by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
Sig Air Super Target (photo courtesy Sig Sauer).
This report covers:
- Finally finished
- What is it?
- All-metal
- Adjustable sights
- Adjustable trigger
- Safety
- Power
- Examination
- Operation
- Realism
- Summary
It’s here! Or at least I now have one — a Sig Air Super Target air pistol to test for you. It’s a single stroke pneumatic target pistol built in the shape of a Sig P210 target pistol.
Sig’s US-made P210 9mm Target pistol is the basis for the new Super Target air pistol. (photo courtesy Sig Sauer).
Finally finished
This is an air pistol we have been awaiting since 2018. I saw a prototype when I visited Sig to see the birth of the ASP20 breakbarrel rifle. The pistol I saw wasn’t functional, but I did get to try the trigger plus feel the heft of the new gun and just from that I felt Sig was birthing another winner. Of course I am a target pistol shooter, so this new handgun hits me in a vulnerable place. But here on the blog we have reviewed both the Beeman P3 and P17 single stroke pistols so recently that I’m in a good position to test this new Sig. It’s even more like the no-holds-barred Weihrauch HW75 single stroke. The HW75 and P3 are the Super Target’s main competitors, so although I don’t compare airguns, it will be difficult not to make some comparisons.
What is it?
Sig’s Super Target is a single stroke pneumatic air pistol. The gun is pumped with air for every shot which means it is a single shot. You cannot pump in more air and get it to shoot faster because the moment the top[ strap is pulled up and forward, any air that was stored in the reservoir is exhausted. There is, however, one trick to boost the velocity a little and I will try it during the velocity test.
All-metal
One big difference between the P3 and the Super Target is the Super Target is all metal. It feels like the firearm it mimics, which makes it a lookalike or replica airgun as well as a target pistol. The pistol weighs 40 ounces, which is more than the firearm it copies. The 9mm P210 Target comes in at 36.9 oz. unloaded.
The grips are genuine walnut! I had to remove one to examine the back because synthetics these days are so realistic. When I did — solid wood! They aren’t checkered or stippled and it would be nice if they were. The firearm grips won’t fit the air pistol because the screw holes are in a different place, but grips that are like the checkered ones on the P210 Target would certainly compliment this pistol. Maybe that could be a nice option?
The Super Target is 10.25-inches overall and has a 7.5-inch barrel. Perhaps that extra barrel length is why I feel that it must be a couple pounds lighter to pump than the P3, or any other equivalent single stroke pistol that we Americans can buy. Of course the pumping effort of the IZH 46M is lighter still, but they aren’t available to us any longer.
Adjustable sights
This is a target pistol, so of course the sights are adjustable. The screw slots are wide and I find an American penny is just right for them. No doubt there are coins in every country for this. The adjustments have clicks you can feel, but I can’t always hear them.
The front sight is a squared post that fits the square notch in the rear well. The fit (post to notch) is close when I am sighting, though. I will have to wear glasses to shoot, but I always wear them when shooting a target pistol. There is no 11mm rail on which to mount a dot sight, so I think optics are out for this one.
Adjustable trigger
I remember that the trigger on the prototype pistol was quite nice, so I’m looking forward to adjusting this one to be the same. As it came it has a light second-stage pull that is definite but there is also just a bit of creep. I will spend the time to see if that can be adjusted out. The manual says not to adjust the trigger lighter than 1,000 grams, which is 2 lbs. 2 oz.
The trigger has 4 adjustment screws. You can adjust pull weight, trigger blade location, length of first stage and length of second stage.
There are adjustments for trigger pull weight, the location of the trigger blade, the length of the first stage and the length of stage two. Each adjustment is a separate screw, so I should be able to get it just the way I like it.
Safety
Well — there isn’t one. Since this is a target pistol, you don’t need one. You only load this gun when you are preparing to shoot. But what if the range is called cold right after you have loaded the gun? That happens all the time. What do you do then to make the pistol safe? The manual says to fire the pistol to unload it, but in this situation that can’t be done. I would just open the top strap as if to pump and load the pistol again. The strap will be pushed up by the compressed air stored inside, so keep your hand over the top strap to contain it. Once the top strap is open there will still be a pellet in the breech, but the pistol cannot fire.
And, since I brought it up, don’t leave a single stroke airgun pumped longer than about 5 minutes. Their pump cup (pump piston seal) is what holds the pressurized air in the gun and leaving it pumped puts too much strain on it.
Power
A target pistol doesn’t need a lot of power — just enough for a wadcutter pellet to punch a clean hole through target paper at 10 meters. Sig rates the Super Target at up to 400 f.p.s. We know that they have a lead free wadcutter lead-free target pellet that is extremely accurate, and I’m thinking that is the one they got that velocity with. We shall see.
