Need a bb/pellet gun for my 6 year old son....

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Spot77

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....and my 9 year old daughter.

I don't want to spend more than $50.

I went to the local Bass Pro and they carry about 6 different models ranging from the basic Red Ryder (Oh yeah!) to (Daisy?) 880's.

Do y'all think a Red Ryder would be good enough to teach basic skills with? I know it's good enough to teach safety and handling, but I'm concerned that the accuracy might not be good enough to keep the kids from getting frustrated. I don't want them to lose interest after the first day.

Anybody have a lot of experience or do the same thing for their kids?

I appreciate the input. :)
 
I think at the range he'd be happy shooting at, a Red Ryder will be fine. It's a classic BB gun.

I can't speak for other models, but I wouldn't recommend the 880 for someone that young. It takes ten hard pumps for full power (although at a couple pumps it'll still shoot, just no power), the pellet loading gate is very fiddly, and the BB magazine works by turning the gun sideways and moving the bolt at the same time. It's not always easy to see if it's loaded, too.

That said, the 880 is a great bargain gun. Stock sights are terrible but it'll mount a cheap scope. Has enough power for very small game, or to be very dangerous (negligent deaths have happened) if not handled safely.
 
don't know how those guns are powered, but i'd go for a CO2 powered one. probably better accuracy, better power, and if you get a pellet enstead of a BB gun, you can change the ammunition (flat tip, round nose, hollow point, etc.) for specific purposes.

My $.02 .

~tmm
 
You'll have to judge by the maturity of your own kids, BUT...

By the time I was 6, I owned a pair of .22 rifles, all my own... I still have them... and you never "grow out of" a .22... just a thought!
 
You'll have to judge by the maturity of your own kids, BUT...
Click to expand...

Yup. My 9 year old daughter shoots 22's with me now. I even bought her a 10/22 youth model. I hope she'll pass it down to her kids someday.

My 6 year old son however, hasn't matured enough yet to shoot a 22. I've had him to the range and he's watched us shoot. But he tends to want to jump ahead of things too quickly to coach him on a 22 yet. Maybe another year.

And the bb gun can be used in my backyard. I'm 99% sure my neighbors are all cool with it. :evil:

That Daisy 105 looks like the ticket. Sorta' like a red ryder, but with better sights.
 
One advantage to air guns is that you can shoot in the basement/kitchen/living room/whatever without much fuss. Hard to do that with a .22.
 
Start him with a Crossman, cheap pump. Work great, and you can vary the powera bit based on the # of pumps.
 
A pellet gun will have a rifled barrel, and ought to be a LOT more accurate than a simple BB gun. If your budget is $50, you'll probably be OK if you stick to brands like Daisy or Crossman . . . but at that price point, avoid anything that comes with a telescopic sight included, it will just lead to frustration. (And the kids might learn some new words from Daddy when things don't go well. ;) )

A pneumatic (CO2 or pump) air rifle will be easier to shoot well than a spring-piston pellet gun.

Needless to say, you and your kids all need to wear good safety glasses when shooting (or watching another shoot) a BB or pellet gun . . . those projectiles can bounce around quite a bit.
 
Saftey Glasses for sure.

BAck when I was young, with my good old Crossman, I shatterd my glasses from a ricochet. Dead center of my right eye. Thank god for bad eyes! Ever since then I really appreciated what a simple BB gun COULD do.
 
I bought a Daisy Buck for my 6 year old, I would have preferred the Red Ryder, but it was too big for his arms. The Buck fits him just right, and it was only $20.00.

400 shot .177 BB, 350fps max, 1.6 lbs.
 
My first BB gun. Wish I still had it.


TN350winchester_1894.jpg


The Model 1894 BB repeater is the spittin' image of an authentic piece of American history. This lever-action repeater is crafted in the style of the saddle carbine that tamed the west: the legendary Winchester 1894.

ACTION: Lever action; spring air
SAFETY: Crossbolt trigger block
CALIBER: .177 (4.5mm) BB
BARREL: smooth bore steel
SIGHTS: Blade and ramp front, micro-adjustable rear
MUZZLE VELOCITY: 300 fps.
STOCK/FOREARM: Straight western style solid wood
MAX. SHOOTING DISTANCE: 203 yds.
CAPACITY: 15-shot magazine
OVERALL LENGTH: 38 in.
WEIGHT: 3.4 lbs.

