*Practice with the Walther CP99*
First a bit of history. Back in 1997 our government in the UK deemed that the entire nation was unfit to have handguns. I will not go on about this as I have to watch my blood pressure but it is a fact of life here and as they say life must go on.
For those of us that wanted to continue with pistol shooting an alternative had to be found, I chose the Co2 gas pistol. Now you may not have the same restrictions in your country but you still could find that a Co2 pistol is a valuable tool in your armory.
Of course in the "good old days" I would spend a lot of time at the pistol club maybe two or sometimes three days a week, and yes this did cost a lot of money and also took up a fair amount of time. Travel to and from the club, membership and range fees together with the cost of ammunition would mean that my shooting expenses would often exceed my weekly food bill on many occasions.
I fell in love with the CP99 almost at first sight, made by the Umarex group, in Germany, of which Walther is a part is has the same weight and feel of its firearm brother the Walther P99, so I am told.
One of the many things I like about it is the Co2 arrangement which lives in the same space as a magazine would on a firearm. If you have more than one cartridge you can quickly change the cassette by pressing the release catch at the rear of the trigger allowing the cassette to drop out. You get about 45 shots from the Co2 cartridge.
A 4.5mm 8 shot magazine goes in the top slide and you are ready to go. This pistol can be fired in double action or for more accuracy in single action by manually pulling the rear half of the slide back which cocks the action making the trigger pull lighter. Remember if you want to shoot in single action you must do this after each shot alas no blowback. For safety there is also a de-cocking device and of course a safety catch.
The pistol has a three inch rifled barrel and 1 1/2 inch groups at 10yds are possible using the standard fixed sights.
Of course the big advantage with this weapon is how inexpensive it is to shoot it even begins to make .22 rimfire shooting look expensive. With a bit of care you can set up a range in your yard and the blast from the Co2 is unlikely to annoy any of your neighbours.
In short with one of these you just have no excuse not to practice, do you?
Bushman
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