Anyone still using CO2 match pistols

[porkchop]

Thanks Dave, I'm still leasing a 25lb tank of CO2 from the welding shop. Those 20 lb fire extinguishers are pricey, I wouldn't know if my adapter would fit on the hose. I'll send you a pm.
Stan

[Mark Freedman]

I have a Walther CP2 that's about 40 years old now. I haven't shot in a competition in at least 20 years. I am planning to shoot it in a match at the end of the month.

There are no dates on any of the cylinders. Seems to me they'll never expire.

So what is the "scientific" basis for compressed air cylinders expiring? Actual scuba tanks never expire as long as they keep passing the hydrostatic tests and visual inspections. There are 50 year old scuba tanks still in service.

So what gives with the ISSF?

[Gwhite]

The history of this rule has been beat to death in other threads. The short version is that an EU regulation originally meant to cover life vest cylinders (which are exposed to salt air & moisture) was written in a way that affects air gun cylinders. The ISSF rules were changed to meet the EU regulations. There are no provisions in the ISSF rules for hydrotesting or recertification. There are rumors that some pistol manufacturers have recertified cylinders anyway. Walther used to do it for CO2 cylinders, but I think that was before the ISSF rule went into effect.

CO2 Cylinders are steel, and operate at much lower pressure. Despite what any of the rules say, I know at least one manufacturer (Tau Brno) who considered the life of their CO2 fill cylinders to be effectively infinite.

[brent375hh]

FWIW I have been leery of using a pump for years because of stories of condensation build up.
Last summer I got a Hill MK5 pump. I pump slow and deliberately to fill my Steyr cylinders. I add about 30 pumps every hundred shots. Neither the pump nor cylinders get warm with my slow speed. My basement is relatively dry year round. I have yet to see any moisture build up in the pump or plenum section of my pistols.
While I do have the dry system, I can't believe the dwell time of the air through it is long enough to matter.

[6string]

I love my CO2 air pistols (Pardini & Feinwerkbau)! They shoot great and are built like tanks.
Same goes for SSP and FWB 65.

I have a Hill pump for my CA Pardini. Even with the Hill "Dry Pack" I have to regularly disassemble the entire pump to keep up on condensation problems. I use that pump in a humidity controlled workshop where relative humidity is maintained closely between 40-45% R.H. I don't want the hassle of a scuba tank, nor the expense of a compressor.

My CO2 tanks are small ones intended for homebrew draft beer systems. Maybe one day I'll set one up for each purpose!

[brent375hh]

I love my CO2 air pistols (Pardini & Feinwerkbau)! They shoot great and are built like tanks.
Same goes for SSP and FWB 65.

I have a Hill pump for my CA Pardini. Even with the Hill "Dry Pack" I have to regularly disassemble the entire pump to keep up on condensation problems. I use that pump in a humidity controlled workshop where relative humidity is maintained closely between 40-45% R.H. I don't want the hassle of a scuba tank, nor the expense of a compressor.

My CO2 tanks are small ones intended for homebrew draft beer systems. Maybe one day I'll set one up for each purpose!

Do you ease into every pump stroke, or just pump away? I don't know what my humidity is, but have not seen any evidence of moisture upon disassembly of my MK5. I assumed, due to posts like yours, to find evidence of moisture in the compression chamber or the base block of the pump.

[merlin32]

I am about to pick up a Co2 LP10 shortly - picked it up for around $AU500 and in excellent condition, so I thought why not? I can always pick up a air conversion kit and change it over. I have a same-era Air LP10 (in fact serial numbers for both pistols are in the 720,000-721,000 range) so I should be able to do a side by side comparison.

[Rover]

Wow! What a great price!
I always found CO2 to work fine until I moved to the Arizona desert.

The range had pathetic air conditioning and the temperature was often
over 100F during the summer matches.

This would cause the gun to "lock up" until it was bled a little to cool it.
It would still shoot some great scores, though.

[PatMcD]

Does anybody use the Tau-7 anymore? Or ever?

[Gwhite]

The college team I help coach just sold sixteen of them to a large Junior Olympic program at a local club. We had six Tau-7 Juniors, and the smaller kids really prefer them to AP20's and some of the "kid" PCP pistols they have. I overhauled them all, and most of them still worked fine, despite being over 20 years old.

[kevinjab]

En mi familia somos poseedore de una FW C20 y otra Steyr LP1, ambas en CO2, son una maravilla como funcionan y sin fallas, ambas en banco de pruebas, hacen un solo orificio con balines H&N, no las cambio por las de aire comprimido, estas últimas presisan más mantenimiento por su regulador de presión, cosa que no necesita ls de CO2

[fc60]

Greetings,

A little Google Translate for those like me...

"In my family we own a FW C20 and another Steyr LP1, both in CO2, they are wonderful how they work and without failures, both on a test bench, they make a single hole with H&N pellets, I do not change them for compressed air ones, The latter require more maintenance due to their pressure regulator, which does not require CO2."

Cheers,

Dave