SigAir Super Target air pistol revisited: Part One

Sig Super Target air pistol.

Link to Part 4 of previous reports

This report covers:

• Why should anyone care?
• What was the Super Target air pistol?
• Resembles the Sig P210 Super Target 9mm pistol
• Where does the Super Target air pistol fit?
• All-metal
• Grips
• Adjustable sights
• Adjustable trigger
• Safety
• Velocity
• Inaccurate information

Today I’m going to start something I almost never do — compare obsolete airguns and retest an air pistol that’s no longer available. I’m doing it because I’m curious and there is a lot of inaccurate or just plain bad information out there. I think you will be curious, too.

Why should anyone care?

If the pistol is no longer available, why should anyone care? Why talk about airguns that are no longer sold new? I have two good reasons. The first one is because these airguns are still available used — perhaps at a much lower price. And the second one is because, in the case of this pistol, a “marketing” decision may have been made by people who perhaps were not aware of the ramifications. This pistol could be a great buy if you know what to look for. I’m going to test it in front of you so, right or wrong, you will know what works. You and I will be learning this as we go!

What is the Super Target air pistol?

The SigAir Super Target air pistol is a single-stroke pneumatic target pistol that SigAir sold for a short time in the 2019-2020 timeframe. SigAir was a division of Sig that apparently no longer exists. Sig still sells airguns, but now under the Sig Sauer name. Their air rifles and air pistols are made offshore and most, if not all, are made in Asia. The subject pistol was produced in Italy and is no longer available, but it didn’t take much to uncover that it was actually a rebranded FAS 6004 target pistol, with some details that were specified by SigAir. That fact may be very important to know as this report proceeds.

The FAS 6004 is an updated version of the FAS 604 and many sources claim that earlier pistol is the better model. I don’t know because I’ve never handled either airgun and I don’t intend to, so it’s a moot point to me. But the 6004 seems to be closely related to the Sig Super Target and that may be important for a reason I have yet to disclose.

Resembles the Sig P210 Super Target 9mm pistol

Some of the differences Sig made to the FAS 6004 to create the Super Target air pistol made it resemble their American-made P210 Super Target 9mm firearm. That resemblance was intentional and Sig marketed the Super Target air pistol that way.

US-made Sig P210 Super Target 9mm pistol.

Where does the Super Target air pistol fit?

When it was available the Sig Super Target air pistol retailed for $350. That positioned it between the Beeman P3 that sells for $280 and the IZH 46M that was bringing close to $500 when it was removed from the US market. The Super Target came with grips and sights that are more sporter-like, so it compared more closely to the P3 more than to the IZH 46M.

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 slightly more than the firearm it copies. The 9mm P210 Super Target comes in at 36.9 oz. unloaded.

Grips

The Super Target air pistol has genuine walnut grips. I had to remove one to examine the back because synthetics these days are so realistic. I found solid wood! They aren’t checkered or stippled and it would be nice if they were. They are smooth and a bit too thick for my taste, but since my pistol is a pre-production model I will leave them exactly the way they are.

Sig got my Super Target out to me before the production guns were in the country and mine came without an owner’s manual. I imagine the manual was being finalized as I was testing the pistol because Sig was feeding me answers to questions I had when I wrote the previous reports. Sig gave me the pistol when I finished reporting on it, so mine may not be exactly like the production model, though I think it is.

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 have certainly complimented this pistol.

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 fits them just right. 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 tight, though. I will have to wear glasses to shoot, so I can see light on either side of the front post. But I always wear glasses when shooting an air pistol. There is no 11mm rail on which to mount a dot sight, so I think optics are out for this one. And it is an overlever single-stroke anyway, so you wouldn’t want optics mounted on the top of the pistol.

The top strap lifts up and rotates forward like this to charge the pistol. Optics have no place on this pistol.

Adjustable trigger

The two-stage trigger adjusts for pull weight, trigger blade location (length) and the length of stages one and two. I find the trigger to be mushy, with no clear stop at the end of stage one. To me this isn’t a target trigger.

In the last series I adjusted the trigger and found the range of adjustment was very narrow. I also adjusted the trigger too far and spent a lot of time putting one of the adjustment screws back in the pistol so it would work.

Safety

There is no safety nor should there be one. This is a target pistol and safeties have no business on target pistols. 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, since the range is cold that can’t be done. I would just open the top strap as if to pump and load the pistol again, but be careful. 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.

Velocity

Velocity is where there may be an eye-opening revelation. I found a reference in a discussion on the Airgun Nation forum about an incorrect breech seal being installed on the FAS 6004 pistol, and that is why it’s good to know this pistol is closely related to that one. The guy who posted said that the velocity of an FAS 6004 should be around 400 f.p.s. with lighter pellets, but the wrong breech seal was installed in his 6004 and the velocity topped out at 330 f.p.s. Sig sent literature with the test pistol that agreed with 330 f.p.s. being the top and I got very close to that when I tested mine. The guy posted which seal from McMaster-Carr worked best to increase the velocity by 50 f.p.s. That will be something I do for you next time.

Inaccurate information

If you look at websites, hoping to purchase a Sig Super Target air pistol, many of them will say the pistol is backordered. It is nothing of the kind. The pistol is no longer being made and the FAS 6004 pistol that this pistol is derived from is also obsolete. Don’t waste your time looking for a new one.

I’m holding the information about the breech seal in abeyance until I test it and determine that it either works or it doesn’t. I will post the results and if it does work I’ll post the part number you need to get from McMaster-Carr. There is actually a choice of two parts, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Next time.