This time of year,the movie A Christmas Story starts to show up and causes me to wonder just how many in this forum started by using the Daisy Red Ryder BB gun (and did not shoot their eye out)??

A buddy of mine moved down to the VA area a few years ago and told me that one of his favorite past times is to go out and plink with his Red Ryder.

The beauty of it is no noise and no real worry about the BB going off some distance. Tin cans at various locations offer plenty of targets.

His telling me that got me to get out my old Daisy Model 25 pump action BB gun and set up some tin cans and plink.

Just wandering if anyone else does that (and please,don't poke your eye out)

Wayne

My folks wouldn't let me have a BB gun and I didn't get one for me until I was in my 60's. That being said, I shot all my little friends Daisy BB gun, and I learned to shoot 22's at summer camp from age 10-14. I didn't get my own 22 until I was a junior in high school. My Dad was an ultra left winger and didn't hunt, fish or camp out. He was still a great father to me and my brother, but having outdoors in my blood, it was sometimes frustrating for both of us.

Pap

I had a plethora of them....I guess my dad wanted to make sure I was always armed...I had a couple at grandpa's as well....no better feeling than a tube full of ammo, heading out for a "hunt"....I killed way too many animals....BUT I was young, and didn't care....the 60's is not the 20's!! when I was at the lake with grand pa....I'd bait the bream up with bred, then start firing!!! I only shot out 1 window....at the neighbors house....somehow, I got caught, and had to apologize in person, and pay reparation's.....I moved up to my dad's(now mine) #52. shooting CB caps....I cannot believe I drug that rifle all through the woods, and never screwed it up....
I did(by accident) shoot my best friend....he wanted to fight me, but I talked him into shooting me instead....we're still good friends today...60+ years later
well....that all I have to say about that....

:-)Rocky

Pappy,
Hmmm,seems to me that your father pretty well would fit in with the folks now at your old home town.

I don't think there was a kid in my town that DID NOT have at least one Daisy BB gun with the Red Ryders the most prevalent.

Rocky,
At least you did not shoot each other's eye out. Right??

Wayne

nope....I shot him in the leg, and that's where he shot me
much better than a fight....we were too good of friends!!

:-)Rocky

I never owned a Red Ryder, but my little brother and I each began carrying single shot .22s everywhere we roamed on the few hundred acres of farm and woodlands. And we never had even one unlucky or careless incident during those years. I can say without a doubt that my 10 year old little brother carrying that rifle and, accompanied by the two collie dogs that were with us everywhere we went,
saved him from the pervert that happened to be riding on that long gravel road. I feel certain that my brother would have been one of the kids that just “vanished.” What a surprise for the perv when he realized the “toy rifle” the kid was carrying was a Remington double deuce. AND, no sir, “you cannot look at my gun.”

Duke,
Good thing that the pervert outcome was positive.

Over the years I had investigated a number of pervert incidents and the ripple effect of such incidents is devastating.

I like in the movie Home Alone where the little boy starts the ball rolling with two well placed BB shots.

I think the BB gun in the movie was a Daisy Model 25 pump action.

Wayne

I was just thinking about the old pump action daisy. Thanks for mentioning in Top Dog.
Walker

As I recall the "pump action" you had to unscrew to end of the barrel and remove the BB holding device, then load the tube that was captured by a holding spring.....more limited ammo supply than the model that just had a "hopper" that's not the word for it, however I cannot think what might better describe it

:-)Rocky

Absolutely!
Walker

I had one as a kid, it was pretty horrible to shoot. The lever was damn difficult to crank back towards the barrel to charge it and you had to remember the Kentucky Windage to get the BB on the target.

I plinked with it for several months and somehow got a parent/grandparent to fund a Crosman 776 multi-pump. That was a "real man's bb gun" (*smirk*) back in the late 70s.

Rocky,
Yes,the Model 25 had an "intersting" magazine that was a bit tricky to fill but feeding was quite reliable.

Sometimes with the lever action with the "hopper fill" would not feed as you basically had to have the weapon upright when you cocked it or you may come up empty.

Either way,I always had great fun with either type. Still do.

Wayne

I didn't have a Red Ryder but did have a Daisy pump BB gun. It was spring loaded and not a pump up air rifle.

Tom,
I can say that it is pretty much a safe bet to say that most,if not all,memebers of this forum got their strart with a BB gun of some sort.

Wayne

Daisy pump -- then in the 1950's I graduated to a Crossman single-shot pistol. It had two levels of CO2 power (I never used the weaker level). It was quite accurate.

Hi, I just received a Umarex Glock 19x CO2 bb pistol. Almost an exact replica of the Glock. I bought it for training the children. Shot it today it's fun and accurate. Check it out on YouTube, Regards, Mike




https://youtu.be/W4vrW_66eRg

That's cool! Just ordered one, thanks for the post.

