How many of you think you’re too deep into this thing

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Well, we are destined to be “deep” into something, and before long it will be the ground. So, I have two different perspectives on this (and yes, I am in very very deep on this PCP thing).

My first perspective is that “going deep” is more about the person than the hobby. I go deep on everything I do. I’ve given up trying to resist it. If something catches my attention, or my imagination, and I get into it, I am going to do a deep dive. It happened with firearms, motorcycles, and telescopes. It’s been happening with cameras and photo equipment for nearly 50 years. Hell, it even happened with women, but then I got married and my wife put a stop to that 😂. I have now given up trying to resist going deep. It’s who I am and resistance is futile.

My second perspective is that life is short and you should enjoy it while you can. So I don’t worry too much about what will happen to my “stuff” when I’m gone. First of all, I’ll be gone, so it definitely won’t matter to me. Second, i have a will and children and have left instructions about what to do with the stuff that’s not too immediately liquid, like my guns. My wife knows who to call to dispose/sell stuff if I die anytime soon. I have worked hard all my life and been reasonably successful and prudent with saving/investing money for my retirement, and I can’t take it with me, nor can I use it to buy more time. What I can do is enjoy the time I have in a responsible way, and airguns is one of those. 

I agree with boscoebrea in his comment above. Balance and pleasure, money and time. It’s a constantly shifting equation that I am always seeking to optimize. Pretty much all my “Needs” are taken care of at this point, now I’m working on my “Wants”.

Chris
 
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If you say you are to deep, then that means you have to stop buying things. And I am not ready for that just yet, so I am not there and I don't see the bottom.



And if you say you are at the bottom that means that your wife was right, and you don't need to spend more on this hobby! My wife is always right, and I am not about to tell her she was right AGAIN!
 
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Great, great responses from all. 


My opinion only, based on my observations-

i believe a lot of the knick knack bulk of what we all have accumulated over this hobby stems from where this industry of pcp’s has evolved to. Think back on your days of youth when all you really needed was a tin of pellets, targets, and your trusty Crosman 760 pump up or break barrel for a day of plinking fun. I said a day, and I’ll get back to that-

With the coming of high power out of these guns, comes long range shooting. A lot of what only belong in the powder burner world has moved into the pcp arena like- high power scopes, range finders, wind flags, spotting scopes, 20 MOA rails and scope mounts. Who’d have thought that one day there would be Bench Rest events for a pellet gun?

With the ammo to reach out these long distances, and also inherited from the powder burner world, are- slugs, forming dies, lead melting and molding equipment, methods and equipment to check for concentricity. With the high power and the lead now come better barrel cleaning methods and equipment like pull thru’s, cleaning rods(who would’ve bought a ball bearing Dewey rod for their Crosman pump up back in the day? My point exactly, lol), patches. Now we also lap our barrels, so more knick knack stuff.



I said I’d get back to the comment on an all “day” of plinking, right? Well, now pcp use with its power has moved into the night for hunting. This means fancy torch lights with special mounts, night vision add ons or full on thermal scopes. Calling equipment(meaning, if you weren’t into predator hunting before with game calling equipment, you now are if your hunting them at night)

Wait! NV, thermal, and IR lights, those all take batteries! Let’s invest in rechargeable batteries and special chargers, battery holders to properly store them, and blah blah blah. 


Scratching the surface of an airgun hobby started with that Crosman or Daisy pump up, not with the FWB124 German made break barrel, I believe. We were already knee deep at the point of a fancy break barrel cause it won’t be long when we lust for something better than 750 FPS. I truly applaud guys like SEPTICDEATH who remained with the springers. I’m not saying this as if I regret pcp’s, not at all. It just blows my mind how much got involved with moving into the area of PCP’s.

Gerry said it best by saying it “consumes “ you, ha ha
 
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What is "in too deep"?

Is it having too many airguns and accessories, having your time consumed by tinkering and tweaking, obsessively measuring every pellet head size, making your own ammo? And then there's the monetary side of things.

I think the true goes back to my grandpa's motto in life - everything in moderation. If it's taking up too much time or energy and taking away from other parts of your life - then you are in too deep. If you are spending more than disposable income and creating debt or can't pay other bills - you are in too deep.

Me personally - when I start a hobby I always get in way too deep. I did it with airguns 3-4 years ago when getting back into them. I like to try every option to see what fits me best. If there were more airgun stores around to actually try out the fit and feel of a gun I would definitely have purchased fewer. Right now I'm into the next stage of the hobby - I know what I want, what I like, what fits me, what doesn't work for my shooting style and exactly what my expectations are with a new airgun in terms of ergonomics, fit, feel, trigger, features, brands, accuracy, precision, efficiency and more. 

