Have you ever asked yourself:
How did I fall down the rabbit hole SO QUICKLY
(1) For years I was content to use a handpump to get my PCPs ready for killing.
(2) I had meant to buy a cheap backup pump, but then all corona-hell broke loose, and for two years(!) I couldn't get any airgunning gear to Peru (that'2 where I'm working right now).
Moral A: Buy AG stuff now, Zdon't procrastinate on spending money.
(3) Murphy (with his law) is a US citizen. So, I thought I'm safe living in Peru.
But — he has a cousin in Peru, his name is Fernando, and Fernando's Law is plucked from the same family tree as Murphy's Law.
So, yes, you guessed it. My hand pump broke.
Moral B: No matter where in the world you live, make sure Murphy doesn't have any relatives living there. Otherwise, you're screwed.
(4) I then MacGyvered my AG shooting — to pospone the inevitable to the last possible moment:
I literally shoot my PP700 until the pressure in the air cylinder was so low that it couldn't hold the valve shut anymore, and the pitiful rest of air escaped in one long pfffffft!
But not before propelling one last JSB into the body of a feral pigeon.
How I managed to keep my scope adjusted to the ever changing MV? ➔ Tactacam in slomo showed me the exact pellet drop in mil, and I adjusted for it before taking my next shot.
Moral C: If the forces of nature and the powers to be gang up against your airgunning hobby: Improvise!
(5) The pfffffft announced the inevitable:
I had to buy an airtank (since handpumps sold in Peru are a bad investment, $100 for made in China junk).
It cost me dearly. Ouch!
My dear wife was nice about it.
Moral D: It's nice to have a nice wife when you're an airgunner.
(6) That wallet-devastating trip down airtank alley was just a few months ago.
I certainly did not expect to find myself looking for a compressor NOW!!
That was slated for the end of this decade....
But here we are — looking down the precipice of compressor alley.
Just months after splurging on my first air tank.
Moral E: When it rains, it pours. (That's even true in the desert where I live, go figure.)
(7) How did I get myself into that conundrum?
When I was going to get my first refill of my shiny new tank — I almost dropped it on the tile floor....
The local dive shops have jacked up their prices as if the Corona China Virus made air a scarce resource.
Or as if Russia's tanks shut down the air pipeline to Europe....
Moral F: Don't trust the communists, no matter if they come with Russian of Chinese flavor.
So, now you know how I slid down the rabbit hole much much quicker than anticipated.
You know there's a moral in that as well....
Your turn:
What shoved you into the AG rabbit hole?
What lubricated your rapid descend down into it?
Matthias
PS: If you think that you are not going down the rabbit hole — well, my psychologist has a term for that. He calls it "denial."