Training with BB guns

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

Read Ch. 1 of Bob Brister's Shotgunning: The Art and Science yesterday, in which he teaches his 17-year-old neighbor, who'd never shot anything in her life, how to shoot clays in one week.

He gave her a BB gun with the sights removed and a ping-pong ball and told her to shoot at the latter with the former until she could hit it consistently.

Now, I shot ten-stand sporting clays last Sunday and got a score of like 12 or 14, so I could stand some improvement. I debated whether I should maul my childhood Daisy BB gun, and eventually decided that it'd be better as a training aid than as a useless heirloom. (I also remember what Jesse James did to his old dragster on Monster Garage. )

So the next morning, I got my old Daisy, took the sights off, set up an improvised target (don't have any Ping-pong balls) and started plinking at it. Noticed some improvement. Will let you know in six days.

Anyone else here ever tried this?

Thanks,
- pdmoderator

 

[sm]

Yep .

I have used the Brister BB Gun teaching method for a l-o-n-g time. I used to hit the pawn shops and garage sales buying these up.

I am a big advocate of this. Just ask some folks....plenty have PM or emailed me on this on THR and TFL alone.

When I first read Brister's works ...I was both surprised and grinning. A light bulb went off < click> in my brain. You see I was born in '55 , I shot a 22 revo (well I had to help grandma) when was around 3 or 4. My first centerfire handgun was a 1911 at six, the K frame revolver shortly after that. The first BB gun I was handed was after all this , IT had no sights , I thought , "these guys are being mean to a kid" .

They were not being mean to me - they knew something. So I was taught to shoot without sights from then on for a bit. Not just long guns , ( rifle shotguns) but handguns as well ( 1911 style and revo shaped BB guns) .

So learned to shoot 1911 style, K frames, various , handguns shotguns and rifles - with the front sight removed - on purpose. [ there is a good place for this with a SAA and you don't listen and the bbl whacks your forehead ...you don't get cut if there is not a sight].

It was explained to me the human being has an amazing eye to hand ability. *ahem* apparently my exploits with a slingshot make from a fork of a tree, red rubber from a inner tube....had shown "promise" , "ability" headaches, grief, spankings, ...etc .

It has merit - more than once a bead has busted on me , and I continued to hunt . The real test came during a Tourney, for whatever reason the front bead come off during the 3 rd box, I still ran a straight.

Now one my fondest memories I have is that off an old mentor now passed. Some young whippersnapper ( my age at the time) had a tricked out fancy O/U with all the fancy sights. My mentor , in khakis and work shirt was shooting an old pump gun. The whippersnapper sure looked good in his Bob Allen advertisments, he talked down to the old man.

The old man ran 50 straight with a pump gun and NO front bead. "Fancy Pants" shot 35/50.

BTW did I mention the Old man was using a model 42? A .410 pump with no bead .

Me - take a fella's [ "Fancy Pants"] $50 bill on a side bet....why aren't side bets a no no?

 

[dfariswheel]

This used to be known by the Army as the "Quick Kill" training method, and by Daisy as "Quick Skill".

Daisy sold a BB gun with no sights, goggles, and different diameter metal disks.

The Army used this program during the Vietnam war to improve close range combat shooting skills in jungle warfare.

In the Army system, the trainee started out on the BB gun, then went to a M-16 with the sights taped over, then to a standard M-16.

In the Army experience, a fairly large percentage of trainee's could develop the skill to hit a BB tossed into the air.

This same training also teaches shotgun skills of "pointing" a gun, and leading the target.

In my own experience, it also works with pistols.
During my well-spent youth, I developed the skill to fairly reliably put a BB from a BB pistol INTO the opening in an old fashioned steel beer can tossed into the air.

My older brothers made a fair amount of money off their friends with my talent.

The "secret" to being a good shot, it to SHOOT. Nothing is as cheap as a BB gun, and you can do a LOT of shooting for little money, and do it in your back yard.

It may be a BB gun. but the skills developed translate over to REAL guns quite nicely.

 

[444]

http://www.shootwhereyoulook.com/

 

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

http://www.shootwhereyoulook.com/

Took a look at that page. But...

Your favorite shotgun, rifle, handgun or bow- always empty and safe- replaces the BB gun wherever it is practical and safe to do, except for the shooting aspirin out of the air. A mirror- preferably a full length- takes the place of target boxes. Your nose- (in the mirror) becomes the target.

This sounds like a training technique best suited for single people

- pdmoderator

 

[TrapperReady]

I believe the method is sound, and think that a fair amount of my shooting skills can be directly attributed to shooting untold tens or hundreds of thousands of BBs in my backyard as a kid.

Within the last couple years, we tried this approach with my wife, while trying to switch her to shooting lefty (she suffers from the classic right-handed left-eye dominant problem that seems to plague a lot of women shooters). We used a Red Ryder and she pretty quickly was hitting. Ultimately, she stayed shooting right-handed, but that's another story.

When my kids get close to "shotgun age", then I'll be using BB guns and hand-tossed (or rolled) soda cans or ping-pong balls.

 

[444]

That "Shoot where you look" stuff is basically just like the Army "Quick Kill" system.
I bought it, but to be honest, I haven't spent the required time to work with it.
This is an EXCELLENT program for kids. The video and book is geared toward kids and he makes a big deal out of safety using stuff kids can relate to: for example one of the "rules" is that when you pick up the gun, you get serious - play time is over. He tells a story about a police dog that one of his friends handles to illustrate the point. The dog is just like any other dog off duty, but when he goes to work, he is all business. Kid's size safety glasses are included with the kit.
That being said, it looks like a fine program for adults and something fun to do if nothing else.

