Like so many here, I too started early in life with a Colt replica 45 ACP BB gun. My father gave it to me at around age 7 and I shot it every day in the basement at a hard cardboard laundry detergent lid with a hand drawn target in the middle. I was so proud of my new gun that I took it to the corner store to show the two owners there, (whom I saw almost daily). They were enamored with it (or at least acted so), making me feel rather special.
We moved from that home into a tract home (Detroit suburb), it was surrounded by forested areas, in which I would hunt for snakes, frogs and toads before hunting with my new pistol. One day I decided to take out my trusty Colt replica and laid beneath a bare tree in wait for a bird to land. It didn't take long, and a bird finally did land in the very top of the open branch tree. I laid back and let it fly.... missing four times in a row. But that bird did not fly and on the fifth shot, down it went. Now I was scared, scared because I killed a creature, so I picked it up with sticks and said a little prayer and buried it.
I went straight home after that and when I got there, my parents had asked a preacher over for dinner without my knowledge. Greeted at the door when I arrived, I thought "I my god, they know that I killed that bird. I'm in so much trouble now!" That wasn't the case, but it sure scared me at first.
I graduated to a Daisy pump action rifle the following year, still shooting the same hard cardboard lid in the basement but had more opportunities with birds on the power lines in the back of the yard, so soon started picking them off.
Since then, the family moved the SoCal area, (San Diego) which in the early 60's was wide open and not the major metropolis of today. We could walk down the street with pump air rifles without issue, no one was afraid to see such a sight back then. Likely be arrested now. Much simpler times.
Me and a friend would hunt with the Benji's every day after school. It was a lotta fun!
I have shot and still shoot, pistol shotgun and air rifles. I was a volunteer at the San Diego Police Revolver Club teaching the general public handgun safety and shooting technique. That was a fun time that lasted almost 20 years. Meeting many, many fine people along the way.... while a few rascals, a fabulous experience.
From that background I had also hunted, mostly birds such as dove, pheasant and quail with a shotgun. I really enjoyed the shotgun shooting so joined a local club that had a trap field. I got pretty good and also got bored, so I wanted to try skeet. That is a sport that I really enjoy. I also got pretty good at that.
While shooting a tournament on Camp Pendleton one month in 2011, the field manager was laid over a hay bale with a rifle like I'd never seen before. He was pointing at a cottontail about 60 yards away, took a shot, which I barely heard, and the cottontail keeled over kicking mildy. When he arose, I asked what kind of rifle is that? It makes no noise! It was and Air Force, .22 caliber air rifle.
I immediately bought one, yet quickly outgrew it and moved on to an Air Arms .22, which is a beautiful rifle.
I have since moved to mostly FX guns but have had; Air Force (1), Air Arms (2), Steyr (1) and FX (5) in the past. It's a super fun platform and while I thoroughly enjoy shooting in general, air rifles to me are very high on my enjoyability score card.
So, that's my story of how I ended up here, with all of you fine folk!
mike