Just for fun, tell me about your first airgun. What kind was it? Was it good or bad? How old were you? Mine was The Gat, I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with it, but it is cool. It is a pistol that is loaded by pushing in the spring loaded barrel and loading it from the back by twisting out a threaded breach plug and insurting a pellet or dart. It also shoots corks from the front. I believe Beeman still carries them. It wasn't very accurate because of the recoil caused by the barrel shooting forward launching the projectile, but it still works to this day and I still have fun firing darts into a hunk of lumber from time to time. I can't remember exactly but I must have been maybe 8 or 9 when I got it. Your turn, give me some stories!
The first airgun I _shot_ was some sort of Daisy (I think) pump-action spring gun that my dad confiscated from some mischievous kids when he was a NY State Trooper. I'm guessing I may have been as young as 7 when my dad taught me how to snipe cans with it. It is gone now, but not forgotten.
The first airgun I _owned_ was a Crosman 760 Pumpmaster. I think it was a gift but I can't remember from whom or for what occasion. The 760 was definitely the weapon of choice among all the middle-schoolers in my neighborhood. The 760 had plenty of punch to pop many a bird. It is gone now, but not forgotten.
The first airgun I _bought_ was a Sheridan Blue Streak when I was maybe 15 in the early '90s. It cost $100 at the local department store. I still shoot it often. My favorite sport with it is "weed hunting"- It requires a lawn-chair, a cold beverage, and pesky, stemmy plants growing in front of a good backstop between 10 and 25 yards away. As far as critters go, I made a Hail-Mary off-hand shot with it and practically exploded a sparrow off the top of a mature spruce from at-least 50 yards away. Iron sights. About 6 inches of hold-over and an inch and a half of Kentucky windage. Shot, pause, POP!. I doubt I can ever make that shot again- even with my next first-gun... But I will, of course, never part with my C9B. BTW, after nearly 15 years of moderate use, it shoots 14.3 grain Premiers at 600 fps with 8 pumps, and 640 fps with 2 extra, but it is most accurate with Sheridan Diablos.
My first _European_ airgun is an RWS 94 in .22. I really like it. I bought it a few months ago after deciding airgunning would be even more fun with less pumping and cocking. Looking for the most bang for the buck, I ordered a 34 from an internet warehouse that ran it over with a forklift then promptly packed it in a pristine outer box and shipped it to me. After returning it even more promptly, I had bad feelings about 34s and discount warehouses, so I waited patiently for straightshooters.com to receive a 94, clean it, inspect it, shoot it, and send it to me. I am very happy with it, especially after mounting a Swift Premier 3x9-40 via a B-Square one-piece adjustable mount, but the spring did wear out fast. In one day of intense plinking at Baldwinsville, it went from shooting 14.5 grain Superdomes at 743 fps when I got there to shooting 599 fps when I left. My next post will address this issue further. (Mr. Maccarri has graced me with one of his last 94 springs. Am I man enough to successfully install it?)
Can you tell I've had airguns on my mind? I've been dying for weeks to post. Thanks for giving me a such a rantifiable topic :)
My first airgun was Diana 35, I received from my elder brother as a gift in 1984 when I was only 13. It was in .177 cal. 35 S has a different stock with two piece cocking lever and anti beartrap cocking mechanism. Here is a pic from owners manual.
It was a wonderful gun but unfortunately I sold it few years later.
My curent airguns are
Diana 54
Diana 45
Diana 45 T01
Weihrauch HW 80
BSA Mercury
Air Arms TX 200 Mk 111
Weihrauch HW45 Air Pistol
BSA Scorpion Air Pistol
and one firearm Beretta AL391 Urika Gold.
Mine was a BSA Airsporter/.22 that I bought as an adult, when I could afford to pay for it myself. I went and sold it ( Still banging my head on the wall ) and bought a Webley Osprey which I sold as well. Prefered the BSA on many counts, though. Many years of non airgunning passed and now I have the RWS 48/.177 and a HW77/.22 ( plus a couple of firearms )
My first airgun was a Hy-Score smooth bore in 177. I was nine years old so that was in 1957. I could outshoot all my friends with ease! I still have it.
My first air gun was a Sheridan pump pistol, around 1985 or so. I still have it. My first long gun was a used HW77 bought from the Beeman showroom in Santa Rosa shortly thereafter. I sold that one and am still sorry I did.
The year was 1973 and we had just moved into our own house
with a good backyard for airguns. Many tins of pellets later,
I broke the spring and started shooting firearms only.
I had borrowed BB guns as a kid but we were too poor for me
to have my own BB gun. My Dad did get me a used bike once.
But after a couple of years, I didn't think riding a girl's
bike was cool!
Now that I'm getting to old to cock a springer, I'm interested
in AGs again. Got my old Diana shooting great again and having
a blast shooting vermin with my QB78 & brand new TX200MkIII
It sounds like you had one of the many gat pistols. I have two of them, both Dianas, one prewar (all sheetmetal construction and one post war (wood grips). I think theyre quite neat.
Doug Law
dlaw1940@yahoo.com
Nebraska Airgun Addict
My first airgun as a kid was the famous Crosman M1 Carbine replica, a nice one with wood stock. Sold it to a neighbor kid for 5 bucks after Santa brought the Benjamin 347!
My first was an rws mod 24D bought when I was 15 from an old mom and pop gun shop that seemed to be in a time warp from the 1940's, owned by a portly old guy with marine corps tattoos on his forearms who waddled back and forth all day behind the long glass counter with a slight limp, a knowing look in his mercurial blue eyes over the top of his reading glasses and a BIG chrome .357 in a holster on the back of his thick leather belt The old man has closed the shop and is probably long dead but my ol 24 is still around and shooting 17 years later. No way I would ever sell it either.
