just wondering why people do things.......

[Bhawanna]

why do people buy MULTIPLE  $89-$150  low-end airguns, then spend money to tune them and have about $600+  tied up in 5 guns ( they will never re-coup any money for ) when they could spend $600 and buy one really nice gun?  is it the thought of they can own a BUNCH OF GUNS?  case-in-point: i know an individual that owns 7 low-end chinese guns that he spent money to tune and accessorize and he has aboout $1000.00 tied up in them.  for a $1000 bucks he could have bought 2  nice guns and had them tuned and had enough money to buy some decent glass......  just a thought?.....  not trying to ruffle any feathers just trying to comprehend the "thought process"....

[xschug3]

Bhawanna, I'm not sure if there is a "thought process"....which would be why this happens.
OR, it's that people are generally impatient when it comes to their hobbies and things they're passionate about. So, what happens is as fast as they get some extra money, they spend it on a new china springer or a cheap accessory for their new china springer instead of saving it for a few months to get a nicer, more expensive gun. Delayed gratification almost completely dissapeared with the invention of the microwave.

[TAJ45]

I think you hit it on the head XS...............I've been saving for a decent 10m rifle.  Just recently sold a pretty nicely smithed Colt Auto Pistol in 45ACP but now am not reeeeel anxious to run out and grab what's available but have been tempted with several "good deals" or "gee, haven't had one of those" in other realms of the shooting world.  Kinda nice to be able to have a bit of a choice but the "get it now" is always a temptation I have to fight.  I likes me toyz.

[tonaka]

Well, I had to go through that myself.
My thought process was; "why buy expensive gun if you can buy the gun that is half the price and shoots as accurately"
But only after you buy it, of course, you start to understand why their price is not as high. I wanted it to be as good as high end gun.
Obviously the super friendly and informative forums contribute to that as well by showing that you can do this tune and that tune. Without these forums we wouldn't have the purpose of life and happiness. I am deeply greatful for this forum as I've learned alot.
 So, I had to justify my spending money on the cheaper rifle by making it better through tuning it. You have nice gun in the end but than.....ooopps...I have $600  invested in the gun.
But than again I have nothing against the china guns, just explaining my train of thought.
Anyway, as of now I really got this passion to get high end guns and that is what I am doing.
I just bought AA S410Classic off of yellow classifieds in as new condition as you can get with nice walnut stock for $700 and that was good buy I must say.
And I have accumulated enough dineros for the TX or ProSport.
I just wanna experience how it feels to shoot high quality air rifle.

[North Pack]

Because it's a good idea. I have a Crosman 800X - Turbo Tuned by Gene, with a GRT-III trigger. It's a TOTAL tack driver, my total costs less UPS is under $300.00. No $600.00 "masterpiece" will out shoot it. - Ditto for a Crosman Phantom I have - same story, 'bout the same cash. - For what I've spent - I'm WAY ahead of the game. Why would anyone do something else??? Ended up with two great springers for less that some folks pay for one. - BTW - I have no interest in the "dark side", fine for those that do, but I'll pass. - In fact I just took delivery on a 22 cal. Crosman Nitro, - 'bout to take it for a "test drive" this week. - BTW, - I had a Beeman, I returned it.

[tjk]

I guess most of the new comers to the AG sport can't see spending a lot of cash for a "BB-Gun". I'm guilty of that myself. But once they shoot the good stuff, then they start to see the light. Since I got my Beeman RX2, I  seriously doubt I'll ever buy anything of lesser quality than a Diana 34.  Economy guns are fun to play with and  mod/accesorize, but it's  like that old saying goes, you get what you pay for. Want a good gun, go to academy sports,.. Want a Great air rifle, save up  your  money  and get a German made Beeman, AA, etc and so forth. I  stil enjoy my cheap stuff but  at the same time there  really isn't much of a comparison  when up next to a quality AR. It's the investment (tuning, mounts, glass, triggers, replacement parts,  etc) in cheap stuff that still bugs me the most. Chalk it up as a learning experience I reckon. LOL's,  tjk

[Gene_SC]

Roger, not everyone has a deep pockets like you do... Half of my collection are those $50.00 to $200.00 so called low end air guns. Did you ever figure that some people like to try and make things better like home tunes etc.. And try and save some money. Sure we eventually will buy one or more of those $600.00 guns but we all start somewhere with learning the fun of air guns. It is like you have to crawl before you walk.. Sure I tune them and for the most part those low end guns come out sweeter than many of the $300.00 and $600.00 air rifles. Did you ever figure what the mark up was on those high end guns are. Most people would wet their pants if they knew what the dealers really pay for them. Allot of those so called $600.00 air rifles have some or all of the parts source out to different countries. So Roger I love you but you are a turd...

Shown is a $20.00 B-3 which shoots excellent and also my $800.00 ProSport. Both are as equally fun for me to shoot...

[Bentong]

Simple answer... some are happy on what they can afford,  just like my neighbor on my right is happy with his Toyota and the one in front of me is happy with his BMW.

[CitySniper]

I have to agree with you on this one... I'm still very young in this sport compared to most of you guys. But I am a very quick learner and what I've found out is you gotta pay for quality... most of my life i've had bb guns and air rifles of all sorts, none of them costing more than $120. which even then I thought was alot..

