Cheap Entertainment-BB Guns

[Gone Fishing]

The kids got a couple of Red Ryder BB guns for Christmas.  Like any dad, I had to sneak in a few shots.  Amazing how much fun these little things are for the money.  $25 for the gun at Wal-Mart and another $8 or so for 6000 BBs.  Shoot them into a trap, and that first 6000 may be a lifetime supply.  They can even be shot indoors with a proper backstop.  Talk about good mustachian fun! Just don't shoot yourself in the eye or break a window!

[Sojourner]

Bought my 13yo nephew a Walmart pump bb gun for Christmas.  Boy did his mom gasp when he unwrapped it.

Also included some safety glasses from Harbor Fright. 

He's been having a blast shooting it.  Nice thing about the pump is he can control the power in each shot.

[I'm a red panda]

Bought my 13yo nephew a Walmart pump bb gun for Christmas.  Boy did his mom gasp when he unwrapped it.

Also included some safety glasses from Harbor Fright. 

He's been having a blast shooting it.  Nice thing about the pump is he can control the power in each shot.

You bought a kid a gun without asking his parents?!?

[Fishindude]

Yep, I always have a BB or pellet gun around.
Fun stuff !

[Sojourner]

Bought my 13yo nephew a Walmart pump bb gun for Christmas.  Boy did his mom gasp when he unwrapped it.

Also included some safety glasses from Harbor Fright. 

He's been having a blast shooting it.  Nice thing about the pump is he can control the power in each shot.

You bought a kid a gun without asking his parents?!?

Actually not.  I'll explain.  I asked his mom via text what the kid might like for Christmas.  She replied: "airguns, new arrow tips, science kits". 

So we got him a low power pump (air) BB gun and an entry level drone craft.  I showed his mom the text and quoted it about "air guns".  She clarified she was referring to the type that shoots balls.  Still don't know what she meant by that.  Anyway, he played with the drone and gun for the next several days during our visit.  His mom seemed fine with it after seeing him outdoors playing instead of in front of the video games.

[10dollarsatatime]

We always had BB guns around when I was a kid.  Usually it was shooting butter container lids and toy soldiers my dad bought in bulk from the dollar store.  One year it was shooting Mormon Crickets off the sagebrush out at my parents' property.  My dad kept the BB guns behind the bench seat in his truck and we brought them out whenever we were far enough from civilization to get away with it.  Which happened quite often with my dad...

[Chris22]

We've got a variety of spring and CO2 powered plinking guns, BB and pellet.  They are great fun for just screwing around, and for discouraging various varmints from hanging out in the yard. 

[Highbeam]

Bought my 13yo nephew a Walmart pump bb gun for Christmas.  Boy did his mom gasp when he unwrapped it.

Also included some safety glasses from Harbor Fright. 

He's been having a blast shooting it.  Nice thing about the pump is he can control the power in each shot.

You bought a kid a gun without asking his parents?!?

Actually not.  I'll explain.  I asked his mom via text what the kid might like for Christmas.  She replied: "airguns, new arrow tips, science kits". 

So we got him a low power pump (air) BB gun and an entry level drone craft.  I showed his mom the text and quoted it about "air guns".  She clarified she was referring to the type that shoots balls.  Still don't know what she meant by that.  Anyway, he played with the drone and gun for the next several days during our visit.  His mom seemed fine with it after seeing him outdoors playing instead of in front of the video games.

She meant an "air soft gun" which shoots little yellow plastic balls. 

[LiveLean]

Growing up in a neighborhood that backed up to the woods, we were overrun with squirrels. There were four boys next door, all outdoors/Boy Scout types. One took up taxidermy and stuffed all of the squirrels he shot with his BB gun. Made an elaborate display of them in various poses on a shelf in their finished basement. Sounds creepy, but it actually was impressive in a museum exhibit look kinda way.

[Sojourner]

Bought my 13yo nephew a Walmart pump bb gun for Christmas.  Boy did his mom gasp when he unwrapped it.

Also included some safety glasses from Harbor Fright. 

He's been having a blast shooting it.  Nice thing about the pump is he can control the power in each shot.

You bought a kid a gun without asking his parents?!?

Actually not.  I'll explain.  I asked his mom via text what the kid might like for Christmas.  She replied: "airguns, new arrow tips, science kits". 

So we got him a low power pump (air) BB gun and an entry level drone craft.  I showed his mom the text and quoted it about "air guns".  She clarified she was referring to the type that shoots balls.  Still don't know what she meant by that.  Anyway, he played with the drone and gun for the next several days during our visit.  His mom seemed fine with it after seeing him outdoors playing instead of in front of the video games.

She meant an "air soft gun" which shoots little yellow plastic balls.

heh, yeah you're probably right

ETA:
So I just texted my sis, asking whether the kid is staying out of trouble with the BB gun.
Her response: "Yeah actually.  But I shouldn't speak too soon.  Shoots it everyday"

[HipGnosis]

I didn't realize they still sold those.

I got a small, cheap drone for this winters entertainment.  Maybe one for next winter...

[I'm a red panda]

Actually not.  I'll explain.

