Buy once, cry once, and other ways you rationalize your spending and choices...

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Bills come first. After that, if there's been a gun I wanted and I can afford it, I've bought it. No rationalizing, no crying, every gun has been one that sparked an interest, no matter what brand or type and I have at least one of each, and every one has been it's own adventure whether it stayed stock, got tuned, got modified or got an upgrade or 2. I buy what sparks my interest, not because a bunch of people say oh, awesome rifle, you should get one. I'd rather spend $2000 and get 3 or 4 rifles that spark my interest rather than just one to fit in with the cool kids and I'm most definitely not the type that has to be the first kid on the forums with the latest, greatest, newest high tech toy to hit the market.

I do this for fun, a little stress relief, swat an occasional pest. Couple Hatsan PCP's, 5 Germans between the Weihrauch/Beemans and a couple Dianas, a bunch of Hatsan/Turkish built Webley break barrels, a '73 Silver Streak and a couple CO2 pistols among others and a collection of pellets in 4 calibers it's taken me 6+ years to collect.

Also don't have a SWMBO'd, but I do have a girlfriend who encourages my addiction and has even bought me a couple of those rifles...lol. Life ain't great but it also ain't too bad :)
 
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If you enjoy shooting (putting aside hunting for the moment) based on the ammo cost alone air rifles in the long run are far cheaper than fire arms so that goes a long way I think. Using some bulk .223 for example below after 5,000 round you would have spent about $3,000 and for the same amount of JSB 18.1 $200. So even adding the cost of a $2K gun you are already far ahead and that is without the cost of the firearm factored in.

They are many great PCP's now in the $500 to $1,000 range so no better time to get in and combine that with cheap compressors the sport is much more accessable that is has ever been. I spent ALOT of spring rifles over the years custom stocks, tunes etc.. because I couldn't justify the extra cost of PCP's guns but they some "free money" arrive about $2K so I sold a few of my spring rifles to keep the rifle count the same (easier with the wife) and got 2 free SCBA tanks from a fire fighter buddy and I was off and going!

For me those it's about value and variety. I would rather have 4 good $600 PCP guns and enjoy the variety rather than 1 awesome $2,400 gun. In springers you have HW AA and everyone else drops off pretty sharply after that but in PCP's there are lots of great choices to choose from these days which is great to see. 

All my "mad money" goes to air rifles and I have no kids so easier for me to justify in my case in that regard but overall no matter what you get by comparison modern air rifles are a very affordable hobby.





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If you enjoy shooting (putting aside hunting for the moment) based on the ammo cost alone air rifles in the long run are far cheaper than fire arms so that goes a long way I think. Using some bulk .223 for example below after 5,000 round you would have spent about $3,000 and for the same amount of JSB 18.1 $200. So even adding the cost of a $2K gun you are already far ahead and that is without the cost of the firearm factored in.

They are many great PCP's now in the $500 to $1,000 range so no better time to get in and combine that with cheap compressors the sport is much more accessable that is has ever been. I spent ALOT of spring rifles over the years custom stocks, tunes etc.. because I couldn't justify the extra cost of PCP's guns but they some "free money" arrive about $2K so I sold a few of my spring rifles to keep the rifle count the same (easier with the wife) and got 2 free SCBA tanks from a fire fighter buddy and I was off and going!

For me those it's about value and variety. I would rather have 4 good $600 PCP guns and enjoy the variety rather than 1 awesome $2,400 gun. In springers you have HW AA and everyone else drops off pretty sharply after that but in PCP's there are lots of great choices to choose from these days which is great to see. 

All my "mad money" goes to air rifles and I have no kids so easier for me to justify in my case in that regard but overall no matter what you get by comparison modern air rifles are a very affordable hobby.







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great points!

i am a minimalist at heart, and don't want 4 rifles if i can get a single platform that can fill multiple roles. to me, the Leshiy 2 is like the FN Scar-H, that can be configured as an SBR for CQC, or you can put on a longer barrel for long range precision (within the limits you would expect, just like the edgun).

i used to be able to get serbian PPU M80 for less than $040/rd, and some are trying to get ~$1/rd now, which again helps me justify the air rifle.


 
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I m a powder burner. I like tactical style target shooting and I like to hunt. I found that I had less and less opportunities to go to my buddies awesome range. We both had our first child in 2020. I had my second this year making range trips basically nonexistent. Also ammo went absurd; 4x increases in price on many calibers i shoot.

I’ve owned a couple springers growing up but I really wanted a pcp after realizing how good they could be now days. I wanted to shoot around my suburban yard without drawing attention and I love to squirrel hunt public and private woods. I also like things that are different and have to shoot left handed as a left eye dominant person. That is mostly what drove my choice.

