A big thank-you to everyone for the warm greeting. As "Susan Candela" posted earlier, "It can definitely get expensive but, you can't take it with you."
I started shooting powder guns in 1950 at age 7, taught and encouraged by my dad and grandfather. I am a member of the NRA, GOA and SAF. I've hunted almost all my life, taking everything but sheep, grizzly and buffalo in North America and Canada. Packing into the Teton Wilderness on horseback for 2 weeks at a time was my favorite way to hunt but those days are now behind me.
The majority of my shooting will be informal in my backyard and small game hunting. In looking for a starting gun, I've been trying to balance performance with versatility. I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos and reading on the forum and the new Avenge X seems to check off a lot of positive boxes. I intend to start with a .22 and the ability to upgrade to .25 if the need arises is a big plus.
My biggest confusion right now is with a portable 4500 PSI compressor. One expert says "A" is great and "B" is junk, then another says just the opposite. But wait, expert #3 says they are both junk, you need to get "C".
I have a couple of spare scopes that should be workable and I need to do more reading on modulators.
If you think I'm a bit long-winded now just watch for my posts after the gun safes have been closed and the bourbon cabinet is opened on Friday night.