Shockingly, my old friend Mr Ian Jones, recently gave me (yes I know its hard to believe) an old Beeman catalogue from the early eighties. Well, if anything could reignite my interest in those classic springers from the late seventies, this was the journal that has certainly managed to do just that.
I haven't read one of these previously, and after going through it for the second time yesterday, I ended up having a clean of my classics and sat for several minutes just admiring them lined up like a squad of models directly from the catalogue. FWB 300, HW 35E and my own personal favourite, the FWB 124.
I have spent most of the summer with some young folks rolling about in fields target shooting, most usually failing to match the deadly precision necessary to drop knock down targets in tricky winds and undetermined range. Not that I haven't enjoyed it, just that I basically am not a good a shot as the "A Team" shooters I travel with.
I now realise that I have been very much missing the simplicity of breaking a gun barrel, putting in the pellet, and having a leisurely shot at an object that doesn't have to fall over to give me a smile. No, I have missed the grass root shooting we all grew up with, and realise that it has been to my detriment.
With this new found enthusiasm in mind, I have decided that rather than spend at least one evening a week printing five shot groups of 10mm or less at 40 yards with an expensive German PCP target rifle, I am going to just enjoy myself with some "proper" guns once again and just plink away at our club with one of my classic trio instead.
This week its the turn of my favourite, who is currently positioned opposite from me with a gleam to both stock and action. Hell, I have even today ordered a stainless trigger blade unit for the Sport from our old friend Jim Maccari. I am hopeful that this addition will help to alleviate the guns only weakness, that of the crap trigger.
Anyway, I feel better having got that off my chest, and am now looking forward to shooting tomorrow night more than I have done in a long while!
Andy