by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
This report covers:
- Don’t dabble
- Retail sales
- Prisoner joke 49
- Mr. Fix-it
- Success — sort of
- Sell your skill
- Build a better mousetrap
- What am I saying?
Today I am writing to those readers who think they would like to have a business that deals with airguns. I hear from people all the time who think they would like to be involved in the airgun business. Sometimes they ask for advice. Here it comes, whether or not you asked.
Don’t dabble
The first thing I look for in a person who wants to get into the airgun business (or any business, for that matter) is passion. Do they have passion for what they say they want to do? If a person tells me they are retired and just want to dabble in airguns I tell them that’s like dabbling in skydiving. At some point you have to jump, and then you DEFINITELY have to pull the ripcord! Skydiving gets real serious real fast.
If I ask you why you want to get into airguns and you smile and say you think it would be neat, I would advise another career. If, on the other hand, you are still talking 25 minutes later, then I would say maybe you have a chance. Those who get into airguns and make something of it are often people who can’t do anything else. I don’t mean they aren’t capable — I mean nothing else turns them on.
Retail sales
Okay, if you were all prisoners, I would now shout out “Forty Nine!” and you would laugh. There will be many readers who don’t understand what I am saying so I will explain.
Prisoner joke 49
A new prisoner in his cell hears someone in the cellblock shout out “37” and everyone laughs. Then someone else shouts out “19” and again everyone laughs. He asks his cellmate what’s happening and is told that everyone in prison has heard all the jokes so many times that they gave them numbers to make them easier to tell. He thinks that’s wonderful, so he suddenly shouts “49” at the top of his lungs and there is total silence! He then asks his cellmate what happened and the cellmate responded, “You told it wrong.”
So, I won’t make the same mistake. Instead I will ask you to read this blog about starting a retail airgun business. Oh, and “Number 5!”
You’re not laughing.
Okay, maybe retail is not your thing. What about repairs? People are always wanted to get their airguns fixed. I gave you a clue in that last blog story, but here is the whole deal.
Mr. Fix-it
You decide to fix pneumatics and CO2 guns. They seem to break more than other guns and guys are always telling you they need to get theirs fixed. To your amazement, it turns out that these guns are pretty easy to work on, as long as they are in stock condition and as long as they are either Crosman or Benjamin models for which there are parts.
But that soon becomes the problem. Many of the guns you are asked to fix are not in stock condition. They have been messed with and the repair parts no longer fit they way they should. You discover that, before bringing them to you, the owners fix the easy ones. They only bring the guns to you that they can’t repair.
And then there is the price. A Benjamin 392 repair kit costs you $24 delivered. So you charge $39, plus shipping, hoping to make $15 for what takes at least an hour and often many times longer. Customers complain about the price, because when they bought the rifle in 1993 it didn’t cost much more than what you are charging. Forget the fact that it retails for over $150 today — they didn’t buy it today.
Success — sort of
You know the worst thing that can happen? You succeed and the word gets around that you are the man to see. As the weeks pass your shop in the garage builds up with box after box of guns needing repairs. You don’t just need to fix all of them, there is paperwork to do, parts to order and inventory, endless phone calls to take (and try to finish in less than two hours!) and so on. At the end of the month it dawns on you that you are working harder than you did in your career and making less than you currently pay your lawn service!
Sell your skill
Okay, retail and maintenance are out. What about skill? Can you sell that? You are a woodworker without equal. Could you be happy with a business making custom stocks and grips? In the beginning, yes, because you have a lot of time to do your work. You make stocks for popular air rifles like the Benjamin Marauder and they sell quickly. So quickly that you run out and soon get behind on the orders.
As you become better-known, the demand rises and what was once a pleasant pastime turns into a drudgery. You raise your prices to slow it down and all it does is increase the demand, due to perceived value. This is a bad sort of success because you long for the good old days when this was just a hobby, all the while people are saying unkind things about your slow delivery. Forget selling skill. Try something else.
Build a better mousetrap
What if you made something everybody needs and says they want? Something nobody else is making. Surely there is some money in that?
I don’t know. Let’s ask JerryC, the Pelletgage guy, and Codeuce, the target guy. Have either of them bought that yacht and retired to the Islands yet?