Sig sent me a tin of their new lead target wadcutter pellets to test in the gun. They weigh 7.71 grains and Sig’s recommendation is to keep the pellet weight under 8 grains, so that’s what I will do. Their Match Ballistic Alloy pellet weighs only 5.25-grains, so of course they will get tested as well. There are plenty of match pistol pellets that weigh less than 8 grains, so the test is stacking up quite well.
Examination
I went over the pistol and the contents of the case that it comes in — yes, there is a pistol case for this one — and everything looks top-flight. The overall finish is black satin for the metal parts and the wood grips have a satin finish as well. They put the required warnings on the bottom of the frame where they can be seen, but don’t mess up the appearance of the pistol.
Operation
The Super Target works like many other single stroke pneumatics. Pull the hammer back to unlatch the top strap, then lift the top strap and rotate it forward as far as it will go. Load the pellet into the rear of the barrel that is now away from the grip frame. I know that Sig spent extra effort on the clearance for loading, but I will say that all pistols that load this way can be challenging.
This is the pistol all the way open for loading.
Realism
This pistol feels very close to the P210 target pistol. Only the grips are significantly different. Yes, there are no controls on the pistol like a safety, magazine release or slide release, but the gun doesn’t suffer for their lack. In fact it makes for a slimmer sleeker looking pistol!
Summary
We are in for a treat with the Super Target because it is a quality air pistol. Velocity comes next, followed by trigger adjustments.
Ah, hell, just what i needed to see.
An nice single stroke pneumatic target pistol..
I just got a credit card offer for 0% interest until 2021..
Just take my money………..
BB,
How hard to pump compared to P3 and P17?
Half
Half,
It feels easier. I will test it in the next installment so we’ll know.
B.B.
BB,
Sorry. You actually covered my first question in the text discussing barrel length. I missed it on my first read through, just before bedtime. A second one occurred to me this morning.
The trigger seems an obvious change, but I’m curious about other mechanical differences between the operation of this gun and the other SPPs that you have tested of late. For example, do you know if the valve is knocked open or pulled open as the P3 and P17 are and how similar is the pump and transfer port to these other guns? Similar design or identical parts?
Half
Half,
This valve is a dump valve. It stays open once hit by the hammer, so all the air is exhausted. Ed Schultz told me that yesterday. The rest I will try to address as we go.
B.B.
BB,
Thanks and I will patiently await the next installment.
Does asking for details of design differences violate your non-compare policy? I don’t what to overstep, but HOW things work has become, after many years of repairing things for a living ( or maybe it was always there ), one of my sub-interests within this hobby. I can’t help it.
Also, I don’t intend to force your hand as you reveal info on the guns you review. It’s just that the first installment in your blog is usually a little less “scripted”, revealing more one time and less other times and sometimes the “unretired” part of my brain will seek info that you put into the beginning of some other blog but not in the current blog. Feel free to just tell me to …..Wait for it…….
That Sig Target 9mm really catches my eye, BTW !! Really appealing gun.
Half
Half,
Huh?
I usually tell you all that I know. Sometimes I make guesses, like the walnut grip panels today. Sig is still checking on that, but I think I know walnut when I see it. If it isn’t walnut it should be.
I asked Lain to wait because I do intend discussing the increased power method next time. And there is another reason I would rather wait until then to tell you.
B.B.
BB,
I didn’t mean any offence, I swear. If I were in your place, since I realize how different air guns are from each other, I would expect that, upon first getting an unfamiliar one in my hands, I would certainly need much more experience than I have now to think of everything that might be interesting to the readers of this blog. Furthermore, I respectfully acknowledge that the information in a blog like this may be doled out as it is because of time constraints, to maintain interest, or just because it occurred to you now and it didn’t, then. It is for those reasons that I assumed that your first blog on a gun was somewhat less structured and if that is a mis-characterization, I apologize. It wasn’t meant as a criticism of any sort.
Your response to Iain ( which I respected for all the reasons I just mentioned ) just made me question whether I was being impatient or not and I was just making sure it was OK to ask and to let you know that “Wait and see” or “I’ll get to that later” would be cool with me, as an answer. The same with the comparisons between guns. I THINK that you mainly shy away from “performance” comparisons, as would I, if I were in your shoes ( never ending blog, with all the permutations ) but I really don’t know if that extends to comparing the mechanisms of guns that SEEM outwardly similar and I want to be respectful with my questions, so I asked.
