collector, enthusiast, hoarder or just obsessed?

[jkingrph]

As for the rest, I'm more of a value orientation. Bang for my bucks. Do I need to hit a dime at 50+ yards, nope. Do I need to tune my rifle to some sweet spot to maximize shot count and accuracy, nope. Do I need all the fine adjustments that cost another 1K or more, nope.
Do I want to just shoot holes in paper and occasional pests, yep.
So most of my guns are well under 1K and quite often used. I rather enjoy refurbishing a good rifle gone bad.

That said, I've just started down a new rat hole, classic guns with style.

-- Matt

I like the classic types. Mine are all wood and blued steel springers, other than a couple of IZH 45m pistols, I also have a FWB 602 SSP with a walnut stock incoming. At my age I am not as steady as I once was nor are my eyes nearly as good, so hitting a dime at 50 yards is a pipe dream., I can manage a little
1 1/2" square swinger at that range with diopter sights so am happy

 

[MAUMAU]

I am just an airgun enthusiast, only owning a total of four (4) in my lifetime.

At age 9, my dad gave me a Winchester 353 / Diana 5 air pistol. Shortly thereafter a Benjamin. About 20 years ago I purchased a Diana 34 and last year a AF Texan LSS CF for hunting hogs. I admire many here that have in-depth knowledge and experience tuning and modifying their airguns, but I just want them to work out of the box as tinkering is not my thing.

 

[cavedweller]

My oh my!

Not a question but a presumptive statement:


First off, I own both top tier and more affordable air guns that all meet my criteria for a "good" air gun in that they are reliable, accurate, provide a good experience and meet the goals intended for the gun such as putting down a critter and/or making a tight group of holes ion paper etc.

$650-$1100 is not cheap, it's not affordable, for many, its way above their means. $100 is cheap, $250 is affordable, I contrast with available powder burners for comparison.

as stated - value v affordability is very relative to each individual... "my stated valuation" is based on "my world" but the question is still pertinent regardless of income levels or spending habits, and worth thinking about. The only person that can decide what is right for them is them:
Should i buy a lot of "what I can afford this month or year" or save for several months and buy one thing that's on the higher end?
Choice to save or choice to impulse buy? Dunno to each their own.

 

[maxtrouble]

So, no shooting until you save enough for a "nice" airgun?

All I hear is, "You young people with little money that are raising a family, no "cheap" airguns for you, you need to wait a decade or two until you've saved a couple grand for a "nice" one."

Is that accurate?

I am an old fart now and I can afford nice stuff. Nice can be relative to your budget. Umarex puts out some good stuff. If that fits your budget, more power to you. Gamo still has hammer forged barrels made by BSA. Those are damn nice for the price.

I fell down this rabbit hole after I became an old fart. I shot PB's for hunting when I was coming up in the world. I spent a lot of hours hunting for birds and deer with my shotgun. A shotgun is the best purchase to start with IMO. I still got it.

I added a Ruger 10/22 PB and still have it. That gun has a serious fun factor and will still bring home rabbits and birds.

Those two guns lasted me a good fifteen years. They are pure utility with a dash of fun.

I would recommend a shotgun to someone coming up in the world over an air rifle. I was too busy haulin' freight or chasin' women to even think about air rifles back then.

As long as you are having fun and paying yourself first every payday, have at it.

 

[blackdog899]

Crazily obsessed. This new hobby started with a bird feeder and squirrel this past Nov. What started out with a $170 umarex
quickly to the pcp route with a Reximex rpa and a hand pump. Next saw a video of a ZELOS and a post on here
pointed out where to get for $420. Compressor was needed of course then a better one , then another because the price was to good ( 3 now). Scopes (4 new) Daystate revere, ordered and waiting on Dacks for a Hatsan neutron star,
RAW hm 1000 lrt jaxjax on forum alerted us to I ordered Sunday . Accessories by the hundreds of dollars…
Still want that Taipan errr was it Ghost err Uragan.

My last obsession was expensive telescopes or was the last one guitars… I know the vintage motorcycles was before
those.
All cause of retirement and no bills Oooo I better go back to work.
Forgot about the Benjamin from Airgun Revision last night

 

[SpindleB]

I like the classic types. Mine are all wood and blued steel springers, other than a couple of IZH 45m pistols, I also have a FWB 602 SSP with a walnut stock incoming. At my age I am not as steady as I once was nor are my eyes nearly as good, so hitting a dime at 50 yards is a pipe dream., I can manage a little
1 1/2" square swinger at that range with diopter sights so am happy

I've just acquired 4 fairly classic PCP (3 rifles, 1 pistol) and while I have only received one (Shin Sung Career 707) I really am looking forward to the two English rifles. A. H. Hartley and a Falcon Hawk. Both 20+ years old with VERY unique wood stocks. The Hartley is grade 2 black walnut. They just have class and style that the modern rifles all seem to lack.

