Air Rifles: Fun For All Ages

As we grow older, we lose pleasure in the things that used to make us happy when we were kids. Skipping rocks on water, playing in the sandbox, burning ants with a magnifying glass. One of my favorite activities was shooting air rifles. This pastime still holds true even as an adult.

There are many benefits to owning an accurate air rifle. I'm not just talking about a gun that can hit a tin can at 10 yards, but an air rifle that can stack pellet after pellet into the same hole at 30.

Pellet rifles give the shooter ample amounts of inexpensive practice. The more you shoot, the better you get.

If I had to pick one gun for a survival situation, I'd pick an air rifle.

Think about it for a minute. You can easily carry two tins of 500 pellets. They're lightweight and take up very little room. Not so much for two 500-round bricks of 22 long rifle. And save the macho talk. Air rifles have plenty of punch to take down small game.

The last year or so, I've waged all-out war on backyard squirrels. They've chewed up treestand seats, chewed a hole in my deer feeder and heaven knows what else. I slowly sneak down tree lines watching the treetops looking for the furry tree rats. I've bagged countless limits of squirrels with air guns for the simple fact that they are quiet.

I even go as far as packing my small carbine air rifle while bowhunting. Ever have that moment when you're for sure there is a deer moving behind you, and when you turn around, it's a squirrel? I used to. The air rifle is a quiet and entertaining solution to that problem.

I spend a fair amount of time with my nieces and nephews. Today's technology makes it easy for younger generations to spend more time staring at electronic devices. The other day, my nephew was playing a video game on his iPad. It was a gorgeous day outside, and I couldn't help but wonder what I would've been doing in his place.

I walked to the safe and pulled out a few air guns and a tin of pellets. What happened next? An onslaught of pop can and clay pigeon destruction. We shot nonstop for an hour. It was cheap. It was fun. It was informative.

The next day, when he got off the school bus, the first thing he asked me was if we could shoot the pellet guns again. I already had the targets set up.

See—fun for all ages!