It has been a long time since writing anything here and probably time to catch up on a few things I have been up to. So yes I have been using the VIASS, but I have also had a good go with the EcoAims VIS500 aiming device. Whilst internationally these may be where things are going, there is still part of me missing something from the Swarovski sound and I think it is that continually smoothly changing tone which just seems to give a bit more detail on how the gun is moving. However I think the VIASS may have found itself a very nice home sat on top of an air pistol.
Shooting an air pistol is something I have always wanted to do for quite some time. It just seems a bit crazy that when I need to use public transport to get around, such as to the airport when going to an international competition, I have so much equipment to carry around. How nice would it be to only need to take something as small and light as an air pistol.
Thanks to the efforts of club members at my shooting club talking nicely to Walther and the generosity of Walther, I now have an LP400 air pistol and through the use of a sight raising block to extend the dovetail rail backwards a bit we managed to fit the VIASS to the top of the air pistol and yesterday I had my first go with it.
It was great to actually shoot an air pistol and has opened me to a quite different discipline of shooting. One thing we are slightly concerned about is that for someone with no sight orientation to the target and finding it may be difficult. So as it also was my first time we got out a support stand and I was doing supported air pistol, although I do hope may be in time we can find some other solution to help with locating the target without using a support.
There are may be a few things which I will need to work on. Whilst the sight raising block did hold the VIASS in place, it was only just long enough and could do with being a bit longer. This is all due to the loading port lever coming up in front of the VIASS and so enough space needs to be there for loading. Unfortunately with the EcoAims VIS500 the clamp being at the rear end of the aiming device means that it probably would be very difficult to fit that to the air pistol and still be able to load.
It is a discipline I would like to develop for VI shooters and so over time I will hopefully draw up a set of rules we could possibly consider using for IBSA shooting competitions. Also the maker of the VIASS tell me they have an adapter to fit the VIASS to a Steyr LP10, so I think this really is a discipline which could be developed now.
The big question is will I achieve what I thought may be possible with air pistol and have less equipment to take to a shooting competition, or will this just be yet another piece of equipment I need to carry around with the air rifle. I have been doing the air rifle too long to possibly just give it up so I suspect the latter may really prove to be the truth.