-- Matt

 

[Sleestak]

nerds....all airgunners are nerds

 

[marflow 777]

the day of the cheap used AIRGUN is kind of gone 10-15 years ago not so much
you could fine steals all the time and i bought any i saw and learned to fix them if needed learned to find parts and learned to walk by those who have no parts
we are mainly caretakers for the next guy or girl
and seeing that the prices are at absurd levels that pistol or rifle you thought you paid too much for, is now, way in the black
so, at the start there were levels of collector and hoarder and such i am all of those
hunt for deals buy even if you don't need it some will someday and parts are always worth more than the whole

 

[WoodWelder]

Are you a: collector, enthusiast, hoarder or just obsessed?
or maybe, just maybe you are a perpetual tinkerer who loves a project?

I'm definitely not a collector as I use every air rifle I have. They all serve a purpose!

My definition of a hoarder is a dirty pig.....My wife cleans up after me. HaHaHa

I'm scratching my head wondering..... would ya rather save your moolah for 2-4 high quality airguns or would you rather nickel and dime your money away on a bunch of so so stuff? What is your motive(s) behind your multiple airgun acquisitions? some have suggested it is almost an addiction; i might agree.

I love my PP750, inexpensive and my go too Barn Gun.
JTS Standard, my first PCP tuned to sip air and get a higher shot count.
Brocock XR Sniper Magnum left it as a high power....Perfect as is!
I set up a rifle with scope and leave it as is.......I only tinker for maintenance!

Wore out an inexpensive underlever, rebuilt it and gifted it to my nephew. I have a few break barrels I'm working on and will be gifted soon.

My high end underlever and sidelever rifles........."My Cold Dead Hands".

 

[JamieUK]

Got 3 airguns that are tools.....
.25 Impact (FAC over here in the uk)
.22 P15, the NV ratter
.22 Remmi express compact, the sunny day pesting springer.

The other 15 or so (maybe 20 ) were the roughest or cheapest peices of s##t I could lay my hands on (some HW's/ Diana's/ BSA's/ chifles in there), and all provided hours/ days of machine shop fun being either restored or modified.

My wife is quite patient, however there have been times when it felt like I was one airgun away from a divorce, so....would say I probably fit in the obsessed catagory

 

[Peskådot671]

I've realized in my early years that I'm not a collector. It would be nice but I just don't have the space. I'm more of an enthusiast. You can also consider me a hoarder. I rarely sell stuff. I guess I have trust issues. If was to sell, it would have to be in person. You can call me obsessed until the next best airgun comes out that would fill a role that my current airguns don't. I would consider "cheap" or budget airguns around $300 to $500. Midrange from $500 to $1000. High-end anywhere between $1500 and up.

 

[BassMan]

Are you a: collector, enthusiast, hoarder or just obsessed?

I guess I'm all four. At last count I was up to 66 air guns of all types including pistols, springers, multi-pumps, CO2, PCP's. But I have been playing with air guns for over 60 years so that is barely more than 1 for each year.

 

[Struckat]

Not a collector, hoarder no because I married well. Enthusiast I suppose.

I don’t see a day where I would pop for a $2,500 gun. Not that I wouldn‘t enjoy or find the value in it. It’s just I can’t justify it in my current situation. I don’t get to shoot enough. And then I am too cheap.

When I wanted my first pcp, I wanted an Air Arms. So I stalked classifieds for at least six months and found a s500 for $500.
That was money well spent. I find it to be easily worth retail $$$$ that they ask.

Prices have gone way up since I purchased my 2 HW springers and I considered those expensive at the time.

I would burn the money before I would buy another inexpensive springer like the one I had many years ago.

Personal bias, right or wrong, keep me from buying budget guns that seem to work well.

 

[cavedweller]

I just emptied a tin of CPHP's last night shooting a $350 airgun from the bench from 10m at a 100 bull card and had a blast doing it.

I shot a full tin of .30 slugs last fall with my Sniper Maverick at 100 yards and had a blast doing it.

