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Be glad you’re an airgunner

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • We had fun
  • Ammo shortage?
  • Prepper
  • Why am I telling you this?
  • An historical aside
  • The point
  • What’s more
  • One last remark

A week ago Friday and again last Friday I took my neighbor Denny to the range to shoot his new 9mm carry pistol. I took seveal of my own 9mm pistols too, just for fun. 

We had fun!

I have not been to my gun range in 18 months! I was so rusty and out of practice at shooting a firearm that it was good to get back in the saddle. But while we were at the range Denny told me he had to go to the sporting goods store the minute they opened and he stood in a line to get his 9MM ammo. He was limited to just 300 rounds of 9mm and it cost him nearly $60!!!

I was flabbergasted. You see — I don’t listen to the news. Never have. I don’t like being lied to, and 40 years ago I discovered that was all they were doing, so I quit watching. Whenever I catch a snippet of a broadcast these days I can see that they run nothing else but grossly slanted lies.

I am aware of the riots in our big cities — the ones that have ironically talked about defunding their police departments (ha ha), but I was unaware that most of the rest of the population has finally figured it out. If you want to be protected, it’s up to you and nobody else!

Ammo shortage?

So I went online to see for myself. Sure enough the bulk ammunition sellers are all out of stock and even MidwayUSA has nothing. They have plenty of 9mm ammo listed on their website but they have none to sell. They had to invent terms to describe the fact that none of it is available — temporarily unavailable, out of stock, out of stock no backorder, out of stock, backorder okay, etc.

Okay, default to Gun Broker. This is where the guys who bought up all the toilet paper back in March reside.  One guy wants $145 for 50 rounds of 9mm! There are bids as high as $665.00 for 750 rounds with three days left on the clock! Ain’t no way!

Prepper

My late wife, Edith, was a prepper. As a result we bought hundreds of rounds (thousands?) of 9mm loaded ammo when the price was low. I remember when $185 would get you 1,000 rounds of Winchester 9mm ammunition.

I didn’t buy .45 ACP ammo back then because I have a Dillon Square Deal B progressive reloading press that can make 250-300 rounds an hour. I have a half-ton of lead, tin and Linotype metal that I have collected over the years. And I have two lead pots and plenty of 6-gang bullet molds that can turn out bullets by the thousands.

I have several 8-pound containers of the correct gunpowder and thousands of primers. Can’t get most of that anymore, either.

When I got the Square Deal B progressive press I only wanted it for .45 ACP because that was what Edith and I shot by the thousands. But for a small investment I can convert it to load 9mm Luger ammo, as well. And the conversion kit is backordered two weeks, so even the reloaders in this nation are starting to wake up. But I have a single-stage press and dies for 9mm, so I can do it one at a time the old-fashioned way until my new stuff arrives.

Why am I telling you this?

Because we are airgunners! I hadn’t busted a cap in many, many months and I was rusty when first at the range, but because I shoot airguns all the time I quickly remembered how to do it. I started shooting the center out of the 50-foot bull at 15 yards, once my airgunning skills took over. I had been flinching and pulling the trigger quickly, which you can always spot when a right-hander starts throwing bullets low and to the left. But when I began squeezing the trigger correctly my Sig P365 tore the 10-ring out of the bull, followed closely by the P320 M17.

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An historical aside

I had visited Otho Henderson, my gun buddy, the day before going to the range last Friday and he asked if I would like to shoot the 9mm P38 pistol his wife’s father had brought back from World War II. I agreed and he gave it to me.

His wife’s father was a Major in the Army Air Corps in WW II and one of his last duties was to fly the war correspondents to the Nazi prison camps as the allies liberated them. General Eisenhower wanted full documentation of the horrors of each camp, so people could never say that it didn’t happen. Even so, and with all the Army films of each camp’s liberation, I have met younger people who say just that!

I’ve even read a snippet of a letter he wrote about going into the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and what he saw. It tore him apart and it left me in tears! After seeing thast he said the loss of so many lives was well worth it, to stop that from happening.

While he was in the camp he went into commandant Josef Kramer’s office and liberated a nickel-plated Walther P38 from the desk. I got to shoot that pistol, along with Denny and reader Cloud Nine. The gun is heavily buffed and poorly plated — an obvious showy job that would appeal only to a non-shooter. But the pistol still functions as it did when new and it’s pretty accurate, too. Cloud Nine did particularly well with it.