Please don’t take any offence because none was meant. I trust the info I get here above all the other sources that I use.
Half
Halfstep,
I must sound angry in my response, but I assure you I’m not. I just wanted to save that little nugget until the next installment.
B.B.
BB,
I didn’t sense anger. Just wasn’t sure if I was understood and have come to believe that frank expression is the way to clarity. Looking forward to more on this gun.
Half
B.B.
I love accurate air pistols too. But that cocking motion is just to unnatural for me. I assume it feels very similar to the cocking motion of the HW 75 or Beeman P11-I’ve shot one of those.
1000 grams must free pretty heavy on a heavy pistol?
400fts, +50 more would be nice.
So will this be a $300 pistol or a $500 pistol? Was Mr Schultz’s the Chief Designer on this one too?
-Y
Yogi,
The retail will be between $300 and $500, but I’m not sure where yet.
A two-pound trigger is pretty light on a trigger that has a crisp second stage. My Wilson Combat 1911 has a three-pound trigger that reader Kevin guessed was just a pound.
Ed Schultz did have a hand in the design of this gun, but it is made in Italy by a company already making single stroke pistols, so most of what’s there was already in effect.
B.B.
Yogi,
They are priced at $350 and made by Chiappa who also make the FAS 6004 on which this is based.
How much speed do you need? You are only shooting 11 yards. As a general rule, when speed/power goes up, accuracy goes down. “What good is +500 FPE if you cannot hit what you are shooting at?”
RR
At 450 fps you can use a pistol for lite plinking at 400fps or less not so much.
-Y
Yogi
Why you say that?
It all depends on the distance and target size and what projectile and weight.
Yogi,
You just need to pick the right targets. If you plink at an aluminum soda can with a fast moving pellet from a long distance you may not even know that you hit it since the pellet can pass through without disturbing the can enough to detect from the firing line. A low velocity pellet will knock the same can to hell and back. Pushpins, pressed into the top edge of a 2 X4 at 10 yards, are plenty challenging and a 350 fps gun will make them wish they had been born the “thumb” variety.
An argument could also be made that points out the added skill you will achieve shooting the 400 fps pistol with its longer “lock time”. You gotta follow through better. At least that’s how it’s been described to me.
Half
1/2 step,
In my experience with target springers, rifles and pistols; the sweet spot is 450 fps for pistols and 525 fps for rifles. At these levels these guns are still lazar accurate but you add 10-15 yards of plinking fun. Let’s be serious, this is not an Olympic training pistol!
Even Izzy added a kit to add 50 fps second to their target pistol.
-Yogi
Yogi,
You make a good point, fast ain’t bad, necessarily, but slow can be cool, as well, is all I’m sayin’. The only “target” gun I own is a Daisy 777 and it’s less than 400 fps, if I recall, and it’s fun to shoot in my basement, as is the Daisy 853 rifle at sub 500 fps. Accurate, longer shots, FEEL better, more accomplished, I’ll admit, but smaller targets at shorter distances are, actually, equivalent in all ways and with low power guns a home range requires very little space.
Half
My indoor range is 23 1/2 feet.
-Y
That requires tiny targets, indeed!!
-H
Half,
Okay I have remained quiet about this subject for a long long time…but you are the lucky guy, Half, to have brought it up the LAST time before I vent on this misconception: “An argument could also be made that points out the added skill you will achieve shooting the 400 fps pistol with its longer “lock time”. You gotta follow through better. At least that’s how it’s been described to me.”
Now for a Q&A period: how long is Lock time in a typical modern air pistol? 10th of a second? 100th of a second? How about if I told you it was actually measured in milliseconds! I’m not saying don’t practice good follow through! But, the pellet has “left the building” along with Elvis long before you can move anything. If we talk about Buntline Specials I might tell you not to use typical Practical Shooting techniques of getting to your next target ASAP (As Soon As Possible) and to heck with follow through.
If you accept the above; how many microseconds difference in Lock time do you think it is on a 450FPS (FPS) vs a 400FPS MV (Muzzle Melocity?)
Hope that helps,
shootski
Shootski,
It is in the neighborhood of 10% longer. Am I to understand that you believe that the longer lock time in a slower gun defies physics altogether and therefore has no impact on accuracy, or are you simply pointing out that it only makes the gun slightly more difficult to shoot accurately? If it is the later, I agree, but it doesn’t make what I said false.
Half
Half,
I agree that your statement (and everyone else who has stated similar arguments) is true in the realm of Physics and the thing we call time.
