First BB Gun?

[CountryGent]

So, this evening, me and the wife were talking over a great many things, on surprisingly disparate topics. Anyway, one is when to acquire a BB gun for our now five-year-old daughter. When I was five, my father bought me a Red Ryder and instructed me on the safety rules, including posting a piece of cardboard with said over my bed. And there were shooting outings with him and my older brothers.

Anyway, my little girl is coming to the age that such an air rifle is in the future. My better half's thinking is more education and seeing the Eddie Eagle program more and a BB gun when she is six. I can't argue with this logic and I think that is what we'll do. She, like her brother, has shown interest in "the pews", but there is no need to rush things. It will be something wonderful to go up to the home range with the little potatoes and their new BB guns, but patience is a virtue, and safety is paramount.

Anyway, sorry for the lengthy exposition, but questions:

• When did you receive your first BB gun?
• What model was it?
• What sort of instruction did you receive from your elders?

Thanks.

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[parallax]

1st BB gun was a daisy. If I pulled the trigger while cocking handle was pulled down it would fly closed and smash my little hand. Ouch. I was maybe 10 ? No rules as we were feral children. Kinda like the movie children of the corn. I still. To this day don't know how I did. Not lose an eye.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Around age 8-10 ish... Can't really remember....it was a few days ago...LOL
The rifle in question was an old Daisy.

Rules were simple :
Finger off the trigger , until ready to shoot...
Watch were I point the muzzle...
Never shoot an animal unless I plan on eating it...
Never point the rifle at another human...
The rifle is not a toy and if I treat it as such , it will go away.

My Dad liked pellet guns better as a BB can at times have a greater chance of bouncing back at you or glance off a hard back stop / target and hit something else....Just something to think about....
Andy

 

[joken]

I remember when one of the kids in our group got a pump and BB gun wars became no fair.

 

[osprey]

I was probably 8 or so when I got a daisy bb gun. I believe it was a later variation of the model 25 pump action. I was given the standard safety rules and to treat it like a real gun lecture. I also was told not to kill anything I wasn't willing to eat. I ate many barn pigeons and house sparrows lol. I drew the line at rats though and was given a pass.

 

[Yarome]

Rules were simple :
Finger off the trigger , until ready to shoot...
Watch were I point the muzzle...
Never shoot an animal unless I plan on eating it...
Never point the rifle at another human...
The rifle is not a toy and if I treat it as such , it will go away.

Pretty much exactly what I was taught.

My first was at age 5 with a Daisy 102... that I still have and has been been a "first rifle" for each of my 5 children.

I come from an avid big game hunting family so even at the ripe old age of 5 I walked the roads alone with my daisy rifle while the men folk pushed forest units... and was expected to treat my rifle the same as they did theirs.

That being said, I don't believe there is any particular "right" age for a child to own their own rifle. It depends on the child, their maturity level and ability to follow direction. I DO, however, think 5-6yrs old is a very good age to start leaning in that direction and tend to think more along the lines of "why shouldn't they have one" (at age 5 or 6) vs. "should they?".

I had outstanding role models, many opportunities to carry and shoot and... having my own going back about as long as I can remember... guns where never a "mystery" or "curiosity/temptation" to be abused.

When you're young... you shoot. As you get older... you hunt. Older still... you carry. That's just how our family rolls.

 

[bbbass]

My dad said "No BB guns". He did not believe that little boys that lived in suburbia had any bizness shooting around all the houses. My friends had newer Daisy (Edit: CO2) models and bbgun wars were paramount. That stopped wben I shot one kid in the face while sniping tree forts. We also were not allowed to shoot songbirds. Nor the windows out of the old car stored out back. We got in some trouble there.

No instruction, no safety rules.

I didn't get my first BB gun til I had long been an adult. I still have it... a Daisy Powerline combo pellet/bb pump up model.

I did buy my kids bb guns at age 8-10. They were only allowed to use them with supervision. Safety rules were taught in preparation for using .22 rifles.

 

[B5Ben]

Got my first at 12 or so. A little late I think butI remember it was fun and it was only at my dads house. My parents divorced at an early age.