P38
A Walther P38 taken from the desk of the commandant of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April of 1945.

The point

The point of today’s report is twofold. First, I do things beside shoot airguns. And second, and most importantly, I shoot more as an airgunner than I ever did as a firearm shooter. And shooting of any kind keeps me sharp. We talk about this all the time, but here is the proof of the pudding.

What’s more

The current ammo shortage isn’t just affecting handgun shooters. Almost every round of firearm ammunition I can think of is in short supply. Even .22 rimfire is getting hard to find and is severely rationed when available. Younger shooters whose principal weapon is the AR-15 are really in a fix, because almost none of them reload. They couldn’t be bothered before the ammo shortage and now there is no way to start — all the tools and supplies are either in short supply or gone.

But airgunners have no shortage of pellets. Sometimes the most popular brands and calibers are sold out, but more arrive promptly to replace them. There ain’t no shortage caused by a general population running amuck.

One last remark

Today’s report was supposed to be an accuracy test of the Springfield Armory XD-M BB pistol. When I tried to install a fresh CO2 cartridge in the test pistol the end cap stripped out the aluminum threads of the magazine. It was my fault because I allowed the end cap to cross-thread. But Pyramyd AIR is sending me a fresh magazine and I will test the pistol when I get it.

63 thoughts on “Be glad you’re an airgunner”

  1. BB,

    Air guns, pellets and bb’s have been in short (to) non-existent supply at big box stores for months. I have not looked very hard because I am not in the market for anything at the moment,.. there or else ware. Other forums report the same all over the country. I would imagine that this is more due to Covid related China/world supplies and more people staying home with a new hobby. Either way, good luck.

    No news eh? I can get that. Without cable or satellite, you are out of luck on getting anything real anyways. Even then, there is only a few sources. If radio is your thing, Glen, Rush and Sean do a pretty darn good job. A local station has all 3 back to back daily in 3 hr. blocks. The internet?,.. too much BS to sift through 99% of the time.

    I do watch the local news (for local news) and even some evening national news. Why national? I like to see what is being “pushed” as real news and truth. When/if you know otherwise,.. it is nauseating.

    Enough of all that. Be well, stay safe and have a good day one and all.

    Chris

  2. B.B.

    As usual an interesting blog! I hope you never have a fire at your house, sounds like your house would go BOOM! lol
    As the Osmonds’ song goes, “One Bad Apple…..” that is the police department in many jurisdictions…

    MASK-UP, if you are an asymptomatic carrier, you ARE a bio-weapon.
    United we stand, divided we fall.

    -Y

  3. You dont watch the news but know about riots or who is talking about de-funding the police, i doubt you have a clue as to what that even means or a very firm grip on reality. Happily my last trip here.

    • File this article under, Smart People Saying Dumb Things.

      One of the pillars of this blog is integrity. Let’s see if the integrity pops up to admit that the man who watches zero news probably doesn’t know much about the subjects being discussed. Certainly he doesn’t know if he’s been lied to or the nuance of truth when he stumbles across it. More bizarre is the self-proclaimed ignorant who attempt to convince others that the truth cannot be trusted… So don’t even try! Just sit back and listen to bits and pieces… Then rely on common sense {another term for bias).

      Come on! I never thought i would find active discouragement from learning in this blog. Who is rioting? Who is not? Who is the aggressor? What does define mean in the context of this controversy? The answers may not be simple but they are worth discovering.

  4. Hi folks,

    this blog is relevant to me in two ways. As an airgunner *and* a German.

    A while ago, I got the impression that pellet prices were going up, which seems understandable (if you’re in lockdown or can’t do many sports activities and you have a home range, what do you do? You shoot more).

    Anyway, Sportwaffen Schneider still had H&N Excite Econ II and RWS Club (both wadcutters) for the “regular” price so I bought 11×500 of each (€ 29,50 for the H&N, € 49,50 for the RWS). The H&N seem to be surprisingly accurate for the price (I think my FWB LP80 likes them) and the RWS are “low-mid price” training pellets. They seem to work well in the Diana LP5 and Weihrauch HW45).