It wasn't until last year when I purchased and airgun costing more than $200 (gamo cfx) that I really started to notice the difference in quality... and it's true you get what you pay for. Especially when you think about the fact with proper love and care these guns will last for many years to come.

Btw Like i said im a quick leaner

I now just made another first and paid over $350 for an airgun (disco), and already I'm planning on saving up and paying ($470) for its big brother the marauder ( just to keep it in the family) :emoticon:

it's all about bigger and better, enjoy life. buy what you want!

[patton123]

Gene, you didn't answer his question. You home tune your guns, what about others who pay big money(more than the gun itself) for tunes.

My way of thinking is the same, I would own 1 really nice suit instead of 3 so-so suits.

But, it' s a hobby and it's about whatever makes you happy.

[Gene_SC]

Eric, my point was that many of us new air gunners are shocked by the prices we see for some air guns. When I started I could afford a $200.00 air gun and six months later I paid for a tune. But $350. out of pocket at first seems like allot. Not all of us have deep pockets and can just go out and buy a $300. to $600. gun of the bat.. Like myself I wanted to shoot some cridders and I did not see why I needed a high end gun at first. What if I lost interest.

Anyway I have seen guys buy $3000.00 guns right off the bat but there are more of us that can afford a $50.00 to $300.00 gun. Also I might add that I have tuned many of those so called high end guns and there you go adding another $150.00 to the cost of that gun..

lit is a personal thing with individuals. If everyone thought the same then it would be pretty boring...

[airiscool]

For those who love to tinker, and love the challenge of making something better, it can be a wonderful hobbie.  But not everyone has the skill and equipment to be tinkering.

Then there is a mind set with some folks that there is a savings to be had by buying cheap and having work done to the cheap item to make it the equal of the expensive item, but it doesn't always work out. .

And I've seen it happen with other things too - like cars, bikes, boats, furniture, homes, etc.

Most often it's a novice who figures the expensive gun, car, boat, whatever, is too expensive, so they will save by getting the less expensive one knowing it will need some work, but they don't realy know how much the final costs are going to be.

In my line of work, I repeatedly see guys passing up fully restored antique cars and buying rust buckets they can get cheap, thinking they can also restore them cheaply too. After awhile they find they're putting way more money into the rust bucket than the fully restored one was going to cost them. The sad part is that much of the work they've done on the rust bucket is poorly done so they wasted even more. When they try to unload the rust bucket for what they feel they put into it, they get another rude awakening.

Paul.

[atchman2]

As one of the guilty folks and also a relative newb I'll take a stab at an answer.  

My first springer was a Whisper.  THEN I found out about the magic golden trigger.  It kinda miffed me about having to buy it, but when I got it, saw the results, I didn't mind the price.  I thought that the money I spent on the Whisper, trigger, and the Leapers Scope and nice mounts was a lot of money.  However, that gun hits everything it shoots at!  

The next gun I got was a 350 magnum. Now I wasn't ready for that gun.  However now that I'm used to it, it shoots like a dream and was worth every penny I spent on it.  So then I have basically two medium priced guns.  

After that I went on a binge of cheaper guns.  Why?  Well if I really needed to hit something I could use the other two .  I bought a cheap refurb Air Hawk, which to be honest, has been a disaster.  I've spent as much or more money on it than I spent on the Whisper.  Between new springs, MM tune, etc, I have a lot of money in that gun.  While it is better, I wish I had spent the money to get a better base gun like a "real" 34.  

The next few guns are all AR1000 clones. I've learned to take them apart with varying results.  However I like them and like how hard they hit as I like magnum guns.  

If I had to do it over again, I'd probably just own three guns; my 350, a 34, and I want a Beeman R-9 or a Cometa.  I don't regret the money I've spent on cheaper guns as I've learned a lot about what I like and what I would do in the future. My TF 89 is a great shooter and I don't have much money at all in it.  The gun I regret the most is the Air Hawk.  I've spent too much money on it with little results.

[Furseeker]

My personal arsenal currently stands at 10 air guns. And they go from a $40 Daisy Power Line in .177 up to my most cherished RWS 350 Feuerkraft Pro Compact. I have a Discovery in the group as well. And I enjoy shooting each and every one of them. They are all better at some things than some of the others are. I’ve modified each and every one of them in one way or another, and they all shoot better then the day I bought them. When I get a little bored with shooting one I just pick up a different gun and shoot if for awhile. I’m sure there are more airguns in my future, some cheap and some expensive.

[Meann-Machine]

If the choice is between shooting or not shooting then buy an inexpensive gun, but I believe Bhawanna's question was why buy a bunch of cheap guns when you could take the same money and buyone or two upper level, quality rifles. While I understand Gene's response, I think it misses the mark. I agree with Gene that if you can't afford a higher end rifle then get what you can afford and add to it as you can afford to do so. But why do that over and over again?Four reasons I suppose: One is impulse control. The rifle sure looks purty, it's cheap and I can afford to buy it now, never thinking that saving those pennys might allow the purchase a much better rifle in the future; Second, some people just like to tinker and it's easier to justify messing with several $50-100 rifles thanbuying one $600 rifle you are to afraid to touch; Third variety can be the spice of life. I couldn't afford a stable of cars but I could afford to scour the paper for used motorcycles and now have a stable of them (one nice car just wouldn't do the trick.) Fourth, once you buy one inexpensive rifle the money that might have gone towards a better rifle is gone...so rather than wait we allow history to repeat itself.