Oh the $$$$....

[Just Zack 2]

As a hobby, airguns can get very expensive... Hobby "toys" with all sorts of bells and whistles will cost more than something with no frills. Most folks here are hobbyists to some degree. Sometimes it's good to get out of a hobbyist mindset for a fresh perspective and look at airguns as tools. What tasks does one need to accomplish? How reliable is the said product? Will the manufacturer stand behind their products? Will parts and/or repair services be offered after time passes?

In total I've spent a fair bit of money on airguns, because I wanted to. Truthfully, I'd be perfectly well off with my old Daisy 880. Does everything an airgun NEEDS to do, maybe not as well as something that costs a fair bit more but still gets the job done at the end of the day. If someone has the means to buy a $3K airgun, that's fantastic. Nothing wrong with splurging if you got it. For those who don't, luckily there are options for everyone and every budget.

 

[Vetmx]

Today I didn’t go practice on my MX bike. I decided to listen to the football game and monitor the power line and my 131 yard feeder. Guys can bash or maybe not see a reason for an expensive gun. But they do have a purpose. With some of them it’s a shame what you have to do and spend to meet your expectations. But a lot of cheap guns just won’t do it. Here is an example of way too much money spent and way too much time spent on the lathe experimenting. Could buy a lot of essential things with the dollar amount that’s sitting here.

 

[Vetmx]

But here’s the first shot of the day. Gun hasn’t been shot for I have no clue how long. I’ve been hunting with other Impacts the last two weeks. This is the satisfaction that makes the money and time spent on a good gun easily forgotten.

 

[Vetmx]

Here is the slug about to land exactly where I was aiming. Since around 2016 I’ve tried to get some less expensive guns to land slugs exactly where I aim all the time at extended distances. They just didn’t have the engine that gave me a wide enough berth to explore every possible solution. So we have to spend more money on a gun that gives a better foundation for longer distance testing and hopefully success. But this is not the biggest percentage of the hobby so I still embrace the less expensive pellet gun setup for normal stress free enjoyment of the hobby.

 

[delooper]

Agree with most of what you said-more expensive doesn't always mean better. If someone wants to charge a higher price for their goods or services, then that has to be warranted by reputation of success from prior business then they have that reputation of "getting the job done" and then that validates the money spent. Just saying that upfront without the history of proof is going to be a hard sell to anyone with common sense. Some folks are worth every penny that you pay them, so it is buyer beware.

My dad had a career as an engineer. He would do the occasional consulting job, but mostly preferred to work his regular day job.

He didn't love consulting though. So what he did was charge $10k/hr for consulting. That way he knew if someone tried to hire him they were really looking for him and his expertise. Not just some joe-average engineer.

Perhaps on the high end products its a little like that, too. If you can make your living cranking out low volume that probably eliminates a lot of potential troubles. You can afford to give excellent product support because you have a small fraction of the customer base of most other companies, etc.

 

[Sawney Bean]

One thing I will say in defense of the cost of being an airgunner, airguns do tend to hold their value better than other hobby related equipment. If you buy good airguns 30 years from now you’ll likely get back most of what you spent on them and they don’t take up a lot of space. Most other hobbies in comparison are just a complete money pit. You’ll spend thousands on a cutting edge bicycle only to find its worth maybe 20% of what you paid for it in 20 years.

If you buy used or collectible airguns you can reasonably expect to lose very little when all is said and done.

 

[Caliber 22]

You can afford to give excellent product support because you have a small fraction of the customer base of most other companies, etc.

My question to that is, how much customer support does the companies selling the expensive pcp really give. It looks more like, once it it out of the door it is not their problem any more and the customer has to put up a fight to get guarantee work done, let alone getting what is promised in marketing.

 

[Vana2]

Interesting that people FEEL that a product costs TOO MUCH but typically have no idea of what it costs to run a business that produces the item.

 

[delooper]

My question to that is, how much customer support does the companies selling the expensive pcp really give. It looks more like, once it it out of the door it is not their problem any more and the customer has to put up a fight to get guarantee work done, let alone getting what is promised in marketing.

Difficult to say. Unfortunately most companies don't turn over a detailed financial accounting so a lot of things remain mysterious.