Seriously — I think both men are pleased that they do something related to airguns. I use both their products and find them well made and very useful. But I think they would tell us that there are a lot of invisible things involved in an airgun-related business that you never think about until you have to do them.
I quit working for the man (an employer) in 1996, thinking my time would finally be my own. Well, a lot more of it was — no silly classes to take, no more endless meetings where all you do is waste time. But I have never had all my time to myself. The fact that there are others in the world means there will alway be some time that is not yours to use as you please. To be successful at anything you need to learn how to deal with time management so you get the most out of the time that you have.
What am I saying?
If you took the time to read that old blog I linked to, I’m saying this — in the immortal words of Roseanne Rosannandanna, “It’s always something.” For the benefit of our younger readers and those outside the U.S. who never saw Saturday Night Live on television in its heyday, what that means is, no matter what topic you discuss, things are never as straightforward as you would like them to be.
Get into airguns if you must but don’t expect to make a killing — or even to come out ahead. If you do, consider yourself lucky. If words like that don’t deter you, welcome aboard!
B.B.,
You are so on the mark here that you are bringing back memories!
I enjoyed gunsmithing on a tinkering level, so, a few years ago, I got certified and decided I would restore old shotguns and give them a new lease on life. I bought trashed guns (broken stocks, etc.), restored them, and sold them. I was having fun, but after I had done a few dozen, my wife asked me how much profit I was making.
I calculated that it was between $1.50 and $2.00 per hour. My problem is I like things to be perfect (or as perfect as I can make them) before I will sell them. That is not a good business formula. =)
Please listen carefully to B.B.; I have had 3 businesses so far: a boat building business, a martial arts school, and the gun restoration business. The only one that was profitable was the martial arts school, and that was only because I got an amazing cheap rent on some space from a friend (and when I had to move, I lost that advantage). Starting a business, any business, is a much more involved process than it seems.
Great job, B.B., as always!
take care,
dave
Dave
That drive for perfection kept me away from a career as a body and fender man. Just couldn’t settle for doing half**ed work to beat the clock. But I managed to do custom painting for many years on the side. I returned to Aviation Maintenance in the Navy where perfection is a way of life. Had a hard time convincing a Hells Angel I wasn’t painting bikes any more.
Then there are those people you give a great deal to who turn around and sell what you created for them for a hell of a profit and expect you to do it again for the same price because they don’t have it anymore. Then you have liability insurance, and a business license.
I needed a secure income with medical coverage for the wife and children and that drove my decision to re-enlist.
A lot to think about and take into consideration when deciding on a lifetime career for sure. You just can’t sit around and hope something comes along. The saying is “Fail to plan and you can plan to fail”
Bob M
““Fail to plan and you can plan to fail”
Amen, Bob M! You nailed it.
Our son planned, started, ran, and then sold a very successful business.
Now some friends want him to go in with them on a new business.
However, they have no real plan.
Their “plan” is to run out and rent a warehouse and start filling it full of cool widgets
…and then wait for people to start buying them.
I am going to send my son this post and the related post, “Starting your own airgun business,”
which has lots of good advice for anyone starting any business.
Between those posts, and good comments like the one you just made,
perhaps my son can get his friends to get a clue and make a real business plan! =D
Thank you!
take care,
dave
BB
Yep and that’s why I even kept from competing with air guns. I know how I am. I did with cars and motorcycles and radio control airplanes. I tend to get to serious and then the funs gone.
And that’s exactly why I don’t want to work on air guns. Don’t get me wrong. I like it. But I think I will be more happy tinkering and enjoying the outcome when I get it right.
But then again. You u never know what could happen.
I’m reminded of a recent article I read recently: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/07/find-your-passion-is-terrible-advice/564932/
I know what I want from a job – I want to help people, I want the work to be interesting, I want to be appreciated (by colleagues, clients, and management), I want to be appropriately compensated.
I don’t want it to be my life. Passions change, and of the various things I want from my hobbies (diversion, entertainment, community), one of the most valuable is that it is adamantly not work – that I can stop doing it at any time, and it is an activity that I pursue solely because I enjoy it and can stop at the moment it stops being enjoyable.
