i just stumbled across this today. i picked up a q-tip that i was using to clean out a die with, and was going to throw it away. and found my son left MY pellet gun by the basement trash can, instead of where it belongs. anyway, the muzzle of the barrel was looking almost straight at me, and it just clicked. i checked, and sure enough, the q-tip fits snugly into the barrel. so, i gave it 2 pumps, stuck it out the door, and it shot. ridiculously straight even. so, i set a pop can about 20 feet away, and it hit just loud enough that i could hear the "ting". no penetration, not even a dent in the can. (i could also see it going to the can in the scope). so, now on days that are to nasty to go shoot, or anytime really i want to shoot something, i can at least do this. rain, shine, snow, broken leg, none of it matters. the q-tip can be used twice (once on each end), and by then, it is looking pretty shaggy. but off brand q-tips are cheap. and if your wife doesn't see you doing this, she will just think you picked up a new cleaning habit. and she will actually be happy about buying more q-tips. at least until she finds out the ugly truth. just remember to find ALL of them and get them taken care of. if she finds even one of them, she will know something, besides grooming, is going on.