 

[sm]

Okay - I' learned something - thanks dfarris , and others.

This used to be known by the Army as the "Quick Kill" training method, and by Daisy as "Quick Skill".

I never knew that, I never went into the Military. I had Mentors that served - maybe that is where they got it? I am a '55 model - so it would stand to reason these folks teaching me would have known - right? Even some WWII and Koren Vets had a hand in my mentoring.

I was 36 yrs old before I ever owned my very own BB Gun. A Daisey Red Ryder. I used others, I bought them for others to have and keep in teaching, donated to Boy/Scout troops...never had one for myself - to keep. I had a real handgun waiting on me to be born.

I have a hankering to get back to playing with my slingshot. Anybody have a line on red rubber from a inner tube? I may have to get all high tech and buyone - I prefer a a simple one. I have a hankering for a RWS pellet gun - I have shot these, and did so again not long ago. Same day I played with a single shot .410.

I'm going backwards on all this stuff. Having a ball being a kid at 49. I was caught shooting tin cans out back of gun buddy's place with my Daisy Red Ryder. He pulled up and there I was - plinking away...

 

[TrapperReady]

Steve - Slingshots were a staple of youth. I'd carve them by hand from sticks that "looked promising". My dad came up with a lifetime supply of the bands somewhere, and I'd make the leather pouches from stuff I stole from my older sisters. A little dental-floss to whip the ends over on the bands, and you were set.

Heck, we even did our own "Force on Force" training, using dried kidney beans as the projectiles.

Wrist-rockets were kind of like the EBRs of slighshots.

BTW, earlier this summer, one of the sensitive suburban-dad guys around the neighbhorhood had a fluffy little bunny eating his flowers. One night as the family was hanging out on the deck, the bunny stops by for a snack. He gets his son's slingshot and a marble... just to smack the bunny with and scare it off.

Well, the marble travelled a little faster than intended... and his aim put it right onto the critter's temple. One shot stop. The rabbit dropped in its tracks and died. In front of the guy's wife. In front of the guy's young daughter. In front of the neighbors.

It was months before anyone let him live that one down.

 

[sm]

I still have the "fork" of my first slingshot , from a tree. We used red rubber from a inner tube, leather from a old football that finally became threadbare, and would not take another patch. The old yellow waxed string akin to dental floss but thicker was used.

I had other sling shots , I learned early the lesson for "redundency " and "back ups" [ sometimes my slingshot was "put up" and I didn't know where to find it ] I made many a slingshot for my freinds in the neighborhood. I was told when I was able to hit a thrown rock - I was "getting there" - I did it my first attempt. I took birds, squirrel and rabbits. I had a High Standard Sentinel revolver- sometimes I wanted to be quiet and have a challenge [ that and I had no money for ammo - one does not plink away the defense ammo].

Marbles, and ball bearings from the "filing station" were my hunting loads. Rocks for plinking/ practice. Persimmons - well there is place for both the Unripe and over- ripe. We had some "neighborhood rivals" during Halloween....I discovered the benefits of hard boiled eggs....I discovered small eggs hardbiled and unripe persimmons one dark Halloween. We didn't have a problem with the mean bullies for quite a bit.

Oh- I had learned about sniping from trees and rooftops too. I was on the roof of the creepy old house "everbody said was haunted" - well - it was in a cemetary and the folks were really weird. It just happen to be on the corner. Always wondered if the folks were stone deaf....cause I was up there 'scooting " from one position to another.

Yes two folks ( me and another) took care of 10 big boys. Other guy was atop the fillin' staion accross the steet [ crossfire] The rest of our friends were well hidden - they were the mobile ones if need be ...they shot from concealment, took care of the ones that tried to run b/t houses and stuff , shot , scoot , shoot , pick up candy, shoot...hey we had this dealie figured out I tell ya.


*ahem* Story goes a lanky kid drew short straw. Same lanky kid that had the first slingshot- made them for others. The Dare...well after the lanky kid did it - the "dare" was changed to something else for the best friends/ next door neighbor brothers and such. See the treehouse had a new upper level and a Crystal Radio [ that just dated me, I made a radio from a kit]

Story goes a Cop arrived back at the station house after his normal patrol without the "cherry on top". :uh oh: how'd that happen?

Now this Cop fella was kinda new " not from around these parts" he talked funny and was uppity. He liked to drive real fast throwing gravel and stirring up dust - not good for clothes hanging on a line.

Well this Treehouse with the Radio " just happen to be" about midway down the steep hill the cop would speed up and down . Folks say a moving target is tough. Folks say shooting from a "stand" alters things, add the two and folks call it a double- dare, the cherry on top made it triple dare - he was a cop - quadruple dare was the most we ever had...we made this one one more - we just didn't know what "five dare" was called.

I wouldn't know anything about this of course

Story goes this cop went back to where he came from .

WE had our old cop buddy back on patrol , he never lost his "cherry on top"- must have been because he helped folks, didn't talk funny, and sometimes he bought kids Ice cream when the ice cream truck came around.

 

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

http://www.shootwhereyoulook.com/

Has anyone here done this, or know someone who has? Sniffed around the page a little and got curious.

Thanks,
- pdmoderator

 

[444]

As I mentioned, I bought it.
I have played around with it to some extent.
I have read the book and watched the first part of the video tape.
But I didn't go through the whole program.
The program (as I remember) was broken down to one week blocks where he gives you a lesson to practice for a week before moving on. I watched the first lesson on the video tape and started practicing. Then I had to work and this and that came up and I tried to get back to it.......................

I recommend buying it. And spending the time to work through the program. This isn't some miracle that is going to make you win Camp Perry or whatever but it is a good thing that most people can do right in their yard or house.