Pellet Problems

[Bedrock Bob]

Wow, @Bedrock Bob, you really should publish this story in a magazine, you've got talent for writing. I had to re-read it twice, couldn't stop laughing, made my day, excellent piece! Please don't stop, write some more short stories like this, I'm sure everybody will love it here.

Thank you very much! I'm tickled that you enjoyed it.

No doubt I will spin more tales. I get a big kick out of writing them.

 

[Florida_Man]

Nice shooting. And a nice rifle too.

I love peep sights. I learned to shoot with a daisy 99 with the screw in barrel/magazine. Had a square nut and a hollow bolt for a rear peep. It was deadly accurate within 20 yards.

I've got a nice Williams peep for an 11mm dovetail. It's great on a pellet rifle as long as your distance is fixed. I don't transition well with a peep and if it's sighted at 30 I can't use it at 50 without moving it up.

I stick with an open rear sight so I can put it way the he'll up there with the rear blade on the barrel shroud and still see my 100 yard target above the bead. I'm not shooting paper though. A peep sight would be much more accurate at 100 if it was sighted in at that range. I just don't bother with elevation adjustments. I'm learning to "cowboy" it pretty good.

I bought a peep sight for my CZ200. Once I’m done sniping rodents with it I’m going to tune it for 8fpe and set it up for 10m

 

[L.Leon]

I typically send one or two magazines per day. At most, 200-250 pellets per week when enthusiastically pesting and plinking…

 

[Bedrock Bob]

I typically send one or two magazines per day. At most, 200-250 pellets per week when enthusiastically pesting and plinking…

The sand around my 80 yard bell is thick with pellets. I bet there is 500 laying in front of that one target.

We used to shoot in a borrow pit with rock and coarse gravel. After a few months you could pick up any rock within 60 yards and find a pellet strike on it. There were many, many thousands.

Shotgun primers glittered in the sun across the entire range. Bits of red plastic. Tiny discs of aluminum cans.

It was beautiful. A monument to extreme excess.

One day they drug a grizzly and a loader in there and hauled a few thousand yards of material out. I was heartbroken.

Somewhere on some lonesome stretch of New Mexico highway there is a half mile of asphalt containing thousands of pellets. Probably enough metal to affect the pushbutton AM radio in your 74 Ford 3/4 ton flatbed as you drove down the road to the cowboy dance.

 

[Scotty1]

I can commiserate with you. I told my wife I was off pellets, and she (bless her heart) believed me. I get home the other day, no wife, but this mess was on my garage floor… she found my empty’s. I’ve got some explaining to do, if she ever comes back…

 

[.20calguy]

I can quit any time!

 

[maxtrouble]

Wait, he has a problem? CPHP's are great pellets!

/rimshot

Nice writing sir!

 

[JaceSpace1369]

You have fantastic writting skills @Bedrock Bob H.A.M. should pick you up. If you ever have a thought in mind about coming down to south florida you make sure to let me know about it. We'll put those pellets to good use!

 

[Bedrock Bob]

I can commiserate with you. I told my wife I was off pellets, and she (bless her heart) believed me. I get home the other day, no wife, but this mess was on my garage floor… she found my empty’s. I’ve got some explaining to do, if she ever comes back… View attachment 482693

Same. The tins are so cool I can't throw them away. I have put things in them until I have no more things to put in them. Still the pile grows.

Back when I was a kid the old service stations on route 66 had the awnings shingled with oil cans. Cut them in half diagonally and laid them like Spanish tile. I'm thinking I could do the same with pellet tins. I could probably do 3 squares with the pile of tins growing in the corner of the shop.

A dab of hot glue between each one and you could make one of those wierd obelisks and put it out in the desert somewhere. Just a stack 20 feet tall. I bet folks would think aliens are shooting pellet guns.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

You have fantastic writting skills @Bedrock Bob H.A.M. should pick you up. If you ever have a thought in mind about coming down to south florida you make sure to let me know about it. We'll put those pellets to good use!

Thanks Jace.

I'm not sure what HAM is but I love it with mashed potatoes and applesauce.

I've never been out that way. I've wandered all over the West. Slept on just about every mountain.

The farthest east I've been is New Orleans. Got rolled down the stinky streets at Mardi gras by a demon in a big pink rabbit suit. Headed west the next day with a head full of pain. Haven't been back that way since 1983.

I'd love to visit Florida. I watch swamp people all the time. What a neat place to be an outdoorsman.

