I Remember Back When

[beagle]

Not an air rifle but a BB gun story. I was born in 1942 and by the end of WW2 I was ready for a BB gun. Santy Claws brought me a Daisey Red Ryder and I quickly went through the copper plated BBs that came with it. This was right after the war was over and civilian production hadn't kicked in on ammunition and copper coated BBs yet. My mom and dad scavenged and looked everywhere and occasionally found one of the slip topped paper tubes but my appetite for shooting was insatiable and soon I was forced to shoot inside the garage into cardboard boxes in order to salvage the precious BBs. I was destitute.
One day mom was in in the hardware getting something and asked the owner if he had any BBs. No, but he had something that would work. Went to a drawer and pulled it out and it was full of lead shot.....BB size. Think mom bought me a pound and it was weighed out on a scale and dumped into a doubled paper bag. I was in business. Went home and gave them a try. They worked but due to the heavier weight, the trajectory was off way bad. Had to rezero my Kentucky windage and elevation and they worked fine with a shortened max range. But, the good point was, due to increased sectional density, they killed birds dead as a hammer and made the local cats meow and leave for other parts. These lasted a good while and after about 2 bags of those, production kicked in and you could get BBs again and things were back to normal.
Anybody else remember these days?/beagle

[MusicMan]

born in 1941 and skipped right to 22lr.

[Bazoo]

Beagle, thank you for sharing. Do you still have the BB gun by chance? I'm a young whippersnapper by comparison, but my heart longs for that simpler time. Really even before that.

[curiousgeorge]

Beagle, thanks for sharing. I never had a BB gun, so went straight to 22 lr at about age 6.

Like Bazoo, I'm also younger (a 1958 model), but was the youngest child of depression era parents. Located sort of half way in between Bazoo and Beagle, I grew up in a very rural area. I also would have liked to have been born in a much earlier and simpler time, but at least had the stories of my parents to listen to.

Beagle, thanks again for sharing.
Steve

[beagle]

Close. It was loaned to a cousin who recently gave it to my son who is 50. It's still working but I'll bet the spring is weak. The leather thong through the saddle ring rotted away before I let it go. Good memories./beagle

Beagle, thank you for sharing. Do you still have the BB gun by chance? I'm a young whippersnapper by comparison, but my heart longs for that simpler time. Really even before that.

[Rightbrained]

I wasn’t around then but once I graduated from cap guns to a BB gun I thought I was king of the hill.

[Winger Ed.]

Way cool.
I got the Daisy that was one notch down in horsepower from the Red Rider in '64 when I was 9.
I still have it, but the spring is so weak, you can see the BB fly out.
But it still runs stray cats & dogs out of the yard.

I'd always wanted a Benjamin .22 pump up single shot.
My parents wouldn't tell me 'no', but said it was something I'd have to buy myself.

No way a 12-13 year old kid could get together that much money in one place, so they thought it was forgotten.
At 15, I got my first paycheck, from my first job--- washing dishes in a restaurant.

My Mom picked me up, and on the way home I wanted to stop and cash my $37. paycheck at the Fed-Mart.
It was sort of like Target, Gibson's, back then. Sort of like Wal-Mart is now.

I cashed my check, and came out with a 1967 issue .22 Benjamin pump, and TWO! cans of pellets.
I'm not exactly sure if it still works---- but it did last week.:bigsmyl2:

[Multigunner]

A big disappointment for me was when Daisy brought out the .177 BB reboot of their older .118 shot air pistol. The air cylinder and piston just didn't have the power to give the standard BB enough velocity to hit well. The trajectory was miserable.
I'd like to see a newer version in 6mm airsoft. With the light weight plastic BB and hop up This class design could once more be a useful indoor target gun.

[35 shooter]

I’m a bit younger too, born in 1953. I was the youngest child born to a depression era dad also.
My brother bought me a daisy 94 spitting image when I was about 8 years old( mom said no to pellet rifles)and although bb’s were cheap, dad encouraged me earn my ammo money lol.
I picked up pecans, mowed yards, and even worked at his sawmill in the summertime cleaning up around the mill to earn B.B. money.
I believe they were 5 cents for the packs and not much more for the tubes back then. I had that rifle re sealed and sprung 2 times before I hit high school by a gunsmith that lived about 12 miles away at the time lol!
Finally handed it down to my sons when I was in my late 20’s.8-)

[Bmi48219]

