What's your fascination with airguns and why airguns?

Growing up in New York City it was pretty much out of the question owning any real firearm, but my grandparents lived only 1.5 hours away in Connecticut and we visited frequently. When I was 11 or 12 I was allowed to get and air rifle and the rest is pretty much history. The air rifle had to stay in CT, but I was allowed to bring home some CO2 and springer air pistols. So this was around 1985 when Koch was mayor and pretty much anything goes was the mentality. I used to plink the pistols in my city back yard connected to 5 others around me. Now they're completely illegal in NYC - go figure.

I had a few nicer Benjamin pistols but nothing great that I was happy with from my mid teens until about 3-4 years ago when living here in Connecticut the bug bit me after I had been messing around in airsoft for a few years. I already had the PCP filling gear from HPA airsoft so it was a very easy transition into PCP for me - which seems to be contrary to many who hand pump first or fill at SCUBA shops or firehouses. First purchase was a PROD - 3 years later and about 30-40 airguns later (most have been sold to try others) I have a small collection I enjoy everyday in my basement and hopefully outdoors once some ranges open up again.

Absolutely. The best part of it all is my two older daughters who are 12 and 14 have their very own PCP shared rifle between them and mine as well. My father comes out and we have a nice family gathering while my younger ones enjoy family and the older ones enjoy plinking. It's nice to be able to pass a skill on to your children so I smile ear to ear everytime my daughters out shoot me. It warms the heart too when they look over, grinning, and boast. The whole LDC apsect of the hobby and the fact I don't have to worry about a misplaced shot skipping 2 miles is what makes it fun.

6,000 CPD 14.3gr pellets are ~$80 or so. I could probably buy a PCP for the price of that in .22 short or LR.

Plus, honestly, I like the whole concept of it. I've reloaded powder burners and did casting for years but there's just something about bending air to your will instead of fire that appeals to me. No puff of smoke, no smell, no report, just a whizz and *dink* and watching the spinning target kinectly react. Even better is when the sun is just right and between blinks you can see the pellet in movement.

It's an expensive hobby but as they say, time is money, and the time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time

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Right on!
Here is the proud dad stuff....

Now I'm smiling as a fellow proud dad, you are blessed to have such a wonderful family. Even better is you are teaching them a skill. I've got 3 girls and 1 boy and the girls are just as tough as the boys. My youngest is 4 and we've had many conversations regarding "Dad... will you get me a gun [pellet] of my own?" and I reply "When you are a little older son, but here, let me help you shoot mine as I look over his shoulder explaining and helping him aim. I think he's a bit jealous that his older sisters have their own PCP.

Thanks for sharing those images, simply fantastic, and I can't help but feel proud with you!

Thanks LMNOP! I appreciate the kinds words.

I love airguns because of the memories of my dad and I shooting in the woods behind our house. I love the thrill of killing a coon at 3am like some mossad hit man and nobody even hears the shot. I love the smile on my daughters face when she makes a particularly difficult shot. I know she will have those memories forever. Mostly it's a hobby my dad my daughter and myself can all connect with. My daughter is 7 and just told me she's ready to kill her first squirrel. I am going camping with her this weekend! I love the community here too. I've made friends with some of the most knowledgeable dudes in the country here and I can even build my own airguns now. There's alot of reasons why I love airguns but simply put they are fun to shoot, fun to build and fun to hunt with. The quiet precision of these things are just awsome. 

