And that is my (almost current) entire list and history of me and air rifles! Not going to lie, my Huben GK1 has just arrived, so I am going to wrap up this thread.
But, I definitely need to talk about my accessories, because that really changes your use of air rifles.
Compressed Air
I stared with a Hill Pump--still works perfectly well. Always a good back up.
About 2 years ago, I picked up a refurbished Air Venturi carbon fiber bottle. I have a dive shop a short drive from where I live, and they charge $100 for 10 fills. The owner is also air gunner, so we talk about that also.
But, this past Black Friday, as I mentioned, Pyramyd air or Airgun dept had a $50 off $500, so I picked up the Air Venturi Rovair. So far it has worked flawlessly. This is a true gamechanger for how I hunt. I pretty much just plink and hunt around my property, so this works great for me. Portability is not really a big deal for me, so probably should have skipped the bottle.
Optics
UTG Bugbuster 3-12x32 sidewheel parallax adjust
Hawke Airmax 30 Touch 3-12x32
Hawke Vantage 4-16x44 AO
Walther reflex sight
Bog Deathgrip tripod
Besides the Rovair compressor, the Hawke Airmax Touch and the tripode have really revolutionized how I plink and hunt.
Given that I do not have huge experience, the Hawke Airmax Touch is absolutely awesome. No moving around your face to find the proper eye relief distance. Just put your face up to the scope and open your eyes. And the field of view is amazing. Yes, you do have to get creative with your mounts to get the scope back towards the stock, but so worth it to me. Every time I go to another rifle (it's currently on my AEA), and I'm adjusting myself around to get a scope view, I'm reminded of how easy it is with the Hawke. It really suits my hunting--squirrels, because you have only a few moments to grab a gun and get a shot off.
The Bog Deathgrip tripod has really really changed things up for me, hunting wise. All my criticizing about heavy and long rifles, the tripod negates it to a large degree. Takes only a few moments to deploy, and I can hit a dime at my usual hunting distances. Like, if my rifles are dialed in, and the squirrel is holding still, I can choose what type of head shot to deploy.
So here is kind of where I am at.
See some squirrels, near side of my orchard, grab my AEA with the Airmax Touch, consider the tripod. If I need to track them thru my orchard, take the AEA and go.
See some squirrels on the far side of my orchard (I keep the Benjamin SAM with Hawke Vantage tuned for longer shots), set the SAM on the tripod and hunt.
See lots of squirrels everywhere, and I'm not leaving my property for a bit, choose a rife and leave it the tripod, and shoot whenever a shot presents itself.
What's next? GK1 is here--figuring out how it'll fit in my lineup. Probably creating my own GKarbine, at least until Huben releases a GKarbine. Sell my Bullmaster.
Okay, that is pretty much everything I have experienced when it comes to air guns, and pretty much any sort of guns.
Thanks for the welcome.