What got you into Airguns

[wwo2015]

Friend asked me to build him a set of grips for his son's IZH.

 

[bigHUN]

I have four wallnut trees in my backyard, waited ten years to get a first harvest. Suddenly squirrels show up, millions of them, every day I am coming home from work to see a fresh big pile of crunch on the floor in the grass. My first air rifle was a QB78 in .22 and a first winter project made it into a franken gun. Ended up now with a .25 Impact and couple close counter - quick tracking red dots and holo sights

 

[fdales17]

Squirrels.....1 squirrel chewed four holes in the roof of my house. Peaceful negotiations with said squirrel were unsuccessful. 

 

[jkingrph]

Really enjoyable stories!

My brothers and I were not allowed bb guns as kids. Dad had a 22 single and a sporterized 303 but we were a bit wild... so not much shooting. While in the Air Force in '75, a pack of dogs started tearing up my flower bush, so I bought a 760 to deal with them. Terrible rifle. Couldn't hit a can at 5 yds consistently. Later found some Benjamin's at a Yelllow Front and was really impressed and shot a fair amount. THEN a co-worker told me about a Beeman ad in the back of the American Rifleman mag circa 1978. THAT'S what started it all for me. Blame Beeman.... master marketer.

Funny story about that though. Ordered an FWB 124 and it came right before going back to visit my folks in Tx. I took it along but didn't have time to shoot hardly at all before. Stopped to visit my sister and husband and we sat on his porch and plinked at stuff. He outshot me with his $20 Crosman and made a lot of fun of my "expensive " rifle. Went on to visit my mom and younger brother was there .... same thing. He could hit cigarette butts at 20 yds with BBs consistently while I was struggling to hit them at all. Well..... you al know why.... between the springer shooting and stock screws, etc., there was a lot of education to be had. I still have that 124 and it's a VERY good shooter.

Bob

Dad taught me to shoot with a Marlin 39a .22LR when I was about 6-7 years old. A year or two later one of the higher end Daisy BB buns appeared under the Christmas tree. I literally wore it out, and dad got me another. I really played with that thing, making a replacement rear sight standing leaf with peep sight holes, and could lob a BB into admittely a large target at a couple of hundred feet, Also learned some reflex shooting at aerial targets. He got me a 30-06 about the time I finshed high school and I learned to reload and shot it a lot through college, then joined the USAF to keep from getting drafted. My first two duty locations did not have any ranges available for shooting, then the third, overseas in Turkey did not allow any rifled firearms. I joined the NATO rod and gun club, to buy a few shotguns and learn to shoot skeet,enjoying that a lot. They had an air rifle for sale, and allowed everyone to cock and fire it, I was interested and for some reason passed, and am thankful that I did so, no telling what kind of condition it was in. Got back to the states and again no good place for firearms and another officer was interested in air guns, having one, and got me interested so I ordered a FWB124. I made a pellet stop box using old magaizines and catalogues, and in base housing shot from one bedroom down the hall into another, and continued to do so even after my son was born, the noise never bothered him. Sometime in that period I put a WIlliams Receiver sight and really appreciated how accurate it was, and later a Beeman scope which is still on it today. Through the years I have had to have the piston seals replaced a couple of times, the last just a few months ago. The gun being about 46 years now is still exceedingly accurate.

 

[Greenarrow]

Prison. After doing time and not being allowed to have “real” guns I decided to shoot BB guns. Haha!
Not really. I got those charges dropped and I can have “real” guns now. Ha ha!



Having a lovely wife and young children at home I didn’t want to leave the house to shoot (I couldn’t leave anyway being on house arrest ) so I bought a pellet gun to shoot at home. A series of events (acquittal and no longer a threat of leaving everything behind to do the time ) led me to online airgun forums and I was hooked after that. Been a fun journey. I did shoot BB guns as a youngster and had a Crosman 1377 (American Classic) as a teen. Had a 7mm magnum given to me for Christmas when I was 15 by my dad (still have it). Loved shooting all growing up with .22s, BB guns, pellet guns, pistols on occasion. It was just a matter of time before trying airguns really. Glad it happened when it did 13 years ago so I could be enjoying it all these years. Haven’t shot a powder gun for maybe two years now? It’s just too easy to step out into my yard and shoot an airgun so I don’t have much desire for powder anymore. I like that it’s quiet too.  

 

[Beezer]

Before I even entered first grade, I was given a new Daisy BB gun. I was a menace to birds, frogs, insects, etc. Later I got an old used Daisy springer .177 cal which was not much better than the BB gun. Then I got a used Benjamin .22, the real original deal, not the later Crosman produced guns, and things were looking up. Now I was REALLY a menace to small varmints. Got a Marksman .45 ACP replica in .177 for plinking fun. Much later got a Sheridan .20 cal produced by Benjamin just before Crosman bought Benjamin, with a Williams peep sight. Still have that nice little rifle for my low power airgun duties. I got a wild idea one day to step up my airgun game and ordered a new BSA Lonestar .25 and an FX hand pump from AoA. Now I was REALLY into airguns, but admittedly I am even more into powder burners and am an experienced reloader. I get all the airgun reloading I want when I work that FX hand pump.

Phil

 

[egd]

A wild hair.......one day I just thought I wanted one, don't know why.

 

[bandg]

I've shot firearms regularly since I was large enough to physically handle one. Airguns arrived just a bit later due to extremely rural background and only "BB" guns available but they have been an on and off thing for me for most of my life as well. Now in retirement the airguns have become as big a part of life as the firearms and actually more so in terms of number owned now. Certainly more money in the air guns.

 

[boscoebrea]

I had been a shooter for a long time,then got into photography,I wanted to be able to hold a camera study in order to get a "clean shot",so I got a target pistol to practice a study hold,thus to be able to practice more a air gun was the way to go.

 

[Shorty177]

Pest birds nesting in buildings.

 

[Vetmx]

My dad. When I was old enough to wear a pair of boots, my dad took me to the woods with him often. Because he carried a gun, I guess I had to carry one too so he handed be a BB gun. When fishing on the river, he carried a pistol so I had too also. So he bought me a CO2 pistol. My whole family has always been into airguns for the last probably 45 years. We evolved as guns evolved. My mom is 75 and dad 78. They still shoot. Every year we go to my sisters in Va and have spring shooting fest. Her whole family wouldn’t kill a spider but love shooting all kinds of pellet guns. I appreciate that they aren’t pigeon holed into one type of airgun.

 

[Centercut]

In a word - Ted. I remember looking at YouTube and seeing this guy in the Winter, all snowy, out hunting squirrels with a bad ass air rifle... Then I looked further and saw the ones where he was connecting with birds at long range out to and over 100 yards... And I thought, now I've gotta try that.. That was in late 2016, and here I am now, after thinning the herd, with about ten airguns in my gun safe...