Air Gun Austin

The Adventures and Lessons at the Ranch

2004-12-31T17:11:00.000-08:00

I got my 8 y/o a new pellet rifle for Christmas. It was his first. We went to the new ranch this week and boy did he have a blast. My 13 Y/O didn't want to attent this event as rough camping is not his bag so much when it's cold. I'm sure he'll come next time.

Everything is an adventure when you are 8. We spent a few days camping, hunting, working, and enjoying nature as it was intended; wild and free. My son kept saying how he was learning so much on this trip. Things like how to build a fire, how to hunt, chop fire wood and more. Well I learned a thing or two about how to really live life from my little boy these past few days.

When you're 8, a giant flock of birds flying overhead, no matter what species is a thing of wonder. Where will they land, where are they going. To get to put a new log on the camp fire is a huge treat as you carefully place it just right with your dad's guidance and supervision. Oh and the Coleman lantern . . . this was one of the 7 wonders of the world for him! He mastered the process of lighting and turning off this wonderful outdoor device that no camp is complete without.

As we sat on a deer stand he found wonder with and was curious about every detail of the blind itself, our guns, the trees and rocks that wove the fabric of the landscape. Everything and I mean everything was worth examination and discussion. Though I desperately wanted to harvest a deer, which was not likely to happen with all the talking and inquisition, I found delight in his natural curiosity for things, all things, and what role they play in our world. Then I came to the realization that this natural curiosity is in each and every one of us by our very nature but is extinguished over the years with what we perceive to be knowledge and age. I believe that curiosity is the seed of creativity. With curiosity and creativity in our daily lives we will live life more fully, we will see things as brand new, we will taste every moment of our life with a new zeal that makes life so much more than existence. This is what I learned from an 8 year old with a whole lot of questions.

Thanks so much for sharing this time with me;

Steve Smith

If you enjoyed this article or anything on this site please post a comment or send an e-mail to steveshots@yahoo.com

2004-12-31T16:53:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess this says it all! A boy an his gun and his quary! See the photos below for our latest trip out to our new land. My 8 year old and I roughed it for a couple of days of wilderness bliss!

2004-12-31T16:50:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the horizontal . . . we even built a gate and set some posts.

2004-12-31T16:48:00.000-08:00

We camped out, cooked out, and every thing that goes with it. What a wonderful collection of memories that were formed.

2004-12-31T16:46:00.000-08:00

Here we saw a dove in a tree. Sam hangs the scoped, bolt action rifle out of the blind windo to draw a bead, but the dove flew away. Good practice for him still.

2004-12-31T16:42:00.000-08:00

Sam on his way the the Deer blind one evening. Today he chose to hunt with a Remington .22 with a scope rather than his pelet rifle. He was mainly after birds and small game. It's good to have choices.

2004-12-31T16:40:00.000-08:00

The view from our dog house pop up deer blind. They're great if there is no wind.

2004-12-31T16:38:00.000-08:00

My 8 year old enjoying the freedom of his own land and the comfortable grip of his new (soon to be old) friend, his Chineese springer pellet rifle. Here he is hoping for a shot at a bird.

The Ranch is Almost Ours!!!!!

2004-12-27T22:47:00.000-08:00

Well I’ve come to terms with the seller on the ranch deal. I’m waiting on the closing now. I do, however have some access to the place between now and closing. Over Christmas break me and my two sons went hunting and surveying the place. We really had a great time as we let down our hair and had our first Smith boys deer camp. My oldest son is 13 and his little brother is 8. We’ve never had a place to hunt before and it is a wonderful blessing for us all to enjoy the things that I did as a young man in the outdoors.

I bought my youngest son a little XS B-15 youth air gun for Christmas and he took to it like a duck to water. He honed his stalking skills on birds and practiced shooting. The freedom was amazing in this time of crowded suburbia that so many of us live in today. To watch him enjoy the wide open wilderness unencumbered was very fulfilling.

