She sounds like a real piece of chit. If it wasn't for shooting in my backyard I wouldn't do air rifles either. I hate neighbors that stir trouble up.
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Tuning No Hobby For Old Men
- Thread starter Humdinger
- Start date
50? Saweet, you’ll come around again to be the patient, understanding person you were…
Hobbies should definitely “not” be frustrating… That is a sure sign something is amiss… Why not simply downsize? For me a hobby is by definition, anything I might do consistently to “briefly” take me away from the “day to day” grind…Hence, why at 63 years old I ride my bicycle, on the road to work at least thrice a week… An escape on the way to an eight hour grind…
Some hobbies can certainly drive people up the wall if it not meant for them OR if they just have bad experience based on equipment. If you get a very troublesome airgun, and are stubborn and keep trying to get it right, that will lead to frustration. One can easily grow out of a hobby as well.
I used to enjoy competitive games a lot. However, as I grow older, my tolerance for toxicity grows thin so I find myself gaming a lot less, if at all, and the average age of gamer is 35, me being 41 fits right into the demographic...so its not age. Nothing is amiss with me, if the community in gaming were as it was 15~ years ago, I wouldn't have such frustrations. Now I'd rather just do some light reading, go for a walk, or pop in a movie. I hardly game for more than 15-30 minutes a day now. If I repeated what some of my teammates said during the ONE game I played today, I would get banned here, it's just that bad these days. Muting them only does so much, because its not just immaturity being expressed through words...but actions as well.
Airgun leaks and problems can be very frustrating if you're chasing one and it keeps re-occurring or you just can't put your finger on it. They can be time consuming to repair which sometimes causes you to neglect other aspects in life. The advancements in airguns results in many rushed products that aren't engineered as simply as they could be, which complicates troubleshooting. Frankly, the market is so over-saturated, almost every new release of airgun in the last 5 years is already up to gen3...I mean, lol, need I say more?
-Matt
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Not true of the BRKs, Evols, AAs, etc… Its a matter of going with a solidly based PCP brand/lineup, instead of chasing the “latest greatest”…
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Gamer here, and I’m 110% with you. 95% of my gaming these days is single player campaigns w/ a good story that doesn’t stress me out. Online gaming can be INCREDIBLY toxic, and I have enough frustration in other areas of my life!
As for the PCPs, everyone seems to recommend Taipans as being reliable, low-maintenance tanks, with BRKs, EDguns, AAs, Mauraders, and a few others seemingly being in the same camp. FX has a few models that intrigue me, but I don’t know if I’ll ever own one as their reputation precedes them lol.
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But true for so many others! It is refreshing to have brands that don't hyper-release new models every year. Shows that they really did their r&d, the ones you named certainly fit that bill.
-Matt
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As I did list… am sure there are others… just mentioned a.few. Didn’t want to belabor the point…
When a rifle is on its fourth iteration within five years? You know its a rush to simply market to? Not me, for sure…
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I'm nowhere near your age (31) but I got burned out on PCPs a couple years ago. Mainly with guns I felt needed tweaking on tuning (unregulated guns) and setting up new guns as I would try some, not like them, and sell them to try something new. Tried so many I got to a point I sold all but 1 (AAA Evol Mini .22) and left the forums for a good 6 months. Came back and bought a Notos. Winter came around and took another 5 month break. This year I have 2 other PCPs (Taipan Veteran .22 Short and Long) including my 2 others, probably going to sell the Evol Mini and be done. No more chasing the next PCP.
I found I got way to deep after 4 years of going crazy, trying so many airguns after spending the first 2 years in PCPs heavily modifying my first airgun a .22 Synrod. Probably spent more time shooting over a chrony and tinkering than actually enjoying it.
Anyways I realized sometimes a break is good to come back and enjoy them again. But I also buy guns that are just rock solid and dependable that I don't have to mess with them now. If I want to tinker I can on the Notos and tons of upgrades but as of now haven't felt like it so it's bare bones besides a detune. Maybe someday but not yet.
I will also take out my HW30S .177 and enjoy the simplicity of no need for air or a scope and have fun. Ordered a .22 Cometa Fenix 400 recently to do similar with more power for pesting.
Also as @Stubbers mentioned above, when I started in back in airguns I was 22. Wasn't married yet, just engaged. Now I've been married 8 years with 2 kids and a 3rd on the way. My time to shoot has gone down DRASTICALLY. Wouldn't trade it for anything spending that time with my family. But I prefer to spend the little time I do have enjoying my guns rather than constantly working on them. Gotta do what works best for you.
I found I got way to deep after 4 years of going crazy, trying so many airguns after spending the first 2 years in PCPs heavily modifying my first airgun a .22 Synrod. Probably spent more time shooting over a chrony and tinkering than actually enjoying it.
Anyways I realized sometimes a break is good to come back and enjoy them again. But I also buy guns that are just rock solid and dependable that I don't have to mess with them now. If I want to tinker I can on the Notos and tons of upgrades but as of now haven't felt like it so it's bare bones besides a detune. Maybe someday but not yet.