I was given a Daisy CO2 Pistol as payment for helping a neighbor when I was 10. The threads for the stud that forced the Co2 cartridge into the gas system were stripped. My dad fixed that. When I ran out of BBs i discovered used wood match sticks would fit in the barrel and could be sharpened w/sandpaper. Not overly accurate but fun.
From there I started shortening live Strike Anywhere Matches w/ a pair of side cutters leaving an inch of wood below the match head. They would usually ignite when shot at a brick wall.
I actually shot a blackbird through the eye with a pointed match stick once. It was a lucky shot but my mom didn’t share my sense of accomplishment when I asked how many we’d need for a dinner. I didn’t see my trusty Daisy BB pistol again until I moved out 8 years later. So much for urban foraging.

[Mal Paso]

Dad was an engineer. No guns, as kids we were stuck with blowing things up.

[NoZombies]

I was 6 when a family friend gave me a Daisy BB-gun (something like the "Buck" model). I got good enough with it that I could snap shoot bottle caps and marbles out of the air pretty regularly. Eventually the owner of the corner hardware store started giving me BB's for free because he saw his BB-gun business increase substantially whenever I had friends over to shoot the BB guns in the backyard. We'd set up 'shooting competitions' at least once a week in warm weather.

My BB gun game really hit a new level about a year later when our pastor gave me an old model 499 that the church camp didn't need anymore. That thing wasn't as powerful as many of the other BB guns out there (and that's saying something) but man did it hit right where you expected it to... every time.

It wasn't long before I graduated to higher powered air rifles, and then 'real' guns, but those days with the Daisy's are some of my fondest memories of my childhood.

[cornbelt]

My brother and I both got new Model 25 Daisys for Christmas in 1962. I thought I had died and gone to Heaven! The folks gave us each 3 of the nickel boxes, (Dad figured they would last us a month). Thanks to a couple of old maid aunts who gave us kids $.50 every year for Christmas, we had BB money. I shot six nickel boxes up the first day. Eventually we made a range in the basement so we could pick them back up. When we were broke, we used those silver sugar beads. That old thing has been rode hard and put up wet, been rebuilt two or three times, but is still working, and a good choice for shooting wood bees.
Wish I could find square cross-section spring wire. I could soup it up.

[Doubles Shooter]

My brother and I both got new Model 25 Daisys for Christmas in 1962. I thought I had died and gone to Heaven! The folks gave us each 3 of the nickel boxes, (Dad figured they would last us a month). Thanks to a couple of old maid aunts who gave us kids $.50 every year for Christmas, we had BB money. I shot six nickel boxes up the first day. Eventually we made a range in the basement so we could pick them back up. When we were broke, we used those silver sugar beads. That old thing has been rode hard and put up wet, been rebuilt two or three times, but is still working, and a good choice for shooting wood bees.
Wish I could find square cross-section spring wire. I could soup it up.

I was 7 when I got my first mod. 25 in 1959. I wore that one out in 3 or 4 years. Luckily my dad got me a new one. I had three uncles with farms and lived next door to a feed mill. Next to the feed mill was an auto junk yard. Needless to say, I had an abundance of targets. I had been thinking of getting another one some day, when last year a friend moved away. He gave me his old 25. It sure brought back memories, especially loading the magazine and having the follower come out of the detent. Ouch! I've got my 7 year old grandson shooting it now. Life is good.

[jdowney]

Dad was an engineer. No guns, as kids we were stuck with blowing things up.

Heheh.... my dad was an engineer too, got to shoot stuff and blow things up! He'd already blown up most of the serious stuff by the time he was married though, but I still have a lot of the old wood dynamite boxes he kept for shop junk drawers. He and his claim staking partner used to use dynamite to dig the required prospect pit for a claim :D

[gunarea]

The Red Ryder is still a viable form of pleasure here in N E Florida. They are $24.97 at Wal mart and come in a couple versions. We play a mini version of Lawnsteel with Red Ryders exclusively. The new ones being produced are much more accurate than the old ones. The oldest one I still have is a Diamond edition and it recently quit working. Been shooting a Red Ryder for over sixty years and expect to continue. Kids from 8 to 70 play this game and all enjoy their Red Ryder. I am in the process of making game sets for gifts to friends who have hounded me to do so. My 6'2" buddy looks funny shooting this diminutive rifle but does very well with his Red Ryder. We are shooting metal targets at 25'. Great fun!

