Thread: Red Ryder BB Gun

I got my first BB gun at age 5 on Christmas. It was one of those Crossman single shot spring pistols that bundles the gun with a target. I think they still have a version of it on the shelves too. Even though I physically couldn't load it myself, it never got to come out or be used without my dad there. I learned how to shoot in our kitchen and learned proper gun safety.

Several years later, I think around 10, I got a powerful Daisy pump gun. That also never got to come out without my dad's permission. It taught me a few important lessons and was great to have. I had it for quite a while until the piston started to wear out. If I remember right, I think the stock started to crack too.

I don't remember when I got a slingshot, but I think it was around age 8. I used it to chase away strays and was a crackshot with it

When I was in my late teens me and my buddies used to play war with bb guns but we wore motorcycle helmets with face shield. If someone yelled ouch they were dead.

bj

Oh man, my dad bought my brothers and I a daisy when I was about 8. My older brother was allowed to use it by himself (he was 10). I was allowed to use it if he was there with me. My little brother (18 months my junior) was only allowed to use it as he got older if my dad was around. My dad taught my brother and I safe use of a firearm with that Daisy. When I was a few years older, maybe 12 or so, we got a really powerful .177 spring air. My big brother was no longer interested, it was my rifle. I could shoot the center out of the tiny little airgun target from accross the yard standing, prone, hell, I probably could have done it on one foot (the eyes and nerves of a 12 year old, I guess.) Now, I couldn't even SEE that bullseye with my glasses on with iron sights.
My kid brother wasn't allowed to use that rifle by himself either, on account of its significant increase in power. One day, though, he took it out without permission, was carrying it across the basement ****ed and loaded (breach of the rules), and apparently with the safety off (breach of the rules). His friend walked in front of him (dumbass) and there was an accident. The pellet bounced off the smooth cement floor, and up into the friend's arm. It wedged in somewhere between a vein and a nerve (? I think...all I know is I was ****ED) in a spot where they decided it was safest to leave it. So, he carries it around with him to this day, as far as I know. My mom freaked out, and the rifle went bye-bye.
I have since had a few .22 rifles, a few bigger bore longuns, and a handful of pistols. Beisdes one Kimber .45, though, I have never felt the kind of "extension of my hand" relationship existed with any firearm that did with that .177. ANd I still give my kid brother a hard time about that.
I think every kid (except those that have shown an inability to follow basic rules....) should have the opportunity to learn on a BB or pellet gun.

Originally Posted by Milton Man

When I was young, my best friend's dad got him a Red Ryder BB gun - his father treated it as a stepping stone to earning the right to go for a hunting rifle one day. A sort of gun training wheels,if you will. His dad used to keep the BB gun in with his hunting rifles, locked, and imbued the gun with the gravitas that guns should have. It was seen as a proof that you could handle the responsibility and where you could prove that were mature enough to ALWAYS follow safe gun handling practices, clean and take care of the weapon.

I don't think I ever saw an instance where he was allowed to even see the gun without his father there, showing him the finer points of marksmanship, of caring for a tool, or some safe gun handling practice. I remember I envied not only the gun, but also the experience he had with his dad around it, on the few occasions where I was allow to participate.

It's in this context that I see a BB gun as very worthwhile - a chance for father and son to embark on a lifetime of hunting together - where you could give the child some responsibility, treat it as a real gun, and see the child grow from the trust being gained.

My parents were not hunters though, and saw absolutely no need for "gun training wheels." They were firmly in the camp of "you'll shoot your eye out!" much to my dismay today. Now that I'm old enough, I want to get into hunting, but don't even know the first thing about it, not having grown up in a culture that accepts weapons. Thankfully, I have my straights to keep me occupied.

Mark

Oh, they're awesome. I was also groomed to be a hunter from a young age.

I remember getting to carry a pellet rifle that used to belong to my Dad when he was a kid while the two of us went deer hunting. We went out to his usual spot very early. And it was very cold out there in the snow. He patiently said that we should try and keep "as quiet as we can," so that we didn't scare any deer away from us. It wasn't long before I was plinking at stuff with my pellet rifle and making all kinds of noise. And I remember asking again and again if we could build a fire for warmth. "No, not now. Maybe later."

I liked going hunting with him a lot, because his hunting camp was like a different universe, where none of the rules of home applied.

"Dad, can I have a Coke with my breakfast?" (Already expecting to be denied)
"Sure."

That never would have happened at home.

I got to smoke a cheap cigar... give liquor a try for the first time... I was encouraged by one of my uncles and a few other hunters to climb to the top of the bed bunks with my pellet gun and try to hit the mice that would sometimes scurry along the top of the pantry.

"Woah --- shoot them...inside?"
"Sure, what the hell?

I didn't see any, though, and fell asleep up there. Even at that young age, though, I could outshoot most of the guys in the camp. One day on the porch they were target shooting at this little bottle of water someone had hung from a string way out in the woods. A few guys were shooting and shooting at it, to no avail. One of the guy's sons, in his late teens, was firing his 30-30 Marlin at it again and again, visibly frustrated after the sixth shot or so. Then I was given an opportunity and put my Dad's .308 to my shoulder. Seeing that bottle detonate in an explosive mist of water through the scope as the rifle's report echoed through the woods was a great feeling.

"Holy sheeit!" everyone was saying.

I've had plenty of firearms experience--hunting, markmanship teams, etc. And it all started with Red Ryder when I was about 5. The only piece of advice I would give would be to consider where you live. Where I grew up my nearest neighbor lived almost a mile away, which gave me plenty of room to shoot my BB gun. Now, I live in a small subdivision where my nearest neighbor is within spitting distance. If I had a kid would I buy him/her a BB gun? Hell no, not enough room to actually use it. Likewise, I wouldn't take a rifle out in the backyard and it shoot it when I was growing up either...not enough room. Firearms are a wonderful teaching tools, so if you're going to give your kid one either a) live somewhere with a large enough yard or b) be prepared to take your child somewhere safe to shoot it everyday after work and every weekend, cuz that's how often they're going to want to shoot it

But see, that's what's great about BB guns -- you can shoot 'em in the basement! Put on a pair of safety glasses, of course, and then have at it!

My RR BB gun came when I was 7. I directly attribute my exceptional marksmanship skill to early training with the ol' RR. I shot expert for 20 years in the Army. I don't know what came of the gun, darn.