Hello to all shooters;
Long story short...
I have been shooting firearms since I was about 13 years old.(I am now 44).
I got into registered skeet shooting three years ago(NSSA#169094)
I enjoy shooting to better myself in a discipline.
I now want to get back into pistol shooting.
I brought out the old 1980 Python from the custom shop with a six inch barrel and have been loading 148gr DEWC with 2.7gr BE and getting good groups at 55 feet.(this sparked my interest into getting into practical pistol).
I also have a Para 14-45 that I built and am going to see how it performs on targets.
I have been looking really hard at the M41 for the rim fire pistol.(is this a good and accurate one to get ?)
I just love to shoot and compete against myself(and others) with any firearm.
Please help me get started into something that I do not know all of the rules about.
I have about 3-4 months of practice and gathering information and building handloads before I will accept being very serious about this transition from shotgun to pistol.(I have been shooting skeet for three years, solidly and want to expand my shooting skills, but not totally give up competition skeet either).
Thanks;
Clarence
New to bullseye shooting
Moderators: Bullseye, Moderators
Welcome to Guntalk-Online!
So you want to be a bullseye shooter! Well, you came to the right place.
First, shooting a revolver in Conventional Pistol (bullseye) competition is rather challenging. You may want to look at a single action Automatic pistol for a centerfire option. Revolvers shoot well enough but you'll be at a severe disadvantage during the sustained fire events. The long trigger travel will be very difficult in the rapid fire strings were you only have 10 seconds to fire 5 shots accurately. I don't know if your para will be able to keep up with the accuracy demands of bullseye shooting.
A Model-41 is a great choice for a Rimfire pistol. They are very accurate and highly respected in the competitive arena. Shooting the 22 rimfire is a good way to hone your marksmanship skills for the centerfire guns. A Ruger Mark III or even a well tuned Buckmark will also be acceptable but the 41 is the cream of the crop for American made target pistols.
The best advice I can give you is to go to http://www.bullseyepistol.com/ and start reading. I can offer plenty tips, but why restate something that is already available out on the Net. There is another good resource on that website, it is in the "Site Features" box, and it is called the USAMU Pistol Guide. Lots of good knowledge for a beginner in that book. Near the bottom is a rulebook for NRA Bullseye Pistol. There's even a set of range commands you can download to your MP3 player to help with practice for the timed events.
I hope this reading will help get you started. Once you get an idea of how the games played, you can ask specific questions that I can help you with for better refining your marksmanship skills.
Hope this helps.
R,
Bullseye
So you want to be a bullseye shooter! Well, you came to the right place.
First, shooting a revolver in Conventional Pistol (bullseye) competition is rather challenging. You may want to look at a single action Automatic pistol for a centerfire option. Revolvers shoot well enough but you'll be at a severe disadvantage during the sustained fire events. The long trigger travel will be very difficult in the rapid fire strings were you only have 10 seconds to fire 5 shots accurately. I don't know if your para will be able to keep up with the accuracy demands of bullseye shooting.
A Model-41 is a great choice for a Rimfire pistol. They are very accurate and highly respected in the competitive arena. Shooting the 22 rimfire is a good way to hone your marksmanship skills for the centerfire guns. A Ruger Mark III or even a well tuned Buckmark will also be acceptable but the 41 is the cream of the crop for American made target pistols.
The best advice I can give you is to go to http://www.bullseyepistol.com/ and start reading. I can offer plenty tips, but why restate something that is already available out on the Net. There is another good resource on that website, it is in the "Site Features" box, and it is called the USAMU Pistol Guide. Lots of good knowledge for a beginner in that book. Near the bottom is a rulebook for NRA Bullseye Pistol. There's even a set of range commands you can download to your MP3 player to help with practice for the timed events.
I hope this reading will help get you started. Once you get an idea of how the games played, you can ask specific questions that I can help you with for better refining your marksmanship skills.
Hope this helps.
R,
Bullseye
Thanks Bullseye;
A curious question on the M41...
Are they still being made(current production)?
Is an older model prefered over a newer model per sey ?
7" or 5" preference?
Cannot find anything on the web for year of manufacture per serial number.
Got my eye on a 7", looks to be a newer model with the screw holes in the sight rib to mount a scope if I would want to go that direction.(my eyes are still okay at seeing the front sight and I use Decot shooting glasses), but maybe down the line may experiment with a dot sight...