Pap

Hi, I took it to the range today. It has a long, long, long trigger pull. Fairly accurate and it feels just like a Glock 19x in the hand. Regards, Mike

Mike,
That looks really good!! Glad that the range session worked out well.

Wayne

This afternoon I saw these on a top shelf of a 150 year old general store close to the Texas/Louisiana stateline.

Tom,
Wow! I bet those boxes would be worth a lot of money to collectors.

I see that the top box had the address of Michigan which was sometime before the company moved to Arkansas.

I wonder if the Daisy Airgun Museum would be interested in those???

Wayne

Tom:

Was that up at T.C. Lindley’s store in Jonesville ? If so, that’s a neat place.

Coach

I went to TSC to see if they had their sub-$100 drill press in the store (they didn't).

When I walked in, I saw one of these:


Not Daisy, but I bet it would be a whole lotta fun.

Yes, it was the Jonesville General Store. We visit there when we take the back roads home from Shreveport. Twenty-five years or so ago I had a business relationship with the Vaughn family that owns the store. They are celebrating their 175 anniversary.

This is a great time of the year to take a road trip along the Texas Louisiana line.

From Red River County, to Potter's Point, Caddo Lake, Center, San Augustine, Yellow Dog, Logansport, Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn, Big Thicket, Newton, Jasper, Deweyville, Port Arthur, all the way to Sabine Pass.

You could spend two weeks and not see half of the interesting places along that route. Plus, the colors of the trees.

And there are a couple of old General Stores like the one at Jonesville. Not much telling what you might find along the way.

We take the back roads whenever we can. Traveling from east Texas to Louisiana is one of our favorite trips. You mentioned Logansport, LA. There are two stops we always visit going there on the way to Natchitoches, LA. One is the only international boundry marker in the U.S. It is the marker that defined the boundary between the United States and the Republic of Texas. The other is the grave of Moses Rose who defected from the Alamo.

Btw, downtown Logansport, all three blocks of it are just about dead. It's sad. It used to be a thriving small town on the Sabine River.

Tom, thanks for the very interesting information.I was not aware ( not surprising) of either of these facts. Texas does a much better job of presenting history in school I believe.
Walker

Windsor,
So............did you purchase that automatic BB gun??? I have a feeling you did and if you did not,I think you may be going back there!!! By the way,Pyramidair has them.

Tom,
I had never heard about Moses Rose,as I thought that everyone there had stayed. Back in '64,I visited the Alamo and put some of my blood at the base of the monument before I went to 'Nam.

When I landed at Wake Island,one officer drew an imaginary line on the ground and said those going to 'Nam cross this line.

Kind of felt like the line in the sand drawn by Col. Travis to me.
Wayne

I did not.. yet.

I have an automatic (mini) Uzi from Pyramid. The selector won't let you go full auto unless you file down the nub that blocks it (innocent whistling).

It's an open-bolt, cycling-bolt bb gun, too! It wastes *so* much CO2 pushing the bolt back but oh good lord it's a lot of fun.

The dogs were not interested in "hanging with dad" after a healthy round of *clatter* *clatter* *clatter* *clatter* *clatter* *clatter* *clatter* *clatter*.

Back on subject, I still have all 3 of my Daisy’s.

My Bride has them in a closet upstairs that I’m “not allowed” to get into.

I put in a request to get them out and if she does, I’ll take a pic and post it.

Tom:
I’ve been to the International marker several times and you are right about Logansport. It used to have a neat General Store in the downtown.

When I was in college at SFA, I used to fish from Yellow Dog down to Logansport. If you look on a map, you will see that there are several huge natural lakes off the Sabine along that stretch of the river. We caught lots of fish there.

I also got lost several times, ran out of gas, had boat trouble, etc. but I was “bulletproof” in those days and didn’t worry too much. Even at night, I would just tie up to something, fish all night, and wait til daylight.

Coach

Coach,

When you were at the International Boundary Marker you were 9.1 miles away from the Moses Rose grave.

Tom--

A long time since I read up on the Alamo.

Memory indicates that somebody, maybe more than one, was sent to bring help.

Not sure of their names if they are in the books I have someplace. Maybe Moses Rose was one of them?

Larry

I have helped completely destroy the original subject but, here we are.

When Col. William Barrett Travis drew a line in the sand and asked everyone that wanted to stay and fight to the death to cross the line, Moses Rose declined and left the Alamo. That's all I have to say about that.

I knew it was pretty close.

Tom,
You did not destroy the original subject,it is just a bunch of folks enjoying the subject and letting it drift a little bit.

Pretty much akin to folks sitting around the campfire/fishing pole or plinking with their BB guns.

