An Honest Look At The Dark Side of PCP Addiction....

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MoeHofer

MoeHofer

Member
Dec 12, 2015
365
29
SD, United States
Ok fellows, I've seen many, many posts that talk about Airgun Addiction, but it always has a humorous, almost comical slant to it.

I would like to unapologetically (if that's a word) talk about the not so humorous side of this addiction.

First, my story into this treacherous and addictive hobby.

About 7 years ago, we moved into a quiet little town here in north eastern South Dakota. We bought a small house on a huge lawn, (about 2 acres) and settled in.

By next spring, my dear wife and I decided to plant a garden, but we had a problem, RABBITS! They were everywhere! Dozens and dozens of bunnies all over town and no-one was "Dealing with them".

My brother-in-law borrowed me a Daisy 880 10 pump air gun, And the rabbit population began to decline..... But I had a problem, The gun was not accurate, nor was it powerful enough in some cases. I wounded two rabbits that made it into the bushes with a pellet stuck only God knows Where!

This would not do. I am an ethical hunter. Either I dispach the game quickly and painlessly or not at all.

So I headed to Walmart!! To the SPRINGER section!!

I don't want to get into this part of my life because I can feel myself getting upset just thinking back!!
I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE SPRINGERS!!!!! 

All the ones I bought either could'nt shoot, or wrecked scopes, or broke. And they are loud, and they kick like mules, and they.... well they just suck in a bad way!!

So I began to consider my options, A pump airgun generally lacked power, Springers are (Most of them) not worth cutting in half for firewood and a draw-bar pin for a tractor, So what other options do we have??

That's when I learned about PCP airguns!

My first one was a Hatsan at-44 refurbished for 300$ I was absolutely ADDICTED from the 1st shot! It was a little loud, (Quite a bit actually) but man alive did it have power!! And Accurate! Usually 10 shots within an inch at 50 yards.

I bought a hand pump and literally went crazy!! 1000s and 1000s of shots! I pumped and shot, pumped and shot, pumped and shot! (when you are 25 years old and work construction pumping up a gun to 200 bar is no big deal.

After a while I began to hear rumors of a new bullpup that was all the craze in the PCP world, they called it the CRICKET!

Before long the mail-man knocked and in my hands was a quiet, light-weight, powerful, beautifull gun!!

This is where things began to go south. I discovered that there was a massive problem with pigeons at our dairies around here And I got to work!! 1000s and 1000s of pigeons have perished under a hail of cricket-slung lead! I was having the time of my life!!

But I had a problem. 
1. Pretty much every spare MOMENT was being spent on my new Hobby
2. Pretty much every spare DOLLAR was being spent on my new Hobby

the result was:
1 My children were being neglected.
2 My wife was being neglected.
3 My work-ethic began to suffer.
4 Maintenance on my house and vehicles began to suffer.
5 Family and friends began to go on the back- burner.
I could go on and on and on!

Well, folks I did something radical!! I decided I am getting out!! I am selling my stuff and going on a fast!! A PCP fast!!

So I sold everything!! My gun, my tank, my pellets, my compressor, my crono-graph, The whole kit and kaboodle!! Yes, I sold it!!

I began to live again! Walks with my wife!! Fishing with my boys! I built a shop, I serviced my vehicles! Life was Good!!

Then that thing began to churn within me again!! That steady, yearning!! That longing, that you just cannot shake! That cursed Addiction!!

Before I knew exactly what happened, I was the proud owner of a .25 cricket, a new tank, a big pile of JSBs a shoebox compressor, and another cronograph!!

Long story short, after about 15,000 pellets in 3 months, I began to realize I had a problem again.

So I put everything on the Chopping block again!! I sold everything!

Man was Life ever good!! I felt so free!! I had extra time!! I had extra money!! I read my bible more!! I loved my children more!! I took my wife for walks more often!! 
I was literally a new man!

But after about a year of fasting I began to feel hungry, VERY HUNGRY!! I literally dreamed, craved, yearned for a pcp airgun!!

Long story short, The extended fast was not very healthy for me!! Before I could fully comprehend what happened, I was in the possession of not 1 but 2 airguns! A .22 cricket and a .25 cricket, both bullpups, both lights out accurate!!

About 2 months ago, I decided that having two 1500$ airguns is probably crazy, so I sold my .25, now I am down to my .22 cricket, which I have considered selling too, but the thought absolutely agonizes me so much I can't stand it.