I have been reading a book that I bought long time ago when I thought about getting into practical pistol back in the late 80's called "Competitive Shooting" by A.A. Yur' Yev, seems to be a very informative publication.
After reading this book again after 20years, with my recent shotgun experience and casual pistol and rifle experience, there is a lot of art, science and technique involved in the shooting disciplines.
I am getting excited
Thanks again Bullseye.
Clarence;
A curious question on the M41...
Are they still being made(current production)?
Is an older model prefered over a newer model per sey ?
7" or 5" preference?
Cannot find anything on the web for year of manufacture per serial number.
Got my eye on a 7", looks to be a newer model with the screw holes in the sight rib to mount a scope if I would want to go that direction.(my eyes are still okay at seeing the front sight and I use Decot shooting glasses), but maybe down the line may experiment with a dot sight...
I have been reading a book that I bought long time ago when I thought about getting into practical pistol back in the late 80's called "Competitive Shooting" by A.A. Yur' Yev, seems to be a very informative publication.
After reading this book again after 20years, with my recent shotgun experience and casual pistol and rifle experience, there is a lot of art, science and technique involved in the shooting disciplines.
I am getting excited
Thanks again Bullseye.
Clarence;
The model 41 is still in production. It is made basically the same as it was in 1957. S&W has updated some of the manufacturing processes but the pistol is still largely hand fitted during final assembly. The newer models are made just as good as the older ones but people seem to prefer the earlier pistols. The newer M-41's come from the factory drilled and tapped for a scope mount.
The barrel length is mostly based on owner preference. If you're planning to shoot open sights then the longer sight radius of the seven inch barrel would be advantageous. I prefer the heft and balance of the 5.5 inch bull barrel for target shooting. I also have a five inch field barreled Model 41 that has a real nice feel to it. The field barrel has the narrower profile of the seven inch barrel but is cut back to the shorter length.
Optical sights are the way to go for older eyes. The tough part of learning how to shoot them is to not get yourself all worked up as the dot dances around on the target's aiming black. Once you stop fighting it and relax, the dot will settle down and then it is a very easy sighting system to manage. The dot sight cuts down on alignment errors between three points and make the sighting system operate based on two aiming points; the red dot and the target face. This makes sight recovery in the sustained fire events far easier and cuts down on how much time it takes in between shots to reacquire the sight and break the next shot successfully. The thing I like most about the dot system is calling your shots is far easier with a dot. When the dot jumps from recoil, the place on the target were it was just prior to the move is where the hole will be in the target. And your mind will remember where that spot was much easier with the dot sight.
Smith and Wesson has a strange serialization system and this makes determining manufacturing dates difficult sometimes. Rimfire Central has a list of manufacturing dates for the M-41 but it only goes up to 1998. http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/sh ... hp?t=92500
I have Yur'Yev's book and I have to agree with your review on it. As far as bullseye shooting goes, that link to the ASAMU Pistol Guide is a much better read for learning basic competitive pistol shooting techniques.
Hope this helps.
R,
Bullseye
The barrel length is mostly based on owner preference. If you're planning to shoot open sights then the longer sight radius of the seven inch barrel would be advantageous. I prefer the heft and balance of the 5.5 inch bull barrel for target shooting. I also have a five inch field barreled Model 41 that has a real nice feel to it. The field barrel has the narrower profile of the seven inch barrel but is cut back to the shorter length.
Optical sights are the way to go for older eyes. The tough part of learning how to shoot them is to not get yourself all worked up as the dot dances around on the target's aiming black. Once you stop fighting it and relax, the dot will settle down and then it is a very easy sighting system to manage. The dot sight cuts down on alignment errors between three points and make the sighting system operate based on two aiming points; the red dot and the target face. This makes sight recovery in the sustained fire events far easier and cuts down on how much time it takes in between shots to reacquire the sight and break the next shot successfully. The thing I like most about the dot system is calling your shots is far easier with a dot. When the dot jumps from recoil, the place on the target were it was just prior to the move is where the hole will be in the target. And your mind will remember where that spot was much easier with the dot sight.
Smith and Wesson has a strange serialization system and this makes determining manufacturing dates difficult sometimes. Rimfire Central has a list of manufacturing dates for the M-41 but it only goes up to 1998. http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/sh ... hp?t=92500
I have Yur'Yev's book and I have to agree with your review on it. As far as bullseye shooting goes, that link to the ASAMU Pistol Guide is a much better read for learning basic competitive pistol shooting techniques.
Hope this helps.
R,
Bullseye