 

[Caliber 22]

Interesting that people FEEL that a product costs TOO MUCH but typically have no idea of what it costs to run a business that produces the item.

If two companies manufacture similar products with similar specs but one is asking 2 - 3 times as much, that will most definitely cause people to think that way.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

 

[Stubbers]

Here is the slug about to land exactly where I was aiming. Since around 2016 I’ve tried to get some less expensive guns to land slugs exactly where I aim all the time at extended distances. They just didn’t have the engine that gave me a wide enough berth to explore every possible solution. So we have to spend more money on a gun that gives a better foundation for longer distance testing and hopefully success. But this is not the biggest percentage of the hobby so I still embrace the less expensive pellet gun setup for normal stress free enjoyment of the hobby.

Nice rig and all, but are you suggesting that no one can hit similar shots with less money spent, or with a budget friendly rifle? I find it hard to believe everyone will agree with that sentiment...many guns with (most importantly) a quality barrel can yield those results with proper the slug, even if it took a custom barrel you could be under $1k spend (on rifle alone) and pull off those shots. Lots of videos on youtube showing similar success with less $$..

-Matt

 

[Peashooter]

Dont really need it, but i am getting a sudden urge to buy a Oneleaf Commander NV 400 scope.

My friend is smacking at least 1 rat every day with his POS 12 years old Belarussian night vision scope.

 

[crosman2016]

My goodness.

It really wasn't that long ago when the higher-end production gun starting points were in the $1,000-1,500 range. I remember even having sticker shock from that. That was a lot of money for an airgun. My non-airgun buddies used to think I was a crazy person for dropping that on what they saw as "pellet guns." But I would drop that occasionally. I felt the value was just barely there at those price points. Barely. Just enough to justify that incredible cost.

But now it looks like the new starting point for the higher-end guns is $2,200-2,500. About double the already astronomical prices.

I don't even know what happened. But these days I sure do find myself not buying the new offerings.

Did we do this to ourselves? Are the vendors just following suit with each other since we showed we would pay that as a community?

Yeah, I get what you are saying. I shoot both airguns and firearms, and both have done the same thing, price wise. I am a shooter, not a collector of fine things, no matter what they are, so I balance the cost versus my return on guns.

I don't own any "expensive" wares in guns, no matter what is propelling the projectile. I don't own Hi Points, but I also don't own a Korth either. The airguns I have are the same way. I just don't have the deep pockets that others have, and I could not justify being able to spend 2,500 dollars on any gun. Hats off to those that can, but I also have to say that we are living in a time where the general quality of guns are better than they have ever been, at least as far as powder burning guns are concerned.

I have Crosmans, a couple of Dianas and such, none of them high-dollar affairs, but they do fine for me...and I am good with that.

 

[Vana2]

If two companies manufacture similar products with similar specs but one is asking 2 - 3 times as much, that will most definitely cause people to think that way.

True, but there's a lot of things that go on in the background that can influence prices that are not obviously apparent.

I worked for a company (briefly! ) that undercut the competition by taking advantage of their employees (forced, unpayed overtime, not paying benefits, terrible working conditions) screwed their suppliers, and did things like illegally using multiple copies of office and CAD software without a license to save costs.

At the other end you have companies that screw their customers charging exorbitant prices. There is no way that a simple Atlas bipod is worth what they ask for one, (you can buy a gas lawnmower for that kinda money) when the Chinese can make the same thing for one tenth the cost. Granted, the quality is not the same, but as you say "similar products with similar specs".

So, as a consumer, I'm looking for a decent quality product at a reasonable price. I appreciate products that are better than "just functional" and think that something that is well designed and well made, that will last a long time, is worth investing in.

A Porche is out of my budget but $2k for an airgun I can afford.

Cheers!

 

[JimD]

I get a little reluctant to spend high end prices for guns from manufacturers who spend big dollars on advertising. Sponsoring shooting teams. Arranging for youtube videos which are basically long commercials. Those things do not come free. I guess it helps the sport that they do this but they are also doing it to create the impression that their guns are worth more. So we will pay more. When they do well competitively it is great evidence of what their guns are capable of but I am pretty sure that the same shooters could do as well with other guns who's manufacturer is not sponsoring them.