    At those prices, you really can’t complain. I’ve never shot a firearm and doing so would be a bit more hassle. But living in “low powered airgun country” has its advantages, too 🙂

    That Walter pistol is a weird thing to own, isn’t it? It’s a piece of history, but given who it was used by and for what end, I’m not sure I would enjoy shooting it that much.
    (If anybody has any doubts, let me assure you that the Holocaust very much happened. The question is whether mankind will ever learn from it).

    Kind regards,
    Stephan

  5. BB ,

    I remembered after Sandy Hook you could not find 22lr , 9mm or 556 ammo . I did what any reloader does and shot my 38 special revolvers for 2 years and was shooting a reload that cost less than the ridiculous price of rimfire at the time . I was loading a 38special for 12 cents a round with copper plated x -treme bullets , powder and primer . I don’t consider myself a serious reloader chasing perfection ,but I have to reload for my 8mm Mauser and my 38 specials . There is something that is so appealing about shooting ammo you reloaded . I use a old Pacific Press that was my Grandfathers , like to think he is happy I am putting it to good use ! I remember when the White Box 9mm was that price , I bought bulk then too . At that time it was only 2 cents more per round for the factory ammo than reloading components cost . It should get interesting coming into this election , I have been telling airgunners to buy as many pellets as they can afford . Airgunners with Big Bores should definitely get into casting . My 2 cents for today .

    Gene Salvino

  6. Ridgerunner ,

    So sad, You are correct on that one ! I grew up in a Italian and Jewish section of town when I was a kid and so many people were survivors of the Holocaust or had lost family . Shame people say it never happened . Good thing Eisenhower documented it so well .

    Gene Salvino

    • Gene,

      That is just one of the most recent horrors of the human race many refuse to see. So much of what we see today in this country is because the true past has been white washed over by those who wish to blame others for the way things are, when they should put forth their own efforts to improve their lots. I did.

      To ignore true history and not learn from it is one of man’s fatal flaws.

  7. BB ,

    I hope all the people on Armslist and Gunbroker that are gouging other shooters never sell that ammo and when things come around they are stuck with it ! ( if there is a god they bought it on credit ) . I can understand making a little profit but gouging and screwing new shooters is not the way to do it . I have taught quite a few people how to reload and shoot , never wanting anything other than the satisfaction of helping others out .

    Gene Salvino

  8. Hi BB,
    You left out the challenges and to some extent dangers of public ranges. I hate setting up next to the guy with a short barrelled 44 mag on the pistol range or on the rifle range being set up next to the elephant gun. There are always guys who cannot keep there guns pointed downrange. Most ranges will not allow you to pick up your brass.
    At public ranges you can only shoot paper. Most will not allow you to draw and shoot from a holster. You are only allowed to go down and check targets at certain times.

    Small private ranges are much better, especially on week days when you can often have a range to yourself. But even there on weekends it is common for the ranges to be tied up all day with competitions.

    When my first daughter was born I quickly missed having the time to go to the range. That is when I bought my first airgun so I could shoot at home. I haven’t looked back since.

    David Enoch

  9. B.B.

    Had the same experience you did with shooting firearms after a long period of shooting air guns only. Once I adjusted to the increased blast, I found firearms to be not so different. Just a matter of overcoming the flinch, as you said. We are going to take a Benjamin Armada to the range next week…should get some interest from other shooters since it resembles their firearms that they aren’t shooting because of the ammo shortage.
    Don’t blame you for not following the news. It’s intentionally depressing, and much of it is scripted and contrived like a soap or sitcom. Lots of foam and not much beer. You can’t even get a decent belch out of it.

    Hang in there!

    Walt

  10. Good and enjoyable post; a lot of what you and the other commenters wrote is “spot on.” Have not been to a range since sometime last year. I’d been hankering for the semiauto GSG MP-40, so this past February finally acquired one and, after some effort, managed to get three additional 25-round mags thru Gunbroker. Then the “scheisse” hit the fan, and between the 9mm shortage and many ranges still not up and running, haven’t put a single round thru the MP or other similarly-calibered companions in FM’s castle. So, as do many others, just have to sit for a while hoping things will calm down as they did when we had the .22/.22 Magnum “crisis” of a few years ago. At least I have fairly decent stocks of those, so may go and pop-off a few soon. Come to think of it, have to re-zero the scope on the Ruger 10/22, and that will be a good reason to hit the range.

