Recently lots of centerfire shooters have been asking me where I get ammo. As a “noisy” shooter myself (mostly handguns) I don’t have any good answers. There’s none to be had. Or what is “available” (and I use that word with extreme sarcasm) costs more than Micronesia’s Gross National Product.
The answer I do have, and if you’re reading this you’ll likely agree it’s a good one, is to go airborne.
I can’t speak for you, but I’ve had no trouble at all finding pellets, BBs, and even slugs. Of course, air is free and even pre-compressed air in the form of CO2 cylinders is (still) plentiful. I guess the panicked horde isn’t yet buying up airguns and supplies faster than the March 2020 great toilet paper scare.
If you’re already an airgunner, great. You’re all set to keep on shooting on. If you’re a fire and brimstone guy or girl, maybe it’s time to use some air technology to keep your skills sharp and have some fun in the process. No range outings required. You can airgun to your heart’s content in your garage, basement, or backyard. And, with the right gear, you can even do it in the dark.
Enter the Axeon MPL1 Compact Tactical Pistol Handgun Mini Light. This little gem mounts to the forward rail of virtually any air (or centerfire) pistol outfitted with one and turns your air plinker (or centerfire) into a darkness-conquering beast.
Similar to many centerfire tactical weapon lights costing hundreds of dollars, this one features instant on/off buttons on the back of the unit. They’re placed so you can flick the light on and off using your trigger or support hand finger. There’s a positive on/off switch on the bottom that prevents inadvertent activation when in storage or when daytime shooting. Might as well save the battery for when you really need it, right?
Here’s the cool part. Even though this little wonder costs less than 40 bucks, it delivers a whopping 300 lumens of white LED light from a single AAA battery. Those are cheap and readily available. Each battery will get you about 30 minutes of runtime. Stock up at Costco and you’ll be fine through the dark years of the Zombie apocalypse.
At that price point, one can afford to stick one of these on their favorite air pistol. And leave it there. Now you’ve for a garage or basement friendly training pistol that mimics the features of a centerfire home defense guns equipped with a weapon light. You’ve also got a yard-safe nighttime rodent discouragement device. Living adjacent to a swamp (marketing savvy real-estate agents call this ‘scenic wetlands’) we get all manner of critters trying to set up shop in our first level garage. A weapon-light makes all the difference in my success rate.
As a long-suffering technology geek, I’m accustomed to seeing the steady march of more capability for fewer dollars, and that’s in evidence here. 300 lumens. AAA battery. 40 bucks. What’s not to love?