So now I have 4 PCP rifles and a handful of CO2, springer and PCP pistols. I've figured out exactly what I want out of a scope so I put the same scope on top of most of them. 

I still have to resist impulse purchases to try something else - the Cricket Tact 2, the Vulcan 3, etc. But they don't do anything more or better than what I currently have.


 
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Augie, the thing that drove me so long in R/C was that money was tight and I enjoyed pursuing new (to me) disciplines. It took a long time for me to budget my lunch money for the next thing. Anticipation was a large part of the enjoyment. Progression in the sport was slow. Building a model from sticks is the epitome of the process.

To be truthful, I found that I was disappointed when everything was perfect on the first and most difficult flight because I had nothing more to improve upon.

Shooting sports is more of a Zen experience for me. When I am on the gun and locked into the scope, I really can't tell the difference between the guns I have.

The next hobby that has caught my fancy is laser engraving/cutting on a CNC machine. The wife asked for one for Christmas and I have it arriving next week. It's gonna be a lot of work for me to get it setup (and do the design work TBH) but my interest has been piqued.
 
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I like to think I am well in control on the dark side. I only pick up the air guns I need for the power I need for the type of hunting and playing I do. Most of it is with cost savings in mind. like the air compressor, casting for each caliber, long lasting equipment, and the supplies to rebuild and keep them going. A very sensible approach. Now that I am all setup, I do not really seek much air gun stuff anymore. If I see something used that I might like or that could enhance what I already have at a good price I might bite. There is still a liner or two I would not mine giving a go.
 
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Bigragu Great thread, just happen"s ,i was trying to figure how far my investment has gone,,it started 5 plus years ago.When i watched IAN from Air Arms do a PCP video on a now discontinued rifle ,Tried getting a rough figure last night ,At least $500 per month for 5 years ,,When i was warned about sliding into the BLACK HOLE ,i laughed ,,Like you the comradery is a big draw for me HYNZIE4S
 
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Great to hear of your control and methodical approach, Keith. I’ve taken the approach similar to yours lately, in where I look at something and give it an honest evaluation of wether it’s something I truly need and will put to use right away, or need later on, “maybe” and it becomes a dust collector. If the evaluation leans towards the latter I don’t buy it. It’s like that recent coming of the oval shaped high capacity mag for the impacts. I looked at that and asked myself if I “truly” needed that, or that fancy speed loader that does the shake and bake way of filling the speed loader. I’m totally content with refilling my Elis speed loaders so yeah, I didn’t need my loaders to be dust collectors. 
 
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Ha! If I only had the one hobby I could have been a real expert. Kayaking, bicycling, shooting, and motorcycles have kept me going but I now see that I have so many projects that it would be three more lifetimes and lots of $$$ to complete. I’ve sold many powder burners for my PCP stuff. I was fully a sponsored amateur on bikes and that was the only hobby that all the equipment was free for 8 or 9 yrs. Combat handgunning got some free ammo and big discounts on sporting goods from a sponsor. Anyone can see where I work and I estimate my income and know I cannot afford my hobbies—it has always been side jobs and weekend shows where I learned to buy and sell items that others paid good money for or collected. Many items are there on the internet but I get 10% finder fee for my time. None of the money for my hobbies comes from my paycheck so I don’t feel guilty. Looking back I admire one of my cousins who had 1 .22 rimfire and a pre-64 Winchester Mdl 70 .270. The .270 has been re-barreled 5 times and he is a true expert with it —retired Idaho F&G Warden. He could take down moving game at any range with such precision that any seasoned hunter or competitor would be impressed! But I personally like the variety too much; thus I sacrifice TV, internet, and eat and live quite frugally to do the things I like most. Our 2nd Amendment rights gave me the will to live when I lost 6yrs of my life in the hospitals! I was introduced to PCP’s then by a Tier 1 member here but it was on Snipers Hide back then (I thanked him 10 yrs later when I realized it was the same competitor here on AGN). When he was helping me out back then he had no knowledge of my condition; so I really needed to thank him and tell him the whole story. PCP’s put my mind back where it needed to be —-I think everyone should have a least one fulfilling hobby. Decide what to sacrifice (not family needs) and you can truly acquire a dream. Without my many projects and dreams; I would not have a life. 
 
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