I am going to try to explain this the best I can. For as long as I can remember, with all my hobbies, what manufacturers offered, was close but not quite what I wanted. At an early age I started modifying things to suit me. I even take the cam system from one $1,000 bow and use them on another bow because I like the riser but not the cam system. My KTM race bike has Yamaha forks on it because I love Yamaha forks but not their bikes. Airguns are no different. I find a platform that I like but its not quite how I would have built it to suit me, and I modify it to suit my needs. Most of my powder burners are custom. Airguns because of their convenience allow for instant testing. From the lathe to sending lead to a target without ever leaving the house. The sense of accomplishment when you get a gun the exact way you want it makes me very happy. Helping others also makes me happy. The airgun crowd is full of guys I like. When I was into racing RC's, I loved the hobby but it was full of Dorks and cheaters. My family and my sisters family love shooting airguns. Its almost like my job for everybody's airgun to be cool and dialed in. From the time I could hold a gun, I have never been without an airgun. Its a good clean hobby. Also good for keeping critter populations in check around the property. Not wiping them out.

I like to shoot...air guns afford me the opportunity to do so in my own yard.(I do live rurally, I might add)

the state of California is NOT firearm friendly

I just jumped into the sport recently after decades of firearm shooting. As an Engineer and hobby machinist I absolutely love innovation, precision, and mechanical design. The traditional firearms industry doesn’t do much innovation any longer, there’s not much left to figure out, with air rifles I think the opposite is true and innovation is coming at a rapid pace. That is extremely exciting and enticing. But one thing is certain, this can be a pretty expensive, and somewhat complicated, hobby to enter into. That hopefully will change with time.

I remember when growing up in the 60's, one of the other kids had a break-barrel springer. As I remember, no one had pellets for it. I think we shot some BB's out of it. But, it was in sad shape. Think the seals were gone. My Dad had a Crosman CO2 pistol that came out once in a while. Twenty years later I found Beeman and got a Webly Hurricane. Then found a nice Finewerbau. Divorce made them go.

FF another twenty years and I needed a Benjamin Nitro Trail XP. Still have that one, but it is difficult for me to use for extended periods. Found the Quackenbush website a few years ago and was interested in big bores, but never was able to get one. Two years ago, decided I wanted a big bore for hunting, along with my "real" rifle. Got a Texan LSS. Then got the Yong Heng. Then a small tank. Then a Gauntlet. Then a Marauder in .25.

Except for the Texan, they are easy to shoot in the back yard. I am also fascinated with machines of any type.

I'm easily amused: I like to punch holes in paper

Airguns are one of the most convenient way to go about it. I can do it in the basement or the backyard.

It's relatively innexpensive. What I saved on gas more than cover the cost of pellets and other consumables.

The fact that I can get away with shooting in the backyard....so far. 

I would say my fascination with pcp Airguns come from the ability to tinker with them. I like to take a cheap pcp Airgun & modify it to get the most I can out of in accuracy & power. I can’t leave anything alone. If I can build it or think I can make some thing work I’ll definitely try it. I mean I built my own hpa compressor out of some spare parts I had laying around & oxygen concentrator. 

Like most, my first air gun was a Daisy Cub BB gun that I got when I was about 10 or 11. A couple of my buddies had the same gun and we went thru thousands of bb's. Then a few years later my dad bought a second hand Hy-Score Mod. 801 pellet rifle in 0.22 cal. He bought it from a man who bought it to shoot the pigeons that roosted in a church next to his house. The parishioners weren't on board with that so he sold it to my dad. I loved the power and accuracy of that gun and to think it was powered by air made it seem like I was shooting for free. We had a 1956 Shooter's Bible that I spent hours reading the ad for and drooling over the Sheridans. But they cost $23.95 which was WAY out of my budget. For comparison, my Daisy Cub cost about $4.00. Anyway, it all led to a life long obsession with air guns. By the way, I was finally able to afford a Sheridan of which I now own 9 and get a big smile on my face every time I shoot one of them!!

I don't hunt and don't kill anything for sport, unless it's a rare pest that invades my territory. I'm a target shooter and always have a goal of accuracy. I'm almost 80 years old and sick of shooting powderburners that have destroyed my hearing. Air guns satisfies my shooting desires without the noise and recoil. I'm also a gearhead and appreciate the workmanship that goes into these things. Oh, and I forgot to say that I like to shoot a lot. Going to the range with a centerfire rifle that cost me anything from $1-2 every time I pull the trigger is no fun. You shoot a box of ammo and go home. I can shoot an airgun all day for the same cost.

