Tell us the story how you got started in airgunning .. .Me ....I remember clearly.. . it was a cold and Stormy night 8 or 9 years ago ?..I was walking around with my kids in a local wallyworld. .while the wife did some shopping... All of a sudden, around the corner ,was a gleaming stack of daisy buck and Red Ryders..almost without thinking, and to my kids delight, I grabbed a buck model and asked the kids if we should pester mom to buy it, they nodded with approval and we took it home, unfortunately the dang thing didn't work ..so the next week we went back and bought a red rider, and a powerline 880..followed by a 840 grizzly.
We spent many an afternoon shooting random things in our limited backyard range. .in a nutshell that is how I started into this most awesome of a hobby ..how about you ?
Roughly 8 years ago for me also.
Discovered I had an infestation of Red Squirrels in my garage. Many holes thru the side and back walls, (don't often walk past those sides on the outside, shelving along them inside).
Kept finding things knocked off the shelves, and walnut pieces here and there.
Then I actually saw one...
Tried playing nice at first, no luck. Got on you-tube looking for ideas, and found that they don't belong here in the States. Extreme Southern Lower Michigan here.
Said something to Wife about getting a pellet gun, and her Grandson (Damien 24 now) brings out an older 760 from his room.
I bought a cheap scope for it and various pellet types, and commenced to shooting them on site.
Bought my own 760, then a Crosman F4 NP .177 break-barrel. Gave our Son (Christopher 26 now) the 760, sold the F4 to a co-worker, and bought a P-rod, which I really enjoy. Also own a .22 Gauntlet, but don't shoot it often here at home, and a 2240.
Have spent money on a Yong Heng compressor, small air tank and filters. Along with various items for the 2240 to mod it to my liking, (haven't started on that yet). Along with items needed to make all 3 air guns more backyard friendly. Got to keep the neighbors Happy.
It started for me in '82 or '83 in northern California. I stopped by a construction supply house, and the two guys behind the counter were fooling around with a BB pistol, plinking in the warehouse. I played around with them for a while, and was hooked. On my way home, I stopped at a big box sporting goods store, and bought a Sheridan Model H. Then came a nickel Model E, then I discovered the Beeman showroom in Santa Rosa, and their used gun rack. I soon had a .177 HW77, a .20 P1, and a .25 Webley Eclipse. This was before the internet. Since then, I've bought and sold over 120 air guns, mostly used, mostly spring rifles. Got the Crosman modding bug for a while, got the classic 10M bug for a while. At one point I WAS the market for vintage Hungarian spring rifles. I even loaned a Relum Supertornado to Tom Gaylord, which he reviewed in his blog. My collection hovers around 20-30 guns at any one time, and its about as eclectic and obscure as you can get. I'm currently on a Snow Peak jag, with a Plinkster, Dragonfly, Chaser rifle, all in .177, and a .22 Chaser pistol in the mail to me right now. I went to the Roanoke show three times, once to Standing Stone, and regularly attend the Findlay show. I also went to Columbus for the first time this year. I keep track of how much I've made selling (around $12,000) but I DON'T keep track of purchase prices. I like to fool myself that the hobby is self-sustaining.
What a long, strange trip it's been.
A Christmas story:
Xmas of '69 at 5 years old I got a daisy lever action bb gun. Even though I was already shooting my own 4-10 shotgun and squirrel hunting with dad, there was something different about the bb gun. The rules of engagement totally changed! All my other presents including a shiny new bike took a back seat to the bb gun.
I have had some quality springers come and go over the years but the desire goes on. For me I think it is the science of what can be done with nothing more than air (and money). Partly it goes back to that xmas and OMG, Doc Beeman's Catalogs later on. Besides, I think Black Bart is still out there and I gotta to get 'em before one of you guys do.
Bo
Always had a generic spring gun of some sort and a Crosman 1377 lying around. I sold a home to a gun store owner and he mentioned he had a Diana 52. I had no idea what that was. I bought it out of guilt because he had just made me a good commission and I had to gulp when I heard the price. At the time I did not appreciate the gun and found it hard to shoot as well as heavy. Still have it. Nothing changed for about 25 years. Then my son gave me a .22 Marauder for Christmas three years ago. I'd heard of them but never enough interest/understanding to look into PCP stuff. I was hooked! bought the Prod a few weeks later and started to follow a airgun sub-thread on a motorcycle site. Got some advice there that got me to buy a .25 Cricket, then discovered FX guns.... 3 years and just about $40K later I would say I'm addicted. ?
Finally found something I enjoyed without a motor. ? It's also something I can do with my son. He enjoys it and keeps a healthy father/son shooting challenge going. Enjoyed the online shared interest as well.
Rick
My journey into airgunning started in 1989 when I bought my first spring-piston air rifle at a local gun shop that was also a Beeman dealer... it was a Beeman FX-2 Spanish import (Norica I suspect)... bought it mainly to try and eliminate squirrels that were invading the bird feeders.