Seems that we are all wild wolves at heart; needing to stretch our legs out and “romp” once in a while. We need to run free without the constraints of a neighborhood, passing cars, and too many people at least occasionally. Enough philosophical psycho-babble!

It’s all I can do to keep from spending a ton of money on “Ranch stuff” right now. I need to wait until we close and it’s all mine before I begin the improvements. It’s just that I have such vision for this property. I can see the camp as plain as my hand in front of my face though it only exists in my mind at this point.

My youngest son and I will travel out to the Ranch again tomorrow morning and will camp for a few days. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks for sharing this short time with me. I hope you’ve had fun.

Steve

2004-12-05T00:39:00.001-08:00

Views on the ranch.

2004-12-05T00:39:00.000-08:00

Veiws on the ranch.

2004-12-05T00:38:00.000-08:00

A cool looking old dead tree. Notice the unidirectional limbs.

2004-12-05T00:36:00.000-08:00

One of the vista views. The ranch is basically 2 mountains and a canyon.

The Ranch Purchase

2004-11-27T11:39:00.000-08:00

As you may have seen in an earlier post, I am in the process of trying to buy some land for me and my family to enjoy for a retreat, get-away, hunting, camping, etc. Well the old saying "they ain't making anymore land" has me wanting to stretch out and get a piece of ground for me and my descendants to enjoy while we still can. But first, are we all comfortable with my calling this little 60 acre piece of heaven a "ranch"? I don't really know what to call it. Is it a camp, a "deer" camp, a cabin in the woods, a retreat? What shall we call this future memory factory? I would love to hear your suggestions and input. Use the "comments" link below to join in the discussion or I may even put another poll on for you to cast your vote.

Anyway . . . the land company rep called me again today. At this point in the process I have visited the land, thought things over, done some research, and submitted my proposed terms of an offer for the land. Renee, the land company rep is now putting together some stuff that I need and also drawing up a contract and faxing it all to me. Well I've never bought raw land before and I don't really know what I'm doing. I need some guidance as to what to watch out for in the contract. Your input is welcome here so feel free to leave comments or e-mail me at steveshots@yahoo.com.

Renee feels like that our offer will most likely be accepted by the seller. I am most excited about this and can't wait to start building the cabin, setting feeders and stands, improving the land, and making things generally ready for a good time for all who visit.

As things progress I will post photos and updates.

Thanks for your time;

Steve

2004-11-26T22:08:00.000-08:00

2 Squirrels harvested with my XS B-22 equiped with bi-pod, TF 4X32 scope, one piece scope mount and strap. Hunting on Thanksgiving day 2004 on land near Houston.

2004-11-26T22:04:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2004 squirrel hunting with the XS-B-22.

HUNTING

2004-11-26T21:49:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2004: Texas, and other states I’m sure, had tons of rain for the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. In fact, we broke the rainfall record and I figured that we should have just taken our trophy and put on the shelf and stop running up the score so dang bad, but still the rain fell.

Low and behold, the sun peaked out just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday and made for a great opportunity for all us air gunners to get a little squirrel hunting in. After all they (the squirrels) were ready to get out and bounce around in the trees after spending a couple of weeks pinned down by the rain. I know I had been jonesin’ to get out and shoot, so I can only imagine how the wildlife felt.

My family and I traveled to Splendora, Texas which is just north of Houston on HWY 59, to my uncle’s farm/get away. Thanksgiving morning was the first cold, clear day after a long rainy spell and that is the makings for a good day of hunting! This would be the first time that I would get to really see how the Xsisco B-22 (a very affordable Chinese made knock off) would perform on squirrels at various distances and actually have many shots.

The gun and I made a couple of really nice shots, and I made a few really bad ones. I’m sorry to admit that there were 3 other squirrels that were not able to attend the photo op seen above. 2 of which fell in the water and were never seen again, and one who took a pellet but either stuck in a tree or something, but was not retrieved. Please accept my regrets and apologies on the missing 3.

