What was your gateway drug?

[carsnrockmusic]

What got you hooked?

For PB, it was a Smith and Wesson Model 27-2.  Trigger was smooth as butter...oh and the bluing...that gorgeous bluing.  <3

For AG, it was a Gamo CFR.  I then made the mistake of shooting a PCP.  Air guns anonymous, meet your future prospect.

So what got you into the hobby?

[BenjiHunter]

PB was a Colt Python .357 Magnum. Oh my!
AG's, probably my Dianas when I was young.

[palonej]

Daisy 25 when I was 6 or 7 that my grandfather taught me to shoot! I think he had as much fun as I did!! That thing was tougher than a crow bar and took out more horse shoe crabs than I could count!!
Every single time I send lead down range those memories are there......totally hooked!!

[Bullit]

Folks were shooters.  Built long bows back in the day when I was a kid.
Had a Daisy Model 25.   First "real" adult air rifle was a Tech Force.  I evolved
Enjoy the hobby!

[ezman604]

Airgun: 1967 Revelation 760 PumpMaster (still have and shoot)
PB: Dad's 1950's Stevens bolt action single shot .22 (still have and  shoot from time to time)

[Bullit]

LOL  Dez, my first 12ga.  was a Stevens single shot with a plastic buttstock.  Them light single shots make you concentrate...especially knowing they'd kick you!    
Edit:  Thanks for that memory  

[bthrel]

First BB was a Daisy model 88… First PB was a Remington Nylon 66 … Good times for sure

Brian

[Qwikrnu]

PB- an old single shot bolt 22 cal
AG - Crosman 760 
I also made the mistake of shooting a PCP. But I'm not addicted. I can stop at any time..... (He says as he's getting another tin of JSB Kings ready for the mighty FX AirHammer) 

[Gtownjake]

PB was my oldest brother's Mossberg in .243. Bought my own Remington 700 BDL in .243 when I was 11.
AG was Sheridan Silverstreak.

[usslandlocked]

first pb was a s&w.22 long/.22mag silhouette pistol that my dad trained me to shoot when i was 6yrs & have shot literally over 1000000 rounds through it.been shooting it for 40yrs now! as for airguns that would have been my sons fourth Christmas & the gun was a red ryder bb gun (you'll shoot your eye out kid) & its been all downhill from that day! my son who is 22yrs now has enjoyed building custom airguns with me for almost 18yrs now .we don't have much in common (he's tech savvy & i'm old school) but we can always talk airguns & its a given to see him every year around turkey season !  best "dang" drug in the world!

[Dockey 454]

First BB was a red rider in 1957. Think it had a wood stock.
First PB was a Mod 47 Winchester in 1960 Nickle plated, and still have it.
   Tom

[Bullfrog]

My first was an AG, a Sheridan 387 when I was in late elementary/early middle school. As an adult my first AG that really hooked me was a Gamo Whisper, first in .177 and then in .22. The .22 really fascinated me because the pellet was just so darn big compared to .177 and I realized than an AG might be capable of doing everything a rimfire PB can do.

This thread is interesting because it made me realize I've never been "hooked" on PBs. I owned my first one in the 5th grade, a .410 shotgun that I outgrew the next year. I then received a Browning BAR in .243 and another BAR in .22LR. In high school I received a BAR in .270 and a Remington Model 700 in .260. I now have a decent collection of PBs, but I never have really been too fascinated by them. I just view PBs as tools and heirlooms. Tools to hunt with first and foremost, but also tools to protect my family and Constitution with. I take good care of them and practice with them, but I don't get excited about them like I do airguns. The closest thing I've had to a "toy" in my PBs is my .308 AR battle rifle. It was my first AR and the custom-ability of the platform fascinates me like customizing AGs does.

[crosman999]

Got started with a Crosman 2100 classic!!Shot it for a few years till one night I was sitting on the pot looking in a Cabelas catalog and came across a Crosman 262 sporter.gracious!! I was in love,I begged my dad to let me order it for my birthday.I have been hooked ever since,this sport as I call it has been my passion for over 25yrs.I shoot airguns 4x a week and love every minute.Cant wait to get off work and just head to the hills,takes my mind off all the daily B/S that is part of life.hahaha Its all fun.

[Lee in Texas]

For airguns, it was not any one gun. I decided to get one so I could knock squirrels out of trees for my dog. I have an eight year old black lab and she lives for chasing them, but she has never caught one. It needs to be an airgun for my back yard in the city. I did some research and decided to go max overkill with a Marauder .25. It's so much fun, I'm already daydreaming about a full custom build in .30 cal with performance to match a Boss FX .30...and building a concrete bench and bench gun.

[geewhiz380]

redryder got me hooked in 1971 i was 5 years old and at that time i lived in a house right across from projects lol ...many kids back then in my hood had bb guns and cops wouldnt enforce any rule ,it was fun back then real fun ....then in 2005 got back into it buying my first ag which was a 1000sb winchester .177 off to the races from there lol ....jorge

[Wheelchair Bob]

My fist PB was an old reminton wingmaster 870 30 inch full choke and kicked like a mule.  My first AG was a Red rider followed by a daisy pump and a Crosman 760 following that.  Still have the Crosman and have fully evolved to a Webley Raider PCP plus a couple of gas piston rifles along the way.  I am hopelessly addicted and this is one addiction I wont go to jail for because I have my own range on my property with a back stop and varying distances.  Saving up for a Shoebox to fill my scuba tank cascade next.

Wheelchair Bob

[evilbuell]

My grandfather taught me how to sight in on my Daisy BB gun.... he couldnt resist the WW2 comments even though i was only about 8 yrs old lol...  he is missed dearly.

[only1harry]

I got into airguns in the mid-70's (I was 10 or so) when my uncle brought over a Diana break barrel pistol to shoot cans in the backyard.  It looked a lot like today's Diana pistols.  I really wanted one but was told I could not have one until I was 13   3 years later right after my 13th Bday I got my mother to buy me a Crosman 760 pumper that was on sale for $24.95 and soon after that squirrels and rabbits started disappearing in the neighborhood

Although I had shot other people's shotguns and rifles, the first one that I owned was a new Marlin 60 .22LR because that's all I could afford at the time.  It was quickly followed by a Marlin 30-30 336CS a couple of months later.  I have owned about 25 powder burners since, including S&W, Beretta and Ruger pistols, but sold a lot of them and was down to 6 or 7 for a while.  Now I am back up to 14-15 PB's.  I need both Airgun Anonymous and PB Anonymous.  There is really no help for me, but I have learned to cope with the addiction

Harry