There I got us back on the thread.

I remember as a kid,it was not at all uncommon to see kids riding their bicycles with their BB guns across the handle bars going down to the dump/landfill to plink at cans and bottles.

And this was right in sight of the Empire State Bldg that was across the Hudson River about 8 miles away!!

I watched the movie A Christmas Story (again) last night,brought back memories of many years ago.
Wayne

Here's an article telling the story of Daisy and the Red Ryder BB gun.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbeat/a...126f90d263c9bf8

Larry,
Very interesting.

Wayne

Interesting to read all this...

I don't think I ever owned a BB gun. But using money from a paper route ordered a single-shot .22 from Sears. Came in the mail...no way today could a 12-year-old do such!

Carried it openly whenever I went to demolish many tin cans and similar targets in a nearby dump. No way to do that today either. Cops would be sicced on such a culprit promptly.

A while ago an acquaintance broadcast an email of antigun type. I can understand people's concerns about the stupid harmful things being done with guns, fists, knives, feet, clubs, road rage today. You name it and it is being done.

But my reply to this friend was along the lines of recalling when my friends and I all had BB guns, .22 rifles, slingshots, pocketknives, hunting knives, even bayonets. (If there was a situation deserving of violence, it was settled with fists.)

We never shot or stabbed or clubbed anyone. We never destroyed property. We never had law enforcement called on us or descend on us a la a SWAT squad.

Pocket knives in school were not an issue, no one got expelled for having such.

Times have changed. Social standards have changed. Violence for the sake of violence harms a lot of innocent people. Much of that violence is excused by one supposed disadvantage or perceived wrong or another.

Larry

When I was 17 I ordered a 45 caliber Colt Single Action knock off made by Hawes, probably in south America. I sent a postal money order to the seller. I think I saw the ad in a True Magazine or something like that. I took delivery at the train station freight office. This was just before the 1968 gun control act that resticted all of the above. Btw, it was well made but not even close to the first year second generation Colt SSA I inhierited from my uncle.

was that a "BB gun"???

When I was in elementary school I took my m1 carbine to show and tell, can you imagine that today? (I was accompanied by my Dad. He bought 4, 1 for each kid and 1 for himself through his police dept and NRA for $25. each)

Larry,
Back then,teachers gave out spanking and cops issued out "justice" on the street right then and there.

I lived within sight of the Empire State Bldg in NJ and it was nothing to see kids riding their bicycles with a 22 rifle or BB gun across the handle bars to go down to the dump to shoot cans and rats.

Any misbehavior with a gun meant swift and harsh punisment plus you can kiss the gun,your bike and probably your life as you knew it away.

Wayne

1967+/-(can't exactly remember the year) I flew to DFW....Love field back then....carried my new Ruger .22 pistol, in it's holster....I presented it to the attendant she put it in the cockpit, when leaving she handed it back to me...no problem I was around 14 or so...

:-)Rocky

The laxity on airlines lasted quite a while for knives.

I routinely carried a Small Sebenza on trips to DC once or twice a week...until the beginnings of the clampdown. Before 9/11 they installed magnetic detection, still let me carry the knife and a small pepper spray for a long time.

When they started cracking down, I got to the airport, the knife got their attention, so I took it to the airline service counter and they put it in an envelope to hold it for me. Picked it up with no problem when I got back.

Once had a small pepper spray clipped to the inner pocket on a rain parka. Going through the conveyor belt it got caught and sprayed the line inspector and his supervisor...who exclaimed "Get that thing out of there!" and waved me through to get rid of me and it!

Why carry those things?

Different people from the company had been robbed in DC. Hoping to never have a gun pulled on me.

One of our senior marketing guys walked into my office one Monday with a large bandage on his head.

I asked, "Manny, what kind of door did you run into?"

He explained he had been to DC, walking back to his hotel after the restaurant some guy jumped out and pointed a .45 at him. Manny had big cajones...having flown 91 B-17 missions in Europe.

But, when he tried to take the guy's gun from him, he got hit on the head and then taken to the ER.

The closest I came to "trouble" was when a young stud physically blocked "and old bald guy" (me) three times from boarding the Metro at Rosslyn station one afternoon as I was trying to make a flight.

I resisted temptations, he backed down, and continued on the train to I suppose the Navy Yard.

Larry

Hey--I know, no BB guns here. Delete if appropriate.

Larry,
Thread drifts tend to occur when guys (and gals) get to talking.

Pretty much like sitting around the fishing hole or campfire.

OK,I will try to get us back on line here,somewhat.

At this tie of year,thinking about the movie a Christmas Story,I always try to take out my Daisy BB gun each afternoon and plink away for a little while.