I was really impressed at how well the gun performed. The B-22 shot hard and connected well with its targets. I really like this gun. I also took the opportunity to shoot at 70 yards. I set up a paper target first and with a good cross wind grouped around 2.5 to 3 inches, about 3 inches low and about 2 inches to the left. I then replaced the paper target with 2 cans and hit them semi regularly. What a hoot!!! I am considering putting a 2X7 scope on this gun so I can shoot at the longer distances, and see where I hit as well.

I really had a great time and it really scratched an itch that I’ve been having for a long time. I bet it would be great to try turkey hunting with “The Beast” (XS B-22 . . . not the devil!).

If you got to get out and hunt or shoot over the holiday, please click the little “comments” link below and share with our readers.

Thanks for your time;

Steve

2004-11-12T16:50:00.000-08:00

My B-22 before I refinished the stock and put the bi-pod. I'll get new pix up soon.

The B-22 got to stretch her legs out today in the field

2004-11-12T16:47:00.000-08:00

I took my B-22 out in the field today. The Central Texas weather was cool and cloudy with a brisk wind. The conditions seemed to keep the squirrels in, but the birds were out pretty well. Seem that the robins are in migration now.

I started the testing with the B-4-2 at 20 yards to see if the red dot sight was going to be true out at greater distances. It did fine at 20 and then 30 yards. But let’s talk about the B-22!

I put a bi-pod on the B-22 for steadying in the field. It works great! I started at 20 yards, but that’s nothing to write about, so then I backed her up to 30 yards. She gave easy accuracy; swinging the small silhouette on the left (only about an inch round) with ease, and grouping nicely on paper also. After I got board with that, I decided to make it a little more “field like” conditions. I backed up to about 43 yards from the silhouettes, which put me about 45 yards from the paper target, and about 50 yards from a 12 oz beer can placed on a limb in a tree down the make-shift shooting lane. I lay in the prone shooting position with the bi-pod in use. I would say that I was able to hit the large circle silhouette on the far right (about 3.5 or 4 inches round) about 4 out of 6 shots. I hit the center one which is about 2 to 2.5 inches round about half of the shots, and I occasionally hit the small 1 inch one at this distance. Keep in mind that they were somewhat buried by grass and weeds and other obstructions. I maintained decent groups on paper, but the best part was the can! I smacked that can like it was nobody’s business! These were the 50 yard shots. I have not had the opportunity to shoot any of my guns at this distance yet so this was a wonderful experience and confidence builder.

The B-22 performed with true excellence today and I would recommend this gun to anyone.

2004-11-12T16:24:00.000-08:00

through the scope of my XS B-22 looking down range at my backyard range. Old photo, I have improved the range considerably since this shot.

Product review of the Gamo Silver Shadow 1000

2004-11-09T16:56:00.000-08:00

I have had this gun for several months now. I have had some problems with it, but they were problems that were solved by properly mounting my scope and other operator error issues. On forums and other places I learned that air guns have a different kind of recoil and require a different type of scope and mounting technique to stand up to the possibility of scope creep or whatever. I got a one piece mount and I have a BSA 2X7 AO scope and IT PERFORMS FANTASTIC regardless of what some may say about BSA scopes. When properly mounted, this unit works fine and is deadly accurate.

The Gamo SS 1000 has an all-weather, black stock which makes it light and look cool in my opinion. Accuracy is quite good, but once in a while I see a flyer. It is a very comfortable shooting gun and quite affordable at $125.00 from academy in Austin, TX. The usual price tag is between $150.00-$189.00 from what I have seen.
What I like about it: Looks, price, stainless makes it easy to keep nice, very accurate, light weight, adjustable trigger, though you don’t have much range of adjustment, great “use” gun: not a pamper gun, take it our and use it in the elements, touch it, use it, it will stand up to the punishment and perform well.
What I don’t like: You have to modify the gun to put a strap on it. It is twangy- goes “TWANG”. Trigger isn’t terrible, but could be better.