    Meanwhile, surviving the depressive state of ammunition supply, among other ways by happily firing bursts from the Umarex MP-40, trying NOT to visualize the cans and plastic bottle targets as anarchist “protesters,” cuz my parents didn’t send FM to Catholic school for him to get bad notions in his head. Let me add I attribute a lot of the irrational, unethical thinking and behavior we are witnessing today to poor education and parenting. That makes me sound like an Old Fart, as Mrs. FM frequently reminds me, but to quote Popeye, “I yam what I yam.” If humanity takes to heart the “do unto others” command from the Boss at some point, things will go much better and we will see an end to the madness. Personally, believe the Boss is going to have to pull the switch on this crazy train before it totally goes off the rails.

    For sure will be increasing the air gun arsenal, though for now most of the “allowance” has to go towards finishing up a vintage car project 40+ years in the making, before that becomes impossible as well. Now that teaches patience! God bless you all; stay healthy, vigilant, and involved.

  11. BB,
    I am glad I am an airgunner, a shooter, and an American. Facism has no place in this country, especially the White House and it’s a damn shame to see it stick it’s ugly ignorant face in our business. It’s killing us.
    Everything we want is made in China, because we could not say “no” to Walmart 20 years ago. If Hillary is a criminal, D.T. is a monster, and may be a ‘real’ criminal as well, we will just have to wait and see. With any luck,
    his name will become worthless and he will have to sell his jet to pay his lawyers when all is said and done.
    Have a nice day.
    R

    • 1stblue,

      With all due respect I am the complete opposite. DT may be crude, rude and socially unacceptable (at times), but he ain’t a politician and I think that goes a long way with a lot of America. HC? Oh man!,… there is pure evil. Just watch the daily mainstream news to see how well all that is playing out. No digging for facts required.

      I will (respectfully) agree,… to disagree. Each to their own.

      Have a good day,… Chris

  12. “Be glad you’re an airgunner”
    Thank you, B.B., I am glad! I went to our local gun store last week to get some .22LR ammo (which was in short supply, by the way). The thing that stuck me was the shortage of pistols there; there we some really long-barreled revolvers there, and a few autoloaders in the over-$1000 category, but any small and concealable handguns were pretty much gone; and they have a special section on the wall for AR-type guns…which was totally empty.
    I asked one of my buds there “what’s up?” He said they are selling guns like crazy, especially handguns and AR rifles; he said while lots of sales is usually good, the bad thing is they cannot get more stock in to meet the demand; he said two ARs came in in the morning, and were gone in a couple of hours; he added that they are short on ALL ammo. He said it was all due to a trifecta of: 1) the upcoming election, 2) COVID-19, and 3) civil unrest.
    However, interestingly, they had a bunch of air rifles for sale (mostly Gamos and the kind of stuff you would see in big box stores) and thousands of pellets. Yes, airgun shooting…not a problem at all. =>
    Thanking you for an interesting report,
    dave

  13. Like many of the readers here and like BB, I’ve been reloading for 40 (?) years (wow, am I that old? Sneaks up on you). Started out with the Lee Handloader kits for my .38 spl and then my .45 ACP. I use a single stage Lee press because I don’t shoot enough to need to switch to a progressive loader. I do shoot my airguns much more these days and at my club range on weekdays, I’m usually the only one on the .22 lr range (we have 11 different ranges at the club on over 350 acres). I can shoot my air rifles to my heart’s content with no eyes or ears. What ammo shortage? 🙂

    Fred formerly of the DPRoNJ now happily in GA

    • Fred, you nailed it! One of the best things about air rifles is NO hearing protection needed! I work on an air base, and a flight line badge is required for my job; hence, I am VERY protective of my hearing, but I also love to shoot. I love the fact that I can pick up my air rifle (the one I leave in the garage) and plink away at cans whenever I have a spare minute or two. And if I have a little more time, I can dig out my CO2-powered Colt SAA and blast away all I want…because I am NOT in NJ. It still freaks me out that this thing is considered a firearm there; yet, as you said, we are “happily in GA,” so no worries. =>

    • Fred

      Same here on 40 years of reloading and starting first with the Lee Hand Loader. Important to start as simple as possible for safety rather than jumping into any high volume multi stage reloading tools. It is a fun and rewarding but complex journey into almost infinite variables that affect accuracy when target shooting with firearms. One can extract I’m guessing 99% of accuracy potential with a Lee Hand Loader. However do buy a squeeze tool for inserting primers, I just never liked hammering an explosive.