I'd like to take Pickle Wheat into the swamp and do a little python wrangling. Then shoot some big lizards. Maybe sidekick on an alligator boat and take a few shots off the bow.

My plan is to take my little bowfishing boat down the Rio Grande to the Gulf. From there it's a straight shot to Florida. It shouldn't take more than a few hours if I paddle hard enough.

I'm tied to the fence for the foreseeable future. My mom is 96 and I've been taking care of her for a couple years. It put a stop to my wandering ways for a while. Someday I'll get to travelling again and a trip out to your country is at the top of the list.

Don't shoot all the iguanas. Save a couple for me.

 

[daddypaddy]

holy crap! sounded like my experience minus the dog. i’m very fortunate to have come to my senses early as a pellet abuser. i do admit that i sneak a couple shots out at night to curb my need to pull that trigger.

 

[HogKiller]

Hello group! My name is Bob and I have a pellet problem.

I guess it all started innocently enough. I loved shooting and had been an avid shooter for more than 50 years. I had wanted a Diana break barrel air rifle since first seeing one in action as a lad. I was looking for a rifle I could practice offhand shooting skills that didn’t break the bank. The decision to purchase an air rifle seemed to be a good choice. Little did I know the shocking depths that this decision would take me.

At first it was a few 5 shot groups on paper in my back yard from a rest. Sighting in, learning a proper hold, dealing with slipping scopes and stripping mounting screws. When I got it all together my shot count increased and I was hitting the target. Life was good and I began to really enjoy it.

Soon I was spending more time shooting. My routine was getting much better and I was shooting well. My patterns were much better and I enlisted a friend in my activities. Beer was often involved. It was fun.

We got better targets. Green army men. Plastic dinosaurs. Aluminum cylinders that rang like bells. We shot a lot better now. Our range was increasing. So was our shot count. It was so enjoyable we did it more often.

Sometimes after a long shoot I would feel really good. Relaxed. Almost elated. This was big fun.

One day I looked down and realized I had shot a full tin of H&N pellets. At first I thought my buddy had been snaking them. Then I looked at the time. We had been there for four hours straight. I didn’t realize it then but looking back I should have known this was a warning.

Soon we were shooting every day. For longer periods. Sometimes we would get up early and shoot all day. My lady friend hadn’t seen me in weeks. I hadn’t been fishing with my son in months.

I was having trouble paying the pellet bills. I had to switch to Crosmans to support my habit. Pyramid Air was slow shipping and I often had to wait. I was buying pellets on the Amazon from shady vendors that couldn’t be trusted.

One night while walking across WalMart parking lot with a sack full of CPHP’s and my fingers black with graphene I realized I had a problem. I was a mess. A lead head.

I was doing 2000 pellets a week and it just wasn’t enough. The more I shot the more I wanted to shoot. It was consuming my life. I had a flock of Hawke scopes constantly flying across the country being repaired. I had a bucket of broken scope mounts under my kitchen table that was piled with broken Hatsans. There was a tiny space I had cleared off to eat at the foot of a mountain of broken springs and torn seals.

I was hitting shotgun shells in my sleep. My eyes were crossed from focusing on the front post. My sex life had vanished. I wasn’t eating right. Personal hygiene was a problem. My dog was lonesome and howled all night.

I’m here because I want to tell you there is light at the end of this tunnel. I’m still using pellets but I have learned that with time you can turn it around. Its not easy. But with help you can make it. Someday I hope to be pellet free. For now I want to celebrate the progress I have made.

I’m down to about 1000 pellets a week and by Christmas my goal is to be using no more than 500. My time management is better and I adhere to strict eating and showering schedules. I’m trying to patch up my relationship with my lady and I walk the dog regularly. I still shoot a lot but I’m trying to put it in perspective. I feel that I have finally turned a corner and I’m on my way to recovery.

If I can't do it on my own there is always slug therapy. Sure there are risks but shooting slugs have proven to reduce pellet cravings in several clinical studies. Its new technology and the long term risks are unknown but I know that it's there if I decide I need it.

I hope this might be an inspiration to others out there with a pellet problem. Just know that you are not alone. Don't be afraid to ask for help. It's a disease from which you can recover if you simply take that first step and admit you have a problem.

