air pistol for training

I just bought a Benjamen Trail at wally world,quite happy with it(for years I had a Winchester/Diana springer,but it wore out years ago(it's around 40 years old),the benji uses the nitro piston,,and I have been having a ball,close up it will send a daisy pointed pellet 200 plus pages into a phone book,it tosses pellets well and with accuracy,the trigger leaves a bit to be desired,and I have seen folks on Ya'all tube complaining about the cocking extension interfering with the front sight,but I have no problem with it,for the price I'm pretty pleased-,the Winchester cost $100. plus back in 1973,the Benji was $70. this year,the wife bought a Umarex /colt all metal BB pistol for practice(we are finally working on pistol permits) with it's size and heft the Benji will make a passable trainer for my cap and ball Walker Colt,but a bit outsized for the average Autoloader as a trainer.
The Umerex BB gun goes under the name Colt Defender,has the Colt logo's on it,essentially looks like a mid size version 1911 design, all metal, feels like a "real gun" not a "toy"$49.99 at Wallys,we finally took it out after I initially posted this,shoots very nicely,30 feet away the wife aims it, and nails a 1 qt milk carton first try,then proceeds to shred it with quick repeated shots,the Benji is also very accurate,and has the fiber optic sights-very nice,but a bit slower shooting-from what I have seen of reviews the Colt puts the bb's out at around the advertised 410 fps,at 30 ' on a plastic milk jug some go clean through ,some end up inside and some ricoshet off,all in all very pleased with the Colt-worth a look perhaps,I looked at some Air Soft spring pistols-not at all impressed,-have a couple higher priced all metal A.S. rifles of the electric variety, and having a ball with them,they generally have the plastic pellet end up inside the jug.

I have been rethinking the use of airsoft pistols as trainers. I have no intention of giving up my pellet guns (Izzy and Beeman) but I'm finding that CO2, gas, and green gas blow-back pistol replicas are available in high quality and configurable versions. Springers less so. Power levels can be adjusted and they can be used more safely and in tighter spaces indoors than pellet pistols. As I see it ... more trigger time and less dry fire.

I have not found any airsoft versions of 22LR target pistols, likely because there are no applications to gaming and simulations for them.

So, I'm only interested in 1911s but there are many others ... Sig 226, Baretta 92, Tanfoglio, Glock, Walther PP, and on and on. Many are very accurate and emulate their powder counterparts quite well. Some are pricy.

I have narrowed down my choices to Tokyo Marui, Western Arms, KJW, and KWA. These are three of the top producers of 1911-styled pistols. They even break down like 1911s. Street prices seem to be around $150 and up, some are way up. I spec'd a custom airsoft based on a Marui frame and slide that would run $1420 if I ordered it. I didn't.

ZardozCZ said:

The Beeman P1 uses 1911 grips, so is a great match for that. As a springer, the piston jumps before the pressure launches the pellet, so you need a firm grip for accuracy. Not insanely tight but not light either. It has helped me gain accuracy with my S&W model 41, and bonus, indoor shooting at home all winter.

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I know this is an old thread but felt compelled to respond... Back in the late '70s, while in my teens, I had a S&W 78G pellet pistol. The 78G looked like the Model 41 with the 7" barrel. I shot that gun to death! In 1981 I bought my Model 41 5" Heavy Barrel. You can be sure the 78G influenced the choice of my first "real" handgun... At age 22 the Model 41 was expensive ($280) compared to most handguns but I didn't care... I wanted one! Tens of thousands of rounds later the 41 still works and looks great. I've never had regrets for getting either gun as they both provided me with countless hours of shooting pleasure. All that said, I just got a P1 to relive the pellet gun days. A few years ago I made a bunch of slingshots modeled after the Wham-O Sportsman to relive those days... gave them to many friends too! Doing my best to stay young and have fun...