Not all squirrels are shot at

When my wife was a girl, her brother came home with a baby squirrel they christened Missy. Builders had been clearing the woods out behind their house and destroyed quite a few nests. Well, her mom and dad nursed the squirrel, feeding it with an eye dropper. It eventually grew up and had the run of the house. My in-laws still talk about how it would take toilet paper from the upstairs bathroom and pull it (one continuous strand) down to its nest in the basement. In the morning, while my father-in-law shaved at the sink, Missy would stand on the edge and wash her face. As most here can agree, squirrels aren't stupid.


Thanks for sharing RedFeathers

Thank You Pat Flynn

at smartpassiveincome.com

New Airgunners- Want a first rifle? How much do I want to spend?

If you are new to airguns, or wanting to buy an airgun, maybe I can help.

There are several things to consider when making a new purchase, how much to spend is just one of them. Not the most important though.

I could go quite a long time answering it too, so here is a short answer. Value for money. I once bought a low cost chinese rifle. I think it was the QB18. It was cool, until I found that the barrel would drop about a quarter inch when I shot it. It was a break barrel and the force of the spring would cause the lock up mechanism fail.

My current fave is the Gamo Big Cat 1200 air rifle. Made in Spain and to me the build quality is very nice and very tight. Several thousand shots and no problems. But I could have gone a step further and boughtDiana RWS 34P air rifle air rifle a German made rifle that is wonderfully crafted and caries a warranty thats considered the best in the business. The price is slightly higher, but quality is robust.

Some people like to tinker and buy low cost air guns to modify. The Crosman 2240 Single Shot Bolt Action CO2 Powered Pistol is a very popular choice here. With the added stock from Crosman, you can easily convert it to a rifle. Then tons of add ons are out there to buy.

But, the question is how much do you want to spend? My suggestion for a first time air gun is to purchase a good quality, well built rifle. Let this be the one that lasts you a life time. One of the finest air rifles made is the Air Arms TX200 HC. This rifle boast an Anti recoil mechanism, beautiful wood, and fine craftsmanship, and deadly accurate. This will last you a life time. But over $500? You betcha. You get what you pay for. And I bet in 20 years, it will still be worth over $500.

Check the reviews before you buy. As for the Chinese rifles, I am sure that they are stepping up the quality. I think that the Tech Force TF78 Gold Series air rifle air rifle would be the best example. Add ons galore, but still the end cost is going up.

My next choice is going to be either the Diana RWS 34P Striker Combo air rifle or the UMAREX RWS - Model 350 P Magnum .22 Caliber Md: 216-6462.

Happy shooting every one.

What about air soft?

I am not too familiar with air soft, but there are some really nice looking guns out there. What do you think? You can educate me. Just leave a comment!

Video of the Benjamin Rogue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From Onebaddj.

Oh man child hood stories. My kids ding dong me all the time to tell them stories about when I was a kid. and most of them involve me getting beat up. Why do they think thats so funny? They laugh at what should be horrible memories. But the way I tell them almost every body does. After something bad would happen my dad would say it build character. Well I got a 30x30 storage unit somewhere full of "character". lol 

Just a couple for yall. Well when I was a kid my dad loved to scare us so he would hide all over the house. And man one night he got us good. Its was a dark adn stormy night! My mom was doing laundry all day adn there was a pile of dirty laundry at the end of the hall right at our bedroom door. Well we had gone to bed adn I was drifting of to sleep. My brother and I had to share a room. Well he whispers over hey man you alseep. I kinda stirred and replied what. He said did you hear that? Now Im on full alert! He is 2 yrs older and HEARD SOMETHING! HE HEARD SOMETHING! So I sat up in my bed and was on watch. He said I think that pile of clothes moved. Now My 8 yr old eagle eyes are trained on the pile. Stareing for what felt like eternity. OMG! IT MOVED! I SAW IT! IT MOVED! It was the loudest screamy but still whispering conversation ever! So now me and my brother are figuring out our escape plan whos gunna make a break for it and chance getting eaten. whos gunna stay and chance GETTING EATIN! SHould we both run? WHAT DO WE DO! Then thats when we heard it! My dad let out this low mean growl that peirced our souls! And I let out a scream that peirced every bodies ear drums for at least a mile. I think it caused a ufo to crash in outer space. So I am standing on my head board that is about an inch think screaming like a girl cause now the pile is standin up and my mom is back there in our room like a flash and the pile was my dad. Standin there laughing so hard he cant talk. Man was my mom mad at him. After that every time a cricket farted were screaming like we were being attacked. I think he learned his lesson.

My first story from Dave! Thanks Dave, Its a great one!

