What was it that got everyone into Air rifles?

When I was young 8, my friends dad used to go over the fields behind us and come back with rabbits. It gave me a hankering to do the same. Eventually I persuaded my dad to buy me a gun, I think it was a Diana smooth bore, which fired cat slugs. Probably not allowed to mention any association to cats these days Homer face palm woke ahoy! Anyway no cats were harmed but a few birds payed the price, toy cars, flowers, and bee's. Eventually the barrel pivots started to crack and then bend, and a Diana ? replaced it. I usd to shoot targets on the garden shed, but eventually dad said no more, after he had to replace the wood paneling, eaten away by the pellets. That's when accurate target shooting started with a proper backstop. As I got older and wiser, my mum's friend's son offered to take me game shooting on a farm with a 12 bore.
Saturday morning at the crack of dawn, stationary rabbit in the pot, followed by one running. Remembering something about leading, to allow travel time of the shot, I managed to down it. So far so good. Walking further over the fields we came upon a large pond, when two woody's started heading towards us. Took one shot, missed and as it was nearly overhead, to a quick second. Head over heels into the pond, managed to keep the gun dry though. Covered in mud and algy, I like the creature from the black lagoon.
That started my real love of guns and air guns, though being a good with a shotgun, it never caught my imagination. Though I have entered a few shoots in the past, just to tag along with friends. And when I say I dont shoot shotguns, some get a little miffed when I beat them. Well it seemed easier than running deer or boar.
 
crissdee said:
Years of playing with toy guns of every conceivable design, some of which shot actual projectiles, culminating in the great Airfix FN-FAL.
Shooting air rifles at fairgrounds, along with every kind of shooting game they had, until finally having the money from my first job (£26 a week!) to buy a brand new Webley Victor from the sports shop in Gants Hill, topped with a 6x32 scope from Sussex Armoury at Charing Cross.
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The Airfix FN was instrumental in cementing a lifelong interest in guns for me too.
 

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My father bought me one as a Christmas present by way of encouragement to shoot I think? My grandfather was a champion shot with rifles. But I didn't have much interest in it and soon sold it to raise a deposit on a moped. Moving on 40 years and we had a rat problem which traps didn't resolve and magpies, so bought another, was given others, bought a few and then selling all but two when moving over here. Then more rats, so it has been used again.
 
Too long ago to remember what first got me into it. What got me back into it was a rat in the garden and that was 40 years ago.
 
zogg364 said:
There is a blast from the past, i remember running round the front garden with one of those... fired plastics bullets (y)
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I did that too. Sadly the plastic bayonet broke on my original during one of my bayonet charges at my sister.

I finally tracked down another a year or so ago.

Ahhh, nostalgia tastes so nice.
 
Dave120uk said:
If councils did that these days they would be bankrupt within a week.
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The great thing was being able to shoot on the council rubbish dump with their blessing. This was before landfill and the dump was just a disused quarry, with each new load of rubbish being emptied on top of the last, open to the air. It stank !
Now it amuses me that we were shooting their rats on their property, and paying us to do it ! :D
 
It was just what we did back in the day. We used to swap airguns for bikes,fishing gear and such like.
Then with paper round money we would buy guns from mother's catalogue. Pellets were about £1 for 500 and you could easily shoot a full tin in a session.
Apart from our gardens we had no permission but had access to thousands of acres.we would shoot on the railway sidings, allotments,colliery spoil heaps,local woodland,farmers fields,along the river .We even used to shoot starlings from people's tv ariels as we walked down the street to shoot the pigeons from the power station. Even the local bobby suggested I buy a webley vulcan as it was better than my Victor.
Tbo, this may sound like a total disregard for the law and wildlife. However it is what we did and actually kept us out of trouble. Haylcon days and fondly remembered.
 
In the 70’s it was what proper boys did, either that or fishing, or both!

Throughout the 80’s I was really into it, until I sold my last HW80 to buy a house.

Then my interest was rekindled again in the late 90’s when I really missed it, I’ve been doing it ever since.
 
Many moons ago, being able to purchase said rifle or pretty much anything from mail order catalogues 👍Wind the clock forward 50 years and some uninvited garden guests, needless to say, the collection to date is still growing 😉👍
 
My Dad was a Kentish Miner we spent our time fishing ferreting and shooting, he bought me my. First gun when I was 12 in 1973 a bsa meteor 177 great gun then progressed to a bsa airsporter 177 even better,
the story continues today totally addicted to air rifles,
 
Eeyore said:
The great thing was being able to shoot on the council rubbish dump with their blessing. This was before landfill and the dump was just a disused quarry, with each new load of rubbish being emptied on top of the last, open to the air. It stank !
Now it amuses me that we were shooting their rats on their property, and paying us to do it ! :D
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Ahh the good old open dump You could reverse your car up to the pile open the boot and sling everything out the back.
Eeyore said:
The great thing was being able to shoot on the council rubbish dump with their blessing. This was before landfill and the dump was just a disused quarry, with each new load of rubbish being emptied on top of the last, open to the air. It stank !
Now it amuses me that we were shooting their rats on their property, and paying us to do it ! :D
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Andyshoots said:
Dad, both uncles and grandad all shooting men so I didn’t have to ask.
I was gifted a bsa meteor and a Swiss Army knife aged 9.
First thing I shot after I was able to hit pebbles comfortably in my grandads rose beds at about 15yds was a rat.
Couple of years later it was taken away and replaced with a full length scoped HW77, it was almost bigger than me.
Still have it 30yrs later.
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Class i eventually came proud owner of a hw77k mk1 loved it and an ex of mine launched it into the lake never spoke to her again
webley00 said:
Did you send her in after it?
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na she dumped and legged it last time i saw her big as a bus end and 6 kids lucky escape me thinks 🤷🏼
 
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