There’s a reason the video/computer games industry has comparatively low pay and even higher turnover than normal in an already high-turnover field. They take advantage of the passion of (mostly) kids, and work them to the bone. It’s endemic in creative fields where people will accept less compensation and respect than they deserve because they ‘get’ to chase their passions. A few years of far too much overtime later, they burn out get jaded, and decide that a 9-to-5 with better pay and benefits making a better spreadsheet is actually a pretty good deal after all.
At the end of the day, business is business and pleasure is pleasure.
Chanman819,
“At the end of the day, business is business and pleasure is pleasure.” You sure hit that right!!!
Hank
Received my DPMS SBR today and all I can say for now is “WOW” They really have perfected composite plastic.
Bob M
B.B.,
Very good. I will agree with having intense passion for something. You at least have to have that to pull you through the rest. Something else too,… some people never stop. They seem to have boundless energy and can never just sit still and rest. That would go a long ways to success.
Oh yea,… learn from other’s that have gone before. Learn from their mistakes so you don’t make the same ones.
Good Day to you and to all,…. Chris
B.B.
Thank you Sir. What a timely article. I’m due to retire next year, & was thinking of getting into airgun repairs, cos there are three sellers here and probably thousands of guns sold, but only a couple of Airgunsmiths around. Only one is a pro who sells airguns and firearms, has good workshop facilities & huge infrastructure. But, I would like it to be more of an enjoyable past time to keep me occupied & make some good dough at the same time. I ran an advertisement in a very popular weekend newspaper to test the response. But, got only 2 responses. One guy has got a beautiful custom HW77 which is working perfectly, but wanted to know if I could replace the seals and mainspring if it became necessary. I told him I could but for now to just enjoy shooting his gun. The other guys son has an airgun that he has messed up & he wants me to come to his house with my tools & repair it on site!! Ha!
Well, now I’m not so sure. Maybe I’ll find some regular job & just enjoy tinkering and shooting my guns & my best friend’s BT 65.
God bless.
Errol
Errol,
Maybe you can get a part time job with the pro?
RidgeRunner,
Didn’t think of that. Good idea to ask & hear what he has to say. Would love to work there.
Errol
,
Errol,
Who knows, he might go for it. If he does and you do not like it, you can quit.
BB,
27! Did I tell it right?
I too know several who are building better mousetraps. Lloyd is one of those. His too became more than he could deal with on his own. He had no time for other projects.
It would be nice to have a hobby that pays for itself, but as often happens it either does not or succeeds to a point that it is not fun anymore.
RR,
Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything…
42
🙂
LOL! Gads, I’m getting old. I know that one.
Hank,
If you trust mice.
B.B.
RR,
I worked in manufacturing as a quality technician for over 40 years. I retired in 2011 from Parker Hannifin Corp. In 1994 I became very interested in working on computers and worked in a local store for about a year. So repairing computers became my hobby. Now after having repaired computers for over 25 years as a hobby in my basement, I still enjoy the challenge. People have told me over the years that I should advertise and open a business. I always tell them no, I don’t want to be that busy. I have about 20 people or so that I support when needed. I even use remote access to help a couple when they travel south in winter. I work for food mostly but some will pay me $50 to $100 depending on the job. Like others here in the blog have stated, I am a perfectionist. I spend much more time than is necessary repairing a computer because I just cannot return it without having checked everything and removing any malware I find with several scans. I may spend six hours on a one hour job but that’s just me. I could never make money doing computer repairs. I have amassed over $2500 doing repairs as a hobby over the years. I call it my computer fund for when I build my own new computer. That is much more than I would need, so guess what I did? This spring I used $500 of that fund to buy a new Gamo Urban, UTG 3-12×44 scope, HPA hand pump, and a few other airgun items. So my first hobby has funded my new second hobby. I still enjoy repairing computers and helping folks learn how to use them though.
Geo
George,
You are a man with a plan.
B.B.
Geo,
Awesome! It is what I hope for when I start my serious tinkering. Like I said, if my hobbies can support themselves that would be great. If it just offsets the cost a bit, I can live with that.
Interesting read and interesting comments.
Years ago I was lucky enough to realize that turning a hobby into a lively hood would be a bad thing. The difference between wanting to do something and having to do it takes the fun out of an activity real fast.
Being retired now I have more time to putter around in the workshop and make stuff. I have always made things and have even sold them to make a bit of extra cash. What I have been doing is selling what I make by posting adds on the bulletin boards in stores and the local Buy & Sell sites.
