Are YOU the Type? What Type of Airgun Buyer Are You – Really?

[JungleShooter]

Are YOU the Type?  What Type of Airgun Buyer Are You – Really?


On another thread with a comparison list of 77 spring-powered guns two of our GTA community described the types of shoppers:
https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=148584.0

Most of us just keep buying airguns until we find what we want.  Then we want something else and start over!

And then there are those of us who buy simply because the deal was too good to pass up.  This is not to be misconstrued as an airgun addiction but more a lack of "won't power" when confronting a good deal - almost any good deal.

Yeah, there are all kinds and types of airgun buyers....

Here are types 1a through 5b   8c   10   11   12   13:
What type of airgun buyer are you...?


[This list has been updated based on your kind comments!]


TYPE 1a:  Like you say, some just buy the next gun without analyzing much.
TYPE 1b:  Then some overanalyze the purchase decision (that would be me).


TYPE 2a:  Like you say, some buy a gun not so much for the gun, but because it’s a good deal – because of the appeal of a deal. (“I never pay full price for anything!” PaulT58).
TYPE 2b:  Then some buy a gun they want when it goes on sale.
TYPE 2c:  Then some buy a gun when it goes on sale – and because they really can’t afford to pay the regular price, nor can they afford more than a couple of guns, period (that would be me again).



TYPE 3a:  I wonder if there are those that buy guns mainly because they want to have them around.
TYPE 3b:  And others who buy guns mainly because they want to shoot them (that would be me).
TYPE 3c:  Then there are those who buy guns just because. As anti-squirrel in post #41 gives us the reason for gun buying: “When we eventually move from VA and head west, I intend to buy ‘one of each’ of the SPA PCPs just because.” Now you know WHY.

TYPE 4a:  There are those who buy the gun for its performance, not for its looks.
TYPE 4b:  Those who buy it for its looks.
TYPE 4c:  And those who demand both (yupp, that's me).


TYPE 5a:  There is a gun buyer type for whom guns are cold steel hi-tech tools for lethal operations, which means the most fitting look is modern, clean, mean, and tough – nostalgic tradition and fancy decorative lines must give way to clean modern functionality (“tactical” is the term that non-Type 5a gun buyers like to call this design) (and 5a would be my type). (Note that membership in the Federation for Ugly Guns Loving Yutz, F.U.G.L.Y., is not a requirement for Type 5a’s, it’s simply an option. Right, Xraycer?)
TYPE 5b:  The other type buys airguns with wood stocks, golden trigger, classic lines, designs with a pedigree from decades-old German craftsmanship. I must confess that I haven’t figured out this type yet – maybe someone can explain to me the motivations behind this style?


Type 6:  “Don’t know what I want, don’t even remember all that is in various safes and closets.” (bandg)


Type 7a:  Some gun buyers come from the guild of tinkerers who like to buy a second/third-rate gun, and enjoy the challenge to transform it into a first/second-rate gun (Novagun).
Type 7b:  Some want performance out of the box, because of their work schedule (Bryan H.), their mechanic ability, their personal patience level, or because they believe what the manufacturers tell us in their advertisements (check, check, check and check, as far as I’m concerned).


Type 8a:  There are those who buy an airgun just because they need to do a job, and an airgun happens to be the right tool to do it (Paulus). Most of us I guess buy a hammer to hit a nail into the wall, not because it’s pretty, or because it’s high quality, or makes us feel good somehow.
Type 8b:  But there are those who buy an airgun for the reasons we do NOT buy a hammer.... – for the FUN of it!!
Type 8c:  I suppose there are those who try to convince their wife they need a simple tool to do a simple job (Type 8a). Like killing a few squirrels that mess with the bird feeder sitting about 15 yards off the kitchen window. And that simple job requires a simple tool, like an FX Impact, or an Air Arms S510 XS. Right! No, you are not Type 8a, you are 8c.



Type 9a:  There are those who buy guns in full sight of their spouses.
Type 9b:  Some might not have a concealed carry permit, but they practice concealed buying. For instance, they buy guns “for their colleague at work,” or bring them home in an old dinged up gun case, or they “had the gun at the gun smith for a check over,” and in any case, they bought that shiny new gun “a long time ago.” (steelontarget)*

Type 9c:  And a third type has long persuasive conversations with the spouse, with uncertain results, to be certain.
Type 9d:  Some are (truly or imagined) not accountable to anybody about their gun spending.
*for some hearty laughs, cf.: https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/airgun-addiction-and-marriage


Type 10:  An intricate mix of several types, overlapping, intersecting, contradicting, what a wonderful gun buyer’s mess! After all, we are all originals! (avator, triggertreat, Hoosier Daddy?, and many others)


Type 11:  Upon request (avator), and distinct from Type 10, the Type 11 is a combined amalgamation compound of all of the above (and all of the below, sure to come in the upcoming posts).