I guess the lesson learned is be very specific when approving guns as a possible Christmas gift :)

[TMBear]

Last year I presented myself with Daisy 499 - an advanced version of Red Ryder. Much more accurate and much less powerful than Daisy 880 that I bought earlier (an impulse decision, but hey - I was dreaming about it for 40 years and it was on sale for $35 :).
Did a research before buying it, CO2 didn't fit the bill (and you can't fill cartridges yourself), stopped on BB as an extremely cheap alternative (BB shot is ~$0.001, .177 pellet ~$0.01, .22 real rifle 8c-10c, and 50 shots on a pump rifle like Daisy 880 is at least 30mins of pumping fun).
I'm really happy with Daisy 499 - you won't hurt a squirrel from 10 yards, but you'll annoy it by hitting it every time you shoot. And it's a perfect indoor shooter, which is a huge pro here in Seattle. Just remember to wear safety glasses, it ricochets ALOT when you plinking instead of doing paper targets, but safety glasses should be a must for every BB gun.

[Gin1984]

Actually not.  I'll explain.

I guess the lesson learned is be very specific when approving guns as a possible Christmas gift :)

Learn something new everyday.

[Gone Fishing]

Last year I presented myself with Daisy 499...

Peep sights, nice!  Does it live up to the hype? How does it do past 10 yards?  You should think about doing a YouTube video and monetizing.  There are very few videos about the 499, a good one might pay for your ammo!

...Daisy 880 that I bought earlier (an impulse decision, but hey - I was dreaming about it for 40 years and it was on sale for $35 :).

My old Crosman 760 (mine had the rifled barrel) really came alive when I switched from BBs to pellets.  After switching, one hole groups at 20 feet and quarter size groups at 25 yards were the norm.  If the 880 is anything like it, it might be worth having a few pellets around for "special" occasions despite the higher cost.

[Chris22]

Last year I presented myself with Daisy 499 - an advanced version of Red Ryder. Much more accurate and much less powerful than Daisy 880 that I bought earlier (an impulse decision, but hey - I was dreaming about it for 40 years and it was on sale for $35 :).
Did a research before buying it, CO2 didn't fit the bill (and you can't fill cartridges yourself), stopped on BB as an extremely cheap alternative (BB shot is ~$0.001, .177 pellet ~$0.01, .22 real rifle 8c-10c, and 50 shots on a pump rifle like Daisy 880 is at least 30mins of pumping fun).
I'm really happy with Daisy 499 - you won't hurt a squirrel from 10 yards, but you'll annoy it by hitting it every time you shoot. And it's a perfect indoor shooter, which is a huge pro here in Seattle. Just remember to wear safety glasses, it ricochets ALOT when you plinking instead of doing paper targets, but safety glasses should be a must for every BB gun.

We've got one like this, and it's awesome.  Takes a little leverage/strength to cock it, but other than that it's wicked cool.  You'll get tired long before you shoot through $1 of ammo.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/shooting/air-guns-airsoft/air-rifles%7C/pc/104792580/c/104690880/sc/104185980/ruger-reg-airhawk-177-cal-air-rifle/909448.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fair-rifles%2F_%2FN-1100283%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104185980

[TMBear]

Peep sights, nice!  Does it live up to the hype? How does it do past 10 yards?  You should think about doing a YouTube video and monetizing.  There are very few videos about the 499, a good one might pay for your ammo!

I love it and yet to regret buying it :) But I'm pretty much a newbie with any kind of shooting - the only experience I had thought my life is DIY slingshots. I doubt I can consistently do a quarter size groups from 10 yards even with a competition rifle. 499 is definitely a huge improvement comparing with 880 (and I believe it's almost the same as crosman 760 you mentioned). On the other side, 499 is designed to resemble a 5m competition rifle for kids, even I feel 10 yards is close to the limit of consistent grouping. I imagine shooting BBs from any rifle beyond 10 yards would be a pure game of luck.

My old Crosman 760 (mine had the rifled barrel) really came alive when I switched from BBs to pellets.  After switching, one hole groups at 20 feet and quarter size groups at 25 yards were the norm.  If the 880 is anything like it, it might be worth having a few pellets around for "special" occasions despite the higher cost.

These rifles are almost the same. My Daisy 880 came with rifled barrel as well, but I think it's a smooth bore now after I put ~10K steel BBs through it. I think I accidentally did a right thing with rifles - first bought a cheap shitty one that throws projectiles in random directions (a lot of fun from shooting process itself), and only after realizing I outgrow it made a next step. Currently I'm trying to graduate from plinking to paper targets, but as usual, free time is the essence. Next gun will definitely be a pellet one, if I ever grow that far :)
I'll also try to teach some shooting culture to my girls when they grow up a bit more, but I don't hold much hope for it. I already learned they aren't very excited with driving screws and nails into our chicken coop project..

[TMBear]

We've got one like this, and it's awesome.  Takes a little leverage/strength to cock it, but other than that it's wicked cool.  You'll get tired long before you shoot through $1 of ammo.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/shooting/air-guns-airsoft/air-rifles%7C/pc/104792580/c/104690880/sc/104185980/ruger-reg-airhawk-177-cal-air-rifle/909448.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fair-rifles%2F_%2FN-1100283%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104185980

I'd consider this as an advanced one comparing to any BB gun. BBs are mostly for kids and don't shoot stright. But I can't agree more - airguns is a frugal way of shooting fun, 1$ in ammunition goes a long way comparing even to cheapest .22 rimfire.