By selling items that have already been made there is no pressure to produce them and you know exactly how much time and materials are involved. Well made items sell fast (if reasonably priced) and unique/special items can be priced accordingly. Its not a “get rich quick” scheme but it generates some extra money for buying tools or toys that I can’t make.
Just my 2 cents.
Hank
Hank,
I would say that two cents is worth a dollar two ninety-eight.
Years ago, I got into restoring old cars as a hobby, and I thought it would be a good business to try rather than “working for the man”. I meticulously keep records of the parts I purchased and did not include the hours and hours of my time working and cursing at the vehicle with all the problems and setbacks. When I was finished and moved on to another project, I quickly found out that my driver quality vehicles usually sold for less than I had spent on parts alone. Forget my time and the hours of labor. Not a good business model.
Just like investing in the stock market or doing anything in life, the smart folks stick with what he/she knows and has trained for. I took my years of oil and gas experience and formed my own one-man consulting business in 2000 and have been busy and happy ever since. The upside is that I get to make all the decisions that affect my business. The downside is that “no work, no pay” and I have no paid vacation, sick days, retirement plan, or other benefits of a normal job. At 74 I still enjoy going to a consulting job each day and nobody can tell me that I need to retire. That decision is mine and mine alone.
Bob in Texas
B.B.,
An excellent report!
My two cents is to urge one to “dip his toes in before diving in.” Folks should always get some experience in the sort of business they are considering. For example, my brother-in-law hated his job and working for The Man both. So he decided he should open a restaurant.
His only experience remotely relevant was that he tended bar part-time 25 years earlier in a shots-and-beers neighborhood tavern with no kitchen. I suggested he ask a local restaurant to hire him as a part-time host/busboy/dishwasher/waiter on the weekends. He would get a general idea of what happens in a restaurant behind the scenes. He saw my point, and after one weekend, that was it. He hated every single part of it and found every part of it to be physically demanding and unpleasant work. He said he was drained after nine hours and hadn’t recovered by the start of his second day, during which he worked for another nine hours. On the other hand, an awful lot of successful restaurant owners started part time as busboys and love the business.
Michael
B.B.
Definitely did not buy a yacht, a kayak yes, but no yacht. One thing we overestimated was the size of the market, which seems pretty big on here but it’s decieving. Then you take that market and divide it into the specialized segments and next thing you know the slice of market interested in your product is a sliver. That being said its been a great opportunity for personal growth and in my estimation that’s worth the price of admission itself.
Carl
Carl,
I am glad you received more than monetary returns. That can be most rewarding.
B.B.,
Great blog topic! But…
What about airgun writer? Seems interesting! You can buy airguns and use them as a business write-off, travel to airguns shows and write-off your expenses, if you compare airguns to powder burning guns you can write-off those too! Oh! You can also work in the idea of newly adopted hobbies like straight razors and write that boff too!
All you need is a collection of bad jokes and some internet searches for history and at least one copy of the Blue Book of Airguns and you are in bidness!!!!
All kidding aside this was a great blog that is a joy to read. As well as finding, once again, that most of your readership are NO dummies!
shootski
shootski,
Yep, dat be my bidness.
Only — are the joke really THAT bad?
B.B.
B.B.,
You are an Airgun Writer! Why do you think you need to be an accomplished comedian?
Actually the jokes are okay! Just avoid writing about the topic of becoming a comedian, Lol!
Chasing two mice at one time results in upset CAT!
shootski
Isn’t it funny how as we get older and wiser, with years and years of experience, that it is so difficult to pass that knowledge on to others? I grew up around auto repair. My dad owned an auto repair shop for 15 years, up until I graduated high school. During that time I learned how to handle firearms and hunt wild game and bring home dinner. I also learned all about automobiles, their maintenance and repairs. I worked with my dad when I was 14 helping rebuild and engine and then later, rebuilt the engine on my own car.
Later, when I got married and bought a home, I learned about repairing things around the house. I helped build three houses with two other guys from work. We did all that after working eight to ten hours in the shop, and on weekends. So from that I learned a lot about construction. Now that I’m turning 72, I no longer do much construction and working on my cars has gotten to be a real PIA. I’ve always done all my own car maintenance until this past year. It’s getting too difficult crawling underneath cars to change oil and such.