[Thanks to your lively participation with comments, we are gaining a more profound understanding appreciation of the type of airgun buyers that populate the airgun universe. Here’re the newest additions:]


When reading certain forum comments and avatar bylines one cannot escape to notice a certain level of compulsiveness when it comes to airguns. Consider the following selection, that justify the type 12 of airgun buyers!:

Type 12 examples from avatar bylines and signatures
Gertrude started the post:  “So what did you Order / Receive today? (to feed the ‘Beast’ that lives within)” – This thread started in 2015, and has 8,168 replies to date (Oct. 12, 2018), and 466,189 Views.
marty2:  “There’s a thin line between ‘Hobby’ and ‘Mental Illness.’”
anti-squirrel:  “Confirmed SPAddict”
lefteyeshot:  “without hope, without fear”
Jeff aka Privateer:  “Village Idiot. I’m in so deep now it’s at the point it doesn’t even matter anymore.”
Pelletjunkie:  The screen name says it all.
deerflyguy:  Favorite Airguns: The Next One!

AND MORE:
PaulT58:  “Guns? What guns?”
JoeV:  “AirGun List? – I gots a bunch of ’em, and see no end in filling the corral.”
Sfttailrdr46:  “Of all the things I have lost I miss my mind the most”
lefteyeshot:  “without hope, without fear”
45Bravo:  “Self confessed addict of anything with a trigger...”


Type 12 examples from forum posts
clgraham82:  “Just placed an order for [...]!  Dang this addiction!”
Avator writes:  “Another $113 order to Crosman Parts Dept this morning..... somebody stop me !!!!”
maraudinglizard responds:  “There’s no such thing as STOP! It’s like the energizer bunny, it just keeps going and going and going.  ”
gillchaser admits:  “Couldn’t resist at $169.”
Herman Green:  “Well, I broke down and scratched my pistol itch.”
Topsportsman916:  “Well the disease got the better of me.” – “Just gotta an addiction.”
Gertrude posts: “I need THERAPY!”
Trigger_Finger:  “I told my wife this Jan 17 that the Benjamin Armada .22 is my last Air Rifle. April 17, I preordered a Hatsan Nova. May 17 preordered a FX Crown .25. Addiction.”
Missed-Em:  “I think I’m an addict!”
TennX:  “At 68 (now 70) was looking for a new hobbie...found this forum....Bada Bing..Bada Boom ...42 guns later guess u could say I’m hooked...”
Question: So why did you choose air rifles? Answer by Joekrooz: “Airguns actually chose me.”  His profile byline: “Cleverly disguised as an adult”

AND MORE:
Airwoods: [note the language that reminds of one talking about an alcohol addiction:] “Airguns will be in my blood forever.”
Mikeflys:  [note the influence of friends on the way to addiction, here in the form of a virtual friend:]  “And I stumble on this crazy guy named Ted making videos about hunting with these new fangled PCP air rifles. Now I’m an addict.”
T3PRanch: “I am so far down the rabbit hole in less than 3 years I can only see the entrance as a dim star. Perpetual deep twilight at this depth.     |   My wife and I only have one child ..... ME!”
EdinGa:  “Many of the things I use in my airgun hobby obsession slide seemlessly back and forth between airguns and their powder fueled cousins. This double duty status creates efficiency and cost savings. Trust me on this, because I’ve spent many hours perfecting this argument for the inevitable wifely confrontations. Justification is a wonderful thing.”


So, meet the type 12 of airgun buyers!:
Type 12a:  Addict – addicted to buying airguns and airgunning equipment.
The addiction has three sub categories:  (1) in denial, or (2) addiction acknowledged, or (3) addiction acknowledged and declared. The above avatar bylines and posts clearly designate these GTA members as sub-category (3). There’s hope, my friends!

Type 12b:  Recovered Addict = card-carrying member of GA = Gun buyers Anonymous (distinct from GTA, but I wonder if it is coincidence that 66% of the letters of both organizations coincide, and in the correct order...)