Overall this is a great gun if you don’t already have a good, light, easy/fun shooting gun. If you had a XS B-20 or Beeman GS-950 or 1000, you may had similar guns as far as what they will do. Of course there are differences, but similar.

Next Review: XS B-4-2

2004-11-09T09:55:00.000-08:00

The XS B-4-2 with a red dot sight. The new rat killer!!! Revived from the dead after a 2 week coma with no trigger.

The XS B-4-2 Makes a Kill!

2004-11-09T09:51:00.000-08:00

The XS B-4-2 gets the first kill, on the first shooting session (actually the sighting in session) only minutes after Charlie talked me through the trigger issue! This is amazing!
As you know, Charlie DaTuna fixed me up regarding my trigger problem. Well I mounted my red dot sight, took the B-4-2 out in the back and sighted it in. It shoots great at 10 yards anyway, I’ll be working on it at 20 and 30 yards later.

Now for the kicker!!!! I have the worlds greatest rat lease in my back yard. I got em coming out of every corner. They love my dog’s food so I keep them baited so I can have some memorable rat hunting moments. I was just about ready to come in and call it quits when I see one of the little beady eyes rascals stick his head up from under the deck. He just sat there so I began loading the gun. He left. I waited. One came to the food plot (dog bowl) I did not shoot. Then another, still no shot. After analyzing the situation and making sure I could make a safe shot that would not result in a ricochet and damage someone’s property I was ready for the next victim. Sure enough, here he came. Just as he perched up on the side of moose’s bowl, “THUNK-B-TAT” SQUEEK-SQUEEK!” and it was over. I waited for several minutes to so as not to drive the beautiful trophy into deep cover where he may never be found and only be wasted. I went to the spot where I had shot him. There it was, the blood trail! I know that this would be a true test of my tracking skills. OK, OK enough BS!!! It was fun though right?!!??! Anyway, The ol B-4-2 is shooting really accurately after my tune and of course after Charlie helped me get my trigger working. Speaking of the trigger, it is not gritty and hard anymore either. The tune I did was from Charlie’s instructions found on his website. It was simple and a great learning experience. Not to mention that the gun shoots much better now.

Thanks for spending this time!

They done it again! Called the cops on me!

2004-11-06T21:30:00.000-08:00

Well, if you read this page much you know that last week a nameless, faceless neighbor called the law on me for shooting my air rifles in my back yard range. Now we’re not talking about plinking at cans or 9mm shells here, we’re talking about well placed, angled backstops that prevent pass through, promote downward ricochet, and a fence to boot. I put safety first and think about my neighbors when I indulge in this form of recreation.

The officer informed me that I was completely within the legal limits of the law to shoot in my back yard. He also said that as long as I did not mind the inconvenience of a visit from the cops every time I shoot then I should have at it. I thanked him told him that I guess I’ll get some lemon aid ready for us every time I shoot out back and leave the front door unlocked. He laughed.

This brings up a bigger point. If I make my neighbors uneasy by my hobby, then I am potentially a bad neighbor. So what can I do, or what can WE do to help keep the peace with others who see what we do as a threat to their property or family? How can we minimize their concern and make for better relations?

Whoever is calling the cops on me is either a backside neighbor or the people directly across the street. The back yard neighbors have kids and may be afraid of ricochet. The people across the street can see me from their bedroom window and it looks like I’m shooting at their house from their perspective, and the perspective of others is very important here. If I move my shooting lane to the other side of the yard she won’t see me anymore. If it is her, problem may be solved. But I don’t think I’ll stop there. I think I’m going to design a shooting tunnel that persuades the pellets to drop to the ground at the back of the tunnel. I’ll create the safest possible shooting environment possible so I don’t have any mishaps. If I have an accident and someone got hurt or there was property damage, then there could be a problem the next time the law came out.

Vote on the poll below and let’s hear what you all would do.

