I'm getting lazy in my old age

[Zak33]

It's along story....you better go get a cuppa before ya start reading

I have two rather nice air guns, both air rifles and both legal. One is a tradional spring and piston HW80 and one is a newer BSA Super10, which has a cylinder of compressed air called a buddy bottle.

The older gun I have had since I was 18, and I'm now 34. The newer I have had for under 4 years.

The new gun, with it's buddy bottle, needs special attention when removing the bottle. I knew this 4 years ago.

I forgot it last week.

It's not dangerous, but to release pressure from the bottle you're supposed to unscrew it a half turn, and let off a fews shots, and if you can hear the power drop, you can unscrew it all the way, but if you dont hear the power drop, unscrew a bit more and fire a few more shots etc.

I needed to get the bottle recharged. It was empty anyway so it just came off. I went to the shop, and had it refilled.

When I returned and fitted it, it leaked. You could hear gas escaping. I knew the bottle didnt leak up to now, as I had driven home with it in my car, and now I could hear it pouring out, so I unscrewed it in one big go, forgetting to let the pressure off and presto...

hissssssssssssssssssssssss

I had a bottle that was now leaking as the seal must have blown from the back pressure.

At the time I checked the neck of the bottle and the brass fitting had a few small raised scuffs in it, and this is where I should have been younger.....

had I been younger, less busy and less lazy, I'd have taken the gun stock off, to see what the fitting looked like inside.

I didn't. I decided to buy a new bottle. It must, obviously, haved been the bottle fitting.

New bottles are £65 I found one on ebay and paid a rather bargain £26.

It arrived, brand new and I took it along to the shop to get it filled AND I took the broken one to see if he could do anything with it.

Nice bloke.....he said "we'll see if it will hold air" so he filled it and it did , as did the new one (no kidding....it's new)

Zak, numpty boy, had TWO bottles. The refreshed air pressure from a fill up, reset the inner valve in its seat and now both bottles were good.

Very happy, though £26 lighter (plus £2 per refill) I went wandering home full of glee and hope.

I screwed the new one in and HISS............the air still escaped!

What's wrong with the damn thing? I took it off gently, letting out the pressure, and tried the old one.

Same thing.

Zak has blown up the valve in his GUN, not in the bottle It's the GUN that leaks now.

Now gutted I gave up and texted a friend who knows more than me.....

and you see.....he DOESN'T know more than me...he just does what i used to do....he takes things apart and sees how they work.

Like I do with PC's and cars....but he does it with guns.

Like I USED to do with my trusty spring and piston rifle. I'm getting old, but I can still take that old gun apart in my sleep because I love it and adore it and have tended it through decades of shooting She's mine.

So why didn't I do this for the last 4 years on the new one? Old age? Lazyness?

Probably

Anyway, my mate texted me back to say he's away for another week, but to leave it alone, not fiddle with it (or the gun!!!! ) and he'll sort it when he gets back.

I was relieved.....and then, today on the the way home from a long days driving, I thought "Why have I NEVER taken even the stock off that gun?" It's a mystery in there to me, and it shouldnt be.

So I did.....15 minutes before writing this. And there was the problem.

Dirt....a poxy little bit of grit on the seat where the seal rests. 30 seconds with a rag, and some new silicon grease (from "old guns" trusty service kit) and I put the bottle on and bingo.

Sorted.

Right...well if you're still here, you have less to do than nothing, but thanks for reading

I'm old, getting older and all before I'm 40!!!

[Stewart]

For anyone else that story is two paragraphs. For Zak its a post that will wear out 92.6% of the wheels on the mice of people trying to read it.

[directhex]

For anyone else that story is two paragraphs. For Zak its a post that will wear out 92.6% of the wheels on the mice of people trying to read it.

bloody hellfire... when the wheel on my mx518 broke, it didn't occur to me to blame zak

[IBM]

See, you get all the oldies reading the post 'cause they want to feel better about themselves hearing about other people getting old

[Stewart]

The oldies? I turned 25 a few months back, I don't think Hex is even that old.

Just because we can remember when 8bit games were state of the art does not make us oldies.

[Gorgeous]

The oldies? I turned 25 a few months back, I don't think Hex is even that old.

Just because we can remember when 8bit games were state of the art does not make us oldies.

Your very right it doesnt make you 'oldies' but it makes you seem bloody ancient. Saying that i'm 21 i feel old

[Tumble]

imagine my shock when I found out that chucking a rag soaked in "Break-Free" down the barrel before I shot put 3 points on my average...


It's ALWAYS the simple little things that getcha...

[neonplanet40]

For anyone else that story is two paragraphs. For Zak its a post that will wear out 92.6% of the wheels on the mice of people trying to read it.

LMAO that made me giggle my a** of

[IBM]

The oldies? I turned 25 a few months back, I don't think Hex is even that old.

Just because we can remember when 8bit games were state of the art does not make us oldies.

Come on, you feel old. Admit it. Once you've come to terms with it you can enjoy it....the shaking of the stick at young whipersnappers, the looking forward to the rocking chair on the porch, cradling a shotgun, shouting 'Get off ma land'....it's all good.

[Stewart]

I feel older, yes. Kids are now younger than me (how did that happen? ), and when I see them standing outside in the cold in groups of 25, doing nothing, I think - look at those oiks. Its what I did when I was that age, but thats the way things work in life.

You do something, then you wonder why younger people do the same when its their turn.

I also watch Newsnight now. That can't be a good sign.

[Curly]

Start worrying when antiques roadshow and songs of praise suddenly turns into a good sunday afternoons viewing

Curly

[Knoxville]

nah its when time team starts to become really interesting that you need to get worried, that happened to me the other night, confirms I must be getting old tbh.

As for you zak, dude you always struck me as someone that took everything apart to see how it works, I was amazed when you got that guitar and the pick-ups didn't end up un-wound all over the living room floor Spose we all loose that curiosity at a certain age, I know i've stopped taking things apart I don't care how it works aslong as it works, especially seeing as mosta the time i've got the cash to get it fixed by someone cleverer than me anyway.

[Stewart]

Already watch Time Team.

Quailty viewing is that.

[Flibb]

Them PCPs they be the devils work, stick to springs

I currently have a falcon light hunter, 8 shot (sson to be 16 when the new mag come out)


And I picked up a HW80 for £80 the other weak, needs a bit of TLC but I had one years ago, fancied a bit of retro.

[Lee H]

And I picked up a HW80 for £80

ooh is that a WEIHRAUCH?. I used to have 1 of them about 7 years ago. Superb rifle, very accurate and was a beauty to use. A word of warning though, be careful as the Rubber 'O' seal likes to wear out on these like theres no tomorrow.

[Flibb]

Yep the Weihrauch. Am pondering sending it to be suctomised by the venom team, might even have its power increased and go fac with it. First job is a strip down, rebuild / relube, safety is currently buggered so will have a look at that. Needs a silencer, and higher scope mounts for the 50mm front end of my scope. I had forgoten how harsh a springer can be when compared to a PCP, have had my falcon 8ish years.