IPSC type match?