BB Gun Suggestions

[blau iii]

Hey guys,

My 5yo son has recently shown a strong interest in firearms. He took it upon himself to learn the 4 rules and is generally a good kid. I'm thinking Santa might bring him a BB gun for Christmas, any suggestions? Any pointers on selling the wife on this?

I think it would be a great way to get him out to the range with me (and to pick up my brass!!) I'd keep it in my safe when not in use. Anything I'm missing?

I was about 8 or 9 when my dad got me a crossman pump BB gun so that's my only point of reference. I heard my son yelling at one of his friends to not point a (toy) gun at anything you didnt want to destroy let alone a person.

[alpacaheat]

My son shot a Red Ryder at Cub Scout camp at age 6 and did awesome with it.


Daisy makes a shorter version called the Little Buck that you can get at Walmart for under $20 that will fit a 5-YO good. It's only 29" long, 6" shorter than the Red Ryder and simple to use. Cock the lever before each shot, so that's safer for a beginner. Low velocity too, which you want for a 5-YO.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Daisy-Mode...r-Gun/15730098

If you can find an older version, it will probably be made better but at under $25 for the fun and ammo, you can't go wrong for a new one. BBs for it are $4.97 for 2,400 rounds.

[alpacaheat]

As for the wife, make sure she understands this will teach him responsibility and that if he breaks even one rule, mainly the golden rule of never pointing the gun at anyone EVER, he loses it.

Have him recite the rules to her. That will impress her...my wife was proud of our son when he learned them with Scouts at age 6.

That gun I showed you is very low velocity, sized for him and is easy to operate. It's about as safe a a kid can be with a BB gun.

Also, keep it stored like a real gun (because it IS a real gun, it shoots projectiles) when he's not doing supervised shooting.

Take total responsibility for his safety and make sure she knows this won't be a toy he can play with any time he wants.

[Bang]

Cover his eyes for an hour and stress this is what it is like forever when an eye is shot out?

[Roadking]

Red ryder is a great jump off point. I'm a cub scout shooting sports instructor, and that's what we use, and what I started our two boys off with at 5.
Range and safety rules already learned...GREAT on him (and you, since he learned somewhere)!
Then a Pumpmaster 760...build arm strength.
At 8 and 10 got them a Crosman Fury break barrel pellet gun. Once sited in, they consistenly his pennys at 50 feet.
Next stop is a .22 bolt action...and so on.
Start small, get proficient, and move up.
Good luck and send him my good luck!
And as said prior...tell wife he WILL learn more responsibility and respect for the rifle...and life.

Matt

[aubie515]

I got my daughter started with 22LR last year when she was 4.

I recently bought a Benjamin Marauder pistol for myself. I had my daughter shoot it last week in our basement and she was shooting it lights out. I ended up giving the PRod to her since she shot it so well. PRod is a pistol, but comes with a stock as well. While the stock is a little long for her LOP wise, she can clean the center out on her targets. There are aftermarket stocks that will offer me any length, so I'm going to order a shorter LOP for her.

Now, keep in mind that PCPs are expensive...least expensive route is a hand pump, but generally those hand pumps range from $170-270 in price.

If you want to go less expensive, I'd recommend the Crosman 1377/1322. It's a pump action that you can modify. Once again, you can get the Crosman stock to assist, but it will be a little long for a 4 YO unless your son is huge. Crosman has great CS and you can modify them for more power as your son gets older. The airgun will grow with your son.

http://www.crosman.com/airguns/pistols

BTW, you can find them much less online. I've seen the pistols go for $60 amazon...WM has a "doomsday" one for $75 that includes a pack and stock.

As far as what to say to your wife...I have nothing for you. My wife knows that shooting sports is my passion, so she doesn't get involved. I bought my daughter a few rifles before she was even born, so I don't know what it's like to be married to someone that doesn't appreciate our 2A rights. My wife is from NJ and her family are a bunch of tree huggers. That being said, my wife knows the importance of teaching our daughter how to handle firearms, even if my wife isn't "all in" about firearms.

[blau iii]

Red ryder is a great jump off point. I'm a cub scout shooting sports instructor, and that's what we use, and what I started our two boys off with at 5.
Range and safety rules already learned...GREAT on him (and you, since he learned somewhere)!
Then a Pumpmaster 760...build arm strength.
At 8 and 10 got them a Crosman Fury break barrel pellet gun. Once sited in, they consistenly his pennys at 50 feet.
Next stop is a .22 bolt action...and so on.
Start small, get proficient, and move up.
Good luck and send him my good luck!
And as said prior...tell wife he WILL learn more responsibility and respect for the rifle...and life.

Matt

Thanks! Still working on the wife.... Any suggestions on how/when to get my son into Scouts? I went through cub scouts and my first year of boy scouts, one of my biggest regrets was not going further. I work as a corporate recruiter and see the fraternity of the scouts later in life, it's awesome! We're in the south hills of pgh.

[blau iii]

I got my daughter started with 22LR last year when she was 4.

I recently bought a Benjamin Marauder pistol for myself. I had my daughter shoot it last week in our basement and she was shooting it lights out. I ended up giving the PRod to her since she shot it so well. PRod is a pistol, but comes with a stock as well. While the stock is a little long for her LOP wise, she can clean the center out on her targets. There are aftermarket stocks that will offer me any length, so I'm going to order a shorter LOP for her.

Now, keep in mind that PCPs are expensive...least expensive route is a hand pump, but generally those hand pumps range from $170-270 in price.

If you want to go less expensive, I'd recommend the Crosman 1377/1322. It's a pump action that you can modify. Once again, you can get the Crosman stock to assist, but it will be a little long for a 4 YO unless your son is huge. Crosman has great CS and you can modify them for more power as your son gets older. The airgun will grow with your son.

http://www.crosman.com/airguns/pistols

BTW, you can find them much less online. I've seen the pistols go for $60 amazon...WM has a "doomsday" one for $75 that includes a pack and stock.

As far as what to say to your wife...I have nothing for you. My wife knows that shooting sports is my passion, so she doesn't get involved. I bought my daughter a few rifles before she was even born, so I don't know what it's like to be married to someone that doesn't appreciate our 2A rights. My wife is from NJ and her family are a bunch of tree huggers. That being said, my wife knows the importance of teaching our daughter how to handle firearms, even if my wife isn't "all in" about firearms.

my wife's very pro-2A. the day we went for her LTCF was a proud day. She's deadeye with her pink snubby. Her gripe is that she thinks he should be older. I may concede to his birthday in june.

[blau iii]

As for the wife, make sure she understands this will teach him responsibility and that if he breaks even one rule, mainly the golden rule of never pointing the gun at anyone EVER, he loses it.

Have him recite the rules to her. That will impress her...my wife was proud of our son when he learned them with Scouts at age 6.

That gun I showed you is very low velocity, sized for him and is easy to operate. It's about as safe a a kid can be with a BB gun.

Also, keep it stored like a real gun (because it IS a real gun, it shoots projectiles) when he's not doing supervised shooting.

Take total responsibility for his safety and make sure she knows this won't be a toy he can play with any time he wants.

this was an absolute for me. there is no question that this is a gun, not a toy. now i just need to find him some killer eye pro. i'm thinking something with bob the builder!

[Sgt.K]

Any suggestions on how/when to get my son into Scouts?

www.beascout.org