Daisy \ Avanti 747

Stock grips are plastic

Rifles have always out number pistols in my collection by about 10 to 1. Why? I find even the most humble of long guns will out shoot the best pistol in my hands.

This has nothing to do with the accuracy the pistol may be capable of when locked in a vise, what I am referring to are real world situations. I doubt I am alone in this, my smooth bore Daisy 499 will put the rifled Daisy 747 to shame which is the reason pistol targets are enormous in size when compared to rifle cousins.

Side lever is easy to use

So why buy pistols? First it does allow economical practice in the home and can be challenging in a much smaller space. Shooting a scoped rifle at 15 to 21 feet for an extended time would be about as exciting as watching a peeled apple turned brown, whereas you can entertain yourself with a pistol nicely.

In comes the Avanti 747. It is a single stroke pneumatic, and as such its power is derived from a single stroke of a side lever, which I find one of the best power plants for a pistol. This gives it a calm firing cycle without the need for CO2. However as with most benefits, it does have a down side. The power plant needs a good bit of real estate and makes for a fairly large size. If you want to simulate shooting your little .380 this is not the ticket. If I had to compare it with a firearm counterpart I would say the target style .22 rimfires that Browning, Ruger, and others make are closest.

Sized like a .22 rimfire target pistol

It has a solid feel other than the plastic factory grips which I replace with a nice after-market set from RB. I think this also helps the balance, which is a little front heavy in  stock form. As I touched on it is a pleasure to cock, load and shoot. The barrel has a Lothar Walther pedigree, so you can only blame yourself when you miss. With energy at about 2 ft lbs, you should not consider hunting at all and any pest larger than a mouse at 7 feet should be given a pass.

Multi Pump pneumatics will offer more power, but are slow to reload and want to bite fingers, spring power pistols can be hunters but will be more difficult to shoot and louder, CO2 can provide faster action, smaller size and often greater power, but more noise, expense, and the hassle of being at the correct temperature come into play.

So where does the 747 fit in? It can occupy an evening nicely dispatching makeshift targets indoors or out that would be like shooting fish in a barrel with a rifle. Its quiet low power operation also means you will mostly go undetected and the inevitable misses are contained with ease.

Summary: Relaxing target shooting and plinking with the confidence that when you miss it is your fault and not the pistol are its hallmark.