2004-11-06T20:56:00.000-08:00

My Silver Shadow 1000 by Gamo Got the 1st kill

2004-11-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

Light, accurate, makes a twangy sound, but i may be able to work on that.

The Gamo Got the First Kill

2004-11-05T21:09:00.000-08:00

I took 2 of my Air Rifles out to the San Gabriel river today. It was a beautiful clear and cool day. I shot the XS B-22 several times. It shot hard and accurate. I then cased it back up and pulled out the Gamo Silver Shadow 1000 with a BSA 2X7 in .177 and shot it a few times. Since I have a sling on that gun and it is considerably lighter I decided to walk up a small pathway along the river and see what may need some killin’! As I stood still in the shadows watching and waiting for who know what, sure as shootin’ a squirrel presented itself for just long enough for me to place the cross hairs on its head and squeeze the trigger. It fell silently to the ground . . . a quick, clean, one shot kill. Not the gun that I figured would get the first hunting kill, but it earned the honor. It was a pleasant experience for me, I don’t know about the squirrel however. I think I’ll put a sling on the XS B-22 and take it to the hunting woods next time.

Happy hunting!

The Cops Came Tonight!

2004-11-01T16:50:00.000-08:00

Well they done called the law on me! One of my neighbors doesn't seem to support my airgun habit. Oh well! I had just finished an evening shooting session in my backyard range (which is safely guarded by very thick ply-wood backstops and other safety precautions) and was in the kitchen helping my son with a project. "Ding-Dong” Hmm who could that be? My son opens the door to one of Cedar Park's finest. "Your father here son” He asked politely. "Dad!" I go to the door and to my surprise I see the officer. "We had a report that some kids are shooting a pellet gun in the back yard” He explained. I grinned sheepishly and owned up "I'm the kid your after officer. Ya see I'm a pellet gun hobbyist and have a very safe range set up in my back yard. Would you like to come and see it?" I exclaimed with pride hoping him being a gun user he may relate to my love of shooting. "No, NO, I'm sure that you're operating in a very safe manor." He went on to say that he wasn't going to make a big deal out of it and that it wasn't a big deal but there are some city ordinances in place that if something bad should happen like a stray pellet, it could cause problems or even a citation for me. We agreed that I should lay low for a day or two and just be careful.

I wonder what lily livered whiner called the law on me?!?!?! If I find out ya know what I'm gonna do!?!?!? Why I'm gonna try to either take em out to lunch or invite them over for dinner and let them try their hand and shooting the ol pellet gun. Maybe I can get them hooked and have a new shooting partner. If not, maybe I'll get them to at least stop calling the cops on me! Flies with honey I always say!

Thanks for spending this time with me.

Steve

2004-10-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

XS B22. Love it!

The New Gun . . . Xisco B-22 22.cal. WOW!!!

2004-10-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

I just got a Xisco B-22 .22 cal. Out of the box it had a light layer of rust forming. I wiped it off w/ no problems. Put it on the bench of my backyard range and shot at the 10 yard target. Shot very consistently to the left. I had a hard time getting the open sights to make adjustment, but I think it was operator error. It’s getting dark so I quickly mounted the scope using the big 1 piece scope mount and a BAM 4X32 scope. Shot the 10 yard target again and made a few adjustments and had it tightly zeroed in about 5 minutes. I took a shot at the 20 yard target. I aimed at the little 1 inch or so metal swinging target and nailed it several times before it was just too dark to shoot. I have only shot about 25 rounds and it is shooting very consistently so far. I have not yet really put it through the grouping test, but will tomorrow. From what I saw I think that the results will be good. Now here is the strange “kicker” if you will . . . It doesn’t have the recoil I expected after all the reviews and reading I did. It has less noticeable recoil to me that my Gamo Silver Shadow 1000. I don’t know what to think about that.

