Why did you get into PCP airguns?

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My first gun was a pop gun, found out it was alot more fun if I took the string off, then to bb guns, then to pump ups, then to firearms, bigger faster more powerful. Well I ran afoul of the law, expensive lesson, couldn't have anything that went bang. Years went by and I was sorely missing shooting. One day I was surfing thr web and was astonished at how far pellet riles had progressed. I started with a springer than to pcps. You know where that rabbit hole leads, I'm loving it.
 
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Protecting my bluebirds was one of the main reasons. I had several nest boxes up with protective cans and found that something was eating my bluebirds and their babies in the nest. One morning I went out to check the box out front an when I opened it up, found more bodies. Stuck my hand in to clean it out and a darned flying squirrel came bolting out from under the mess in there. Flying squirrels were killing all my bluebirds, and it really pixxed me off! I hung a woodpecker feeder on a big oak about 15 yds. from my house that would be lit by spots at night. I kept my springer close by and would ease the window in the kitchen up and hit the spots. I couldn't believe how many flying squirrels would be swarming around the feeder! I could shoot 2-3 of them every night, and in the morning when I'd go out to clean up, they'd be gone. One night I waited a couple of minutes and hit the spots again, and there was my grounds cleaner...a nice red fox was having his dinner. I'd shoot them, turn the lights off and he'd come get dinner. Great working relationship! Raccoons in the feeders was another reason for having a good air rifle!
 
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Way cheaper, a lot more convenient and so much quiter than shooting 500 rounds through center fire guns each day.

It costs me under $6 for 500 rounds in my Sig MPX PCP as opposed to $250 for 500 9mm rounds, through the same center fire gun. AND! With a sign out front that says "Custom Wood Furniture, call..." in combination of running a table saw once in a while. I can keep my neighbors in the dark forever on what happens over those 8' tall brick walls.
 
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I stumbled across ratting videos on you tube earlier this year and was amazed at how far air rifles had progressed. At the same time I was having a hard time finding ammo for my rimfire rifles, so I started looking into PCPs. The initial tooling up cost scared the hell out of me ( compressor, etc..), but rationalized it by knowing PCPs side step several issues. They are quieter - silent in some cases, no brass or ammo shortage - can make my own slugs if I choose, and I don't smell like a gunpowder factory after a day of shooting. Here in Florida the chances of shooting beyond 200yds when hunting is limited because of under brush, so 100yds accuracy will work and 150yds is great. Now I have two, a Benjamin Kratos .22 which is a fantastic rifle for the money $530 delivered, a FX Boss .30 that I'm not as happy with and will have to make changes to for it to be as accurate as the Kratos.
 
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Never shot a gun, powder or pellet, until I was 34 years old and got into building birdhouses on my new 1 acre property. I saw invasive birds were chasing away the native ones.....a youtube search led me to Mr. Ted Bier. My bank account has not recovered.....but what did recover was the population of bluebirds, wrens, tufted titmice, downy woodpeckers, hair woodpeckers, red headed woodpeckers, bluejays.....

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Yes, that’s why I got in the game. Own about 3 acres, but didn’t want to shoot my PB’s at such short range. 
 
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FYI - this is my first post on Airgun Nation

My interest followed a similar timeline to JoeKool's. Started with bb guns as a kid. Then multipump bbgun. Then a boxstore springer- don't remember the brand. Then about 21 or 22 years ago a Beeman R1 and a Beeman P1. By that time the internet was starting to expand exponentially and I learned about what a PCP airgun was. From everything I knew about it, I had to jump in and try it. I got a .22 Webley Axsor. Still have it, though it needs the orings replaced. Haven't done much shooting in the last few years. Then about 3 months ago I started into looking at what new guns were out there now. Wow, the PCP has come a long way. About a month ago I bought a Daystate Wolverine R HP. I'm enjoying the gun a lot and looking forward to enjoying the sport again.
 
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When the cheap Gauntlet made the scene, I couln't resist. Got a good deal on the 'regulated" gun and a hand pump.

The pencil thin barrel coupled with the moving POI was quite annoying so the mods soon began. I added a more powerful spring at the muzzle end to put considerable pressure on the barrel which helped lock it into place and then added two pieces of flat stock steel from the receiver to the shroud to help prevent it from moving out of place. These mods kept POI pretty close for the most part.

The JSR came out with a hammer improvement plus a little work to the regulator to put it in the area I wanted, improved the gun even more.

The hand pump got old and in came the Yong Heng that has been solid for the last 3 years.

Step two was a deeper than most plunge into the rabbit hole in one leap and in came the Daystates. Wolverine "R" and Red Wolf.

Due to shooting restrictions in my back yard, all my guns are 177 and I am satisfied with that.