I will also take out my HW30S .177 and enjoy the simplicity of no need for air or a scope and have fun. Ordered a .22 Cometa Fenix 400 recently to do similar with more power for pesting.
Also as @Stubbers mentioned above, when I started in back in airguns I was 22. Wasn't married yet, just engaged. Now I've been married 8 years with 2 kids and a 3rd on the way. My time to shoot has gone down DRASTICALLY. Wouldn't trade it for anything spending that time with my family. But I prefer to spend the little time I do have enjoying my guns rather than constantly working on them. Gotta do what works best for you.
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I'm not quite your age just past 60 but I definitely having issues with small things. I used to have great dexterity with my fingers and could see the tiniest spec of dirt. Now with arthritis and the lost of feeling on the tips of my fingers, I get so pissy with doing intricate things with my hands and not being able to focus with my eyes on the tiny things. It can get a bit frustrating.
Allen
Allen
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I’m recently retired and contemplating my next move after 40 years away from the hobby. I was so eager to shoot again after a trip to the Minnesota Field Target Association’s August event with my wife that I bought a HW50s and have been having fun plinking with that. Yesterday I took a field trip to Daystate’s display room in Eccleshall England which happens to be about a mile from my mother’s apartment in England - I live in Wisconsin. The sheer volume of airguns on the market is overwhelming. The Daystate/BRK range appeals to me for a number of reasons. The one that felt the most comfortable to me was the one with the folding stock. Anyway, I was digressing. Perhaps the way to go (for PCPs) for those of us who are not tinkerers is to choose one that feels right but has the lowest number of “o” rings? That, or continue to play with spring guns. 
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I'm 84, and believe me age does take its toll.
I have just overhauled an Original 35, a Webley Mark 3, and a Mark 1 Airsporter, and a few days ago got a chance to shoot them.
My old muscles were not up to it and I had to get a friend to cock them for me.
So it's back to my trouble free S410 and Manitou.
I have just overhauled an Original 35, a Webley Mark 3, and a Mark 1 Airsporter, and a few days ago got a chance to shoot them.
My old muscles were not up to it and I had to get a friend to cock them for me.
So it's back to my trouble free S410 and Manitou.
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It's not just PCPs, as you get older it's always something. Get back into springers or even firearms and you'll probably run into something now that bothers you, that didn't before. Good luck with that!
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Ever shot .22 pistols? I used to take several of mine to the range with suppresors and after shooting maybe 100 or rounds the pistols were so dirty and the grime and smell ended allover me and my clothing. It even smelled the truck cab up from all that dirty rimfire powder grime.
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I am not even 60 yet, i dont even dare to think who i would feel at +80, TBH i dont think i make it that far with the speed of my collapse from 40 to 50
I am happy that i am not as bad off as some 20 something YO kids here that like me are on early retirement,,,,, those kids must have lived very fast CUZ when young my candle was lit in both ends.
It is a good thing i do not have kids, just learned if you have a kid, say with any of the letter deceases, you know ADHD / ADD / PTSD and so on, well in this day and age, to actually get that diagnosed for sure, well you get a doctors appointment in +2 years,,,,,,,, ( me embarrassed )
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I am an old guy and over the years, I have become less interested in tinkering and fixing things also.
So when I first got serious about PCPs and had concerns about nightmare maintenance and leak chasing issues, I set aside my tech fetish and made a decision to limit my choices to simpler designs.
So far, that has worked well for me.
So when I first got serious about PCPs and had concerns about nightmare maintenance and leak chasing issues, I set aside my tech fetish and made a decision to limit my choices to simpler designs.
So far, that has worked well for me.
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And don't forget the need for uncomfortable hearing protection when shooting anything that burns powder.
That said, I do love shooting my .22 pistols, but I can't shoot those at home without disturbing the neighbors.
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Interesting, I've had the opposite experience moving into old men ranks from powder to air. Entire family does more shooting airgunning now than before ... backyard and basement. Avoid neighbors and attention. Perhaps if I owned 40 arces and a mule, I'd be more apt to burn more powder and not have a worry in the world. Nice not to have alot of gov't regulations etc, too ... well not yet anyways.
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I am 85 and have discovered the rabbit hole is very deep. Been a PB for 70+ years, fairly new to PSP. Have discovered the PCP game is very expensive when you factor in air supply. Rifles and scopes are about the same price, but you can buy a lot of components for what a GOOD compressor costs. The PCP/air game is not regulated, and most can shoot in their back yard. Selling, buying and shipping is easy. THAT WILL CAHNGE. I believe it already has in some areas. I cringe when I read some posts about live targets, ALMOST ALL LIVE CRITTERS ARE PROTECTED BY GAME LAWS. It is all going to boil down to having your own range. If I couldn't shoot off my deck in my back yard with my deer rifle, I would have quit the game years ago. LAND AND PRIVACY IS NOT CHEAP. With the political atmosphere, world wide, shooting anything is going to become very private.
REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER Shooters and Christian believers have the worst voting turnout.
REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER Shooters and Christian believers have the worst voting turnout.
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