Hook and bullet club - BB guns

We had looked for a BB gun at Christmas time but the model I wanted was sold out wherever we looked. So last week when I saw that familiar logo on a box, I decided to pick one up.For anyone who has ever owned one, the Daisy Red Ryder lever action BB gun is a one-of-a-kind. With the lariat logo burned into the wooden stock, the Red Ryder ranks right up there with Radio Flyer wagons. I had passed my Red Ryder onto my oldest some years ago. It had lasted through my childhood but only made it through part of his. For some reason or another, a BB got stuck in the barrel and wouldn’t come out. It was replaced with a non-Daisy BB gun that worked fine, but just wasn’t the same. For me the Red Ryder was the only way to go.Believe it or not, Daisy Outdoor Products started out selling windmills and in 1886 threw in an air-powered gun as a premium item for farmers who bought a windmill.By 1895, the Plymouth Iron Windmill company changed its name to the Daisy Manufacturing Company as the BB gun replaced the windmill. The Red Ryder model went on sale in 1939 and with over nine million sold is easily the best-selling and most recognizable BB gun in the world. The one we picked up the other day is very similar to the one I had 30 years ago. The barrel is a bit different and the opening for putting the BBs is now a small plastic door, but overall the look and feel is the same.The Red Ryder now features a crossbolt safety, a very nice addition from the old models that weren’t as safety-conscious. You can load 650 BBs into the Red Ryder and even a five year-old can plant the butt of the gun on his knee and while holding onto the barrel with one hand, work the lever action with the other.The gun shoots BBs out at 280 feet per second and is pretty accurate once you get the adjustable rear site set. Weighing in at just over two pounds, youngsters can easily hold the barrel up long enough to aim at that pesky pop can. There are still safety concerns that go with BB guns and any child that is allowed to handle a gun should be instructed on the primary rule, treat every gun as if it were loaded. But in this day and age of lawyers who sue for almost any reason, it’s still good to see that the Red Ryder BB gun is still out there. You can find fancier air guns, ones that shoot at a higher velocity and even ones with scopes on them, but I don’t think you’ll find a BB gun that can reach across generations like the Red Ryder level action BB gun. I’m looking forward to shooting it a bit myself.