      Happily I am well stocked with reloads for everything I’ve got. Never had to defend my home yet but if forced entry is threatened and I know it, well —-. You do what you gotta do.

      Deck

      • You know, I’ve first used the kinetic hammer method (that comes with the hand loaders) to seat primers. Then I got a primer seater I could use with my press but I always meant to get that Lee Handloader primer seater. I guess this is a good time to order one, assuming they’re not back-ordered on Midway. Thanks for reminding me on how else I can spend my money! BB isn’t the only enabler around!

        Fred formerly of the DPRoNJ now happily in GA

      • You know, I’ve first used the kinetic hammer method (that comes with the hand loaders) to seat primers. Then I got a primer seater I could use with my press but I always meant to get that Lee Handloader primer seater. I guess this is a good time to order one, assuming they’re not back-ordered on Midway. Thanks for reminding me on how else I can spend my money! BB isn’t the only enabler around!

        Fred formerly of the DPRoNJ now happily in GA

  14. Like B.B. and others here I have not made it to the shooting range recently. Your talk here of the shortages makes me think that it may be time to go to my local gun store and range and see what they will give me for that pistol I don’t take shooting any more. I can part with it because I still have another that I like more.
    Gerald

  15. I took up reloading about 5 or 6 years ago at the suggestion of Tom and Edith as a hobby. I liked to go to the range regularly but ammunition was getting a little expensive. Now reloading has almost become my main hobby and shooting secondary. The problem with reloading is that one almost becomes addicted to collecting empty brass. I shoot 50 rounds at the range, pick up my own brass, and usually add several extras that I find on the ground. Over time, my ammunition supplies increase so that I need to purchase extra ammo cans at the military surplus store to store it. The most popular caliber seems to be 223/556 and the range is full of this size brass.

    A few months ago, I purchase a 300 blackout upper for my AR but ammo was hard to find and expensive. I watched a YouTube video on how to convert 223 to 300 blackout with just a few tools and now have all the ammo in that caliber that I need. Shoot on Friday and reload on the weekend works for me.

    Be safe
    Bob

  16. B.B.
    “I don’t listen to the news. Never have.”
    Same with me. I won’t say that I never listen, or watch, the news but I do as little as possible. To me, the news has gotten to be all about ratings, not actually reporting the news. They love to sensationalize things and get people all stirred up. My mother-in-law, 96 years young, will sit and watch CNN news and then call my wife and tell her this, or that, is happening. I tell her “mom, quit watching that crap!” “There is nothing you can do to change it, so why are you all worked up about it?” I will watch the local news and weather but if I think they are getting too graphic with their reporting, I will shut the TV off. I can read news online in ten minutes that the TV reporters take thirty or forty minutes to report. Do we really need to see and hear all the little intricate details of violent crimes? Anyway, that’s my take on it. How could we not know about the riots, it’s in our face for hours everyday if we watch the news!
    Stay safe, and stay well my friend.
    Geo

  17. B.B. and Readership,

    Ammo shortages!

    Bormejo COLD Toledo Steel 32″ of Cut & Thrust;
    Always armed!
    And a supply of sharp wooden pikes on which to mount the lost heads.

    In all seriousness it is time for all to read:

    Jeremiah 29:11

    This situation we find ourselves in is not like the motion picture Groundhog Day!

    There will be a future!
    Pray we CAN help make it a better one!

    Shootski

    • I hope you don’t get offended…I am German. When I was a kid, the USA was something we looked up to. Best computers came from there, best movies, and good people went there to get a well payed job.
      In the 2000s the US kind of started to lose their appeal. The senseless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq put a very negative light on the country.
      Today the USA is mostly regarded as a surreal sitcom, with people working on two jobs at once just to maintain a middle class life style that can be ended any time because the people have no health insurance. I don’t know anyone anymore who would like to work in the US. It’s not attractive anymore, save some jobs at Google.
      I hope the USA gets their stuff together again.

      • Mel83,

        Thank you for your respectfully presented point of view. Always appreciated. I do not know that it is all that bad,… but yes,… we have a bit to figure out. Not unlike many parts of the civilized world. Still,.. I am pretty fond of it! 😉

        No job or insurance currently,… by the way.

