How did you get started in Airguns ?
.
I have a vintage Benjamin Franklin 317 “1964” I think it is.
My first AirGun that I had when I was about 8 years old, it never needed servicing all original seals and still working !
This stock has been a work in progress with no time now to finish.
Here’s a story on that custom Benji stock.
In the beginning 46 years ago my older brother gave me that gun with a condition that I didn’t need him to cock it for me anymore.
So he told me one day when he came home from work dog tired, if I could cock it by myself it’s mines to keep.
Man, it felt like forever to get it to engage the hammer back.
I wanted it so bad and kept pulling on that bolt !!!
He said, give up already you can’t.
I give it a good hard yank and ….. ….. … clack, I cock it and the rest is a love history of my first Airgun.
As my need to make it easier for me to shoot I hacked off 4” off the wooden stock.
As I grown older it became too short to shoulder the gun.
So it became a necessity to make a new one in order to shoot it once again.
It’s taken out more critters then all of my Airguns combined.
After all of my Airguns cease to function and laid down to rest.
I have a funny feeling it will be still working and shooting like it did some 46 years ago !
~ ATB ~ GKU
All Replies
Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
About 4 years ago I had a big problem with gophers in the backyard.
Determined that my .45 blackpowder Kentucky long rifle was a bit too much for the job and dangerous to the neighbors. (not that I didn’t use it at least once ….lol..)
So I purchased a used Gamo Big Cat on the Yellow Forum’s Classified page.
It performed the task required and I got to see how much I had been missing out on… those last 50+ years….
Now…. I have 24 airguns and am still looking for more.
Just got 2 1/2 “new” ones the other day. 2 and 1/2 Crosman 400’s mostly in pieces that need some love and a few spare parts to make whole.
One of which is now working quite well after putting all the parts together but it needs just a cylinder to barrel seal and should be golden… it holds air at least unlike the other one’s valves.
I buy mostly used guns and for a bargain as I really love the older ones. Intend to fix them up. and …… maybe…. sell them… but only to buy yet another to do it all over again. LOL
… Damn… this addiction sure builds up fast.
Bruce
10+ years of machine shop experience. Mechanical & electronic office machines repair becoming service manager for Remington Office Machines (div. Sperry Rand Univac) in Toledo Ohio.
Technician Class Amateur Radio hobbyist, former call letters WB8TEX. Building and modifying amateur radios including UHF TV relay.
Failure at 5 years of own business with 2nd loss of family & this time loss of all personal interests.
10 years part time law enforcement Learned to shoot and reload. 18 years corrections officer. Got to shoot state provided ammo. Never got a perfect score because they wouldn’t count same hole shots. I didn’t shoot enough to do all head shots but I really like the show The Walking Dead.
Early home PC computer builder. Loved to modify & improve.
Took early retirement to care for Mom for 7 years.
Two years into retirement my blood pressure became a problem so I looked for a fun inexpensive hobby with good exercise. Thought about shooting but that ain’t much exercise. Ran across the idea of high power air rifles that included the need to do a lot of pumping. I found TalonAirGuns & LURKED for about a year. Bought a new Condor, tested a little & started making improvements.
BTW, if I had done all this shooting buying gunpowder bullets I’d be broke.
My blood pressure came down slightly & I found that AF Airguns are far more dependable than my choice of my ex-wives.
Of course women do change but in my experience it was all for the worse. On the other hand, my AF air rifles keep getting better.
So, if you read all this you should have learned to never again ask a 70+ year young man
‘How’d you get here?’ :rolf:
and that was the only the short version ❗
My dad bought me a gamo before my first elk hunt when I was 8. I shot that thing after school everyday, just to practice my shooting skills. We got home from school one day, and there were some snow geese in the backyard (we live on 5 acres), and my dad said I should go out and see if I could kill one. I shot where I thought the heart would be, and ended up breaking the wing on one of the geese. The others all flew off, but the crippled one stayed planted. I ran up and shot it several more times in the body, hoping it would die quicker ( this is when I was young, and didn’t understand anatomy). I learned all about shot placement that day, and how it is important to have respect for the animals you hunt. I still have that snow goose in the animal freezer. The next year I bought a hamerrli x2 for more power. I shot skunks all summer with that gun, and kept shooting it for several years after. Three years ago I got a Benjamin discovery in .22, and thats how I got into pcp guns. My parents got me my condor ss two years ago for Christmas/birthday. And now I’m here. I am a 600000x better shot after having these guns. A friend and I went on an elk hunt this year, we each shot three times at 100 yards. He shot three times, missed two, hit around 3 feet away from where he was aiming. I shot three times, all shots were within ten seconds of eachother. All my bullets hit in half the area of a pie tin. We were both shooting Remington model 700s, his in 7mm mag, mine in .270. I can outshoot everybody I know now, and only get better everyday.
Why I got into air guns is for two reasons : (1) Because I live in a state that is controlled by liberals and anti-gun people that have restricted
my gun rights and I can no longer enjoy the full gun rights that other states have .
(2) I love the sport of shooting and since it is still legal to be able to shoot an air gun in the
privacy of my own backyard as long as I’am prudent to the safety of my neighbors and their property I’m able to enjoy shooting .
I own both rimfire and centerfire guns and I’m realling getting into air guns . I have a Talon SS with both a .22 cal. and a .25 cal. barrel .
I have TT’s 9 inch LDC on it and it really makes it neighbor friendly . I really love the knock down power of the .25 caliber . I believe my
next PCP is going to be the Vulcan in .25 caliber if it is made correctly to function in that caliber . My ideal PCP would be a bullpup in
semi-auto in .25 caliber and be ambidextrous so I as a lefty can shoot but , also ,so my kids and grand kids would be able to shoot it as well .
FROM : THE BIRDMAN
Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Revwarnut , feel lucky , air guns can cost alot in collecting . But , as in collecting wifes as my poor brother has gone through (7) , it
can cost a lot more than you think . Lucky for him the last one , # 7 seems to be finally the true love of his life and that makes me
happy for him and she says that he is the true love that she has always wanted in her life and now they seem to be the perfect couple .
Some times’ you never know where you will find what you really love .
FROM : THE BIRDMAN