Although I did have some airgunning experience many years before, shooting a CO2 air pistol that was filled with a small CO2 tank that screwed to the end of the pistol--forget what model it was... but my younger brother and I shot it a lot at an electric shooting gallery that my father bought us... I was probably around 10 years old.
I came back to the same gun shop many times... buying firearms and airguns, and always picking up the latest Beeman Airgun guide that I just loved looking through over and over again... so I soon bought a Webley Tempest, a Webley Eclipse, and a P1, in a matter of a couple of years.
Fortunately, there was a local airgun shop not too far from where I worked, so I made a drive out there regularly, mainly to buy pellets and to chat with the owner... sadly, he's no longer in business, and passed away last year... happens when you grow old.
I also loved going to a local pawn shop, and bought several airguns there, including a FWB124D, Sheridan Blue Streak, Silver Streak, old model RWS45, a and a HyScore 810M.
I never had a BB gun when I was a kid... my father was into archery, and naturally my brothers, sisters, and I were drawn into the hobby, having a nice outdoor archery range, made our own arrows, and went to local archery shoots.
I recently bought a Daisy Red Ryder at Walmart, and a couple of weeks later bought a Crosman Marlin Cowboy lever-action rifle to see how it compared with the Red Ryder... I liked the idea of plinking while barbecuing, and the idea of having a lot of BB's already loaded to shoot.
My brother turned me onto the Chief AJ instinctive shooting, and the adult-size stock and steel hoop lever that could be added to the Red Ryder, so I had to do the upgrade.
Just made a little video while trying it out, and playing with my video editor... having a lot of fun with the BB guns !
1968 Red Ryder for Christmas shot the s#&t out of it. Next up Crosman 760 maybe 73 or 74. 1978 the Sheridan Blue Streak. About 10 years ago pulled it out of the closet where it had been since maybe 1983. The wife was scared of firearms but the bb gun was ok. The powder burners stay locked up. Went to reminisce and shoot it and it wouldn't pump up...hmmm i bet the internet can help me... 10 years later many guns later many dollars later lots of new friends later a new Airgun club in central Ohio later a lathe and a mill later a grandson shooting FT later...you can still call me oldmanblue.
OHH, yes- snuck my first bb gun past my parents, after it expired I got a Crosman powermatic (kind of like the 1077). Much later on I traded for a couple old pumpers, an Apache and a Crosman 107. Then a buddy who had a Walther LGR let me shoot it and gave me a Beeman catalog-next stop FWB 124! Got tired of that and got an HW 55 off the Beeman used gun list-cost me the princely sum of $200! All static till 2010 "perfect storm" ground squirrels. Ended up getting an R9 to reach out further-cleared the squirrels off 160 acres. Of course I had to try PCPs, have kept them down to 3 so far along with two springers and a couple Sheridans...meanwhile I'm checking the classifieds.....
It started or I should say restarted about 20-25 years ago for me. I was in Kmart one day and saw a Crosman airgun. I wrote down the Crosman telephone # and gave them a call to see if I could get my dad's old 112 working again. It had quit working years ago and dad was going to throw it out. I saved it and was really surprised by Crosman's answer, that they had repair stations around the country. They gave me Ron Saul's # and I gave him a call and arranged to send him my old gun. He repaired it and even sold me a tank like it used to have. I started shooting the old gun and fell in love with airgunning. I have owned and shot hundreds of them since in all their variations. I have a field target course along my driveway. Several friends and I try to shoot at least once a week It has been a real pleasure, this airgun journey. The best thing about the hobby is the people. Airgunners are the best.
Bob in WV
The first air rifle I owned was a Crosman 766. Having to pump the rifle helped me learn to make each shot count. Later on I had visited a gun shop outside of Quantico, VA and the shop owner handed me an old Crosman 6100. I purchased it for $80. A few years later I sold it, and regretted it. I kept an eye out for another one and eventually came across one in near new condition a few years ago. I decided to invest in a decent scope and muzzle break. I plan to do a tune with a JM spring and lubricants to see what it can do.
1970's. My parents used to go to the local Big Blue store after church to just walk around. We lived in a small town so there wasn't much to do. They had a gun counter with a bunch of Daisy bb guns on display on the wall. At some point picked up a Daisy catalog (still have it) and read it cover to cover many times. Decided I wanted the Model 99. It had peep sights so it had to be better... Spent the next few months saving all my money. At some point I told Dad I had over $23, but the gun cost $25 and I was almost there, would he get it for me when I had the rest? Next thing I know my savings was gone and I had the bb gun. Dad built a pellet trap out of an old wooden milk crate, and a place in the basement to shoot. Shot the daylights out of that gun. Then when I turned 10, Dad got me a 410 for squirrel hunting. The Daisy pretty much didn't see much use after that.