I have a son, 39, and a daugther, 43. My son has absolutely no mechanical ability and no desire to learn anything about car repair, or even maintenance. I showed him once how to change the oil and filter on his Cavalier. As he was observing, he said “dad, I’m never going to do that”. My daughter is more mechanically inclined and will try fixing some things herself. They could save themselves a lot of money by doing the easy stuff instead of relying on someone else to do it for them.
So, getting back to the beginning, it’s difficult to pass the experience on to our kids. I like to think that I soaked up every bit of knowledge I could from my dad as I was going up. But you can’t force feed this stuff to them, and I feel as though I will be taking most of what I have learned through the years with me when I pass. Kind of gruesome but as they say, it is what it is.
Geo791
Along those lines, one of my daughters living in Los Angeles would always try to describe her car problems to me over the phone and of course I would always have questions for her to figure out what was really wrong.
I sent her an OBD2 code reader and a repair manual listing the codes so we could better communicate. Now she’s even repairing her car herself
She gets the code, looks it up, finds the section to repair it with a picture and gets the part to repair it. She is also very good at getting guys to help her fix it.
I gave her a basic tool box long ago and it really paid off. Now I just spend time praising her accomplishment after the job is done. It’s in their genes one way or another.
Bob M
I’m reminded of when I was considering a career teaching K-12. I researched the career, and it was pretty clear that the work was hard, the pay was terrible, the results often nonexistent and appreciation spotty at best. So why would anyone do this? The fundamental question you had to ask yourself was: Do I love the kids? Hell no, was my answer. Or at least not that much. But the necessary passion can be taken to an extreme. There is a story of how a promising fencer asked a grandmaster to evaluate if he had what it took to be successful. The grandmaster said no, and the guy gave up his career. Years later, they met, and the student asked what the grandmaster saw that determined his opinion. The grandmaster responded, “Oh, I didn’t even look at your fencing. If you had had the passion necessary, you would have continued regardless of what I said.” There is no record of whether the student punched him out.
Passion will determine destiny, or so we’re taught in a Western tradition. But then there is a Chinese perspective. A Westerner heard some Chinese people talking about how certain successful people had been extremely lucky. He suggested they must have worked hard too, but the Chinese responded: Of course, they did. Everyone works hard, so luck made the difference in the end….
Thanks for all the good wishes on my arm. I keep hearing more and more about how terrible the break is, just about as bad as you could get. The odds were not in my favor. But it could be worse. Apparently after surviving the ETO, General George Patton was in a very minor car accident where his car bumped into another vehicle and, sitting in the back seat, he bumped his head on the front seat. The two people in the front of his car were fine, but Patton was paralyzed from the neck down and died shortly after. One thing that occupied my attention in recovery was taking an online class at Harvard Law School and typing out the final exam with one hand was no joke. I can say that they had a blog associated with the class and it was much inferior to the airgun blog. On the subject of passion, they simply couldn’t muster the participation from the moderator or the contributors.
Perhaps the lesson of camping is that old bones are cold bones. I got to wondering how soldiers sleep in the field on bivouac. I don’t know if they still have those little triangular tents that look like doghouses. Perhaps now they just climb into a sleeping bag although the bags are not obvious in their equipment. Yes, the moose outfit took some guts, and I and my fellow camouflage wearers looked pretty tame by comparison. Still, you can jump to conclusions about people’s outfits. I took the opportunity to try out my camouflage wardrobe. I was lounging in the passenger seat at a gas station wearing my Russian camo, based on a WWII German design, when this guy rapped on the window and motioned for me to roll it down. When I did, he drew smoothly from a shoulder holster, and I found myself looking down the barrel of a Makarov. Actually, he didn’t. He wanted to know what pattern of camouflage I had. He then moved on into a discussion of various camouflage patterns, dwelling on the modern designs and then he got to speculating about the new medium caliber ammunition that the Chinese have created for their armed forces. I was wondering if I was wearing a tag saying that the psychiatrist was in. But I had actually read something about the new Chinese ammo and was able to have a pleasant conversation. So, I guess the guy picked his man correctly after all. Incidentally, I believe we entered from the east side of the park from Jackson Hole airport and the Grand Tetons, so I didn’t see any gun ranges. Researching the law, I saw that you are allowed to carry guns in national parks; you just can’t discharge them. 🙂 Apparently, the law is to allow transport of guns across park land, not for use in them. But I suppose if you had to use them in self-defense, the law wouldn’t be too hard on you.
