shibumiseeker
Grandmaster
With dozens of threads whining about the lack of availability of .22lr and bemoaning how "it's for the children" because it's hard for youth shooting groups to get ammo, I'm making a challenge. It bugs me that so many people seem to think the only way to learn to shoot well is with a firearm. My very first gun I owned was a bb gun. It was cheaply constructed and not very accurate, but I shot tens of thousands of BBs and pellets with it and my very first squirrel kill was with it.
Many of us remember the cheap POS air guns we learned to shoot with, and we did just fine. The good news is that since then, airgun technology has improved dramatically to where what used to take a thousand bucks or more to start getting good quality, is now much cheaper. A really good beginner air rifle can be had for a couple of hundred bucks and even the medium quality ones are under $500.
I have lately become a fan of the PCP (PreChargedPneumatic) rifles and pistols as they are really good value for the money, and surprisingly, not new technology as many of us are familiar with the story of Lewis and Clark taking some on their expedition and them performing well.
PyramidAir is running a special on the Benjamin Discovery in .177 and .22 for a rifle and a hand pump for $400. The pump runs over a hundred and fifty so this is a pretty good deal for an excellent beginner rifle. You can buy one of the packages, and once a youth group has a pump or two, additional rifles or even pistols are much cheaper. There are other options for airguns of course, but I feel the PCP gives the closest approximation of shooting a .22lr.
Benjamin Discovery Rifle & Pump. Air rifles - PyramydAir.com
I challenge the members here who feel strongly that youth involvement in shooting sports is critical to the future of shooting to buy one in .22 and donate it to your youth shooting group along with a few tins of .22 pellets. These guns are as accurate as most .22lr and are immune to ammo shortages as you can buy molds or presses to make pellets out of lead or tin. Pellets run about $8-10/500 so even when .22lr becomes widely available it will still cost a third to a quarter to shoot. If you can afford to buy 2 cases of .22lr to donate to a youth group, you can afford to buy one of these and a bunch of pellets. I will add, before you just go out and do this, talk with whomever runs the group if they are willing to accept airguns and add them to their program. If they are not, seek out a youth group that will.
So, is anyone willing to take the challenge? Who is with me on this?
Anyone? Or is "it's for the children" really a disguise for "I'm mostly worried because I can't find .22lr for me but I don't want to sound like I'm whining?"
Many of us remember the cheap POS air guns we learned to shoot with, and we did just fine. The good news is that since then, airgun technology has improved dramatically to where what used to take a thousand bucks or more to start getting good quality, is now much cheaper. A really good beginner air rifle can be had for a couple of hundred bucks and even the medium quality ones are under $500.
I have lately become a fan of the PCP (PreChargedPneumatic) rifles and pistols as they are really good value for the money, and surprisingly, not new technology as many of us are familiar with the story of Lewis and Clark taking some on their expedition and them performing well.
PyramidAir is running a special on the Benjamin Discovery in .177 and .22 for a rifle and a hand pump for $400. The pump runs over a hundred and fifty so this is a pretty good deal for an excellent beginner rifle. You can buy one of the packages, and once a youth group has a pump or two, additional rifles or even pistols are much cheaper. There are other options for airguns of course, but I feel the PCP gives the closest approximation of shooting a .22lr.
Benjamin Discovery Rifle & Pump. Air rifles - PyramydAir.com
I challenge the members here who feel strongly that youth involvement in shooting sports is critical to the future of shooting to buy one in .22 and donate it to your youth shooting group along with a few tins of .22 pellets. These guns are as accurate as most .22lr and are immune to ammo shortages as you can buy molds or presses to make pellets out of lead or tin. Pellets run about $8-10/500 so even when .22lr becomes widely available it will still cost a third to a quarter to shoot. If you can afford to buy 2 cases of .22lr to donate to a youth group, you can afford to buy one of these and a bunch of pellets. I will add, before you just go out and do this, talk with whomever runs the group if they are willing to accept airguns and add them to their program. If they are not, seek out a youth group that will.
So, is anyone willing to take the challenge? Who is with me on this?
Anyone? Or is "it's for the children" really a disguise for "I'm mostly worried because I can't find .22lr for me but I don't want to sound like I'm whining?"
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