In 1976? I received a "Ithaca" BSA Meteor for XMAS> Yes I still have it!
It really needs some TLC. The trigger guard is long gone, trigger spring has a paper clip as a make ship spring(old spring broke), cut stock down for kids when they were 7 yrs old, shoots about 300 fps(wont even stick into pine(bounces off) and the screw that holds the barrel is missing(replaced with a big wood screw. BUT I still own it!!
I bought my first airgun with my paper route money, hard earned cash, when I was ten. It was a Crossman 1322 pump, the stock came later. I felt like Dirty Harry with that thing, I even made a shoulder holster for it. I shot it until the seals blew out and then I threw it out as I didn't think I could fix it. My older brothers had a crossman 760, and an Arrow ? it was British I think. The 760 is long gone but my other brother still uses his Arrow in the hen house to coax one last egg out of a soup hen.
Wertyg, I am sure I saw that same Mom and Pop running a surplus store in Whichita a number of years ago. An old army guy with a limp,tatoos,and a chrome .357 on his hip. I only noticed his wife after she peeked out of the office with a nice double barrel on point. I diddn't feel welcome anymore. It turned out that two other customers came in looking for flack jackets and beleclavas. I left. I don't get to see much of that up here in Canada.
What about the old standard red ryder. I live in the south and that is a given that a kid receive one for a Christmas present. As for what happened to mine, I am pretty sure that I shot it until it completly fell apart... beyond the rpair of wire and duct tape.
Starlings fear me
Derrick
was a real beauty.It was a BSA Meteor in .22 cal and I bagged at least a dozen cottontails with it not to mention hundreds of gophers.I must have shot it forty thousand times and sold it to a friend.He claims to have shot it over fifty thousand times and says it will still kill a gopher at forty yards! I guess I should have kept it.Talk about a durable trigger mechanism.That rifle was purchased in 1981.I have not seen the guy in at least fifteen years so I don't know if it still works but that gun saw heavy use and was a pleasure to shoot.I don't think they are available in Canada anymore probably because they are rated for 580 fps in a British airgunning magazine.It looks like the trigger is GAMO's in the picture I saw so I would buy the detuned Supersport today.It's still pretty handy for size.I love the barrel locking mechanism and cocking linkage on the BSA.
Slavia Model 612 smoothbore .177 circa 1963. It was a knockoff of the Diana Model 15. Lots of sparrows and starlings fell to that gun. Shot it so much that the trigger sear finally wore out.
was a Daisy Mod 25. I got it when I was in 8th grade I think. I shot a galzillion BBs thru it and then ol' ZVP and I took a mod 25 he had and built one good gun out two worn out ones when we were in high school. I think he still has it.
I then bought a benji in .22 and wore that one out too.
I bought my FWB 124 in 1977 about the same time ZVP bought his 35. I tried to wear that one out too but I am still shooting it.
(I'm not air gun poor like ol' ZVP and have like a 100 airguns around to trip over.. HA! Just a couple.)
But I still want that Diana 54.
My first airgun I bought was a Crosman 760 from 1981 which I still have today. Chronographed it recently and it still shoots BBs to the rated 625 fps. Haven't had to rebuild it after all these years. Wish other items I own were as maintenance-free for so long. Currently own a RWS48 in .22 caliber and a Tech Force 41 in .177 caliber. I use the RWS for hunting and the Tech Force now to dispatch squirrels in my backyard. The Crosman I plan to hand down to my boys.
My first gun was a Crossman 760. I got it for my 13th birthday in 1971. One of my most memorable days. We lived in NJ at the time and my dad, a non gun guy had to go to the police dept to get an FID Federal Id Card. Paid almost 20 bucks for it. I slept with it, I ate with it. I still remember shooting my first starling with it in the back yard. I still have it 35 years later.
1960's vintage Diana 25 in .177 cal.. I thought it weighted a tonne when I was nine years old; now I shoot it like a...pistol, single-hand. This little rifle shoots consistently 2-inch groups (or better on a calm day) @ 55+yards, using the field target technique (!), ever since I changed its stock to a RWS-replacement (one that was meant for a Diana 25D), a Maccari R7 mainspring with its black tar, new piston and a new trigger.
Other air rifles include a Gamo Expo 2100 .177, which I use as a platform for ...testing and a June 1968-stamped (06 68) Diana 35 that is as good as a muscle-building training tool for airgunning -- quite accurate with a Diana 34 mainspring, although a Maccari 31-coil is waiting for an upgrade alongside a new piston/seal set.
A Diana 27 buy is pending finalization next week, and a Diana 75 (or 75U) is in the process for a deal due next year (March/April)! I can't wait!
It must have been around 1976 when I was 12.
A Chinese airgun .177
It had good power (something like a Diana 27 ?) and killed a lot of doves up to some 35 yards.
Mine was the legandary BSA Airporter .22. Like a jackass, went and sold it and now want one again to add to my Diana 48 .177(with a 52 stock) and a HW77 .22
I also had a Daisy lever (still have it) that I got on my tenth birthday (1962). Very similar to Christmas Story but in August. Current guns besides the Daisy - RWS 36 and 48, Beeman P3 and IZH 46M. Love them all.
My First was a INDIA Made National .22 gifted by my dad on Diwali (Indian Festival), after that bought many INDIA made guns...just recently bought one Diana 52..
My very first was a Crosman M1 Carbine-replica BB rifle, one of the nice wood-stock ones from the first year of production. This was succeeded in a few years by an early-variant Benjamin 347 that I still have.
was a 1976 daisy 5 shot underlever 453. About 310fps with crosman 7.9gr pointies. Thats was when I was about 9. A lot of chipmunks fell to that thing. I still have it today. But I don't use it much because I have much bigger more powerful air rifles.