I also used the trip to try out my historical boots. The jump boots provided plenty of support, but with the large toebox, they were a bit clumsy on some of the rocky paths. Those boots seem to be as much armor as clothing. By contrast, the jungle boots which had seemed snug to the point of tight, really came into their own, and I leaped about the rocks like a goat in comfort. The jackboots were the most interesting. Without polished floors to slip on and in the outdoors that they were designed for, they did great. The hobnails work like cleats and the traction was terrific. In the old war footage, you can see the German soldiers racing around in their boots, and now I can understand. I believe in those days that sprint shoes were little more than dress shoes with nails driven in to provide traction on cinder tracks. And where my relatives were putting plastic bags over their socks for puddles, I plowed right through them. On the other hand, the soles were very hard, and my feet were killing me at the end of the day. Between the heavy recoiling Mauser rifles and these boots that crush your feet into shape, the German army was obviously a rough outfit without a lot of thought on the creature comforts of the soldiers.
Matt61
Matt61,
The fact that firearms can be carried was a good first step; the fact that you legally can’t go into a restroom (defined as a Federal Facility)) carrying is absolutely absurd. The important thing to realize is that bb guns, pellet guns as well as swords and bows are PROHIBITED by the National Parks Service. The Biathlon shooting range (has official exemptions on discharging BIATHLON firearms) is accessable from the West Yellowstone enterance which would have been to your North toward Montana. I suspect you entered from the South if you flew into Jackson Hole. I really think Yellowstone is one of my favorite places in any season as long as you can get away from the roads and the cars with people who are never really IN the park.
shootski
Somewhere while reading todays blog including the comments, I came to a realization that could have a positive impact on my life. Since I retired,10 years ago, I have been enjoying fishing and hunting less and less. I have been taking friends and relatives hunting and fishing and felt it was my job to make sure they had a good experience. That is part of my nature but also part of my problem trying to make them have a good time was giving me more and more work as they began to expect it. I was not having fun like I used to. Well I think it is time to go by my favorite song lyrics “you can’t please everyone, you got to please yourself”. I also have started doing this with air guns. I hope this realization will allow me to enjoy my favorite pastimes more.
Thanks
Don
Benji-Don
That’s a slippery slope there.
When you reach the point where you have absolutely nothing to worry about and become self indulgent you may start to let your hair grow long, stop shaving, wear T shirts and jeans with lots of holes and start putting off lots of chores that you only did to impress people, hope they like you and become envious.
I could send a pic…. but eh! You may have finally found yourself !
Bob M,
Well it’s always something. You pretty well summed up my description except the beard and hair are short, less effort using my Flowbee.. I quit trying to impress folks a long time ago, maybe not with shooting.
Don
Starting a business.
No expert here but I know there is a process or formula to follow to determine whether of not you at least have a chance to succeed before you even start.
It’s been mentioned here some, like checking out the number of people likely to purchase from you within your operating area. The best way to advertise. Initial cost for set up. A plan for expansion if successful. What your profit will be compared to overhead, your labor or shipping cost and on and on.
Point is if you don’t do your homework first, something like a course in Business Administration, your jumping off a bridge and hoping the water is more than 5′ deep. 🙁
DPMS SBR
Did a little disassembly to see how they put it together and what may be possible with it then played with looks a little. I sent in a customer pic but just realized I got it on sale someplace else and they may not post it so I’ll share it with everyone here.
Everything is very accessible but it looks like the stock and possibly the quad rail ( I don’t have one that mounts with screws ) may need to stay as is. There is a buffer in the stock tube, and it’s held on to the receiver with a pressed spring pin. The stock is unconventional and a bit awkward to use, given the way it’s set up, but it’s strong and nice and tight. Seems to be a slot in it for a cheek riser.
Bob,
Wow! I am not sure where to start looking, let alone stop looking. I like the pod, the rails, the pistol grip and the adj. butt. Not sure if it is my cup of tea, so to speak, but it sure is interesting. I will say though, my .25 M-rod with RAI stock is not very far at all from what you have there.