Let this be a learning event for those that fall into the Rabbit Hole®. Sadly, he's completed the branch of pellets and parts and is now, about to enter the realm of torment and utter frustration, his alcohol consumption will no doubt double, if not more, the dog will be lonely again as he agonizes over the right speeds, barrels and slugs to achieve nirvana. Wishing you the best of luck, you're going to need it....Bob.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Let this be a learning event for those that fall into the Rabbit Hole®. Sadly, he's completed the branch of pellets and parts and is now, about to enter the realm of torment and utter frustration, his alcohol consumption will no doubt double, if not more, the dog will be lonely again as he agonizes over the right speeds, barrels and slugs to achieve nirvana. Wishing you the best of luck, you're going to need it....Bob.

Man I've been down that road with powderburners. I'm still on it. Bullet selection, seating depths, OAL, test firing, tweaking, neck tension and annealing. Split necks, worn out brass, throat erosion, swollen primer pockets and headspace issues.

I guess it's just an addictive personality that leads us on these quests.

Honestly. I picked up an airgun to improve my hunting rifle accuracy. I sighted my '06 in once and haven't fired 50 shots through it since. All I want to do is shoot the silly pellet gun.

I keep telling myself it's time to work up some brass and load ammunition. But I get into the shop and stare at my HW95 for an hour.

It's some sort of pelletosis. Or pelletitis. It could be a mutated virus going around on those JSB's. They might be coating them with fentanyl to make us use more. Who knows?

It's cheaper than plopping 308 lead into the dirt. So I suppose it could be worse.

I'm fairly stable as long as I can keep the fever down until about 5 o'clock. When it starts cooling off in the desert and the air starts smelling like pellet gun smoke I transform into some sort of madman. I'm out of control. I'm like a zombie to brains.

 

[HogKiller]

Man I've been down that road with powderburners. I'm still on it. Bullet selection, seating depths, OAL, test firing, tweaking, neck tension and annealing. Split necks, worn out brass, throat erosion, swollen primer pockets and headspace issues.

I guess it's just an addictive personality that leads us on these quests.

Honestly. I picked up an airgun to improve my hunting rifle accuracy. I sighted my '06 in once and haven't fired 50 shots through it since. All I want to do is shoot the silly pellet gun.

I keep telling myself it's time to work up some brass and load ammunition. But I get into the shop and stare at my HW95 for an hour.

It's some sort of pelletosis. Or pelletitis. It could be a mutated virus going around on those JSB's. They might be coating them with fentanyl to make us use more. Who knows?

It's cheaper than plopping 308 lead into the dirt. So I suppose it could be worse.

I'm fairly stable as long as I can keep the fever down until about 5 o'clock. When it starts cooling off in the desert and the air starts smelling like pellet gun smoke I transform into some sort of madman. I'm out of control. I'm like a zombie to brains.

Know the feeling, never got into reloading and all of that stuff, ADD so I'm afraid I'd blow my face off or something. Of course messing with high pressure air inches from your face is perfectly safe...right? I've found that washing the JSB's in alcohol helps but now I've got an infection from AEA'a....my stash of JSB's is getting lonely, guess I should use them before the expiration date.

 

[Bedrock Bob]

Know the feeling, never got into reloading and all of that stuff, ADD so I'm afraid I'd blow my face off or something. Of course messing with high pressure air inches from your face is perfectly safe...right? I've found that washing the JSB's in alcohol helps but now I've got an infection from AEA'a....my stash of JSB's is getting lonely, guess I should use them before the expiration date.

We have pellet worms in New Mexico. If you leave a tin more than a few days the worms will chew the skirts off.

I've worked a lot with high pressure cylinders and lines. If the engineering is good and you use as intended its safe. But I always think about how much stored energy there is in a pressure vessel. Knock a half dozen scuba tanks over on a pitching boat and you start thinking about that stuff.

I made a pipe bumper for my FJ40 land cruiser. A piece of 6" seamless steel pipe. Probably 1000psi rated. Capped the ends with 5/16 plate steel and welded it up. Put a gauge and a coupling in it. Pumped it up to 60 psi. Great idea for a little spare air I thought.

Drove around a few months. Never used any air. One day in a tight canyon I snagged the corner of that bumper with a rock. Helluva explosion. Took minutes for the dirt to settle. Blew the weld at the corner and ripped the cap back.

If a high pressure cylinder got away like that no telling how much metal, dirt, rock it would sling. Even blowing an oring at the end of a short high pressure line could sling a hunk of rubber Or dirt in your eye. It darn sure doesn't take much.