Bottom line: Dirty out of the box. My stock was not nearly as nice as the ones you see on line in the pictures, no nice wood grain patterns and the finish is not too hot. Shoots hard, fast and accurate right out of the box, I can’t wait to see it once broken in! It is a very nice shooting gun. The first thing I thought when I first picked it up was “Dang this thing is heavy and bulky”, but it soon grew on me and the physique of the gun became more attractive. It’s a big, heavy, jumbo gun and I like it so far!

Looking for other Air gunners in the Austin Area.

2004-10-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

If you are anywhere near the Austin area and into Air guns let's connect. Shoot me an e-mail at steveshots@yahoo.com. I'd love to discuss the sport, shooting locations, and even arrange group shoots if anyone is interested.

2004-10-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

Swivel mount attatched to barrel above the break point.

2004-10-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

Swivel mount and leather strip

Strap Modification for Gamo Shadow

2004-10-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

The Shadow Rifles by Gamo are not built to take a strap like a normal rifle. I did a mod that will help in this. Using learther stripping I attatched detachable strap swivels to the barrel above the break point. There is already a place for the other swivel in the butt of the gun that comes when you buy it. Since there is no place to mount the swivel in the forearm of then stock this is the only alternative I could think of. We'll see if it works.

What's Your Favorite Air Gun Maker?

2004-10-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

2004-10-14T22:34:00.000-07:00

Gamo Silver shadow 1000 rig. Has BSA scope and a strap.

Post your comments

2004-10-14T17:50:00.000-07:00

To post your comments, look for the small "commetns" link that usually has a number before it. the comments lines are located under each posting on the blog. thanks and enjoy!

2004-10-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

Gamo Silver Shadow 1000 W/ BSA 4X32 scope.

The Gamo Silver Shadow 1000 w/ BSA scope

2004-10-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

I recently bought a new Gamo Silver Shadow 1000 .177 pellet riffle from Academy in Austin, TX at a great price! They are on sale for $125.00! They were much more everywhere else I looked on line. As a kid I had BB guns but this is my first stab at moving into more quality air guns. I realize that in the eyes of many this is an entry level rifle. It shoots very well and I have enjoyed learning about higher end air guns in my research and experimentation. I found many good reviews on it at reviewcentre.com . See http://www.reviewcentre.com/Gamo__54.htm

When I first bought it I purchased a scope for $20.00 by Gamo. The scope would not allow the gun to shoot consistently at all. I took it off and shot with open sights and the gun shot very accurately. I bought another scope for $25.00 and some rings to go with it and still no accuracy. I decided to try a BSA scope because I had read on line that they were made to deal with the strange recoil of the spring powered air guns. I paid around $29.00 or so and to my amazement I got great accuracy and consistent performance. Well see how long it lasts!

2004-10-14T16:07:00.000-07:00

3/4 in plywood backstop w/ paper target and iron swinging targets. I can get 20 nto 25 yards distance. Could probably get up to 30 yrds if i moved a few things.

2004-10-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

Gamo Silver Shadow 1000 w/ 4X32 BSA scope looking down range on sand bags.

My Urban Backyard Range

2004-10-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

I have created a safe and adequately long backyard range at my home in the burbs. I have 20 to 25 yard distance and a safe backstop. The range consists of a folding table, chair, sand bags, a 2 ½ ft by 2 ½ ft ¾ inch plywood backstop, and some swinging silhouettes all encased in a wooden fence and brick wall to one side. The pellets do not penetrate the plywood backstop and they flatten out and drop to the ground when the hit the swinging silhouettes.

What do we do with the cop callers?
	go out on a saturday weilding a pellet rifle with a crazy gleam in my eyes and call out the lilly livered liberal pink-o who keeps calling the law
	put up a sign that says "please file complaints ba calling 1-800-EAT- $#!T
	convince the cop to comme out and shoot a few rounds with me so the caller can see us yucking ut up in the back yard!
	shoot my gun, wait for the cops, then wen the cops leave shoot more and wait for the cops, repeat until dark.
	give up and stop shooting in my back yard.
	make it a safe shootng environment and shoot less when people are around.

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