Listed in my signature block on GTA International Forums (http://gatewaytoairguns.org) is my old original Crosman/Revelation 760 Pumpmaster. I saved my lawn mowing money all summer to buy this one new at the local Western Auto in 1967-68. (Can't remember exactly WHICH year.) It was always a sweet shooter and a powerful gun, especially back in those days. I had it pumped up to a max of 10 times (todays 760 says about 600fps) and had a Copperhead loaded. I was walking through a pasture headed to a small pond to put the hurt on some big ol' bullfrogs. While traversing the pasture, I tripped, being the ever so graceful 12 year old. As I fell, I lost grip of my gun and as I tried to regain my balance and save my precious hunting partner from getting dinged (or worse, landing in a cow patty), I grabbed for it and hit the trigger. The familiar pow was heard. I knew the gun had fired but wasn't sure where the projectile went, it was pointed toward the ground. 

Well, looking down I see my right foot kinda jumping like one of those big bullfrogs after being tagged with a Crosman golden orb. I saw a trickle of blood coming from my ankle. I had shot myself but felt no pain at all. I ran home to show Mom & Dad. They took me to the hospital where they gave me a tetinus shot and x-ray of my foot. Seems the BB had penetrated so far that it would cause more damage to try and retrieve it. Doc said you can keep it.

Years later, while in the Air Force, I started feeling some deep pains in my right ankle. I went to the doctor and it seems the BB had shifted to very near the joint and had to be surgically removed. They got the little jewel out and I got to at least see it. I had asked that they save it for me to put into a vial and make a necklace out of it but policy was it had to be sent off to the lab for pathology tests. I saw the BB before they rolled it away, it had been encapsulated by my body probably as protection. Pretty neat how the body works sometimes.

Anyway, I recovered shortly thereafter and just the other day was looking at my 760 remembering the glory days. I tried pumping it up but it would not hold pressure. While Christmas shopping I was at Wally World and see they still make the 760 Pumpmaster. But, alas it's in plastic with no wood and a lot less metal. They were marked down to $24!!!! I told the wife to tell Santa to bring me one so I could tear it down, take the innerds and replace the ones in my dear old friend. Thought I might give it a try at my LEFT ankle. LOL

Well, Santa brought the 760 and believe me, the outside and material makeup isn't the only thing that changed. ALL of the internals are different too. SOME things improved, like the addition of a clip feed. But for the most part, they do not stack up to the old original 760 of 1966-1970. I got a parts breakdown off Crosman.com. I scoured eBay and found some parts. On a whim I contacted Kim at Crosman. She said most of the parts are still available through JG since he is an authorized service center for Crosman. There were only 3 parts I needed that he did not list but she had those parts that John didn't. So my old pal will get a makeover internally this week. I will replace all the goodies and hopefully chrony it this weekend. I'll be very curious what this AG will still do, especially with a revitilized power plant. I made a stock and foregrip out of walnut several years ago but may send it to Timmy after he gets his other projects to a managable state and have him make a new set for me. And I DO still have the original wood too.

So, don't count an old AG out. I thought my days of shooting my friend were well in the past and he was destined to collect dust in my closet. Wearing some good stout leather combat boots, I may take him out for some bullfrogging one last time. And NOT load it until it's time to!!!!


Happy Shooting!!!!
Dave

January 22, 2011 2:16 PM 

BB Guns.

When I was twelve or so, my grandmothers neighbors had three kids.  One was older than me, one about the same age, and one younger.  One day the oldest jumped up onto the top of the mothers car.  He had his bb gun in hand.  The middle kid came out the front door and was met with a bb.  The older brother was using a red ryder and pelted him with bb's. Over and over again.  He was laughing so hard he almost fell off of the car.  The middle kid started cursing and crying, he started to pump up his bb gun and shoot back only to miss every time.  

I do not condone shooting any one with a bb gun, that is very dangerous.  So don't do it. But the memory of that stand off is very funny to me.

Crosman Introduces the Rogue

The Benjamin Rogue 

The Benjamin Rogue is being introduced as a .357 caliber Precharged Pneumatic air rifle (pcp).  If you are not familiar with the term "Precharged",  this means that the lower chamber you see under the barrel can hold compressed air up to 3000 pounds per square inch.  This equals one of the most powerful, most accurate, and unfortunately, sometimes the most expensive air rifle around.

Ok, so if you don't know the whole (pcp) thing, here you go.  Precharged guns have an on board compressed air supply normally around 3000 psi.  They are charged by either a hand pump, a scuba tank, or an air compressor.  No ordinary hand pump will do, you must have a heavy duty one built for the task.  The result is awesome!  Accurate power and smooth shooting with no need to compress a spring or pump it up for each shot. 

The Rogue has a unique computer controlled valve that will allow it to be dialed down to a shot of 200 feet per second,  and up to a smoking 900 feet per second.   I can't wait to see the modifications the tinkerers do!

As the pressure of the gun goes down with each shot, the computer controlled valve will adjust and make the gun shoot a consistent speed.  Crosman claims that the energy in the pellet, or bullet, will range from 6 fpe to 350 fpe.  Most spring guns today shoot from 6 to 24 fpe.  

It comes with a two stage electronic trigger and it has a six shot capacity.

This is an amazing project that I believe will set new standards in the future of airgunning!  

I could write all night about this awesome air gun.  But I will cut it short tonight, Please leave a comment.  I would love to hear from you.  