I have this same dilemma as my oldest will be 7 in April and want to get a BB or pellet rifle in his hands but I am not sure he is mature enough to do so. He just doesn't listen or consider the consequences of his actions. Also he has a younger brother, that I think would be ready and listens much better, but we are in the 'burbs so I am not going to let them loose with a B.B. gun in the yard. Got some thinking to do on this. Funny thing is I bought their first .22 already. It's a single shot Stevens savage from the 1930's or 40's. Very basic with iron sights and pull back cocking action. My local ffl basically threw it in with another purchase.

Thanks for brong info this up @CountryGent. I have been meaning to start something like this.

 

[DirectDrive]

I wasn't allowed to have one.
So at about age 12, I bought a used Daisy lever on the sly.
One day Mr Wysk saw me hide it.
He found it and I never saw it again.
Legend had it that Mr. Wysk's brother lost an eye to a BB gun.

One very important thing to teach is to not wanton kill.
I still have regrets about killing all those songbirds for nothing but entertainment.

 

[Yarome]

Got my first at 12 or so. A little late I think...

...we are in the 'burbs so I am not going to let them loose with a B.B. gun in the yard.

For us, and considering that age 12 is old enough to hunt with a big bore rife, that would be far too old to just be getting their first BB rifle. Better for mistakes to be made with a BB vs. a 30-30.

There is also their own comfort level to consider. Having handled, been in charge of, and cared for their own "long gun" for years it's not much of a leap in their comfort levels to start packing a big bore.

Personally, I don't think being in the suburbs should be a hinderance. You certainly can't let them roam in the front yard with a rifle, but no reason you couldn't set up a short shooting range in your backyard and have controlled/supervised shoots.

Not saying "right" or "wrong" for everyone, but food for thought. Our children grew up in the 'burbs as well and threw many a BB across the back yard.

 

[Joe13]

So, this evening, me and the wife were talking over a great many things, on surprisingly disparate topics. Anyway, one is when to acquire a BB gun for our now five-year-old daughter. When I was five, my father bought me a Red Ryder and instructed me on the safety rules, including posting a piece of cardboard with said over my bed. And there were shooting outings with him and my older brothers.

Anyway, my little girl is coming to the age that such an air rifle is in the future. My better half's thinking is more education and seeing the Eddie Eagle program more and a BB gun when she is six. I can't argue with this logic and I think that is what we'll do. She, like her brother, has shown interest in "the pews", but there is no need to rush things. It will be something wonderful to go up to the home range with the little potatoes and their new BB guns, but patience is a virtue, and safety is paramount.

Anyway, sorry for the lengthy exposition, but questions:

• When did you receive your first BB gun?
• What model was it?
• What sort of instruction did you receive from your elders?

Thanks.

Age 4

Crossman pump + Ruger Standard .22lr + S&W 39-2 9mm (yes I started shooting all of them at 4)

My grandfather drilled the basics and safety into me daily while I was there in the summer. He also had a standing rule that I could ask and he would bring them out so I could touch and feel as much as I wanted and when I was done they went back into storage. Basics were also drilled during those times.


These days I would encourage looking into AirSoft guns for in the garage or whatnot so it could be used inside safely and more often starting sooner then later but each kid is different.

My daughter loved shooting disposable cups in the garage when she was little.

 

[11Charlie]

Crossman 760 pellet gun at the age of 8. At the age of 10 after having the safety rules pounded into me I was allowed to shoot my dads .22 rifle and revolver.

When I say I had the safety rules pounded into me. It literally happened after I accidentally shot my best friends dog with a bb from ten feet away! Lets just say I never pointed a gun where it wasn't supposed to be after that day.

 

[teflon6string]

Pretty much every boy in my childhood neighborhood had a lever action Daisy by age 10. Our parents had all built houses there at about the same time, so there were packs of us. Younger siblings fell right in line at 7-8 yo. We got the standard "always loaded... possibly lethal... never point..." cautions (at least I did), and off to our forts in the woods we went.

Soon after (probably when no one had lost an eye or fried in the electric chair for destroying other people's property), we discovered the Crosman Powermaster pump. That was a real game-changer when it came to accuracy, muzzle velocity, cool factor. A couple kids eventually got CO2 powered things, but shooting with CO2 cost paper route money (some kids got allowance - I didn't), so it was not really popular.

Here's the first single pump BB/pellet pistol I bought for 6-8 Pounds in Scotland. Don't recall who the older chap was - family friend or relative. Took it home on Pan Am Airlines without a thought, maybe in a carry-on, I forget. I learned "the left thumb lesson" not long after that when I fired a real semi-auto pistol.