Ten percent faster makes it sound significant but the fundamental reality of the matter is that it is still an insignificant amount of time for a human action or motion. My point is simply that in the scheme of all the things which bear on accuracy Lock Time difference is of a really miniscule influence in a modern firearm or airgun Action. There are at least two exceptions and those are the vibrations/motion which start prior to the projectile moving in the barrel and those harmonics that cause a barrel to bend/whip while the projector travels to and out of the muzzle.
The concept of Lock Time significance stems from the earliest Locks that took a significantly longer time (1/8 to as much as 1/3 of a second) to cause the action to ignite powder and get the projectile moving. That amount of time can have dramatic effect on an Off Hand (unrested) shot.
shootski
Readers,
I need to clear up a terminology error that I committed.
LOCK TIME, is defined as the time interval from trigger group activation until the primer or powder ignites on firearms and the time from trigger group activation to pressure arriving at the rear of the pellet/bullet in airguns.
DWELL TIME, IS defined as the time interval from ignition of propellant to the projectile exiting the muzzle in firearms and the time interval from pressure impacting the rear of the pellet/bullet/dart/arrow and it exiting the muzzle.
A red faced,
shootski
Shootski,
Believe it or not,… I knew that (very clearly) a few years ago when I was nose deep in airgun learning. Thanks for the reminder! How quickly we forget and need to relearn,… or at the least,.. keep refreshed continually.
As I recall,… GF1 was sensitive to this (dwell time) from the different weights of pellets that he tried over time. Sorry to say that I do not shoot enough to know those subtilties. All lumped into one term,… maybe?,…. shot cycle?
Good point on barrel “whip” in the earlier comment. That would be the movable weights that some air rifles have to help counter that effect. Yes,… much more minimal in air guns compared to firearms. Fascinating to watch in real/slowed time.
Chris
Shootski,
On harmonic control and weights,… GF1 suggested that I play with moving the barrel band/support on my .22 Maximus. He had tried it removed all together and at different positions fore and aft from it’s stock position. Mine did best with about a 3″ aft position from stock position.
The barrel does not free float through the band,… though it could if the ID was enlarged a bit. There is a set screw in the air tube part of the band as well as the barrel part of the band.
I have not messed with weights on the barrel. A simple split collar with a screw to each side would be first attempt. PCP’s and underlevers would be out (tube/lever under the barrel) but something like a simple break barrel would be the ideal test platform,… un-shrouded of course.
Someone, maybe you?, linked a rubber type device which fit on the barrel and could be moved. I am sure that I have it saved,…. somewhere,… 😉 My “misc. airgun” folder has at least 50+ saved items,… not to mention the other airgun related folders.
EDIT: Found it! 🙂
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1999/2905/products/12051_-_Black_Standard_1024x1024.jpg?v=1510075004
At any rate,… it seemed to make a noticeable difference at the time of testing and the 3″ rearward position is where it has remained to this day.
Chris
Chris USA,
Gunfun1 is right about free floating or barrel band repositioning as you found out. It works great as long as you are shooting the exact same cartridge out of a firearm or the same pellet/bullet with the same velocity out of an Airgun. To help readers with less knowledge about this barrel harmonics concern in a nutshell: you want the barrel to be at the same point in its travel at the point the projectile departs the muzzle. In order for that to work once you find the NODE you can’t change anything or you need to re-tune the barrel device. The rubber Tuner that I know of is made by Limbsaver but I have used some all metal ones from different manufacturers that are actually affixed to the barrel and the screwed back and forth to find the NODE that has the barrel moving up-down only.
I have stopped doing that. I have each of my guns shooting one pellet or bullet at one power setting so I don’t need to worry about messing with a Barrel Tuner.
It is my return to unflinchingly following KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) since I’m mostly shooting intentionally unsophisticated Quackenbush Big Bores.
Who am I to question!
shootski
I have a Gamo P-1 that is rated at 393 FPS or something like that. I’ve found that anything under 400, or darn close to it, has the problem of not leaving a clean, round wad cutter punch in target paper.
I agree with the notion Yogi expressed of a target point of 450 FPS. That would guarantee a good 10 M target paper punch without too much disruption of the shot. The weight of the metal pistol, too, unlike my venerable Gamo P-1 which is almost all thermoplastic, would help stabilize the shot.
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!
Lance
BB,
If I did not have my Izzy, I would have to pick this one up. Top flight looking SSP. I do hope it is a serious contender. We can always use another “inexpensive” target pistol on the range.
By the way, there are a few dealers with “new old stock” 46Ms out there for sale. The price is up there though. Another good reason to hang on to my Izzy.
You know RR, as much as you talk about your izzy, the other wayward airguns are going to start getting jealous…
Ian,
Not likely as I shoot them far more than her.