Tough question!!! I bought a Winchester 427 a long time ago to remove squirrels that had infested the attic of my house. A couple of years later I got a Beeman catalog and drooled over the guns, but life was too unsteady to start a new hobby. About ten years after the Winchester I found a working Crosman 101 at a flea market, and then the rush began. What entranced me about pumpers and springers was that I could use my own muscles to power the gun. Then, of course, is the aesthetic. Many of my guns are mechanical art.

My fascination with air guns has started with me later in life although I have been using them on and off since I was a kid. My first air gun was a used Crosman 760 pump gun that I got when I was about 11 years old. My neighbor was having a garage sale and I saw it. Even though it had a slightly bent barrel I wanted it. At first my folks said no. I didn't live in what you would call a pro gun house hold so it took a little convincing. I was thrilled when my parents finally said yes and that is how my shooting career started. I actually got pretty good with it once I learned how to compensate for the bend in the barrel.

Over the next 30+ years I've gotten a great deal of experience shooting and hunting with powder burners including hand loading my own ammunition while still using air guns on and off.

After I retired from the military I found my self living in a house on four acres of land. I guess this is when the fascination began. Shooting powder burners in my back yard would not be a good idea yet I have more than enough room for air gun shooting and archery too. I've found that with good quality air guns you can have a very good shooting experience and get in realistic practice as well as have a lot of fun. Plus it is convenient to be able to just step out in the back yard and shoot rather than to pack up a bunch of stuff and drive to the shooting range.

Then I started going to air gun sites like this and have been learning a great deal. I can now take apart air guns and do basic repairs. I'm looking forward to learning more. It has been a journey.

About twenty years ago I was transitioning from an FID card to an LTC and wanted to shoot something and the powder burners had to stay in the safe. I never had airguns as a kid. As soon as I got my FID, I bought a Ruger 77/22, an 870 Express, and was given my great-grandfather's Ithaca 37 gauge as well as a .243. I didn't really need an airgun. While I was waiting on the LTC, I bought a 760 to mess with, then a few different break barrels. I have wanted a pcp since I first saw the FX Revolution on the Forums years ago. I wasn't able to make that happen until this year, when I was able to buy a new Impact Power Plenum. 

I really like how tuneable they are and the various aftermarket parts available for them. I can shoot at home without the neighbors being annoyed. Airguns are actually very useful on the farm for pest control. 

I started in the 1970's with my first spring piston gun being a Winchester, which I believe were RWS built, but I'm not sure. Pellets were horrible then so accuracy was poor. Moved on to a FWB 300 in 1979 and a FWB 80 a year or so later, both of which I used it to become a very good shooter. Won the California junior air pistol championship once and was invited to the Olympic Training Center twice. Did extremely well with airgun and firearm competition through the years with more state and regional championships than I can count, plus some national records and championships, and I feel it was primarily due to practice with my airguns.

For me, it started with my old Daisy red rider and then moved into a crossman pump and then my Beeman R9 TX, an old Webley Viper I sold and now I have my Brocock Compatto. Living in the Netherlands firearms aren’t an options for me, unless I jump through all the hoops to get one. I need to brush up on my dutch to join a club (safety reasons). However, I am still able to shoot in a small range I have access to which I couldn’t do with a firearm. Back in USA I have plenty of powder burners and honestly, I have no interest in getting anymore. Also, I don’t miss the noise and in the fall I hope to head to USA with the future Crown Continuum and maybe my Brocock and do some small game hunting in my home state of Idaho. (PS, Last year in 2019 Idaho just started to allow hunting large game with air rifles, pcp only, with minimum energy of 350 ft/lbs. .35 cal and up for mule deer etc and .45 cal up for elk or moose (if you are so lucky to get a tag).