BBs Is It Just Me?

H

Hawaiian Eye

Inactive
Am I the only one out there that practices with a bb gun? And have fun too?

I had the opportunity to be an assistant camp ranger this weekend. Part of the camp included a 50 foot rifle range set up for .22 LR rifles. Since the kids were coming along I thought it would be a great time to introduce some of them to shooting and gun safety. I bought a cheap spring/air bb rifle for my youngest and a CO2 pistol for myself. My daughter brought airsoft rifle and pistol which had a hard time penetrating the paper event at 25 to 30 feet. Actually, a comforting thought should I ever decided to participate in an airsoft event.

After the family had their fill of fun and went back to the cabin I shot another 100+ bbs. Used the time to practice safe gun handling prodedures, trigger control, shooting while advancing and retreating from a target, shooting at multiple targets from a stationary position, moving to different postions and shooting, and shooting on the move. Generally I had a blast shooting close to 300 bbs. If I had tried the equivilant with my new .45 ACP pistol (only one rage day so far) the cost would have been prohibitive, the local range does not allow for shooting a ranges under 25 meters or action shooting unless you're a member of an established club. I really feel like the practice I got with the bb pistol will help me with my .45 ACP. Shooting the bb pistol that has a bear of a trigger hopefully will translate to better trigger control with my .45 with an infinitely better trigger. I'm looking forward to my next range day as well as the next weekend I volunteered to be an assistant camp ranger.
 
I'm quite sure that the tens of thousands of BBs and pellets that I shot up to the age of 16 made me a much better shooter that I otherwise would have been.

But when it comes to BBs, I'm with most of the folks in "A Christmas Story." For general purposes, I think the ricochet danger is horribly high. For folks who are most likely new to the game of shooting in general, and especially children, I think lead pellets are a much better idea and ricochet a whole helluva lot less.

And when I was a kid, I never wore any kind of eye protection and it's amazing the amount of stupidity that must have taken me. I wouldn't let my children near any firearm, BB or pellet gun without eye protection.

I think every kid should spend a heap of time with air rifles and air pistols, but I really think that pellets are a much better idea.
 
I have a pellet range in my basement. 30 Ft, steel trap with heavy curtains. Works great with my Co2 powered handguns. Great practice, cheap, and a lot of fun between real range trips.
 
Thanks for the pellet suggestion. I hadn't thought of that. I did make sure that everyone has eye protection, and we went through safe gun handling rules and procedures before we went to the range. The traps have 1/4 inch steel backing and sand bags behind them that cover a berm of dirt and old branches. Over kill for even .22 LR, but better over kill for safety than overtly killed for the lack of it. I was/am considering an at home indoor range and will look into air guns with pellet capability. So far the pieces I have are bb only.
 
In my opinion, any time you put a stock to your shoulder and something comes out of the other end is good practice. *In theory* its like if you can race a ford escort, then stepping up to something better will be easier!
 
Air guns ROCK

I owe my pistol accuracy to many hours with air guns. Yes the crappy trigger on most air guns really helps with trigger control.
Our "break room" here has an airsoft setup. I usually fire a few mags a day when I am in the office. Great stress relief as well!

Only things that are missing are the noise and recoil, I highly recommend airgun practice.
 
A Daisy 717 is a great practice tool. Make a back-stop with about 2" of duct-seal or modeling clay in a box ( I used an old cigar humidor) and have at it.

BB's are fun, but I've had some scary ricochets com back and hit me, one hitting me right between the eyes. Pellets are a bit safer, and a lot more accurate.
 
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