10:00 – When I got up this morning it was 68F (20C) in the house, so I fired up the natural gas logs in the den for the first time this season. When she got up, Barbara turned on the heat, also for the first time this season. Our overnight low was 40F (4C), and I could see my breath while I was walking Colin this morning.
I ended up ordering that air rifle yesterday, along with a thousand pellets to get started with. It was on sale for $100, which was a good deal. It’s a break-action spring-piston model, which means we can expect to fire 100 to 500 shots to break it in. Until then, it’s likely to be quite rough and exhibit mediocre accuracy.
The last time I handled a Gamo air rifle was in 1979. It also cost about $100, but in 1979 dollars. At the time, it was called El Gamo rather than just Gamo, and it was made in Spain. I suspect the current model is made in China, which accounts for unchanged price. In 1979, I also had the chance to handle several top quality air rifles, made in Europe by companies like Feinwerkbau, Anschutz, and Walther. At the time, those sold for $200 or so up to more than $1,500. Those companies still make similar models in Germany and Switzerland and, as you might expect, they now sell for three to five times their 1979 prices.