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Posted by D Sherman [72.47.9.228] on Friday, November 25, 2011 at 17:57:14 :
In Reply to: OT BB gun posted by Hickory [74.112.212.15] on Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 22:04:05 :
My first BB gun was my dad's boyhood Daisy BB gun that my grandma gave me. My friend shot me with it once and it didn't even go through the outside of my ski jacket. It pushed the BB out with a long spring. My dad said the notches on the stock were for each time he'd shot a blackbird with it. His grandma encouraged him to shoot the blackbirds in her cherry trees. I think somewhere in the intervening years the spring had gotten weak. First we tried shooting at real targets with it and wondered why we kept missing. Then we figured out the BB wasn't even making it to the target. It was probably a safe gun to give a boy. Later I saved up $20 and bought a Crossman 760 with my dad's help. It was a pump-up gun that would shoot BBs or pellets. I shot one blue jay with it and felt bad about that and never shot any more birds. With that one, my dad took the time to teach me how to shoot safely before letting me go out on my own with it. I think that's the key with kids and guns (or power tools) -- take the time to show them how to use it safely and don't let them go off with it on their own until you're sure they'll be careful. Kids mature at very different ages so there's no hard and fast rule about how old is old enough to be safe with a BB gun, a skil saw, or a Barrett .50 BMG.