Type 12c:  Future Addict: You just don’t realize it yet...! Incipient addiction is hiding just behind the ADD TO CART button.

Type 12d:  Free to Choose: – to be or not to be – to buy or not to buy.




There is a type of airgun buyers who arises from the rubble and ashes of political and legal debacles. Greg aka Oldgringo explains this well:  “My interest in air guns came about with age and the presidential election debacle of 2008.  I could see that any ammo was gonna’ get hard to find but maybe, pellets would escape the scourge.  So, I invested in a few air guns. [Quote from Reply #89, from: https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=148453]

Meet Type 13 of airgun buyers:

TYPE 13a:  AG but can’t PB:  There is the gun buyer who buys AG (airguns) because politicians and ideology peddlers have placed sheer unsurmountable obstacles on the way to acquire a PB (powder burner). These obstacles are actual (in my case in Peru and Germany), or they are looming large in the near future (Oldgringo’s case).

TYPE 13b:  AG and won’t PB:  Then there is one who does not want PB, and actually prefers AG.
That’s OK. Though I have to say, I do like it when things go bang, and if it’s louder I like it better.  I was born that way.  All boys are.  That’s a fact.  It’s just that some of us are made to lose that enjoyment for bangs and explosions. Sometimes through political, legal, or ideological influences.

TYPE 13c:  Wants both AG and PB:  A third variation of the Type 13 species likes both types of guns, AG and PB, and buys both types. Now you notice how this type has cleverly doubled the amount of “reasons” why they would need to keep buying more guns.... The genius among the Type 13c will be buy AG, PW – and Bows!




Do you find yourself in any of these types? What type is still missing in this Typology of Airgun Buyers?
What type of airgun buyer are you...?

[Korak-again]

  2B and 3B.  One of my biggest frustrations as an airgun shooter is not being able to see and/or handle a gun before buying. My area, NW Arkansas, does not have an airgun dealer within a hundred miles that I'm aware of. I have gone through a ton of springers to find the four I like best.

[Hoosier Daddy]

While you list covers a wide range, either I do not fit into any, or... I fit into all of them.
 I was starting out 1b, but when I got to 2 I am neither. I have been known to set a price limit and then research what is available in that price range and make a choice. OR If I find an exceptional gun I will stash funds away until I can get it.
 ALTHOUGH... usually while making that nest-egg, a good deal comes along and I snag it up... then have to start saving all over again.
  I appreciate a classic wood and blued rifle, typically loath a synthetic stock. yet I have a couple.
 I Love a beautiful deep wood grain, I can sit and stare at my vintage Crosmans, Benjis, or Dans for hours.  I spent as much on a Boyd's Evolution Stock for my Maximus as I paid for the gun .
Yet want an Air Force Edge or Talon one day.
I am a card carrying member of F.U.G.L.Y. with my Xisico Sentry, but I think it is very nice looking. I wanted a Sentry and when one came to the Classifieds here I bought it and that gun has gotten more wide eyed comments from friends than any of my others.
  Yet I would pass by a thumbhole stock HW97 in favor of a classic style stock model.
When I buy a new gun I expect it to shoot well right out of the box (after checking screws and cleaning barrel) I don't think you should have to rebuild (tune) a new gun. Yet I have bought a 1377 and 2240 with the intent of modding it from the get go. the 2240 got one CO2 cart before it was in pieces on the bench.

Above all it must shoot accurate, I have a QB58 that is a fantastic looking gun, nice wood and good blueing but I nearly drove myself to madness finding it's preferred pellet and how to hold it.
   But then when I sought out a FWB300S, I knew I would have to pay a good amount of money for it. I found a Member that buys old club guns and rebuilds them. I specifically asked the mechanics be rebuilt but ascetics not be touched, I wanted to finish it myself.
 Guess I just can't be pigeon-holed. I bought my Beeman Silver Kodiak spur of the moment walking through Walmart, yet researched my XS60-C for months, and they cost almost the same. What's more... the Kodiak is Synthetic and the Xisico is nice WOOD 

 

[Rat Sniper (AKA: PaulT58)]

I would be the bargain shopper, my motto is:  "I never pay full price for anything!"  I don't exactly fit 2b because I won't buy any gun, and I do care about how they look and perform.  I have to agree with Tom about the frustration of not being able to try before you buy, and I have taken my chances on some and ended up less than satisfied.  But then again, I have been extremely pleased with others, so I guess in the long run it balances itself out.  I like the beauty of a nice wood stock, but also enjoy the durability of a synthetic stock, but both have to have a good look and nice lines, so there's a part of me that is 4b also.  So, like Scott, I kinda fit into many and at the same time don't exactly fit any! 