The Gamo Big Cat 1200

The Gamo Big Cat 1200 air rifle is the first choice when I hit the trail.  It is light, well balanced, and the synthetic stock is very durable.   With this rifle I can consistently hit my target at 50 yards.  

The Gamo Big Cat 1200 air rifle is also a very well built rifle.  A synthetic shroud holds down vibration in the barrel.  I did the classic "tighten the screws" check as you would with the Chinese rifles (this ones made in Spain), they were rock solid with thread lock.  There is absolutely no play in the barrel lockup.  Solid.  But as with most airguns on the market, the scope is lacking, and I advise you put on the scope of your choice.

This baby delivers on speed.  Listed as a 1000fps rifle, it can shoot consistently in the 800fps range.   With non lead pellets it breaks the sound barrier like a rim fire cartridge.

I want to try out its .22 counter part the GAMO Big Cat .22 Caliber Air Rifle.  I love the extra impact of the larger pellet.

The Crosman 2240

I want to share with you an incredible air pistol. If you are not familiar with the Crosman 2240, you are in for a real treat.  It is a bolt action .22 caliber pistol that uses a CO2.  gas charge.  This is one of the most customizable guns on the market.  Modifications can range from custom wood grips and desired barrel length to custom machining of internal parts for improved air flow and more power.  It is also one of the most affordable air guns on the market.  With the prices of air guns going up all the time, it would be a wise choice for  your next pick.  If you are new to airgunning, you will be delighted to have this as your first pistol.


                                                              

My Daisy 840 Meets Its Fate

One day an older cousin was visiting at my Grandparents house. He brought over a real cool looking rifle. It had a lever action just like a cowboy gun. The BBs loaded into the side where bullets would go. The hammer pulled back. It was a sight to behold. It was the Daisy


I decided to take her out for a little exercise. It was cool! Cock the lever, pull the hammer back, and "POP". This was fun! All the way up to the moment that some how, not by fault of my own of course, the thing broke. I don't remember what happened. It just broke. You know that feeling you get when you take something that doesn't belong to you and this very thing happens? Thats right. I didn't ask. So what is a boy to do? I put it right back where it was and hoped that he would not notice. And wouldn't you know, he did.

He asked what happened to his gun. I shrugged my shoulders. He said "did you break it?". I nodded my head. You have to understand at this point that this guy was older by about six years. He was way bigger. And he would sometimes do things to demonstrate his strength like picking us younger ones up by the head and hold us up in the air. Hand under our jaw just holding us like a basket ball over his head feet dangling. He said, "Let me see yours." so he took it outside.

He must have had a fun time shooting mine, but when he came back in, he said "Yours broke too."

The pump was broken at the pivot of the hinge. Man was that a sad day for me. I took it outside to further investigate. How do you fix a thing like this? I figured out that the pivot of the pump handle had enough curve in the end to fit back on the pivot and with pressure just the right way, I was able to pump it.

This was still my companion and best friend next to my bicycle. We shot many things together and loved every bit of it.

Was that the fate? What kind of unhappy ending is this you may ask? Read on only if you have a strong stomach and an iron heart. The final day was very sad.

My father had a welding shop out in the country. This is where my grand adventures with air guns took place. One day our dog decided to chase a cat into a tall pile of brush behind the shop. It sounded horrible, the brush pile was shaking, the dog was making a loud noise like it was killing something. My father in some sort of lack of wisdom grabbed my beloved gun and knocked the living crap out of the dog. The dog leaped out of the brush and ran away. Fearing the worst, dad dug through the brush pile to his surprise, there was no cat to be found!

Thats right! No Cat! When I finally got my gun back, it was broken to pieces! Never to spit out any more BBs.

What a sad day.

My very first air gun

My very first airgun was the Daisy 840. The current version is the . This is a single pump b.b./pellet gun.


As young shooters my cousin and I picked up on the method of "the more you pump, the more powerful it will be". We had the same air guns, so we would pump them up 10 times for maximum power. And we thought we really had something! Shooting cola bottles (when they were all made of glass) cans and whatever else we could find that was non destructive. Little did we know that all of our extra effort was done in vein. Nope, the little single pump air rifle did no more speed up than the man on the moon. Who reads instructions? But we were very young and the extra work was healthy. And we had an absolute blast. Little did I know, my beloved BB gun would meet a terrible fate, and die in vain.

Where the love for air guns started.

I am not exactly sure where that first desire to get a bb gun came from.  Friends I grew up with had bb guns.  One friend lived on a dairy out in the country.  There were all sorts of guns there.  Most of them were the loud kind.  But the Red Ryder style bb gun also shined.  We would go out and shoot spiders in the hay barn.  You know, the giant yellow and black ones.  Man were those things big.  If you disturbed them they would violently shake the web.  He once told me that if you smile and they see your teeth, they will put your initials in the web, then you will die!  From then on we referred to them as "initial spiders" Shooting stuff at the pond was also fun.  We thought that gun was super powerful.  For very young kids it was.  And guess what. We never shot our eyes out.




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