Hi Jeremy,

Welcome to the world of precision pistol shooting. All the guns you mentioned would be suitable and easily taken to beyond the Master level. The important point is which might work for you. If you have a local club, you might ask if you can try different guns - they will all feel different and there might be one you prefer. Of the ones you mention, HS is likely best, and its ergonomics are similar to the 1911, but all would work well to start. I started with a MKII and shot HM scores with it before switching to a SW41 - much nicer, but consistently added only a few points to my average.

You should also check out the Bullseye-L forum, they specialize in B'eye.

Good luck - great sport!

 

Thanks for they info, I signed up for an account on that site to see what I can learn from those folks.

I guess the perfect one would be a S&W 41, but those seem to be outside my price range for now.

Thanks

 

Bullseye .22

Another idea is to use your M1911 frame- if you have one and buy a Marvel or Nelson upper for it. We have a high master in our club that shoots great with his Marvel, others do also in the club. I sure like mine and it is/was much cheaper than buying any of those listed, and certainly cheaper than the high dollar Pardinis, Walthers, etc. For awhile I used my old M1911 frame and the Marvel before buying a dedicated Caspian frame for it. Then I have the .22 and .45 with the same frame angle, grip style, and nearly trigger (you could have them matched), for all three stages of the Bullseye competition.

Range Con

 

Get the high standard, if it's a button frame. If it's a screw frame keep looking.

Parts are readily available. You can change barrels, grips, add a dot very easily.

If you are looking for a dot look at ultradot.

 

How do I know if its a button frame or screw frame?

I do have a Springfield Armory 1911 Range Officers Elite Target and I haven't seen any conversion barrels for my specific 1911 frame.

Thanks

 

I shoot a SA RO with an Advantage Arms conversion. It is a model of the Marvel unit. VERY accurate, and once you find the ammo it likes, a good runner. I got mine on Gun Trader, but you can order from the factory too. Get a full length recoil spring guide rod for the .45 slide, and caliber changes are less than a minute.

 

I think I figured out what the difference is. looks like the the button frame has the push button takedown and the screw frame has an Allen screw in front of the trigger guard for takedown.

I went back to take a look at the one they have for sale and its the screw frame model (107 SH serial number), but is selling it for $425 with 2 magazines. I'n not sure on the retail pricing for these models so any help would be appreciated.

If looking for a S&W model 41, are their any years better than others or other features I should be looking at for the model 41 pistols?

Thanks for any help

thanks

 

Buy once cry once

The S&W model 41 is the easiest to live with. Controls are nicely placed and barrel take down and cleaning is easy. Magazines are relatively cheap and well made.
I you mount a red dot sight the rear of the slide is easy to reach. I find the pistol a bit to heavy with a dot sight.
The High Standard has a bit nicer trigger and seems to hang better in my hand. If you hang a Red dot on one the rear sight gets into the way of the rear of the slide. You can't dry fire a High Standard and the magazines lips are subject to getting bent it your not careful. They need to be spot on for the gun to work. You can buy a alloy sleeved barrel for use with the Dot Sight to reduce the added weight.
A Marvel conversion can be a wonderful thing if you can find ammo and magazines that work. The newer company is making slides that hold open on the last shot.
Takes a little socket wrench to take down and clean. Lots of options on building a dedicated 1911 based frame. I use a cast STI frame that is electroless nickel plated so the alloy slide runs happily on the rails. No fear gunsmithing with easy to obtain trigger and fire control parts. You can play with a holster.
I have been beat by Buckmarks and Rugers, yet have never owned one.

 

I'm happy with my 1970's S&W Model 41. All I need to do is keep her clean and feed her CCI-SV and only CCI-SV and she's a tack driver.:bthumb:

 

As a High Master BE shooter for 25+ years I can use any one of my four HS target pistols or my S&W PC 41 and shoot the same 290s+ scores' if I use my Browning Buckmark gold target or my Kimber 1911 22lr conversion I usually shoot in the 280s+ scores, all have red dot sights.

 

Bullseye .22

I think 1shotbob hit on it- and Gil Hebard the Bullseye equipment dealer of years ago did a study verifying that mechanically, almost all of the target .22s will score well, it is just a matter of triggers, ergonomics, what feels good to you, and what you can afford. As he indicated and as have others have, you are not likely to get burned with any of them. Best idea try a number of them if possible, we have a High Master in our club that likes the Marvel (so do I and wish I was a High Master), others use Rugers, Pardinis, Nalson, and S & Ws, etc. So they vary in price from three to four hundred to fifteen hundred or more. It can be a dilemma, I would recommend the Marvel or Nelson for your M1911, or possibly a Ruger- less money and will do the job. Of course the advantage to the conversion unit is the similarity of the frame and trigger.

Good luck and good shooting!

Range Con

 

Hearing that you’re looking to start Bullseye is music to my ears. It’s a sport or actually a discipline that beyond accuracy trains a person’s mind and self control. I no longer shoot as I sort of moved to the desert with my fishing gear so to speak. But for thirty-eight years I did. Some good advice here but I’ll offer some more.

Do not run out and spend a fortune on a Euro gun to start with. Shoot a seasons worth of matches with a decent gun and feel your way from there. Once at the matches the old timers and better shooters will almost always step up to help including trials with other pistols, the line routine and various techniques etc.

There are quite a few used ‘shooter grade’ Hi Standards for sale from older shooters who are stepping back same with Rugers and not quite as many 41’s. Seems the 41 is a hot item with plinkers these days so there are fewer offered at short money. One feature of these pistols that can make a big difference is grip angle. It took me a few years to figure out why my first pistol, a Ruger, always felt so good in my hand. It was the slant grip angle nothing more. Target pistols will be either the more vertical 1911 style 11° or the slant grip around 32-35°. Try both and see what fits and points the best. Grips and grip angle are very important. Have fun

 

Hey Newpistol

I am a accomplished bullseye shooter, used to captain my bullseye team, and have had the pleasure of introducing quite a number of new shooters to the bullseye world.

