This morning I was out on my back yard range shooting 3 (yes 3) new guns which I received in the last week. After scoping them up, zeroing and chrono testing them yesterday on my short range, I was shooting them for the first time out to the 52 yards I have available in my yard. And I have 2 more used guns in transit, arriving this week or next.
I was happy with the new guns as I was shooting them well. And that is when it dawned on me:
I am an idiot. Don’t be like me. Save yourself a lot of money and hassle.
I got into air guns seriously in July of 2020 during the COVID lockdowns, as a hobby to maintain my sanity and which I could do safely in my back yard. I have spent an Imperial poope-ton of money on air guns since that time, and have lost a Metric poope-ton of money selling off guns which I had purchased, but “just didn’t work for me.” And along with the money loss is all of the hassle factor of photographing the gun I’m putting up for sale, creating the listing for the classifieds and ultimately trying to box it up properly & protected, and ship it safely to the purchaser.
There is an old saying: “Beware the man with one gun.” It is so true. That individual knows their one gun inside and out. What it can do. What it can’t do. And how to make it do what it can’t do. No one has to beware of me. I have more air guns than anyone really has a right to. Fortunately I worked very hard before I retired. I have an adequate nest egg. But I won’t if I keep spending money on air guns. Yet I am always looking at the AGN Member Classifieds, and various dealers to see what new or used guns might be available which I 'need'. Is it a sickness? Likely. And so unnecessary.
I guess that I may be like an addict chasing the high. Always looking for a magic gun which would maybe make me look like a better shooter than I really was. To an extent it was also ‘retail therapy’ – scoring a new gun during the cr@p COVID lockdown periods was fun. And then it became the thrill of the hunt. Air guns became nearly unobtanium. Prices were going up while supply seemed to get lower and lower. Check the sites daily, or multiple times a day. "Hey – they have one in stock." Maybe not the exact model/caliber/color I originally wanted. But buy it NOW because it will be gone in an hour…
Well, there is no magic air gun. Some guns may seem to shoot a little better for you, while with others you may not be able to hit the side of a barn. There is no substitute for practice and experience. And that is something which you just can’t buy.
The 3 guns I was shooting this morning were of the format (short, light, bullpup) which just didn’t work for me previously. But this morning in calm conditions I was pretty easily shooting repeated 5 shot dimers at 52 yards. So satisfying. And I am such an idiot.
So now that I’ve tried to totally degrade myself, what can one learn from me?
- Buy the best air gun you can afford. Buy once, cry once. Get a good gun with inherent accuracy potential built in. It is easier and less expensive to find this today as we are truly blessed with an incredible selection of excellent air guns available to us (at least when they are in stock).
- Buy a reasonable optic for it. I’m old and my eyes never were that great. So I normally choose something which has a reasonably high magnification range (like up to 20 or 24x). Get something which is bright and clear, with a reasonably forgiving eye box so that you will be comfortable using it a lot. Others may disagree but I have never felt the need (for hobby shooting) to spend more than maybe $400 on a scope. A lot of scopes I own originally cost more than that, but I buy them used.
- Buy or borrow a chronograph, and learn basic tuning skills for your gun. Find out what weight, style and brand of projectile it likes (is consistent with). Perform a basic tune for accuracy. Don't get hung up on max power.
- Arrange a nice shooting area for yourself – a reasonably steady table/bench, adjustable if possible so that you can get comfortable (there is nothing like having a sore back or shoulders after every shooting session because you could not achieve a comfortable position when shooting your gun). And either a nice bipod/rear bag, front & rear bag or a rest (I’ve found the Caldwell Stinger to be a good and reasonable choice, and some friends who I have gotten into air gunning have bought their own after using mine).
- Shoot that gun until you are absolutely sick and tired of shooting it. Then shoot it some more. Then repeat the process all over again, with the same gun.
- Don’t purchase your next air gun for at least 6 months. 12 months is even better. And that is with regular shooting practice. Like at least 3-5 or more shooting sessions per week.
There is no substitute for practice and experience. I said that earlier, and it merits saying again. We’ve all heard it before, and some have actually believed it and lived by it. It is the truth.