The thing is, I have not had a better shooting pistol than my Izzy. Now if somebody wants to have their air pistol take a little vacation at RRHFWA, I will be happy to try them out. 😉
You need to set up a rotation schedule to give them all some attention.
You always have your favorites.
BB,
While you are not comparing this air pistol to other air pistols, how about not comparing it to the Air Venturi V10 Match Air Pistol and of course the Izzy.
This pistol is entering a fast expanding field of entry level 10 meter pistols. If you do not count the P17, it is also mid priced.
I am kinda prejudice though. This is my kind of air pistol.
I think I may need one to keep my HW75 company…
Is the ‘hammer’ an actual hammer like on the HW75/P2, or is it just a latch like on the HW45/P1/P3/P17?
Chanman819,
It is a real hammer. You really feel it in dry-fire.
B.B.
B.B.
You mention in the paragraph ‘Operation’ that the hammer is pulled back to unlatch the top strap? I certainly can’t see a 6004 pattern catch for the overlever – an L-shaped piece below the rearsight.
Regarding your velocity trick – would you expect that to work with o-ring piston seals – 6004 uses 0-rings, unlike for example the Gamo overlever SSPs and the Izh-46?
Iain
Lain,
How about I answer that in the next report? Because Sig has given me some background that is unique. Yes, I expect my velocity trick to work in this pistol, too. But we shall see.
B.B.
Wow, that is a sweet looking pistol! I’m looking forward to reading more!
Thanks BB!
Ditto, Gear_Junkie! I’m with you on that; let’s hope she shoots as good as she looks! =>
This is the one that got away. When I was shopping for a Bullseye pistol in .45, I came across the Super Target in my local and favorite pawn shop for a really good price. Not familiar with the Sig, I went home to do some research. Next day with credit card in hand, I returned only to find out it had already sold! Had to “settle” for the Springfield Range Officer.
Fred Happy in GA
B.B.,
I had been a hardcore fan of ONLY the USM1911A1 until I had the opportunity to shoot a number of SIG P210 while stationed in Europe. The first one was a fully worked target gun and I just thought the gunsmith had done a superb job. The next one I got to shoot was a well worn duty pistol and other than sights, grip and bluing it felt just as wonderful all German or Swiss original owners. At that time 1975-1990 I could have had a cased fully preped target pistol for well under one Grand. As you well know other than the new USA SIG P210 they start at four Grand for a duty pistol and go up from that into the Stratosphere on prices. I have shot one of the new P210 and it was the Super Target ($4,000+) which the pellet shooting P210 you are testing is named for. The current Standard and Target P210 are much shorter in length and are far less $$$.
Does Sig Air have planes to do a Standard P210 trainer in-house?
Regardless I am looking forward to this test of the P210 Super Target since it is only one tenth the price of the New Supper Target and probably 1-2% of the Original Target P210.
shootski
I find it odd that those pellets don’t seem to be on the SIG website. I found a can of them at Fleet Farm in Minnesota, (only one can there) shot them out of a new to me P17 Beeman refurb I picked up, with a red dot pre-mounted on it. I was able to pick off old spray cans at 40 yds, if the breeze cooperated. Haven’t found any more of those pellets yet. They chrono at around 415 out of my P17.
MMCM13,
See the pellet discussion over at The Firearm Blog; link below in my post for your SIG lead pellet answers.
They cover the four new Pb pellets.
shootski
B.B. and Readership,
What our firearm brothers and sisters think about the SIG AIR Super Target:
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/11/06/sig-sauer-super-target-air-pistol-and-new-line-of-pellets-now-available/
Good NEWS from the Czech Republic!
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/11/07/czech-senate-self-defense/
Certainly better than today’s USA NEWS that BLOOMBERG is going to enter the 2020 Presidential Contest (note I didn’t say campaign or electoral process) to no doubt bring “joy” to all believers in LIBERTY!
shootski
I looked at that link, the link to SIG in it, for the new pellets, but the 7.71gr wad cutters do not appear in that list of new pellets. I have the pellets in question, they average out to 7.9 gr for a sample of 10. I also have the heavier SIG wad cutters to compare to.
I also found this:
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2017/01/23/umarex-havox-ammo/
Seems like an obscure thing in a firearms blog, and I wonder what happened to them?
MMCM13,
What happened to them?, I think given this quote from your link;
“Each of the pellets come in a package of 25. Packages carry a suggested retail price of $13.99 – $15.99 depending on caliber.”
they were just too expensive, I for one would not spend that kind of cash for only 25 pellets.
Mike