Currently, to manage my severe addiction, I have put the following restrictions upon myself:
Only 2 pigeon hunting trips a month.(The hunting trip must not last more than 4-5 hours) If you have 7 dairies to hunt at, all loaded with targets, this can be very hard to enforce) 
Only 2 plinking sessions a month, (the plinking session is under no circumstance to go over 2 hours.) 

These two restrictions have actually worked wonders on me! It has helped me tremendously to live a balanced, somewhat normal life WHILE STILL OWNING A PCP!!! 
Something I have wrestled with accomplishing for 7 Years!!

Well, now you know my story, but now I want to hear from you.

What steps do you take to ensure your hobby dosen't consume you?
Am I NORMAL? Is anyone else fighting this crazy ADDICTION??
Am I taking this too seriously?? 
How do you control PCP ADDICTION?


 
Well, I am involved in several hobbies. I do not own a PCP, nor do I share your dislike of springers although I can understand your reasoning. That being said, I always go into a hobby knowing in advance that I will set boundaries to prevent other tasks from being ignored. I also limit myself to how many of anything I will own ( 2 usually)

I alot myself time for any hobby based on tasks I need to complete around the house, and reward myself with a target session for big tasks completed. For example, I repaired the roof on my wood shop and rewarded myself with using all 3 sunny days to hike as much as I could possibly take physically.

As far as PCP goes.....not ever gonna happen for me. I refuse to drop that kinda dough on a pellet slinger.

edit....I forgot to mention, I also understand the selling out aspect. Yesterday I traded off my 22 break barrel for a new Olight m23 flashlight and S1 baton , batteries, charger combo.
 
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I currently own five airguns. Three PCPs, one pumper, and one "real" springer. The main stay is my WARized, .25 Marauder. Since January 1st., I've put over 4,000 rounds through it. Yes, about 1,200 or so were practice rounds, and crony measuring. The rest were plinking pest birds, primarily Eurasian and Rock doves. All told, my current (monitory) inventory totals less than $3,500 including the Omega Air Charger, and carry tank. But....

I had to learn just like everyone else, including just how poor Nitro-Piston airguns are in general, and even specifically. I've also learned that buying used is a mixed bag of tricks, even when the owner swears the airgun is as new, and in the factory box! Optics, pellet varieties and weights, accessories (rests, rails, binoculars, etc.), targets, pellet traps, and others are added expenses no one seems to notice along the way. If I totaled up the mistakes too, the figure (in three years) would be over $6,000! 

I certainly would be better off financially if I knew then what I know now. But it just isn't the airgun hobby which stands alone as being additive. In fact, I can't think of any hobby where folks do everything right the first time around. But for being addictive? Well, that is a personal choice just like smoking, drinking, and drugs. Which is, in essence, the real learning experience each of us has to go through along life's highway. Hopefully, our pocket books and our family will survive the ordeals!
 
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That's a serious addiction you have there, i must say i love to shoot, but i also know when to get other things done around the house as well. When I'm away from the hobby i too find my self think and planning when i will be able to find time to shoot, wish i had place to go petting like you spoke of (only in my dreams). But i think i balance things pretty well. Good luck.
 
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15,000 pellets in 3 months? Even at 1 cent a pellet thats 150$, where as its likely more to be 3-4 so thats basically 450-600$ worth of pellets in 3 months? That is a lot. 

Life is just a collection of habits, good or bad, anything *can* become borderline bad when obsessed over. As creatures of habits, moderation is key for all of us!

On that note, to perfect anything requires a lot of practice. So for one, you better be a master, and why would you give up something you've mastered? Don't put such a negative light on it, just shape up and moderate! For two, if everyone who ever mastered one particular hobby/gift felt the same as you, the world would be a sad place. Lighten up on yourself!

 
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T3PRanchThe end result to Airgun Addiction is your own dealership! There Is hope until then.

Thurmond
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Yep then you discover not only does the air gun hobby cost you money but so does the business. But it does allow for meeting some great folks.
But now let's flip that negative around a bit, what would I be doing right now if I didn't have a hunting Airgun, my wife works saturdays so I would be at home smoking watching T.V , what am I doing right now ...... I have my Texan and a pad laid out overlooking a spot I've seen pigs run through with my jacket folded as a pillow laid back in a cool light breeze avoiding smoking so not scare the game off. Listening to the song birds and chatting with my fellow AGN members (most likely missing a perfect shot) ....
Now this is the kind of light duty I can get to like very much!