Fast Forward to the late 1990's, at the local gun club meeting some guy wanted to start up Airgun Pistol Silhouette, and was touting the price cap on the Production guns. I showed up to see what it was about. He let me shoot his Daisy 747. I was hooked again. Bought a 747. Still like the challenge that gun offers. Got talked into starting a Kids thing at church for indoor 10m Air Rifle, had to get a Daisy 853 to have something to shoot. Then got a deal on an IZH 46M for Silhouette. Brought the church shoot to the local gun club and continued it now for well over 15 years. Includes rifle and Pistol now.
A buddy got a marauder about 5 years ago, sot that got me on the internet reading airgun forums about every night. Now got one of my own and participated in my first Field Target match today. I can see this getting more expensive as I have a great appetite for accuracy and quiet shots...
Such a great love. The wife thinks I am crazy just shooting these bb guns...
Well, besides the 760 from 5 on up I met Spyrodon Aggelis of Aggelis Arms. Spiro was my boss, explained if a weapon is pulled, hit the deck as I don't carry. We got to talking & he explained I don't have to give up targets, hunting, plinking. He introduced me to tuned Diana's, custom Zebrawood 1377's, The Discovery he made that did 45 ftlb. I was hooked. I hit Dick's & bought a Gamo, stupid I know. I returned it when I realized it won't hold a group & got a Discovery from An Authorized Crosman repair station in new Fawn PA owned by Rick Wellknicker, Helicopter lineman by day, air gun maker by night. Oh, the addiction was on. Marauder, Greg Davis Mrod, tons and tons of spring guns. Then I got $25K to play with and AZ got calls from me. I'm down from 13 at a time, over 75 different ones to 6. Just wait until we sell this huge house & I have $ again to play with. Note to members. Anyone wish to sell any rifle I sold them back, call me 570-977-1149 as I miss every single one!
I started with air rifles about age 8. I saved my newspaper route money and bought a long-barreled Daisy lever action from a family friend. A red Ryder style BB gun with the barrel and metal parts painted a metallic silver with a squirt of bronze in it. Lost track of it and never saw another like it? Then, my father moved us to PA where he and an older cousin taught me to shoot their spoils of war at age 10, 1966. Now that was cool. Even got to shoot a Carcano, like the one used on JFK, poor fellow. A 7.7mm mid-war Japanese Akisara too! And a Springfield 8mm. A real German Luger and 9mm ammo. And, among others, the Short Lee Enfield in .303 built in Lithgow for the Australian Army in 1918. Which I inherited from my father, along with vintage ammo for it, including some Khyber. So, flash forward back to OH & 1970. I'd once again saved a goodly amount of newspaper route $$. I walked uptown Elyria, OH to Sears, Roebuck & Co to settle on the 760 Powermaster, variant 1, 6/70. I almost bought the 160 Pellgun, but I didn't have enough for the Co2 cartridges too. So the 760 it was. Dang it, I should've bought the 160 Pellgun. Turns out it would've been better for small game.
So I found the 160 Pellgun, rusty, dinged, etc,...forgotten and forlorn in The Closet of Lost Gold (2 Youtube videos). I shot videos of my restoring the rifle I'd craved as a boy and finally got...I think from that Hungarian family friend, Joe Torok? I honestly don't remember how I acquired it? So, it's been added to ever since. eBay auctions, friends who have their own Facebook groups like me (I have 5), or moderators on other forums. They know I like 760's, so I've gotten a couple free, one a very nice 760 variant 4, 1/77 I installed my bought new in the '70's, period correct Weaver V22-A Dual X scope on. It's in really nice shape and shoots decent. But needs seals anyway, and has two big scrapes on the receiver. Good thing it's satin gloss black! I found a can of Rustoleum satin gloss black with primer to redo that one. Now, if I could just fine the satin gloss pewter/gunmetal used on the earlier 760 receivers? So, then I started in on the forums and Youtube about 9 years ago now. I then found the many online sites to buy airguns and supplies. Then I got old enough to stop being turned down for credit cards. Then messed myself up with them. But it was worth it, even helping with the bills. Anyway, I got a Winchester 1400cs, the Long Tom of the airgun world at some 52" long! Then one of my favorites, the Hatsan Striker 1000x .22 springer. I'd already ordered a Hammers 3-9x32AO mildot scope for from amazon seller Treadpro. Great seller to buy from! Then some Winchester rings and 2 complete Hatsan scope stops using all 4 screw holes to stop it from walking backwards. During the course of time, I bought the Benjamin Trail NPXL725, and the logo sling for it. Then the Crosman GuideHawk NP on pre-4th clearance @ Midway USA for $70 brand new! And the Remington 725VTR for $200 when it finally came out. Been fixing and modding that one. The bare stock is going out to be dipped in Realtree EDGE camo maybe tomorrow. It's getting to the point where I need another 5-rifle wall rack! So that's the short version of my story. Too many memories to list here, let alone think of all at once!