I am a significantly better shooter than I have ever been. I’m not a competitor (well, maybe for fun with my friends, since they have been shooting air guns for a shorter time than I have and I can still beat them). I am not a hunter. I do some satisfying pesting work at my local range, attempting to decrease the population of ground squirrels who are trying to destroy our safety berms. I shoot for hobby and fun. I am certain that I still have bad shooting habits. Maybe I’ve practiced my way through some of them, or maybe I have just learned to better compensate for them. I shoot almost daily, even if for just a short session. I have good days, but other times I come in wondering why I just can’t shoot anymore.
Shooting well is hard. If it was easy, anyone could do it. But it is not. It is challenging and takes lots of work to improve. And then when we seem to be improving, the challenge continues as we have to address varying environmental conditions, shrinking target sizes or we want continually tighter groups. The challenge is why we love to shoot air guns, and is what keeps bringing us back to the shooting bench. And it should never be any other way, or it gets boring and we leave to do something else which challenges us.
Don’t get me wrong – I love my air guns and I have been able to put together a broad personal collection. I am incredibly fortunate. I’m not leaving air gunning as it continues to be a challenge to me, and I am starting to see myself overcome at least some of those challenges through practice. I will continue to sell air guns which I just don’t find myself shooting all that much, or which don’t otherwise fit my ‘needs’. But I am now finding that gun types which ‘I could never shoot well’ are shooting fine for me. The guns didn’t change, but I have grown as a shooter and that is the reason why I can now shoot these guns better than I could before.
I have always, in all of my hobbies, wanted to have specific tools for specific jobs. That may be a good thing, or it may be a way to help me justify my spending addiction. I think it is a good thing if practical for you. But just don't start off that way. Learn your one gun completely because only then you can make an educated choice as to which style/type/caliber of next niche gun you 'need'.
So learn from my experiences and save yourself the frustration, the hassle, and the excessive spending that I have gone through. Get yourself a good gun, learn it inside and out, backwards and forwards, and practice, practice, practice with it. Do yourself a huge favor and be that ‘man (or woman) with one gun.’
My name is Tom, and I am addicted to buying air guns. Please help me out if you can. If I happen to contact you about an air gun you have listed in the AGN Member Classifieds, tell me that it is already sold!
I was happy with the new guns as I was shooting them well. And that is when it dawned on me:
I am an idiot. Don’t be like me. Save yourself a lot of money and hassle.
I got into air guns seriously in July of 2020 during the COVID lockdowns, as a hobby to maintain my sanity and which I could do safely in my back yard. I have spent an Imperial poope-ton of money on air guns since that time, and have lost a Metric poope-ton of money selling off guns which I had purchased, but “just didn’t work for me.” And along with the money loss is all of the hassle factor of photographing the gun I’m putting up for sale, creating the listing for the classifieds and ultimately trying to box it up properly & protected, and ship it safely to the purchaser.
There is an old saying: “Beware the man with one gun.” It is so true. That individual knows their one gun inside and out. What it can do. What it can’t do. And how to make it do what it can’t do. No one has to beware of me. I have more air guns than anyone really has a right to. Fortunately I worked very hard before I retired. I have an adequate nest egg. But I won’t if I keep spending money on air guns. Yet I am always looking at the AGN Member Classifieds, and various dealers to see what new or used guns might be available which I 'need'. Is it a sickness? Likely. And so unnecessary.
I guess that I may be like an addict chasing the high. Always looking for a magic gun which would maybe make me look like a better shooter than I really was. To an extent it was also ‘retail therapy’ – scoring a new gun during the cr@p COVID lockdown periods was fun. And then it became the thrill of the hunt. Air guns became nearly unobtanium. Prices were going up while supply seemed to get lower and lower. Check the sites daily, or multiple times a day. "Hey – they have one in stock." Maybe not the exact model/caliber/color I originally wanted. But buy it NOW because it will be gone in an hour…
Well, there is no magic air gun. Some guns may seem to shoot a little better for you, while with others you may not be able to hit the side of a barn. There is no substitute for practice and experience. And that is something which you just can’t buy.