With all those rails, I figure a night scope on top of (what ever) that is already on top of it. Throw a level on top of that. Or two. A coffee mug holder on one side of the forend with a cold beverage holder on the other side, to balance the weight, of course. Lights too. Don’t forget the lights! 10,000 watt spotter too big? 😉
Enjoy and I hope it does well for you right out of the box,…. Chris
Chris
Lets not forget the toilet paper dispenser and multi-tool !! If your gonna look Bad A you gotta shoot Bad A.
Sure hope it does perform as well but being a full-auto plinker sending BBs out at around 1400 RPM It’s not whether you can hit the target but when you hit it… We’ll see. That square bi-pod fits right in with that square stock doesn’t it.
Yes I remember your RAI Marauder, BB’s too. And you said it looked kind of tame compared to mine. Remember this pic below ? I call it “Heavy Metal”. Also did one up with the Teryx stock. It has the squared off upside down floating Mossberg 500 railed pump handle over the shroud with a Luth AR stock and AR storage mag I nicknamed “Full Dress”
Around that time someone said I should be crowned the king of Tac-T-Cool. I think that was for installing the Wi-Fi into an M249 Airsoft SAW.
Yes I really like black assault rifles, probably because I never went hunting ? May have changed my prospective If I did.
Bob M
Bob M,
Never went hunting? I that code speak?
What has that got to do with BLACK rifles? If you hunt at night it makes perfect sense to hunt with a Black rifle. We don’t rule the night for nothing.
If I didn’t own a Marauder and automatically recognized the airtube, barrel band, filler cap, breach signature and shape I guess it would look like a B.A. rifle to me! Your new DPMS doesn’t look anything like my first one. Heck it was grey had an A2 stock, bayonet lug and even had a carry handle! How far we have come.
Waiting what you are able to bring out of this one!
shootski
Shootski
Hell when I grew up only the military had assault rifles so most hunting was done with traditional single shot bolt action wood stocks. Not used too much in Brooklyn NY. My family were all city folk.
If your hunting for evil humans I guess the AR is the perfect choice. If you call looking for intruders hunting, and at night, then I guess I actually did hunt only I used a Mossberg Persuader, it’s even black too. Luckily I never caught one and have since decided to knock it off for being too dangerous in many ways.
Your DPMS sounds exactly like my Colt AR15 A2. I thought about having the handle shaved off and attaching a rail but after a while I decided to keep it on as it turns into a classic. I can restore it to an original stock item any time and railed uppers are everywhere now.
I don’t think I’ll be looking to ring out every bit of accuracy from this DPMS ‘Spray and pray’ rifle but who knows what may present itself upon investigation or be revealed on the interweb …
Bob,
That is just too cool, I like it.
Mike
Thanks Mike,
Which one were you talking about ? DPMS or Heavy Metal Marauder?
Bob,
The Heavy Metal Marauder, the DPMS is sweet as well but the the Marauder has it beat on looks in my opinion.
Mike
Mike
I posted this pic before as well as the one above but have no Idea where they are, been a while. I cant install a link so I will send it again and document this blog for future ref. This is my “Full Dress” Marauder. Another Tac-T-Cool.
Bob,
That one is really sweet as well, but I think the Heavy Metal Marauder wins the good looks award in my eyes while the DPMS would probably win in the fun to blast away with department.
Perhaps a full auto Heavy Metal Marauder, now that would probably break my coolness meter.
Mike
Mike
That would be my ultimate goal also.
I have an Evanix Speed, in original full-auto and an Evanix GTK290 that could be converted to full-auto with no problem. Just need a suitable B/A stock set up.
My semi-auto Hatsan Barrage may have possibilities as well but would probably require a lot of fabrication to look Tac-T-Cool. The bottle would have to go.
I doubt we will ever see a full auto PCP in this country again from any big company.
Bob,
There is this, the SMG-22 100 round belt fed machine gun from Air Ordnance https://air-ordnance.com/smg-22-tactical-hpa-limited-edition/
You have probably seen it before, does not have much in the Tac-T-Cool department but looks like a lot of fun to shoot.