        Good, bad or otherwise before,… the Covid pandemic has put the big screws to many economies around the world. Not just short term, but long term.

        May we all see better days again,………… Chris

      • Mel83

        My wife has German ancestry and she is my dear love and best friend for the last 63 years. Most of my best firearms and airguns were made in Germany. I enjoy them.

        The USA has a divided society for sure. Biggest problem is secularism (moving away from God). Europe too!

        But why do people from all corners of the globe want to come here more than anywhere else?

        Deck

      • Mel83,

        Most Americans still think we are the envy of the rest of the world, but as I keep in touch with a number of old classmates that live around the world, primarily south America and Europe, I have known better for quite some time. It makes me sad because I love my country and would like to see it rise up again, I can’t think of a single superpower/empire in history that declined and then did so.

        Hey, here’s a German joke (it’s OK, you’ll like it) I made up after I spent a South America many years ago and met many German tourists, expats, and academics: How can you tell someone’s from Germany? Answer: He can speak six languages fluently.

        EVERY German I met spoke German (of course) and fluent English, fluent Spanish, fluent French, and fluent Italian. Well, that’s how it seemed. At that time in my life I was like most Americans and spoke just one language fluently – AMERICAN. :^) Hey, two jokes!

        Stay healthy,

        Michael

        • Do you know why they say Germany has the best machinists in the world? Because the ones that weren’t the best were terminated. Some of the best products in the world come from Germany, be it airguns, automobiles, and many other products.
          I worked in QA for over 40 years and the last 25 years spent I programming and running CMMs (coordinate measuring machines). When the need arose for a more accurate machine, my supervisor and I evaluated many manufactures of CMMs. We evaluated B&S, Starrett, Mitutoyo, DEA, and a few others. We also went to trade shows and consulted with the companies. We manufactured hydraulic piston pumps and motors and the dimensional tolerances for size and locations were +/- .0002″, and sometimes less. Zeiss was the only company of all that were considered that was able to take one of our parts and demonstrate that their CMM was capable of measuring our close tolerance requirements. When we spoke with the people from Zeiss, we found them to be very knowledgeable about the products they were selling. Even the sales people could speak and understand the technical engineering terms we used (in English). None of the other companies we considered were able to measure the sample part we gave them. When we spoke with their sales staff, it was obvious that they had no experience in metrology whatsoever.
          Zeiss’s technical support was top shelf as well. We bought that Zeiss CMM back in 1990 for $180k and as far as I know, they are still using my programs on that machine to measure and quality parts. It is said that the Germans are arrogant. No, they just know what they are talking about, and no BS.
          Geo

          • Zeiss ist an extremely dedicated company. They built a whole building swimming on a sand foundation, just to reduce vibrations while grinding lenses.
            Zeiss is also an excellent employer. The great Ernst Anne came from a poor family, and despite his late wealth he kept on fighting for workers rights and social welfare
            (By the way: the US had Unertl, which was a similarly dedicated company making absolute top notch optics)

            • Mel83,
              Yes, Zeiss is well known for their optics. They make excellent rifle scopes and many of the optics used in the medical industry. My only experience with Zeiss was through their coordinate measuring machine division. Their machines and software were miles ahead of everyone else in the market. Their prices were also in the same ball park. I was impressed with all of the Zeiss employees that I interacted with, many of whom were German. Even their sales staff responded to questions as though they had an engineering background, which I much appreciated. I’ve never had much patience with sales people with limited knowledge.
              Geo

        • To be fair, living in a part of the world with many small countries having many different languages, and the need for English as the details facto world standard language, makes people speak more languages by default.

      • Mel83,

        I almost forgot. Here in the US we still make some great films, it’s just that the rest of the world has completely caught up. But German cinema, my goodness, Fritz Lang, Murnau, Robert Wiene, Leni Riefenstahl (I know, I know), Fassbinder, Herzog, Wolfgang Petersen, Volker Schlöndorff (took me a bit of computing to add the umlaut). Wim Wenders’ “Wings of Desire” is one of my favorite films.

        I’m retired now, but I used to teach The History of Cinema among other film studies courses. One of the things I would tell my students was, “Americans invented motion pictures, the French invented cinematic storytelling, the Germans perfected cinema, and Hollywood figured out how to get rich with it.”