It's been a very long time since I had a marketing course but they teach you that there is a price /volume relationship for any product. The volume you sell is a function of the price you charge. Lower prices = higher volume. A manufacturer has to pick a place on that curve they want to be at. Then make a product which is consistent with that price. My lower priced guns are not machined as well as my one >$1000 airgun. They cannot be and be sold for what they are sold for. But they also don't have to be machined better than they are to perform well. There are also material choices, particularly in my Avenger, that I wish they had done differently but they did it to hit a target cost.

Higher prices also, by themselves, create the impression of higher value. Manufacturers know that too. If they decided to charge half as much, people would wonder what they cheapened in their gun.

Nothing wrong with manufacturers making good money. Nothing wrong with me wanting to get the best gun I can for the money I decide to spend. I don't want to pay for reputation, I do not want to pay for marketing.

 

[Ezana4CE]

It all depends on your level of obsession, need, expectation………I find ways to get my expensive stuff because that’s what I enjoy. I don’t enjoy flimsy, plastic feeling guns that lack parts and support.

LCS was expensive and not plasticy, yet there’s very little support that I can see. Price doesn’t always dictate quality, performance, or support (good value).

To the OP’s initial question. @Spartan I think we did this to ourselves. We allow companies to release what essentially appear to be replicas of prototypes and pay top dollar just to say we were first and post about being one of the first to have something. Then our work from our posting can be used to improve a product that was rushed to market. Helluva business model, dontcha think?

 

[L.Leon]

But here’s the first shot of the day. Gun hasn’t been shot for I have no clue how long. I’ve been hunting with other Impacts the last two weeks. This is the satisfaction that makes the money and time spent on a good gun easily forgotten.

Love the laughing sound you made after the thwack on the chipper. Awesome shot…

 

[Vetmx]

Nice rig and all, but are you suggesting that no one can hit similar shots with less money spent, or with a budget friendly rifle? I find it hard to believe everyone will agree with that sentiment...many guns with (most importantly) a quality barrel can yield those results with proper the slug, even if it took a custom barrel you could be under $1k spend (on rifle alone) and pull off those shots. Lots of videos on youtube showing similar success with less $$..

-Matt

I get what you’re saying and I’ve tried it. But I don’t want a YouTube video gun. I need a gun that will do it all the time in real life, my life. The problem I ran into with cheaper less powerful guns is you can’t follow the slug where it and your barrel wants to go. And even if you can, because you’re pushing the gun so hard, its shot cycle hurts the potential accuracy when you start to stretch it out. Upper tier guns that produce big power in their sleep make your starting point on this side of the hobby easier.

Some of these upper tier guns, like the one in the picture are still loaded with flaws. But it’s about picking which battles you want to fight. Nowadays I try to pick refinements over hot rodding.

I also shoot mice off this feeder at night with this gun. I might miss one out of five. I have a really good P15 that will shoot pellets and slugs. I have maybe $1,300 in it. It’s really really good out to 100 with both. But it can’t compete with this M3 after that. And I threw the kitchen sink at it. They have the same barrel and same caliber. The naturally more powerful gun just gave me more to work with.

 

[Stubbers]

I get what you’re saying and I’ve tried it. But I don’t want a YouTube video gun. I need a gun that will do it all the time in real life, my life. The problem I ran into with cheaper less powerful guns is you can’t follow the slug where it and your barrel wants to go. And even if you can, because you’re pushing the gun so hard, its shot cycle hurts the potential accuracy when you start to stretch it out. Upper tier guns that produce big power in their sleep make your starting point on this side of the hobby easier.

Some of these upper tier guns, like the one in the picture are still loaded with flaws. But it’s about picking which battles you want to fight. Nowadays I try to pick refinements over hot rodding.

I also shoot mice off this feeder at night with this gun. I might miss one out of five. I have a really good P15 that will shoot pellets and slugs. I have maybe $1,300 in it. It’s really really good out to 100 with both. But it can’t compete with this M3 after that. And I threw the kitchen sink at it. They have the same barrel and same caliber. The naturally more powerful gun just gave me more to work with.

It doesn't take an upper tier gun to have 'the engine'...that is simply pressure, port diameter, and barrel length....which doesn't take $$$, it takes science...

-Matt