 

[teflon6string]

...

These days I would encourage looking into AirSoft guns for in the garage or whatnot so it could be used inside safely and more often starting sooner then later but each kid is different.

My daughter loved shooting disposable cups in the garage when she was little.

+1 on Airsoft. Great for final execution of any mice that the cats catch and release inside. "They didn't have [full-auto] stuff like that when I was a kid!"

 

[B5Ben]

For us, and considering that age 12 is old enough to hunt with a big bore rife, that would be far too old to just be getting their first BB rifle. Better for mistakes to be made with a BB vs. a 30-30.

There is also their own comfort level to consider. Having handled, been in charge of, and cared for their own "long gun" for years it's not much of a leap in their comfort levels to start packing a big bore.

Personally, I don't think being in the suburbs should be a hinderance. You certainly can't let them roam in the front yard with a rifle, but no reason you couldn't set up a short shooting range in your backyard and have controlled/supervised shoots.

Not saying "right" or "wrong" for everyone, but food for thought. Our children grew up in the 'burbs as well and threw many a BB across the back yard.

While it's not really a hindrance, it's not helpful either. We're on a 1/4 acre and neighbors are sure to hear it. I'm fine with that, but they will be alert once it's known that I'm teaching my boys to shoot in the backyard. Fine, whatever.

The other, bigger issue is my oldest's maturity level, which is almost surpassed by his younger brother of 18 months. The younger one, I would be ok with teaching to shoot relatively soon, say next spring, and I hope thing change by then and can do both by then. Right now, they have NERF guns and can't follow the rules, so I can't trust them to have a BB gun. We will see how things go and sorry to derail the thread @CountryGent.

 

[etrain16]

My first BB gun was the Marksman Repeater, like this:



Shot BB's, pellets and .177 cal darts. We had a ton of fun with it. Though it was only accurate to maybe 20 ft and had a max FPS of maybe 250-300. They still make them and can be had for $20 on Amazon. Only issue for kids is each shot you have to rack the cocking lever at the back and may be a bit much for smaller kids. I was shooting this around age 7-8. Not long after, moved on to the ubiquitous Crosman 760 Pumpmaster as well as a Crosman 1377 pump pistol.

That said, to start our daughter out, we went with airsoft instead of BB. A little safer. Lighter and easier to manage for small hands. Plus you can easily get them in 'girlie' colors and you can get away with shooting them indoors. Airsoft BB's are cheap as well. And they'll punch holes in paper out to maybe 15-20 ft. You can also knock over tin cans. The more powerful ones will punch holes in the cans. It's great for learning the rules and if something does go wrong, the chance for serious injury is much less. I like the idea of starting with airsoft, then moving to BB once they can show they know the rules.

My daughter's airsoft pistol is a Sig P226 - also $20 on Amazon - and it's pink . She has little trouble racking the slide on this to cock the gun, unlike a BB pistol which has a stronger spring.

 

[bbbass]

but we are in the 'burbs so I am not going to let them loose with a B.B. gun in the yard.

Nothing wrong with them owning BB guns but only allowed to use them when you go on an outing to an appropriate location. That's what I did with my kids since I know how boyz are likely to get on their own.

 

[Kruel J]

Mine was a Crossman. I think I was around 8 as well. Upgraded to a bolt action .22 when I was 11. Ah, the good ol' days.

 

[Alexx1401]

Started shooting at 5, under supervision of course. Was given a .22 but only could shoot with Dad. Had shot air guns other owned but parents did not own one. At about 9 or 10 I was already making my own money, such as it was. Saved enough to buy my first air gun. Daisy lever looked like a 30-30 kind of. It was a step up from the Red Ryder series then. Parents gave zero instruction, amazing no one got hurt. They had trouble getting me to come in to eat. I got to be an amazing good shot. Next time out with my .22 out shot Dad badly. After that I could take the .22 on my own when I could afford ammo. Biggest problem now days is so many places have made air guns the same as firearms. Have to be careful letting kids shoot in the back yard if you don't check. Nice part is of course it's easy to set up inside if needed.

 

[B5Ben]

I hadn't thought about the air soft idea and I'm not sure why,but I think that will be a better first option than a B.B. gun. Less damage can be done I think. I also like the lighter weight cocking mechanism. My boys have a hard time with the Nerf guns sometimes and would think it will be worse with a BB gun.

Thanks guys!