kBob
Member
Shortly after receiving my first Daisy air rifle before starting first grade, my Dad's baby brother offered me his Daisy 177 pistol.
I know that today some folks think so little of the "Improved Targeteer" that they would say it was no favor to a kid to offer such an under powered bit of steel and plastic to him.
The thing did not shoot anywhere near as "hard" as the air rifle, maybe not even hard enough to shoot you sister's eye out. Perhaps this is the reason that I was allowed to play with the 177 un supervised and not the air rifle.
I soon learned that the 177 could not hit cans clear across the yard without an elevation that reminded one of fixed angle Civil War Mortars. Against steel soup or bean cans at 15 feet or so the cans often as not only rocked and refused to fall over. Cocking the pistol was gastly.
There were finger grooves like on a "real" semi auto pistol, but best I could figure those were just for looks. Uncle cocked the gun by holding the grip in his firing hand and placing his other palm over the muzzle and pushing his hands towards one an other. Even as a preschooler this looked a bit unsafe to me so as soon as the gun and I were alone I did most of my shooting next to the back porch. The porch was about shoulder high on the little feller I was at the time so I just used both hands on the grips and shoved the muzzle against the edge of the porch. Fast, easy , and not pointed at my hand.
I soon found that a piece of paper taped to a bit of card board as often as not was not torn enough to easily find a hole in it at over 15 feet. An unsupported bit of paper taped so it hung beneath a stick as often as not simply was pushed out of the way at range to allow the BB to pass witn no hole or even mark.
Still I was the only kid in the neighborhood with a "real" pistol. Mine shot BBs after all and not a cork or plastic faux bullet.
It was while I was getting ready to come in from playing with L-PAM that I finally hit on the real use for the 177. Yep, Little Plastic Army Men saved my daisy from the bottom of the toy box. SOme relative had given me these stupid little Army Men that did not look GI or Axis and someone else had given me Cowboys and Native Americans which had no value for me other than as place holders when I ran out of OD green, Yellowish or grey L-PAM or those hidous blue things with U shaped hands and removable weapons.
On a whim I took aim at a Hidious Blue U handed trooper about four yards away with the 177 and "CHACK" and down he went. About five minutes and twenty L-PAM later I got a scolding for failing to come to supper promptly and leaving L-PAM laying about the dirt in the back yard.....but grinned like an idiot through the tongue lashing.
Over the next three years I have no idea how many BBs knocked down how many L-PAM but it set me on the road to pistol shooting.
I would hardly call the 177 useless as a result. However when the CO2 200 made its appearance the remains of the 177 went back to Uncle and L-PAM began to take horrible wounds and fly rather than simply falling down.
-kBob
I know that today some folks think so little of the "Improved Targeteer" that they would say it was no favor to a kid to offer such an under powered bit of steel and plastic to him.
The thing did not shoot anywhere near as "hard" as the air rifle, maybe not even hard enough to shoot you sister's eye out. Perhaps this is the reason that I was allowed to play with the 177 un supervised and not the air rifle.
I soon learned that the 177 could not hit cans clear across the yard without an elevation that reminded one of fixed angle Civil War Mortars. Against steel soup or bean cans at 15 feet or so the cans often as not only rocked and refused to fall over. Cocking the pistol was gastly.
There were finger grooves like on a "real" semi auto pistol, but best I could figure those were just for looks. Uncle cocked the gun by holding the grip in his firing hand and placing his other palm over the muzzle and pushing his hands towards one an other. Even as a preschooler this looked a bit unsafe to me so as soon as the gun and I were alone I did most of my shooting next to the back porch. The porch was about shoulder high on the little feller I was at the time so I just used both hands on the grips and shoved the muzzle against the edge of the porch. Fast, easy , and not pointed at my hand.
I soon found that a piece of paper taped to a bit of card board as often as not was not torn enough to easily find a hole in it at over 15 feet. An unsupported bit of paper taped so it hung beneath a stick as often as not simply was pushed out of the way at range to allow the BB to pass witn no hole or even mark.
Still I was the only kid in the neighborhood with a "real" pistol. Mine shot BBs after all and not a cork or plastic faux bullet.
It was while I was getting ready to come in from playing with L-PAM that I finally hit on the real use for the 177. Yep, Little Plastic Army Men saved my daisy from the bottom of the toy box. SOme relative had given me these stupid little Army Men that did not look GI or Axis and someone else had given me Cowboys and Native Americans which had no value for me other than as place holders when I ran out of OD green, Yellowish or grey L-PAM or those hidous blue things with U shaped hands and removable weapons.
On a whim I took aim at a Hidious Blue U handed trooper about four yards away with the 177 and "CHACK" and down he went. About five minutes and twenty L-PAM later I got a scolding for failing to come to supper promptly and leaving L-PAM laying about the dirt in the back yard.....but grinned like an idiot through the tongue lashing.
Over the next three years I have no idea how many BBs knocked down how many L-PAM but it set me on the road to pistol shooting.
I would hardly call the 177 useless as a result. However when the CO2 200 made its appearance the remains of the 177 went back to Uncle and L-PAM began to take horrible wounds and fly rather than simply falling down.
-kBob
