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

[Relentless Holiday]

"Happy wife, Happy life"  I consider myself very lucky also. 

[anti-squirrel]

Above all else, airguns are tools first and fun second for me.  I have a lot of antique tools and just like airguns, they all get used regularly (as much to keep my skills sharp as to enjoy using quality tools).

The only "fun only" airguns I own are my P17 and an old 760 I've been massaging, though when I'm done with it it'll be accurate enough for eye-shots at 20 yards on squirrels.  Everything else was bought to fill a certain niche for killing pests.  Even my 2400KT and CZ634 springer get used more for smacking critters than plinking.  I do admit to really enjoying the high quality of walnut on my Hatsan 95QE- which prefers .25 Polymags over most other pellets- yet remains my favorite year-round plinker despite the cost-per-shot.  The 2400KT is my favorite 3-season plinker.

And yes, I am a SPAddict.  When we eventually move from VA and head west, I intend to buy "one of each" of the SPA PCPs just because.

[JungleShooter]

Question: Why do you buy airguns?
Answer (by antisquirrel and other Type 3c airgun buyers): “Just because.”
Now you know the reason why.


Thanks to Greg aka Oldgringo in another thread, we have stumbled upon yet another type of airgun buyer –– this particular species arising from the rubble and ashes of political and legal debacles.

Hear Oldgringo explain this so well (emphasis added):

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. There are now, six much-beloved, remaining Frauleins in my safe. I shall cherish them, my CHL License, and my PBs.  The government can go wee-wee up a rope.  Come and Take Them!

So, here comes the 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 places sheer unsurmountable obstacles on the way to acquire a PB (powder burner). These obstacles are actual (in my case), or 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.
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 buy both types.


Now you notice that the position of Type 13c certainly gives the person access to a virtually limitless amount of reasons to keep buying more guns, AG and PW. Because, of course, a man (or a woman, likewise), needs...
–needs to have at least one rifle and one pistol,
–needs one of each caliber,
–needs them in both AG and in PW.
Can you see how the factor “AG” just doubled your opportunities for self-deceptive “I need to buy X”–talk? It’s genius.
And a perfect reflection for the days leading up to that Grand Day, that day which has been given the color black and which shows up every year in our calendars right after Thanksgiving....  D:

[I updated the initial post to reflect Oldgringo’s and anti-squirrel’s contributions.]

[bantam5s]

I guess I would be type 8b, except I actually might buy a hammer for the fun of it because I love to bring old tools back to life and give more thought to hammers than a lot of people might.

[JungleShooter]

Christmas is a great season to buy airguns and accessories. Don't you think?
To keep our classification of airgun buyers current, here're a few more comments from you guys that crack me up every time I read them.     Thanks for the entertainment you provide me when going on GTA....

So, which one of the 13 airgun buyer types is YOU?   
(For your convenience I updated the full scheme in the first post.)


The type 12 of airgun buyers are :
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.


NEW Type 12 examples from forum posts
anti-squirrel:  “One thing is clear: we're all afflicted with this hobby/passion/illness.”
Missed-Em:  “I think 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!”
Ribbonstone entitled a thread “Addicted to ‘cheap .22 PCP’s’”
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...”
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.”
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:
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.”
DHunter, about Joe W Rhea: “He has lots of more-detailed scope reviews.  He’s an admitted scope junkie.”
Steveoh, and a newly available 58 cal EPP-UG bullet mold: “Of course I already ordered one for my two .58 DAQs. Oh the addiction!”


NEW Type 12 examples from avatar bylines and signatures
45Bravo:  “Self confessed addict of anything with a trigger...”
lefteyeshot:  “without hope, without fear”
Sfttailrdr46:  “Of all the things I have lost I miss my mind the most”