The 3 guns I was shooting this morning were of the format (short, light, bullpup) which just didn’t work for me previously. But this morning in calm conditions I was pretty easily shooting repeated 5 shot dimers at 52 yards. So satisfying. And I am such an idiot.
So now that I’ve tried to totally degrade myself, what can one learn from me?
- Buy the best air gun you can afford. Buy once, cry once. Get a good gun with inherent accuracy potential built in. It is easier and less expensive to find this today as we are truly blessed with an incredible selection of excellent air guns available to us (at least when they are in stock).
- Buy a reasonable optic for it. I’m old and my eyes never were that great. So I normally choose something which has a reasonably high magnification range (like up to 20 or 24x). Get something which is bright and clear, with a reasonably forgiving eye box so that you will be comfortable using it a lot. Others may disagree but I have never felt the need (for hobby shooting) to spend more than maybe $400 on a scope. A lot of scopes I own originally cost more than that, but I buy them used.
- Buy or borrow a chronograph, and learn basic tuning skills for your gun. Find out what weight, style and brand of projectile it likes (is consistent with). Perform a basic tune for accuracy. Don't get hung up on max power.
- Arrange a nice shooting area for yourself – a reasonably steady table/bench, adjustable if possible so that you can get comfortable (there is nothing like having a sore back or shoulders after every shooting session because you could not achieve a comfortable position when shooting your gun). And either a nice bipod/rear bag, front & rear bag or a rest (I’ve found the Caldwell Stinger to be a good and reasonable choice, and some friends who I have gotten into air gunning have bought their own after using mine).
- Shoot that gun until you are absolutely sick and tired of shooting it. Then shoot it some more. Then repeat the process all over again, with the same gun.
- Don’t purchase your next air gun for at least 6 months. 12 months is even better. And that is with regular shooting practice. Like at least 3-5 or more shooting sessions per week.
There is no substitute for practice and experience. I said that earlier, and it merits saying again. We’ve all heard it before, and some have actually believed it and lived by it. It is the truth.
I am a significantly better shooter than I have ever been. I’m not a competitor (well, maybe for fun with my friends, since they have been shooting air guns for a shorter time than I have and I can still beat them). I am not a hunter. I do some satisfying pesting work at my local range, attempting to decrease the population of ground squirrels who are trying to destroy our safety berms. I shoot for hobby and fun. I am certain that I still have bad shooting habits. Maybe I’ve practiced my way through some of them, or maybe I have just learned to better compensate for them. I shoot almost daily, even if for just a short session. I have good days, but other times I come in wondering why I just can’t shoot anymore.
Shooting well is hard. If it was easy, anyone could do it. But it is not. It is challenging and takes lots of work to improve. And then when we seem to be improving, the challenge continues as we have to address varying environmental conditions, shrinking target sizes or we want continually tighter groups. The challenge is why we love to shoot air guns, and is what keeps bringing us back to the shooting bench. And it should never be any other way, or it gets boring and we leave to do something else which challenges us.
Don’t get me wrong – I love my air guns and I have been able to put together a broad personal collection. I am incredibly fortunate. I’m not leaving air gunning as it continues to be a challenge to me, and I am starting to see myself overcome at least some of those challenges through practice. I will continue to sell air guns which I just don’t find myself shooting all that much, or which don’t otherwise fit my ‘needs’. But I am now finding that gun types which ‘I could never shoot well’ are shooting fine for me. The guns didn’t change, but I have grown as a shooter and that is the reason why I can now shoot these guns better than I could before.
I have always, in all of my hobbies, wanted to have specific tools for specific jobs. That may be a good thing, or it may be a way to help me justify my spending addiction. I think it is a good thing if practical for you. But just don't start off that way. Learn your one gun completely because only then you can make an educated choice as to which style/type/caliber of next niche gun you 'need'.
So learn from my experiences and save yourself the frustration, the hassle, and the excessive spending that I have gone through. Get yourself a good gun, learn it inside and out, backwards and forwards, and practice, practice, practice with it. Do yourself a huge favor and be that ‘man (or woman) with one gun.’
My name is Tom, and I am addicted to buying air guns. Please help me out if you can. If I happen to contact you about an air gun you have listed in the AGN Member Classifieds, tell me that it is already sold!