What message are we trying to send to the new airgunner that just owns a Red Rider?

No message - just a question that hindsight or retrospec by some future self may answer.

 

[Struckat]

I like the classic types. Mine are all wood and blued steel springers, other than a couple of IZH 45m pistols, I also have a FWB 602 SSP with a walnut stock incoming. At my age I am not as steady as I once was nor are my eyes nearly as good, so hitting a dime at 50 yards is a pipe dream., I can manage a little
1 1/2" square swinger at that range with diopter sights so am happy

A nice SSP is on my list and could make me become irrational.

 

[.SevenSeven]

I've concentrated my collection on a handful of high-end rifles. The only thing I bemoan is not being able to settle on one for competition for fear I'm neglecting the others..

 

[Richely]

I spent a lot of hours hunting for birds and deer with my shotgun. A shotgun is the best purchase to start with IMO. I still got it.

Totally agree. Bought my shotgun, a higher end gun, when it really hurt financially to do so, but it has proven the best value. It’s been well used for grouse, pheasants, ducks and geese, deer, trap and skeet. Reliable, trouble free through all of that. Still have it. In the end it’s proven to be the lowest total cost, most versatile gun I own in spite of the high initial price.

Late to airguns as life situation limits other opportunities. Fell down other rabbit holes before with other interests. Learned, hopefully, to be moderate with this latest interest.

For me quality over quantity be it airguns or other purchases. Quality isn’t always found at the higher end, higher priced but is more often than not. I also appreciate anything that is well crafted. Nonetheless I do love a good bargain and shop hard to find one for what I want. New, used or project, all are options. Will wait if need be, but I will definitely pay more for what I want versus paying less for something less. A cheap price doesn’t necessarily make a cheap purchase. A cheap price also is not fondly remembered in the face of poor performance. Lessons learned long ago.

Obsessed, collector, hoarder no. I made a airgun rule for myself to shoot everything I have and to not duplicate shooting experiences. No collections or multiples, no safe queens. Really puts a lid on purchases. Also having the best of something for my purposes lessens the temptation to buy something else.

 

[RickH]

To answer the OP’s first question, what’s the difference? I’ve found over the years that there is inexpensive and then there’s cheap. Inexpensive I consider to be the base model of whatever you’re considering. Not junk but doesn’t have all the bells and whistles. Cheap means just poorly designed/built. My first Crosman 500 was inexpensive but all these years later it still shoots and I just picked up a second one. Some of what I’ve read here though tells me there are a few cheap guns still available. Unfortunately sometimes economics push a buyer into something cheap that doesn’t work well and doesn’t last, driving them away from shooting.

Rick H.

 

[Florida_Man]

At my core, I hate all rodents and other bird feeder raiders that invade my yard. The only pass goes to the southern flying squirrels. They are tiny and don’t eat much; and sure are entertaining.

With all seriousness I came back into air guns because of rats dying in my yard after my neighbor poisoned them. They had a dog kennel they kept disgusting. So they would put poison out and I would get dead rats in my yard. I didn’t want my three dogs exposed to that. So I bought a clip on night vision and attached it to a Hawke fixed 4x I had for CMP Sporter on top of a PP700. Many many rats killed and no longer had a problem.

I love marksmanship at my core, and my AG’s make it possible without driving 45 min to the range and being away from my family half a day or more on the weekend. Marksmanship is my therapy, even if it’s just a few pellets at a target at 10m.

Oh and working on them is a therapeutic process also.


Cliff notes
1) Hate pests. HATE
2) Marksmanship
3) Tinkering

My wife hates that I kill little animals, doesn’t understand what I get out of marksmanship, and can’t stand I have bins full of AG parts and pieces.

 

[Dead-On]

Are you a: collector, enthusiast, hoarder or just obsessed?
or maybe, just maybe you are a perpetual tinkerer who loves a project?

What are your thoughts?

Are you a: collector, enthusiast, hoarder or just obsessed?
or maybe, just maybe you are a perpetual tinkerer who loves a project?

What are your thoughts?

I've been a collector bordering hoarder, at over 75 guns. Plus I rotated through a bunch. Plinking, 10 meter ssp pistol, 10 meter ssp rifle, silhouette, benchrest, pistol hunter FT, hunter FT. Others like Pennsylvania Pistelero, Cecil Whiteside. Plus it takes a lot to maintain and use them all. Now I have it to around 25 guns, still too many. Often I think what it would be like with 12 guns. Unthinkable!.