So, why did you get into "airgunning"?

[hangmancreek]

I never owned a pellet or bb gun until I was 72 but lots of powder burners.  I wanted to have more shooting time without going to the gun club (40 minutes away).  A small Venturi Bronco was the start and now several Weihrauch's later I enjoy this sport very much.  How did you get started?

[Brazos]

Same as you more or less.  I enjoy the sport of shooting.  Getting to the range, reloading, $$, etc. seemed to keep me from doing what I love.  Enter the nice, high end, air rifle and problem solved.  Now I can shoot nice rifles at home.  Ammo is cheap and no reloading.  People think we are crazy for spending money on "BB" guns but these are the guns I shoot most.  Why not spend money on the gun you shoot the most?  All my other guns just sit in the safe.  Spending money on those turns out to have been crazy.

[stija]

Me too...i can shoot in the convenience of my back yard which makes it therapeutic for me 

[SOCEY600]

I started when I was about 7, with a Daisy Model 25.
Growing up, I bought all kinds of airguns.
First, from Air Rifle Headquarters, then from Beemans's Precision
Airguns.
I never got into firearms too much.
I have two firearms that I've never even shot either of
them one time.

[RatRacer]

I was suddenly over ridden with feral pests that were ruining mine, and my neighbors homes. I thought back to my youth for a legal, and neighborhood friendly means of controlling it, and the rest has become a rather bit obsessive...

[stija]

I wish I had a little pest problem to take care off. Instead I kill paper targets really good!

[Chako]

I wish I had a little pest problem to take care off. Instead I kill paper targets really good!

Thats too bad, but congrats on finding a new hole puncher

[grobe1458]

I first started when I was around 17 with a crossman multi-pump. which I soon found out isn't accurate or powerful, then turned around after finding a small shop in PA. which specializes in AG's and brought a rws48 and then springers grew, life got busy, had a child, put things on hold. my daughter likes shooting but doen't care for springers so I brought a mrod late spring /early summer. then brought 3 more pcp's afterwards. I enjoy the peace and quiet of shooting and committed concentration to perform consistent shots. basically it takes my mind off of the daily grind and it's something my daughter and I can do inexpensively in our home and on our property.

[RatRacer]

I wish I had a little pest problem to take care off. Instead I kill paper targets really good!

The pest problem cost me more in repairs than what I have, and spent currently, on this "hobby".
Trust me, the paper is a better option.

[TNK]

Daisey Red Rider from that dude they call Santa age 5 around 1965
Raised to hunt .22 and .20ga soon followed by age 7
Worked hard when I was young and paid a good bit of my way in the world
Sheridan's were sold at Gibsons
Near 5 decades later and many,many $thousands$ later I still "SHOOT"
Instead of blowing expensive PB ammo,I buy expensive AG's and shoot when I feel like it
Shakes out pretty even considering time to the range,fee's etc
I hunt alot,plenty of rabbits,coons,grinners and a few tree rats keep the freezer stocked with decent meat
I dont relive my childhood,I still live it 

[gnef]

I started about 1.5 years ago because squirrels were eating my blueberries. I bought a Daisy 880 and a bunch of BB's. Then I went to pellets, then got a scope, then got a better scope, then got a break barrel, then another, and another, and then a Discovery PCP. The Disco has been a blast, and has increased my kill percentage dramatically (I'm not so great with the break barrels).

Needless to say, squirrels no longer eat my blueberries, and the ones that at one time occupied my attic are no longer there as well.

[birdmove]

  I had a BB gun when I was a kid. Now I'm 60. I shot a lot of smokeless powder firearms and hand loaded ammunition for my guns and the competition I used to take part in. Then about 7-8 years ago, I decided it would be cool to shoot in my back yard and got an air gun. Guess I was lucky in that my neighbor was pretty deaf and my shooting didn't bother him. I never did it when he had company. Flash forward to a couple years ago. We moved to the Big Island of Hawaii to the Puna District. We now have an acre, and I can shoot almost whenever I want. It keeps me in good shooting condition, and I enjoy it.

[kkd]

I grew up in a semi rural part of Santa Cruz County, CA with crows, blue jays, squirrels, rats, feral cats, you name it, all causing some sort of problem or commotion.  When my dad was alive, we never seemed to have a problem with pests on the property.  When he passed, suddenly my mom was overrun with all sorts of pests and varmits.

Soon after, I ran over to Eddy's Gun Shop in Mountain View and bought myself a break barrel RWS in .177 with a cheapo scope and went to work.  I soon realized that I needed more hitting power, better optics, and a repeater would sure be nice. 

On the counter at Eddy's was an early edition (maybe edition 1) of a new magazine called IIRC, American Airgunner.  Rodney Boyce was the editor/publisher at the time, and he had an ad in his magagazine for Daystate.  I think that he was the US distributor at the time (1994/5).
 
I called the Great Mr Boyce, as his phone number was listed in his ad and asked him which Daystate should I get.  He listened patiently to my needs and wants, and passed me off to Allen Zasadny.  Mr Boyce said that it sounded like I needed a good field gun.  He said that PCP's were the WAY TO GO, and to forget about spring guns.  He told me that my best bet was to buy one of Allen's tuned and prepped Career 707's and gave me AZ's phone number. 

Best advise I ever got. 

I still have the AZ Career 707 and recently bought one of Allen's Rapids. 

I have shot boxes and boxes of first, Crosman Premiers and now cans and cans of JSB's. 
Fun Fun Fun!  I have a love for air gunning!  :-)

[Nomadic Pirate]

Been hunting Hogs with Bow and arrow for a long time, problem here is that because of the vegetation even a dead hog at times is unrecoverable.

with airguns I can drop them on the spot

of course I could use my Henry .357 but I grew up hunting high power centerfires in Australia and never felt really like a Hunter untill I started Hunting with Bows.

Airguns pose similar challenges, but drop them hogs on the spot, ...easy to find

[amb5500c]

I've never really been apart from air rifles. I grew up with them along with many powder burning guns and archery equipment. Mostly for hunting, but plenty of target shooting too.
Richard

[Roadworthy]

Easy answer - pellet rifles are quieter than my twelve gauge and pellets don't travel as far as shots from a rimfire.

[pappa]

I actually got into air gunning because my wife is a dedicated bird lover and squirrels were eating the bird food in her feeders. It has come to work out very well for me over the years. I live at the end of a cul-de-sac in a heavily wooded neighborhood in NC and there used to be literally hundreds of squirrels from my house to the end of the block. I have been so successful that neighbors are thanking me because squirrels are now a very rare thing in this neighborhood. Last season, I actually ran out of squirrels to shoot for a few months. Also, the wife can't really complain about my hobby now because she encouraged me to do this to protect her birds. Yee-ha!

[Bicycleman]

The land owner asked that I not hunt with the .22 LR I had been using.  I love this area because it is close and has an abundance of Fox Squirrels; so it was a no-brainer for me - hunting with the Discovery .22 was born.  And I AM LOVING IT.

[Plinkster56]

When I turned 11 I started hunting rabbits and grouse with a old 16 gauge shotgun. Problem was it took about three weeks worth of lawn mowing money to buy shells. One weekend I swapped a buddy some baseball stuff for a used crosman 760. It was nice because it took a couple of weeks worth of shooting to use up one of those little milk cartons full of BB's. My brother and I would take turns shooting stale ritz crackers, necco wafers and ice cubes behind the house.( the 'ol man didn't want to find any broken glass or shot up soda cans or the gun was gone) What's funny is here I am 45 years later doing the same stuff, I guess you never grow out of some things!

[hangmancreek]

These have been some great stories!  Keep them coming.