Considering the subject of this tantalizing thread, I'll start with
the "pistol" that started Pistol Field Target. Upon converting a 1950s vintage,
Montgomery Wards Hawthorne variant of a Crosman 180 .22 Co2 rifle into this pistol, I was amazed at it's performance; both power and accuracy. I decided to make the grip of grey Actionwood to ANNOUNCE it as a home-made contraption. As taken from my notes-
14.4gr JSB Express, 92 F, 18 shot power-band- LOW= 514, HI= 536, ES= 22, SD= 7, Average= 528 FPS/8.9 foot pounds.
7/14/07 Six consecutive 5 shot groups at 50 yards with Express averaged .74” c-t-c in still winds.
7/4/15 Five consecutive three-shot groups at 25 yards averaged .33” c-t-c with JSB Express. In fact it shot so well I was inspired to found Pistol Field Target competition. Frankenpistol captured the first PFT Texas State Champion title. Interesting to see the evolution in PFT equipment since then.
Once AAFTA embraced PFT, Frank could no longer dominate against precharged pneumatics. So upon unearthing a 1960s version of the 180 rifle in .177 (the 187 model), I built a pistol version of that.
Ol' Faithful has captured three National Champion titles (top row), and three State Champion titles (bottom row) since her not-so-immaculate conception in 2011. She's still going strong against the highest evolution in air pistols, taking Second Place at the 2013 Republic Of Texas State Championships, behind this-
Ever the power freak, in 2022 I founded Extreme Pistol Field Target competition; basically PFT on steroids. Rather than re-inventing the rules wheel, since I was the most influential in composing the AAFTA pistol rules I just ripped-off most of those for Extreme PFT; of course with a few massages for the 55 yard maximum distance and 20 foot pound power limit (both the same as AAFTA Rifle).
The first pistol I used for the new game was my .22 Ataman AP16-
Still one of my favorite airguns, it is a little light in heft and power; even cranked up all the way to its max of almost 17 foot pounds. However it did inspire me to build a(another) better mouse-trap. This one-
Butchered into pistol form from a .177 Brocock Bantam HiLite carbine that wasn't accurate enough to suit me, the RonCo BroCo pistol shoots rings around its former carbine self. An Okie gypped me out of it by paying enough for me to part with it, then another Okie gypped him out of it. I'm hoping to someday gyp an Okie out of it, myself!
Inspired with the success of the RonCo BroCo, I began eyeing my .22 Brocock Bantam Sniper HR with nefarious intent(s).
While it was one thing to butcher a $700 used carbine that wasn't accurate enough to suit me into a pistol that was, it's a whole 'nother thing to butcher a $2200 rifle that shoots like a house a'fire into a pistol! Was I really dumb enough to do something so utterly insane?
I'll give you one hint-
Good guess, but you're wrong. I didn't butcher a $2200 rifle that shoots like a house a'fire into a pistol. I buthchered a $2200 rifle that shoots like a house a'fire
into a pistol/carbine convertible... that shoots like a house a'fire in either form!
Virtue of the four-position power-adjusting knob, power level two produces just shy of the 20 foot pound EFT limit, and level four cranks out 28 foot pounds. The extreme level of my insanity now firmly established, that last sentence put me to pondering
the possibilities of founding a third Pistol Field Target competition, aptly named Magnum Pistol FT. Having considered a 30 or 25 foot pound power limit for MPFT, that brings us to THIS-
Although dwarfed by the Sniper pistol conversion, the .22 Huben GK1 dwarfs it in power! Upon taking delivery of my used GK that I was gypped into buying by a fellow TEXAN, who in fact frequents this forum (and thread
), while tuning it to my preferences I saw 1020 FPS with 18.1 JSBs!
My compressor capable of only 230-250 BAR, I settled on "only" 30-33 foot pounds (depending on pellet) in order to extract a full, 19 shot magazine power-band per charge.
However, aforementioned gypsy (the Texan reading this) replaced the .22 GK he ripped me off on with a .25 GK, has 300 BAR compressor capabilities, and is running his GK around 50 foot pounds (if I recall correctly). Which presents food for thought about power limits for Magnum PFT that I won't go into now. This post is long enough already, and I suspect there will be plenty opportunity to go there soon.
Meanwhile, here's a photo of the best five-shot GK1 group at 50 yards. Dimes are .70" diameter; the group is about .60" c-t-c.!
Considering until fairly recently anyone wanting to play EFT had to either make their own pistol or modify something, that's a happy situation.