Wayne

In JR. High School we had Archery during P.E. and could carry our own bows to school!..... Sorry Wayne.... I drifted!!!!

Steve,
Don't be sorry,it is not a drift........but a welcome addition to the conversation.

Umm,what were we talking about anyway?????

Wayne

Slingshots!!!!!!

Steve--

"Slingshots."

I forgot those!

Larry

OH Now you done it!!!!

I have sling shots and my most recent acquisition was a Scout from Simple Shot. I use clay marbles (also from Simple Shot) so I don't have to go around looking for steel ball bearing or regular glass marbles.

I have an old circular saw blade hung up out back and frequently shoot at it with the sling snot. Makes a satisfying PING and puff of dust when hit with the clay marble.

Steve & Larry,
Any comments on your slingshots??? You opened the door!!!!!!!!

Wayne

Mine were all homemade, often looking for just-right forks in branches.

Used cutup inner tubes, wide rubber bands, latex surgical tubing for the bands.

Leather from various sources for the pocket.

Ammo varied from rocks to marbles to lead balls, whatever was handy.

Pretty good with it, only used it for targets like tin cans etc., never to hunt anything, never shot at a person.

Larry

P.S.: And ball bearings whenever I came across them.

My "Terminator"

!

Here's a performance!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plnzNgtvvJo

And another:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgjPa5JkecA

But...how do you do it? Shoot your own eye out?

Another story...with that .22...I almost "shot myself" the day I set a target up against a brick wall and hit it dead center...only to have the slug zing back at me with the breeze blowing right past my right ear! I saw it as it flew past but was lucky it was a "miss."

Larry

I once set up three steel plates welded to rebar about three feet above the ground out at the cabin. I set a timer for X minutes and then would go about my business. When the timer would go off I would take two shots at each plate with my 1911 45acp. The last shot bounced back and buried itself in the ground 2" from my left big toe. I was a mile from the road and no cell phones back then. That was the end of that exercise.

Tom,
I am sure that there are many members of this forum that have had similar "educational experiences".

I guess that a bruise,scar or near miss can underline a lesson well learned.

Wayne

Always had on since I was a kid! Just basic handle model. holds ammo inside the handle! as a kid it was rocks or acorns. Have evolved last 20 years or so to marbles from the dollar store!! Last year I broke down and bought 2500 steels on Amazon. Targets were almost anything except houses or cars or people. For challenge tournaments with fellow hoodlums.... we would use sporting clays or plates we bought from thrift stores!!! Now... How about Blow Dart Barrels?????

Steve and all--

What a bunch of wild, out of control miscreants we all were by today's standards.

But...we had something today's misbehaving youngsters don't have.

Authority figures who set standards, who demanded and got respect, who kept us within reasonable bounds.

And role models who had different values compared to today's.

Glad not to be one of many kids today who are not so lucky.

Glad when I see parents who are parenting, and kids who avoiding so much of the nonsense being pedaled by people who "could" do better.

Larry

Larry,
Well stated and oh so true
Thanks for sharing

Larry,
You hit the nail right on the head with that!!!

Maybe we did not have much :valuewise" but what we did learn from good parents and teachers was/is priceless.

Today's kids don't know how to play outside and make do with basic stuff. Take electricty from today's kids (and their parents) and they are basically lost.

Wayne

Agree 100%!!!! We had it the best! Ya didn't have much so you could make stuff/fix stuff/ do stuff/get in trouble for being outside too late. Teachers had the ability to reasonably discipline when needed. I got my first light paddling in the 1st grade.... a heavier one in the 12th!!!! Parents ran a tight ship too, but we always tested the sound barrier with them. I told our kids growing up every time they left the house.... "DBS"... Don't be Stupid!!!!! Your Mother or I have already done that or tried that. Even their Friends knew the phrase. Anyways... I'm a better person for it all, and the Music was the best!!!!!!

Steve,
One of my teachers in fourth grade I swear had a class ring that weighed about 5 pounds!! When she hit you on the back of the head...you knew it!!!

But.back then teachers and coaches were your mentors and you could go to them with questions and problems. Trust was paramount.

And cops and courts dealt out serious punishment. None of this plea bargaining poop.

Wayne

In the 9th grade, me and some other members of the Basketball Team were runnin' the streets right before Christmas.... Got stopped by the Police for being stupid... No details.... Our head coach happened to be driving by and stopped. He convinced the cops to let him handle it. We thought we were saved! Until we all had to run 25 extra line drills every practice for the rest of the season... Not one of us quit and he went on to mentor us on other life skills!!! Thanks Coach Makovich!!

Steve,
Ah,yes!!!!!! Coaches!!! Screw up in class and the teacher would tell the coach.

If you were on the football team............it was a painful lesson.

Wayne