Any one of the guns you are considering is a good beginner gun but I would lean towards the Ruger as a starter gun. There are a lot of upgrades available for the ruger but you have to be careful because you can end up investing over $1,000.00 in upgrades and end up with a very nice $400.00 ruger.

Might want to consider the volksquartzen trigger if you get the ruger.

Since I have been shooting bullseye for more then a few decades, I have had to opportunity to amass a good collection of high quality 22LR target pistols. I can personally attest that it is the shooter that puts the bullet in the x and not the gun. Even though I am a very fierce competitor, I have been beaten by others using the rugers, the buckmarks, and quite surprisingly, a woman using a Baretta Neos!

Realistically, while competing and shooting a very fine European high dollar target pistol is awesome, the best part is the sportsmanship and comradery of my fellow teammates and competitors. It is not very often I go to the match and end up with a large group of old and new friends at the tavern, looking forward to the next match.

Doesn't matter the type of pistol you shoot, just gotta get a pistol to compete with.

One last thing, if you ever find yourself in South East Michigan, send me a message. We got a spot on the line for ya!

Regards,
Crankster

 

CMP Bullseye

I shoot CMP Bullseye every Wednesday, and over the years I have tried different pistols until I found out what really fits. And I found a Buckmark was my pistol. This year I finished 2nd in this years team competition,missed first by less than one point.
https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=276357&stc=1&d=1636695671

 

I shoot CMP Bullseye every Wednesday, and over the years I have tried different pistols until I found out what really fits. And I found a Buckmark was my pistol. This year I finished 2nd in this years team competition,missed first by less than one point.
https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=276357&stc=1&d=1636695671

That 50 footer is a tough target. I think I'm going to use those for some practice as it's actually smaller MOA between rings vs the 25 yard target. Plus, it doesn't have to travel as far at my range, so that saves time.

Good shooting....

I think I'm going to be moving towards Bullseye myself. I've been thinking about it and putting some rounds downrange one handed here and there. It's a new challenge, and I'll probably ease into it with time.

A couple of questions for the more accomplished bullseye shooters, and I know there are at least a few on the forum.....

First, did any part of bullseye training diminish in any way your two handed shooting scores? I can't see why it would, but wanted to ask. I still want to progress on both and wondered if anyone had any problems doing both.

Second, what way did you sort out the mental game of shot process, refining it, etc? I somewhat do this with two handed shooting, and was just curious how much people define and/or change it. Since the mental game and visualization and such seem more important in bullseye, I'm just wondering mostly how long a person tries a process before thinking about a change.

I've been looking for local to me shoots, and got lucky today when out shooting rifle. A guy a couple lanes down had an obvious bullseye setup... box, spotting scope, appropriate pistol and targets... etc. So I made a comment that it was good to see when he was off the line stretching his legs. Talked to him some and got some scoop. There is a local club that holds matches, much closer than I expected. So I had found them, but missed the mention of bullseye matches.

And he was obviously happy someone else was interested in bullseye shooting. When I asked about his pistol he offered to let me toss a few rounds out of it. So I guess it's true that people are looking for others to join in. I declined as I felt bad for taking the time I did, but will probably run into him if I go check out a few matches.

So it looks like a start might in the cards soon. I recently picked up another pistol that would do (HS Victor) for iron sight shooting. I'm planning on picking an optic for my Mark II at some point, so I'll have two decent platforms to see whether to stay iron sight or optics.

 

Hey Signmaster

Couple of good questions you got there, let me see if I can address them for you.

All time invested in bullseye shooting will improve your two handed scores directly. Bullseye is so focused on the fundamentals of shooting that the skills learned from bullseye transfer directly to all other shooting competitions with the exception of shotgun.

As for the mental aspect, i think that is unique to each and every individual. As a matter of fact, I find that i have to adapt my mental outlook every time I shoot. Some days a fierce determination and stranglehold grip delivers the 10s and Xs, other days a more lassez-fare Alfred E. Newman "What, Me Worry?" attitude sends the bullets to the middle. Most of the time is is somewheres in between those two extremes.

I have a pre competition routine that I follow that starts the morning of the competition with a healthy fruit and protein breakfast (not to much), a chicken sandwich with a couple of banana's for lunch, and if it is later in the evening another chicken sandwich or other source of protein but not too much or too heavy. I also start relaxing my mind in anticipation of the match, picture every shot, and go through the routines for timed and rapids.

While I may be a fierce competitor, I really enjoy the whole social aspect of the sport, how friendly everybody is before the matches, the smiles exchanged as we change targets, the teasing and torment that occurs when we score the targets, even the interaction between shooters and between the shooters and the guy calling the match. Make no mistake there are a couple of sourpuss's out there but by and large, most shooters are friendly, happy, and fun to be around even if they are a little bit weird.

Regards,
Crankster

 

Thanks for the input Crankythunder. I more or less assumed that any BE work would translate to other aspects, but wasn't really sure.

As far as shot process and such, I find that I adapt day by day in some respects as well. With the range I shoot at I have no idea if I'm going to be next to another target shooter with a defined pace easy to work around, or a master blaster John Wick wannabe with an obnoxious muzzle break that blasts my way. I hardly even notice most 9mm or smaller.

For now I'm just getting the basic start, and will probably check out some of the matches. For the time being I'll probably just be shooting 22, and I don't think the 22 only matches start up again until next summer. But I can practice at my local range, and get the ball rolling.