        Michael

          • Indeed. I wrote a paper on Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Solyaris.” It’s a looong one, but I watched it three times in one week plus watching certain shots many more times. I also taught “Battleship Potemkin,” focusing on montage in the Odessa Steps scene, arguably the most important scene in the entire history of cinema.

            Michael

  18. B.B.,

    I don’t think you tried to open the blog up to politics in this divisive time but you must have had a bit of apprehension as you wrote it. I hope the blog can get past this because if it goes on it is only going to get more divisive like our country.

    We have strayed off the airgun testing and reporting path more and more lately. I’m not talking about straight razors and crossbows.

    Please everyone take a pause and keep to the subject of airguns. The blog has a great history of sticking to the subject let’s get back to it.

    Don

    • Benji-Don,

      We are all of us under immense stress do to the Pandemic! But your advice to stick with airgun relatable topics is a wise one.
      I was busy writing my post below and should have taken a moment to read the responses posted after Mel83’s post.

      I for one will join you in keeping it to airgun stuff. I hope everyone will join us in that from this point forward.

      shootski

  19. Mel83,

    “I hope you don’t get offended…I am German.” Im not offended by your being a German at all!

    I was in Germany for the Fall of Die Mauer (the Berlin Wall) and remember the Gorbi chants! Did Gorbi stand guard at Checkpoint Charlie and all the other lesser known checkpoints. The Germans and much of the rest of the Free World started thinking the USA had lost appeal not because of the Afghan and Iraq war but because you all felt the Cold War was over and the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction was gone with the USSR.
    Germany and many other countries did very little but try to export production to the USA all while never spending the proper amounts on defense. But looking down one’s nose at the USA is easy when the Big Red Bear isn’t at your border or in even East Germany any longer!
    “In the 2000s the US kind of started to lose their appeal. The senseless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq put a very negative light on the country.” History will one day answer IF Obama’s Afghan escalation from just Special Forces helping Afghani Freedom fighters was senseless, IF Bush IIs incursion into Iraq was dumber than his father’s 1st Iraqi War. We will know better once they aren’t Political any longer and are treated as historical events.
    Not everyone works multiple jobs to remain middle class that is media distortion and the unfortunate idea that everyone needs to attend University…interestingly the USA’s youngsters are beginning to reconsider Higher Education as a result of the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic.
    Mark well that last above! The USA has had many times, in the almost 250 years as a democratic Republic, where it has stumbled. WE The People just didn’t have a media so completely corrupted by there education and pursuit of a Pulitzer Prize mindset. It is the FUTURE that calls to the citizens of the USA and with each try at

    Liberty and Justice for All!

    we get a bit better at it. We push a few more of the leftover insults to True FREEDOM into the dustbin of history caused by the many crimes perpetrated (by European nations) against the young colonies from which the USA grew through Revolution. We are still the best place on Earth to breath FREE!

    Mel83 I am an immigrant to this United States of America and I am proud of this great country! You are mistaken in your conception of what has been the New Millenium and is currently the situation here!

    We The People

    are just shuffling the deck and getting ready to call the Worlds BLUFF!

    shootski

  20. B.B.,

    “It was my fault because I allowed the end cap to cross-thread.” Dang! That REALLY is a newb’ mistake! Lol!

    Didn’t anyone ever learn you to gently Lefty Loosie until you hear and feel the click…AND THEN you start with the RIGHTY TIGHTY!

    I hope you get the replacement magazine quick so you get to do the scheduled Springfield Armory XD-M BB pistol test!

    shootski

  21. I have never shopped gunbroker for ammo. I reload, but for some calibers I don’t shoot much, I use local gun stores regardless of cost just to support them and keep them in business .

    I have also used Midway, and Natchez shooters supply.

    But since the Sandy hook ammo shortage I started using an app called AmmoSeek.

    It searches the online sellers and gives you the lowest price available first at a cost per round.

    I also use it to source reloading components.

    Please stay safe out there, and shoot safe.

    Ian

  22. The good old days…still have one box of Finnish-made 9mm cartridges purchased sometime in 1969-1971. This fits nicely inside the factory box for my P-38, which incidentally was also purchased at the gun shop that sold the 9mm ammo. The 8mm (actual 7.92) surplus cartridges used to be found fairly frequently around that time, for about $0.10 per round.

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