 
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"dleadslinger"
"T3PRanch"The end result to Airgun Addiction is your own dealership! There Is hope until then.

Thurmond
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I whole heartedly agree. I have already taken this step in another hobby and made a business out of it. There is no more fun in that "hobby" any more!
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So let me get this straight guys, you are saying that once I buy 1000s of dollars of "inventory", start selling airguns, and airgun related paraphanelia then I will be cured? 
I don't know about this but this sounds, but counter-productive and self-destructive all at the same time!

I cannot imagine my plight if I was surrounded with scopes, guns pellets, bi-pods, barrels, etc.... I'm not totally sure but I can easilly see how the majority of my inventory would quickly become "too sentimental and precious" to ever sell!! lol Thanks for the counsel fellows, good job! I haven't laughed this hard in a long time!!
 
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I've struggled with similar things as you have with this addiction. And I too have had to limit myself severely so that I didn't let it get even more out of hand. I work ,6 days a week and I've limited myself for pesting/shooting to Sunday mornings before Church as it's my only day off and after that I spend the rest of the day with my wife. I never would have guessed that pellet guns could be so addictive LOL
 
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You can spend more money than you should at times? But own horses...........have a ranger bass boat................or even golf (one hobby I never did but was a member of the country club lol). Any of those 3 hobbies will be so much more than a few thousand spent on air guns? I don't have a boat now and live out in the country ;) and the horses are not mine now, but since the boys live next door they think theirs can come over to see me.

I wish I had the places the OP talks about shooting at....................then I would really spend some serious money. And I have a built in braking system since I'm a care giver for a family member and that means I do most of my shooting close. 
 
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I followed a similar path (Walmart springer - AT44 - Cricket). The Cricket was the problem. I liked shooting occasionally beforehand but I could easily live without my AT44 and I don't even want my Walmart springers in the house. My Cricket was something else though. 

I could happily trade my other air guns to try something else but my Cricket 25 is the one I would really miss.

If I can offer a suggestion to make the hobby less isolating, why don't you try and get your wife into shooting air guns too? That way, you'll be able to spend quality time with the Mrs and shoot air guns at the same time. 

Most of my friends aren't into shooting either but.... all of them have had fun when I have taking them shooting with my PCP guns. Some of them liked it enough to go buy their own. 

Shooting with friends and family will also give you a legitimate reason to own more than one gun without feeling guilty. 

If your wife is reluctant to even try, just remind her about all the painfully boring things you do to make her happy. You attended all those boring dinners and weddings with her friends etc, so she owes you this one thing!

Personally, I find that starving myself of an addictive hobby is the worst thing I can do. The obsession usually calms down on it's own eventually. There is something about human nature that makes things that are banned seem far more interesting. Plus, as far as addictive hobbies go, there are far worse things you could have been into...
 
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Moe - I will not make light of your dilemma. I will say three things:

1. Your mention of bible reading leads me to believe you may understand this. If not, you will just think I'm nuts. No matter. 
Years ago I was addicted to bicycling in exactly the same way that you feel about airguns now. My addiction had the same affect as yours on marriage, finances, etc. One night I had a dream that I went to heaven, and there were no bicycles there. It was a very real message to adjust my priorities, and invest myself in what was important. After that night my perspective changed completely. I still love to bicycle, and will even take a multiple day trip once a year if I can work it out. But I always limit my trips to have minimal impact on our household and responsibilities, and God has been faithful in helping me through the readjustment that has been ongoing the last two decades. Be a faithful steward of the life God gave you. 
2. Finances. Beside being a bicycle addict, I was also an idiot with money. Addiction will do that to you. Skipping ahead, I am now married to my second wife, and we were fortunate to learn early how to manage our money with Godly principles. Part of that is that we each get an "allowance" that we agree on. We can do anything we want with our allowance...buy toys, do things, whatever, but the "house" money DOES NOT pay for our toys. Quite often my wife will see me eyeing a new blaster and smile while saying, "have you saved enough for that yet"? (BTW, I get to keep overtime. :) )
3. Piles of stuff. In order to keep from getting too much stuff, we have another general guideline (not a hard rule) in our house: If you want something, sell something. It helps you really think about how much you want toy A when you have to decide whether giving up toy B is worth it And yes, I have sold several bicycles and bought airguns. At least they take less storage space. 
I wish you a quick and complete (mostly) recovery. 
 
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