Now the Delta Wolf is knocking at the door, but it would mean selling the other two Daystates to obtain, so for now, I am sitting on the outcrop of the rabbit hole in hopes of not falling deeper..
 
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I got started with spring guns in the 90's when I came across a table with Beemans at a gun show. I bought an R1 then an R7 a few weeks later. After the initial interest wore off they stayed unused in my gun safe for several years. One day I saw my neighbor trying to remove squirrels nesting in his attic with a $60 plastic piece of junk from Walmart. Once I eradicated his squirrels I was hooked on air rifles I could entertain myself in my own yard without endangering neighbors like a rimfire would. I bought and sold countless numbers of springers and then PCPs came along to replace my interest in springers. I haven't shot one of my remaining spring rifles in the last several years.

My powder burner buddies inform me that ammo has recently gotten scare and ridiculously expensive. That comforts me to justify my dive compressor and tank cost as well as my mountain of pellet tins. It's also great to be able to buy and sell PCPs without all of the registration requirements of firearms. That is another big attraction of this hobby for me. Another big plus is a shooting session doesn't include spending time cleaning PCPs afterwards like a powder burner requires.
 
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Well, a lady I'm the caretaker for was peeved about the squirrels monopolizing her bird feeders and sometimes tearing them up. I have a trailer on the same property, and they would jump from an overhead tree and land like a bowling ball on top of the trailer. I figure that is going to cause some real damage; we have no rain in the warm months here so I don't know if there's already a leak I should be worrying about. Rainy season is pretty much here, so I will find out soon. Ugh.

Anyway, for both reasons, we need more squirrels around here to be dead. So I got a PCP after not shooting an airgun for almost 50 years.

I also realize I am getting older, and was in search of a "forever hobby" I could do well into old age. Not strength or otherwise very physically dependent and not expensive either. 

Well, the not expensive part didn't work out at all, but it turns out that I enjoy shooting a rifle just as much as I did as a kid. And the laws around here allow it, and the yard space is available, so ... I think I made a good choice of "forever hobby."
 
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When the cheap Gauntlet made the scene, I couln't resist. Got a good deal on the 'regulated" gun and a hand pump. [•••]

The hand pump got old and in came the Yong Heng that has been solid for the last 3 years.
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Glad to read that! I was so concerned that my yong heng would blow up on me one blue Monday (just when the parrots were shrieking for attention) that I got a second one just in case. I use them intermittently. It's not just PCPs that are addictive -- just look at those young hens ... 🐦
 
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Shot springers for fun for nearly 40 years. Just for fun. One pellet at a time. I was never fond of pellet handling every shot for reloading. I'd drop about 10% of the pellets. I saw pcp airguns with magazines and I was sold. Great reduction in hold sensitivity and easy on scopes is a huge bonus. Ok. That and I like playing with the HPA compressors.
 
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"I’ve always been a pellet gun owner since childhood," and growing up on a small farm, I'm grateful that my grandparents allowed me to own my first BB gun. Fast forward to 1983, a few years after a stint in the US Air Force from 1972 to 1976, I purchased my first adult precision airgun, the RWS45. I later found out about "World Class Airguns and bought my first Daystate Huntsman that I still own and converted into a field target rifle. My profile picture is a small picture of the stock that a belated friend of mine and I built to start competing in the late 80's. I later bought an AR6 from Mr. Thomas at World Class Airguns and the heat was on leading me into the "Dark Side" causing me to end up with "airgunitis" defined as "only one more is a temporary fix".
 
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FYI - this is my first post on Airgun Nation

My interest followed a similar timeline to JoeKool's. Started with bb guns as a kid. Then multipump bbgun. Then a boxstore springer- don't remember the brand. Then about 21 or 22 years ago a Beeman R1 and a Beeman P1. By that time the internet was starting to expand exponentially and I learned about what a PCP airgun was. From everything I knew about it, I had to jump in and try it. I got a .22 Webley Axsor. Still have it, though it needs the orings replaced. Haven't done much shooting in the last few years. Then about 3 months ago I started into looking at what new guns were out there now. Wow, the PCP has come a long way. About a month ago I bought a Daystate Wolverine R HP. I'm enjoying the gun a lot and looking forward to enjoying the sport again.
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Welcome to the family and the "Dark Side".
 
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I’ve always loved rifles ever since I was a kid, I’ve still got my Anny woodchucker that I got when I was 4. I progressed through the magnum stages(300wm, 300wsm, 7mm) and got tired of driving to go shoot. So I started shooting 22 subsonic, mainly my Winchester 67 or cz452 ultrlux. I got married, my wife is a veteran and the gun bang would bother her sometimes so this led me to pcp guns. I can shoot off of my porch and it doesn’t bother her, sometimes she will even shoot with me. So it’s been a big win for me, plus this community of people are so much more welcoming then the powder burner crowd. 
 
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