I decided to buy once cry once and went with a Leshiy Classic .25 350mm from the classifieds on here. I have been very happy as it was exactly what i was hoping it would be. Cry once though? Naw I thought i could get away with a hand pump since it was a small reservoir, but then realized i needed to be concerned with the high humidity here. Splurged for a guppy bottle setup, ouch! Thank goodness i have a high end paintball/airsoft store right down the road that doesn’t mind high pressure fills, and had multiple tank options for me to choose from. Then optics… what about nighttime, those rats and raccoons!? What if you get another caliber barrel or want a high low set up and don’t want to resight every time? Ugh add a 2x Wraith day night digital scope…ouch again.

I had to sell stuff to make it happen. Cut another one of my hobbies’ equipment by 50 percent and could not purchase any powder burners for the year noooo. Its been worth it though just a little more crying than originally planned and way more than i thought when the airgun bug bit me.

Get what you want even it takes a good amount of time or requires a sacrifice here or there.


 
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My wife is to blame for the PCP addiction, truth. 

I was a workaholic my entire life, multiple occupations requiring a minimal of 60-70 hours a week, I just couldn't stop. Only time I took off was for deer season. 

The wife sits me down one evening 2 years ago and says " it's time to stop " " You've done all you can do for our family " " hang it up dear and start enjoying life ".

This advice is came from a financial advisor and I can honestly tell you , I have not one clue what I have in the bank. Lol

So now after building several gun ranges, purchasing several PCP's, air compressor, scopes, Donnyfl, ammo and various targets.......I find myself shooting every single morning with coffee. 

I would say the shooting aspect is as much enjoyable as purchasing a well crafted highly accurate gun.




 
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My wife is to blame for the PCP addiction, truth. 

I was a workaholic my entire life, multiple occupations requiring a minimal of 60-70 hours a week, I just couldn't stop. Only time I took off was for deer season. 

The wife sits me down one evening 2 years ago and says " it's time to stop " " You've done all you can do for our family " " hang it up dear and start enjoying life ".

This advice is came from a financial advisor and I can honestly tell you , I have not one clue what I have in the bank. Lol

So now after building several gun ranges, purchasing several PCP's, air compressor, scopes, Donnyfl, ammo and various targets.......I find myself shooting every single morning with coffee. 

I would say the shooting aspect is as much enjoyable as purchasing a well crafted highly accurate gun.



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i'm definitely looking forward to not having to work, but i am starting to get nervous that my plans to win the lottery aren't going to work out.
 
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Well, the OP asked about our ways to rationalize our spending....
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I will proceed to present you with the general principle of a successful rationalization strategy. Then I will illustrate the strategy with just one example.





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STRATEGY:
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Buy a cheap device that will permit or even require gradual upgrading. That way, the initial expense is justifiably low —

and the subsequent excessive expenses can either (a) be blamed on the failings of the cheap initial device, or (b) be hidden behind the cheap price of the main device. 





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ILLUSTRATION of the STRATEGY
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(1)

I got a cheap China gun, an Artemis PP700S-A, and because of someones goodness of heart I got this lighly used cheap gun for much less than MAP price, almost for free....

(2)

But because it's a PCP, I NEEDED a pump (no, to justify a tank or compressor is a justification I'm still working on, like my doctor telling me I have to watch my back....
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). FX 4-Stage, used. =$180

(3)

Now because it's a PCP pistol it's loud — so I NEEDED a DonnyFL silencer. = $120

(4)

But because most cheap China guns don't have UNF silencer threads, so I NEEDED an adaptor. = $40

(5)

Unfortunately, because the cheap China regulator was totally erratic, I NEEDED a Huma reg. = $110

(6)

Now I had the problem that the gun was shooting with such high accuracy, I could reach out much much farther, so I WAS REQUIRED to get a scope (3-12x44 FFP). =$180

(7)

But because the gun is low power, and I am a turret dialer, I NEEDED adjustable mounts, and therefore I also NEEDED a dovetail-to-picatinny rail adaptor. =$100

(8)

Now, the guns shoots great, however sometimes my quarry flies off, and I NEED to know why and where I my pellet hit it! Therefore, I NEEDED a Tactacam, with Film-Through-The-Scope adapter, and a memory card, to review the slo-mo of my shots. =$350



In summary: The Tactacam and it's pricetag basically hide behind the scope to which it is attached, and which costs half of the Tactacam. And the scope and its pricetag hide behind the cheap China gun, which costs not even half of the scope. And the other accessories follow the same camouflaged expense trail.





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So, what's your rationalization strategy for your AG expenses?
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Matthias
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You pretty much nailed my exact though process and actions.
 
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