Editor’s Comment: This article was originally drafted March 18, 2018. It may have originally been intended to be posted in the old Straight Shooters Forum; who knows? Lost and found; posted for shits and giggles.
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After a 7-8 year hiatus (seriously – it’s a long story), I got out my some of my old friends 3 weeks ago and the rest today. A lot has changed in eight years – with SS, these forums and with me.
At any rate, my wife actually wanted to shoot today, so I decided that my R7 .177 was the best option for her, since it is my lightest air rifle. Unfortunately, it was really too heavy for her … but she was actually interested in plinking, so that was huge bonus / surprise. I’m going to have to get some sort of bench setup for her or maybe my first air pistol, which surprisingly, she was happy to support as long as she gets to use it! As I said; a lot has changed over the last few years.
I love the R7, but I have to admit that I still long for one in .20 caliber (or maybe a .20 HW30S). More stuff that has changed – I’m not sure that Beeman is still around. I also gather .20 is way out of favor, but I can still hold on to old dreams, right? At any rate, after my wife gave up, I quickly dispatched multiple cans and plastic bottles. Probably not instant ‘kill’ shots, but I was happy with my accuracy, considering I was a good 25 yards out from those pesky targets. If they were vermin, they would have been toast … just not nice and tidy.
I spent a good bit of time with my .22 Benjamin Marauder. I can’t believe what a pain it is to pump. Super happy that it doesn’t seem to leak (pumpped it all the way to 3000 psi yesterday); Hill pump still functions nicely. What a PITA those 10 shot cartridges are to load! At any rate, I went through 4 clips, and was seriously impressed with the accuracy. I didn’t remember how much fun it was to pull back the bolt, load a pellet … pfifft … ping … pfifft … such fun (hitting can after can, almost at the same time as each trigger pull). Wow; impressive!
The fact that my R7 and Marauder requires zero maint. before shooting, is a testament to their quality; not to mention the Hill pump functioned wonderfully. Three weeks ago, I had the same great experience with my R1s – my lovely .177 and my favorite.20 Carbine. Those are stories for another day.
I figured I would post because a) I haven’t in forever b) it is more or less theropudic c) I almost forgot how much I love my air guns.
Happy plinking!
