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The Tooth Fairy

In any special interest area, there will be buzz phrases, benchmark numbers, and secret handshakes. Everybody learns them. Then, they go forth grading everything according to this powerful knowledge.

Please look around all you want ... and please buy what you want ... from whomever you choose. However; please recognize when you are being asked to believe in the Tooth Fairy. The popular list of uncommon knowledge evidently contains the answers to the following questions...

"How many shots does YOUR rifle get per fill?" That's way up there on "the list". Before accuracy, quality, power, even before cost or availability. So, I start reciting the facts: "Well, it depends upon the power level I set it up for (if you want more shots for less power or max. power and dramatically less shots)". And ... I can see the eyes glaze over (yes - even in e-mail) because that's not the correct answer. The correct answer is 12, or 50, or 150! Now THERE'S a straight answer. None of these FACTS to drag you down and depress the moment. No variables. Sort of like the question ... "How much does lunch cost?" The answer is $4.95 - including beverage. Don't confuse it with where, or what, or service, etc.

And ... how fast does YOUR rifle shoot? HumMMmmmm? So, I start to recite the facts. Depends upon what slug you are shooting ... you see, you can shoot a hunting slug of far greater weight or a little fly weight round for ... "Whoooopwhooopwhoooop!!!! Wrong answer! The correct answer is 1,000 FPS ... just like that! None of these excuses .... BINGO! Try again.

And, what's YOUR rifle weigh ... HumMMMmmmmm? So, I consider the options which folks say they want to build in and the three pound scope they want to mount ... and ... too late ... BUSTED! The answer is "five pounds" ... just like that! And, we don't want to know that that's with the paper thin reservoir tubes or the breech design that blows out above 200 foot pounds ... heck no ... five pounds is the answer!! That's with or without scope. Learn it - love it - live it.

Folks ... please smell the coffee. There's no magic. The rifles which use less air produce less power. Compare apples to apples. The lighter rifles are either built to a different standard or they have far less features. Some tasks can be handled by lesser products - sure. You get what you buy. It's up to you to decide what you need. If you only want to drive 55 miles an hour, you can find a heck of alot of cars which will do it at the lower end of the cost scale. If you want to drive 55 miles an hour around a very tight turn ... ah ... then there are very few. And, no, they aren't just the same chassis underneath as the base models. To do twice as much ... they have five times the engineering.

Here's another famous answer: MOA. In fact - that's the answer to several questions. What's the accuracy potential of anything with a sale tag on it? MOA. Right. What's the skill level of every shooter ever born? That's right ... MOA. What's the minimum acknowledged starting point for armchair accuracy? You guessed it. MOA.

However; please don't leave the arm chair and then go hunting with your 5 MOA rifle (because the kill zone is gonna be the size of a dinner plate and the shot's only gonna be 20 yards anyway). There's a HUGE difference between a product which will truly deliver MOA and the rest of the pack. Taking an easy shot at a huge target won't boost the accuracy of a poor rifle. It just boosts the story when the details are omitted.

There's a part of human nature that tells every 25 year old that he can restore a rusty/rotted old Mustang and have something faaaar better than a new one. Heck ... why make Detroit rich? Who needs power steering? Or power brakes ... or climate control ... or airbags ... or ... that other stuff. Be honest about what you want to use the product for. If you just want to blast big holes in paint cans or old car hoods, you certainly don't need Barnes.

Then, there's "Hunting". Will it kill a deer? The correct answer is supposed to be "Yes". No questions asked. No yardage mentioned, no projectile discussion, no ethics quagmire. Just yes ... period. In reality, there's "shooting" and there's "hunting". I've seen pictures of fifty deer in a field at once - with tall feeders on each end of that field. All of the deer had their heads down grazing. They weren't even alarmed by the fella taking the picture!! Shooting one of those deer is not "hunting". Sure, many simple rifles would handle that challenge. Now, if you want to be able to handle a real hunting situation, your equipment and accuracy formula might need adjustment. I shot a Wild Russian Boar last Fall with one of my 45 caliber PCPs. Knowing my rifle, I took an offhand shot @ 109 yards and shot clear thru the flank of that trotting 200 pound Boar with a 337 grain slug. Upon reacquiring the game, I took a shot (from 70 yards) which struck the near shoulder and passed diagonally through the boar to exit the far side ham. Probably a 20" long wound channel or more. Even so, my hunting partner told me he was amazed to see a plume of dirt kick up behind the boar from the exited slug!

That's the result of design, build quality, features, development, and range time. The shots per charge, velocity, and weight don't mesh with popular wisdom. However; the MOA is very real. The projected energy is very real. The excitement is very real. The performance and value are very real. (Tooth Fairy Optional ...)