[bandg]

Type 6 here.  Don't know what I want, don't even remember all that is in various safes and closets.  Like to shoot accurate guns but more power is better, appearance can be nice but is not necessary, simple is fine but high tech is fascinating.  Raining here so I'll take a nap now.

[Motorhead]

4C mostly ... simply don't have the time or willingness to put makeup on many pigs.

[Novagun]

Definitely 4c and maybe a bit of 5b. Even that doesn't quite fit. I have an English made Webley Tomohawk. Powerful, accurate good looking in a traditional style. The finish of the rifle leaves Weihrauch and Diana in second place. It has everything one could desire in a springer yet it is not my favourite rifle. Three reworked Gamo underlevers get the most use.
I think that is something to do with the satisfaction of making a shooter out of a second rate gun. Maybe like toothache. you have to check if it is still there.
I look at the new guns and the older models on the youtube but I don't really covet any of them. Happy with what I have got. I reckon that is just advancing years.

 I like old friends especially good friends; just can't leave them alone for long.
Does that help to explain type 5b?

[lizzie]

TYPE 3a:  I wonder if there are those that buy guns mainly to own them, to have them around.
TYPE 3b:  And other who buy guns mainly to shoot them (that would be me).

TYPE 5b:  The other type buys airguns with wood stocks, golden trigger, classic lines, designs with a pedigree from decades-old German craftsmanship. I must confess that I haven’t figured out this type yet

I am essentially a combination of the above...
There are certain guns I bought that I keep because I just like them, eventhough I don't shoot them.
They are vintage and German, what I'd consider "classics".
They are probably excellent shooters, but the old HW 35 is so beautiful and I have other guns which will accomplish the same, that I keep it in the safe.

There are others that I own because I shoot them. Some, I shoot more than others, and those are generally going to be either the older HW's or a couple of my old Dianas.

Now, as for German craftsmanship. YES, that would be me.
Not because I am a snob about my airguns, but BECAUSE THEY ARE FINE QUALITY!
They are a pleasure to shoot, they are very accurate, they are powerful enough for the pesting I do, and they are built to last.
It's not that I choose the German guns for beauty...I have one recent acquisition that is not a pretty gun, but the darn thing is so accurate, and so smooth to shoot, I can't help but love it.

For me, functionality normally trumps looks, and fine engineering and craftsmanship generally assures that.

[xtred1]

You are missing the person who buys the air gun to do a particular job or task.  They are not diehard airgun fans, it is just a particular type of airgun is the right tool for the job at hand.

[Hoosier Daddy]

TYPE 5a:  There is a gun buyer type for whom guns are cold steel hi-tech tools for lethal operations, which means they must look and be tough and modern, nostalgia must give way to “tactical”

Why must it be "Tactical" to be a lethal tool? I have modern "Classic" style wooden guns I bought for hunting.

[JungleShooter]

THANKS to your posts, we have now 8 types of airgun buyers in our typology....   
(I updated the original post accordingly.)

What type are you?

[Marc In Iowa]

Shoot for fun, challenge, hobby
- don't hunt anymore

Bargains by necessity
- modest retirement budget

Needs to work "well" though
- that bar keeps moving

Will save up for something really good
- Bantam Hi Lite or FX Dreamline

Nothing for looks only
- appreciate Huntsman's looks though

Not really a tinkerer
- will do some for a goal

Like the science, physics
- AB101 YouTube series!

[Novagun]

Now you have really muddyed the water and my thinking.
If I had to buy a new hammer (and I don't) it would have to be an Eastwing or an old hickory handled Chaney. A shiny Chinese knock of will just not do the job and do it all day long without fatiguing the hammerer.
Lizzie has got it right. A German or English quality spring gun does it right all day long.
A bit of 8c there.

[mobilemail]

2A, 3B,4C, 5B, 7B, 8B...generally speaking. 