Mike
Bob,
Yes I do remember, now. Note made, again. It is tuff to remember you has what. I remember you posted pics of your other beast’s in the past too. All similar in theme/style (to the untrained eye). Yes, my M-rod looks quite docile in comparison.
Speaking of notes,.. How is the Nova Freedom doing? In hind sight now, I can see why you were attracted the Nova. A .575 Quackenbush too.
Keep us posted,… Chris
Sorry to hear of the ex. Glad to hear you are getting back to a normal routine. Going through all that medical stuff yourself or with someone else can wear a person down. Relax a bit and enjoy.
Chris
You are oh so right about medical problems. I am just about a live in care giver and doctor / hospital transportation service, not to mention all the other stuff now. She has pancreatice, bad hips and shoulder, cellulitis in her legs, an intestinal infection and back pain. She recently fell off the emergency room bed and broke two vertebrae, then had a mini stroke.
I just offered her a place to stay when she lost her job and it’s turned into a nightmare starting with both knees being replaced. Glad I stayed it shape. Airguns make for a nice get away.
Bob,
Sorry to hear of your ex-wife’s many medical problems. This has be an overwhelming situation for you! From what you have told us, it would appear that she really requires an assisted living facility. You have got to be a very compassionate guy to take on being her caregiver. This can be a very exhausting job and can eventually affect your personal health as well. This says a lot about your character and is a very sacrificial thing to do. May God supply His strength and blessing to you and your family.
Geo
Geo
Thanks for the kind words. The most taxing was making sure seven food packages were put into the hanging bag every day with all the flushing and bandage changing. It was installed into her intestines to bypass her pancreas for months while she had progressively larger stents installed in many operations.
My home is not wheel chair friendly and when she can no longer use a walker she may be moved into a care facility. She cant get up off the floor if she falls…. Guys you must do daily walks or workouts after you retire to avoid muscle deterioration. Her life is constant pain and misery.
Bob,
You are taking me back to 2010. I was on TPN for 3-1/2 months while my pancreas healed. Edith had to hang a bag every day and clean the inlet port. Meanwhile I was draining my pancreas into another bag that had to be emptied and cleaned every day. I was mobile, fortunately. I don’t know what we would have done if I hadn’t been. After three months in the hospital I never wanted to go back!
You, sir, are an angle of mercy!
B.B.
BB
Didn’t mention that suction cup she had pinned to her PJ’s. Just another unpleasantry.
Here’s the topper. When I found her on the bathroom floor she was awake but unresponsive. I called the paramedics and they eventually air lifted her to the hospital. The place where she fell off the bed and broke her vertebrae.
Some one notified the DMV of her ‘Suspected’ seizure and they pulled her driver license. Later diagnosed as a mini stroke which is a nonrecurring event and acceptable. So now I need to drag her off to a DMV hearing to dispute it ….after she gets home again.
People never anticipate this stuff.
Chris
I forgot about the Nova. I remember I was waiting to sight in a better scope for a 50 yard accuracy test and I lost my round tuit.
Well guys …
If it seems I’m a little over active here on the blog it’s because my invalid ex wife of 39 years, the mother of my kids and now room mate of mine ( For their sake ) has been in the hospital and convulsant home for many weeks now and I find I have a lot of time on my hands. And … It’s very convenient that these two AR rifles happened to show up during this period.
I hope my recliner holds up under all this use !
Bob M
Bob M,
You have it right.
BUT Get out of that recliner OFTEN!
That’s an order!
Get thee to the gym or at least get outside and walk.
If it’s too hot go swim or if possible do both.
shootski
Shootski
I do…. I do….I just have a lot more free time with my laptop on the blog between my exercise and walking sessions. Besides I need to get up every time my beer runs out … 🙂
Just kidding those binge days in the Navy are long gone.
Tuesday was a travel day, so my comment is delayed. Pelletgage has been a very positive experience, and advice from our own BBP was a huge help.
I would say give it a try if you have a good idea. Sales via webstores, eBay, Amazon are simple enough. But it does crate a daily chore list to ship, keep records, and correspond. I suggest that prompt customer service is a key, and patience to explain things many times. Don’t allow adverse opinions to change positive attitudes, and apply golden rule often. The profit has been decent, but the activity itself has been interesting and rewarding, and that is a prime consideration for me.