Just how committed (ie obsessed) are you?!

[Garvin]

I was wondering just how mad for vintage airguns some of us are?!

With curation of my gallery etc, I reckon I spend between about a third and half of my free time on vintage airguns - whether it's gathering pics, talking to other collectors, reading about vintage airguns online or offline, and so on.

It varies from month to month, and maybe slips to about a fifth of free time or less if family/life gets very busy, or I go on holiday, and rises to above half if I'm in the middle of some intensive airgun-related project.

Just how far gone are you?! Do you ever go 'cold turkey' for days, weeks, or months?

(BTW I think there are much worse, less psychologically 'healthy' ways to spend one's life - down the bookies, some other sort of internet 'addiction' (ahem ), heavy drinking, drugs, or other obsession that removes you from 'real life'.)

PS I don't get to shoot very often these days and tinker only occasionally if an acquisition demands it. I don't buy guns or accessories etc for my collection at anything like the rate I once did either, so the nature of my vintage airgun activity has shifted towards the internet in recent years... I'm more of an 'armchair' collector nowadays.

[JimmieDee]

Very!

[Mr. Gen]

My current project is getting a couple of dozen of my semi vintage rifles up to 'hunting spec' ready for the summer, just need to dig out an old shell suit and a pair of hi tech silver shadow and I can relive my early hunting years in the early 80s...

[isobar]

obsession varies for me,it's there then it's gone.when it's there i spend too much time looking for something to collect but as Danny says more of an armchair collector. strange and contradictory as as it may seem i'm torn between an item that needs lots of work and something that is mint.i always open rifles up to have a look inside as this is good practice and i enjoy it.not after any doer uppers at the moment and my short attention span means that i never know what gun i might want next.except the next one needs to have pretty timber. atb

[45flint]

I got bite by the bug late in life, after retirement a couple years ago. I am now in full tilt trying to make up for lost time mode. Bought 4 guns in the last month. Read and research daily. Learning to tinker as well with my finds. Like to shoot in the backyard but collecting and finding out more about vintage airguns is more the passion. Love opening up the mail to find was teasure has come and restoring it. Most just need a good cleaning.

[ogilkes]

Oh there's an obsession, shows even more when one has to reduce the collection somewhat. However, reckon that Garvin is so m e what exceptional with his range of interests!

[hammy]

Not sure about obsession, but I do think about airguns every day.
Always have a project or two on the go and plenty to repair.
Currently fitting a 3g CWS to a Theoben and been building a HFT TX200 since March oh now converting my HW 98 to .177 ,oh and sorting my rapid MK2 and a GC2 to sort, oh an Alros to rebuild as well.
I'd better stop before I depress myself too many to fix .
God I've just remembered some others to sort as well , at least I fixed one gun today oh and another for a friend yesterday.
Maybe I do have a problem .

[Leonardj]

How obsessed?
Best way I can describe it is, not as bad as some, but a whole lot worse than others.

[deejayuu]

Very therapeutic read! Thanks. Must get to workbench tomorrow.

[I. J.]

Vaguely.

[Hsing-ee]

Comes and goes... thought I just wanted a couple of rifles to shoot with, one PCP and two springers, now I find I have seven Weihrauchs (including a HW25, why?) a Crosman Model 70, a weird Original 50, a Webley Hawk and a Feinwerkbau on the way.

It's not a logical and comprehensive effort like most people, more a kind of magpie urge to pick up things that are mentally 'shiney'....

In defence, it is much better than being a car or bike enthusiast as you can usually get most of the money back if you decide to sell. Pity the fool who spends £20K on souping up his Ford Focus...

It's interesting anyway. Millions of years ago I did part of a Zoology degree, and the 'fun' parts of that were 1. seeing how all the different critters solved the problems of living in their own different ways and 2. how all the different critters were ultimately related to each other. I think the fun of studying airguns shares these two things, the amazing variations in design and the evolutionary links between them all. There's also an appreciation of the aesthetics of design, materials and engineering, which is common to all manufactured or crafted things since the beginning of Time. It's even pleasant enjoying the aromas of different springers, no-one over a certain age can resist the smell of a good 3-In-1 diesel or the theories of Mr Cardew & Son (which are odourless, but nevertheless some believe stink).

So you should think of yourself as a kind of David Attenborough of airguns. Except not bothering fish or bats quite so much.

[45flint]

Comes and goes... thought I just wanted a couple of rifles to shoot with, one PCP and two springers, now I find I have seven Weihrauchs (including a HW25, why?) a Crosman Model 70, a weird Original 50, a Webley Hawk and a Feinwerkbau on the way.

It's not a logical and comprehensive effort like most people, more a kind of magpie urge to pick up things that are mentally 'shiney'....

In defence, it is much better than being a car or bike enthusiast as you can usually get most of the money back if you decide to sell. Pity the fool who spends £20K on souping up his Ford Focus...

It's interesting anyway. Millions of years ago I did part of a Zoology degree, and the 'fun' parts of that were 1. seeing how all the different critters solved the problems of living in their own different ways and 2. how all the different critters were ultimately related to each other. I think the fun of studying airguns shares these two things, the amazing variations in design and the evolutionary links between them all. There's also an appreciation of the aesthetics of design, materials and engineering, which is common to all manufactured or crafted things since the beginning of Time. It's even pleasant enjoying the aromas of different springers, no-one over a certain age can resist the smell of a good 3-In-1 diesel or the theories of Mr Cardew & Son (which are odourless, but nevertheless some believe stink).

So you should think of yourself as a kind of David Attenborough of airguns. Except not bothering fish or bats quite so much.

Wow, never has a hobby had a more eloquent voice.

[Garvin]

Wow, never has a hobby had a more eloquent voice.

Hear, hear.

[mrto]

I think I am more like the magpie that Alistair describes rather than the rational collector with a considered framework of historical perspective or cohesion.

A bit like a shotgun blast of chocolate sauce on a broad vanilla ice cream canvas!

In zoological terms we're all collecting Dodo's!

[harry mac]

I'm more of an 'armchair' collector nowadays.

That's a whole other hobby. How many chairs have you got? I've got an old leather sofa to get rid of, if that would be of interest.