Winchester® is a registered trademark used under a license by Daisy.
 
I was in the same situation with my 6 year old last year. He has a Daisy Buck BB gun but he's growing bored with it because it's not accurate at distance.
I searched high and low for a good pellet gun, but they are all too heavy and the length of pull is too long for him.
I ended up getting him a Henry Mini-Bolt 22, mainly because it has a very short length of pull and it only weighs 3 lbs or so. I don't think you'll find one in your price range though. I paid $140 or so at Academy.
He loves it, so I'm happy.
Good luck. :)
 
+1 for the red ryder.

boy's a bit young for anything more complicated and won't need the accuracy, though you'll find that you can reach out farther than you'd think with a red ryder. your daughter could probably appreciate a better one so you might want to consider a higher end pellet rifle or .22 for her after she gets her feet wet. for the time being, a red ryder and a couple empty pop cans are still loads of fun for me at about thirty feet or so.
 
The Red Ryder is fine.

You only want a 300fps gun for a 6 year old.

My first "bb gun" was a Daisy Powerline 880, and I was allowed to posess and shoot that sucker unsupervised. I got into lots of trouble with it.

The main problems are that it's action is "complex" there's a seperate bolt/cocking piece, and the pump. That makes for easy AD/ND's. And with it's load/fire sequence, there's ways a kid can figure out how to do nonstandard stuff with the 880 that's "not smart".

And when used properly, with the full 10 pumps, the 880 is getting into the 800 FPS territory.

The 880 is definitely for an adult or responsible teen, IMO.

The good thing with me and the 880 was that I learned all the dumb things NOT to do the hard way, by the time I was old enough to buy my own real firearms...
 
I didn't much like the 1894 I had when I was a kid. Seemed like it took too much effort to cock it, and eventually the lever broke off. But that was the old '60s version.

I also have a Chinese B3. It's heavy and built like a real gun, but what a load of junk. I'd have to have fingers 10" for the trigger to fit, the workmanship is awful. If I hadn't bought it for $20 from a concerned parent with about 3000 pellets I'd want my money back.
 
+ another 1 for the Red Rider

There plenty accurate at resonable ranges .
 
I was in the same situation with my 6 year old last year. He has a Daisy Buck BB gun but he's growing bored with it because it's not accurate at distance.
I searched high and low for a good pellet gun, but they are all too heavy and the length of pull is too long for him.
I ended up getting him a Henry Mini-Bolt 22, mainly because it has a very short length of pull and it only weighs 3 lbs or so. I don't think you'll find one in your price range though. I paid $140 or so at Academy.
Click to expand...
I was going to suggest the Henry Mini-Bolt, too.

And start him off shooting Aguila colibris or super colibris. They're like .22 shorts with no powder, only a primer. Don't get me wrong, they'll still wound at close range and can take out squirrels and rodents, but they don't make as much noise as a .22LR and they aren't going to do any serious damage beyond a couple of hundred feet.

But he'll have a "real" rifle, and can move up to "real" ammo whenever you think he's ready.
 
My small statured 7 year old loves his Daisy Buck Red Ryder smallest size. Wally World regular price $17.84. I shoot now inside my garage in NY when it suits me. Nice gun dials in perfect at 5 yards and up to 20 yards; a straighgt shooter. 400 capacity magazine...need I say more?:evil:
 
You can have our Daisy Buck. Red Ryder probably to big for 6 year old. I bought Red Ryder, and my guys never used it. They went straight from the Buck to Davy Cricket, then Marlin 15Y.
 
You DO remember the things we did wiith our BB guns, right? :evil:
Just keep that in mind when selecting the boy's new iron.
 
Given what I'm sure you and Norton did with BB guns........

That aside. I would get the Red Ryder. I think it will meet the initial needs and it's a classic. I've already got one for my kid just on the outside chance that they stop making them by the time he's old enough to "need" one:D

It's not a lot of money and is relatively safe. I would worry more about a stronger pellet gun.
 
Get the Red Ryder and shave the sights off.

It's a little difficult at first, but enthusiasm will keep him trying.

He'll be a crack shot the rest of his life.
 
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