I will never open up an airgun if I don't have to.  My skills are improving, but I would much rather just shoot them than work on them.  But if there is a solid performance reason to engage a task that I think is within my technical reach - like installing a high efficiency hammer in a Marauder - then I will pursue it.  I have very little draw to cheap springers (or PCP's for that matter) that require a lot of love out of the box to reach their potential.

I have little draw to CO2 because I'm now set up for PCP, I see no reason to mess with those little cartridges.  There are, however a couple of CO2 guns I keep an open eye for a screamer deal.

I have little draw to pumpers because I just don't prefer all that pumping for each shot.

I love a beautiful rifle, and generally don't like synthetic stocks....but I do have a couple...

I generally don't look at anything over .25 caliber because I don't need anything heavier for my shooting needs.  I don't really even need .25, but I like it.   

And what could be worse than a decent gun with a crappy scope???

[Privateer]

I buy or trade for something different from what most people may have.
I'm like a Magpie. If it catches my eye? I have to have it!

[dcmeyer]

TYPE 1b:  Then some overanalyze the purchase decision (that would be me).

TYPE 2b:  Then some buy a gun they want when it goes on sale.
TYPE 2c:  Then some buy a gun when it goes on sale – and because they really can’t afford to pay the regular price, nor can they afford more than a couple of guns, period (that would be me again).

TYPE 3b:  And other who buy guns mainly to shoot them (that would be me).

TYPE 4a:  There are those who buy the gun for its performance, not for its looks.

TYPE 5a:  There is a gun buyer type for whom guns are cold steel hi-tech tools for lethal operations, which means the most fitting look is modern, clean, mean, and tough – nostalgic tradition and fancy decorative lines must give way to clean modern functionality (“tactical” is the term that non-Type 5a gun buyers like to call this design)

Type 8a:  There are those who buy an airgun just because they need to do a job, and an airgun happens to be the right tool to do it (Paulus). Most of us I guess buy a hammer to hit a nail into the wall, not because it’s pretty, or because it’s high quality, or makes us feel good somehow.
Type 8b:  But there are those who buy an airgun for the reasons we do NOT buy a hammer.... – for the FUN of it!!

Some or all of these things.

Also tinkering to make it the best it can be, but not for the purpose of resurrecting old outdated items. For example, I bought a $300 PCP which is now shooting at the specs of $600+ guns.

[avator]

Man... I don't even know where I fit in.
Mainly I buy whatever trips a trigger when I see it and have the money. I don't care what others would pay for the same item. If I want it and I have the asking price, if it's fair, I buy it.
I have or have had most every gun I've been interested in owning besides maybe a 342. I'm not in hot pursuit of one but if one comes along and I have the money to spend at the time, I'll eventually pick one up.
Most of the time I don't even know I want a gun until opportunity knocks. I've never spent more than $250 for a single gun but through trades and what not I have , what I consider, my dream gun.... the Sam Yang Sumatra carbine in .25. Anything else can come and go.
As for tinkering... I probably have 5 or 6 right now that need bench time.

[scrane]

I go for quality and engineering.

[Skillet]

Hi Mattias, what a fun thread you've started! I am of the following air gun personality types:
3b - I buy an airgun to shoot it, not just to have it.
4c - It has to be pretty and be a performer.  (I'm not buying Sig's ASP 20 because I think the stock is so darn ugly.)
5b - Classic wood designs with blued steel appeals to me the most (No black ops tactical look)
7a - I love to take them apart and tinker.
8b - Airguns are fun!  I have a great time admiring, shooting and messing around with their innards!

Here is where I diverge from the above:
I love my Plain Jane Gen 1 Marauder .22 with its featureless wood, bland stock design and anodized aluminum because it shoots so beautifully. 
I bought an IZH MP61 (tactical look) because it might appreciate in value (just to have it) and I don't shoot it much at all. 

Thanks, that was fun.

The 5b personality likes the quality of the old world guns that were made by high level craftsmen that feel and sound great in use, like Weirauch, Air Arms and the like.  If one is exclusively a 5b, they're missing out on some fun with "lesser" air guns that can shoot amazingly well.

[Relentless Holiday]

3B & 6...  Started off many many years ago thinking I liked the tact look... then later got into my blue(d) period where I am now more wood and steel preference baised.

Only very recently enjoying some tweeking and such with very inexpensive fixer upper american classics.  And, as it turns out, because I brought them back to life, they end up getting shot more than the far more expensive black guns.

I am just all over the map.  But they are for shootin!