How many collectors actually shoot their treasures?

[bsa-nige]

i shoot all of mine every 3 or 4 months just to keep them running,and when i say shoot them i mean i fire 3 pellets through each and every gun into a bucket of sand,even the minters

[series2a]

All my pump Rifles need to be shot to exercise the valves or they tend to stick,I Shoot all my guns,usually take at least two to the range when I go. It’s amazing how many cheap Rifles can be picked up from members who are willing to sell as they have moved on to rim or centerfire and have no interest in them anymore.

[PHILL BROOKS]

Once every couple of months i make the effort to shoot all my mercurys and airsporters, gives me a good feel for each one again

also i'm very lucky that my father in laws garden is huge and i can shoot when ever i want.

[SRV1]

Mmmm...What? Shoot them? Absolutely criminal - they are meant to be caressed, rubbed in the finest oil, smelt, feel the wood, and lovingly stroked....How can any collector abuse such a magnificent, beautiful and desirable possession? How can I deal with myself if it gets a minor scratch I wonder?

[45flint]

Mmmm...What? Shoot them? Absolutely criminal - they are meant to be caressed, rubbed in the finest oil, smelt, feel the wood, and lovingly stroked....How can any collector abuse such a magnificent, beautiful and desirable possession? How can I deal with myself if it gets a minor scratch I wonder?

Funny but sometimes so true, I bought a near mint Haenel 28 and in trying to get the end cap unscrewed I put a minor scratch on it. Put it away and couldn’t look at it for months. Brought it out recently and a dab of bluing made it disappear. Lol we collectors are a sorry lot!

[JimmieDee]

Funny but sometimes so true, I bought a near mint Haenel 28 and in trying to get the end cap unscrewed I put a minor scratch on it. Put it away and couldn’t look at it for months. Brought it out recently and a dab of bluing made it disappear. Lol we collectors are a sorry lot!

Then there's me stripping them down to their component parts to write my articles....

[dvd]

I like to give my guns an airing and shoot a few paper targets now and again. I am not sure If I call myself a collector any more even though I have quite a few airguns now.

Being mechanically inclined,I started out as a very focused collector, purchasing the best examples I could find with different compression and recoil reducing systems.
So I have recoiling springers with break barrels and tap-loading fixed barrels, gas-ram, recoiless springers on sledges, converging double piston recoiless,(Park RH 93), single stroke pneumatics, and the diverging double piston system made by Diana.
But somewhere along the line I wandered off the path a bit and started to get airguns utilizing the same compression and recoil reducing system such as Diana's Mod 6 pistol, Mod 65, Mod 72 and Mod 75. The same happened with the sliding action platform and so I added an Anschutz 380 and FWB 300 to my Diana 54.

That's when I started to appreciate the no holds barred approach to the mechanical refinement and recoil reducing systems of top notch 10metre airguns before compressed air took over from the SSP's and springers, which explains the presence of a couple of Walther SSP's and LGV's.

I am happy where I am now and my last purchase was based purely on nostalgic memories of a Falke airgun that I used to shoot when I was a kid.
So I think I have come full circle now and my collection will stay as is.

Yes, they get used a bit and wiped down regularly, but at times I just admire their purposeful lines and designs.

[Duggan]

Ive become a collector of sorts, but buying VGC ones to use and experience. I still have a few new in box from around 1980 that I havent shot yet and probably wont. To some people that's like having a girl friend and not using her, keeping her nice and tight and tidy for the next bloke 😃

But when you have a "few" I dont feel like i'm missing out at all. Here's a couple of pics of a couple of BNIB that you would be unlikely to pick up any time soon....

[WILBA]

Ive become a collector of sorts, but buying VGC ones to use and experience. I still have a few new in box from around 1980 that I havent shot yet and probably wont. To some people that's like having a girl friend and not using her, keeping her nice and tight and tidy for the next bloke 😃

But when you have a "few" I dont feel like i'm missing out at all. Here's a couple of pics of a couple of BNIB that you would be unlikely to pick up any time soon....

i was ok until you brought up the 80 pics. then i got quite moist

[Drew451]

i was ok until you brought up the 80 pics. then i got quite moist

The S80 or the HW80?

[WILBA]

The S80 or the HW80?

hw80. had several and always regret selling them

[johnbaz]

Hi Karl

That HW80 Is still a beauty!!


John

[Duggan]

Cheers John and Gents, the Kestock HW80 is a favourite of many people and I still havent heard of another in this configuration.

[Duggan]

I like my Theobens and was using these two today. I bought them used in VGC, so might as well enjoy them. I can't remember seeing a GrandPrix Imperator SLR88, I guess they were sold in very limited numbers due to their high cost.