[William Yanda]

I was born 5 years later. My first rifle shot little cork balls about .35 caliber as I recall. Never did find a source to resupply so after the originals were gone it was all imagination.

[beagle]

Kinda makes you wonder what happened to all the Army's BB guns. Haven't heard much about them lately. They went through the kick of "reflex marksmanship" shooting tissue paper out of steel washer holes and then the next kick was using them with facemasks for urban warfare training in clearing houses. Bet there's a depot somewhere with 100,000 Daisey's stashed back in milspec packing.
Then, when I was in, the kick was a .22 LR adapter for the M-16. They didn't work too well, but there's got to be a big stash somewhere.
Then, there was the propane MGs for training that operated off a spark plug and propane. Kind of a let down when your gas cylinder ran out of propane in the middle of a fire fight.
Ah, the good old days./beagle

[besk]

I was born in '43. Got real good with a sling shot.

[Alferd Packer]

Those old Daisy's and Red Ryders with the "weak"springs can benefit from a soaking of some of the modern oils like the oil for rusty locks and penetrating oil with graphite suspended in it.
Try some and you will be amazed at how those old springs will get some life back with a little cocking and shooting.Still fun. Still some life left in the old boy.Just
oil and let it soak overnite. Even some 50/50 Kerosene and ATF auto transmission fluid will help.

[sailcaptain]

Sorry wrong item. My mistake

[NEKVT]

Dad was an engineer. No guns, as kids we were stuck with blowing things up.

I can relate to this...early 60's my mother wouldn't let us have BB guns because an older teen at the end of the road shot his eye out with one! So instead we collected the empty CO2 canisters from friends guns, cut off the ends, loaded with matchheads and shot them out of pipes like rockets. If she had seen us doing that we probably would have all gotten BB guns the next Christmas.

[10-x]

Good stories. IIRC, got my first BB gun in about 56, lived on a farm so plenty of targets. Friend and I would spend all Saturday shooting. When Co2 came out got one for Christmas, had lots of empty bottles. In 8th grade did a science project by making black powder( try that today). Friend and I “ discovered” that driving a #8 nail in top of empty Co2 bottle we could trickle black powder in bottle. Fuse was hard to come by until we discovered “ jetex” model rocket fuse. The fun we had.

[missionary5155]

Well I turned 70 already this year ....
My first Daisey had the peep rear and a globe front. That was my dads idea but it worked well. Was diffiult to pop starlins out of the trees but it all worked out.
In basic at FT Lost in the Woods we used Daiseys to learn squad anti-aircraft shooting.... Metal plane (Mig 17) came sliding down a steel cable and our squad leader would give the command to fire. We were lined parallel to the sliding plane's path. Every hit was very audible

[lrdg]

From my father I got his 1930s Daisy. From his father I got a cough syrup bottle of lead BBs. That was the only thing he would shoot in his pre-war German "bring back" air rifle. (Got that too. It still works and is a hoot!) If you look around on the internet you can still find lead BB size shot. At least you could a year ago.

[centershot]

Well I turned 70 already this year ....
My first Daisey had the peep rear and a globe front. That was my dads idea but it worked well. Was diffiult to pop starlins out of the trees but it all worked out.
In basic at FT Lost in the Woods we used Daiseys to learn squad anti-aircraft shooting.... Metal plane (Mig 17) came sliding down a steel cable and our squad leader would give the command to fire. We were lined parallel to the sliding plane's path. Every hit was very audible

Mike, I also had one of those, a Daisy 99 IIRC. My dad was a WW2 vet (Army Staff Sargeant) and was adamant that I learn safety AND marksmanship. My 10th birthday rolled around in '64 and the Daisy came home with him. At first I wasn't crazy about those target-style sights........that is, until I learned to use them! Wow! I came to love that rifle in very short order! We lived on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in western NY on a dead end street. Behind the house was a large swampy patch that became my hunting grounds. I shot a LOT of frogs in that swamp, my mom hated to see me coming with that stringer full of frogs, 'bout gagged her to death (city girl!). But dad and I ate good! Mom and sis settled for burgers on "frog nights"! LOL! When I turned 12 my lawn mowing money bought me a .22 cal Crosman pump-up pellet rifle, OH MY! A whole new world opened up in the swamp, crows trembled in fear...........Those were the days!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Just think what's going to happen when your new HW95 arrives? A whole nother level of game will be on your list.

Randy

[centershot]

That's true, Randy! My entire purpose for this rifle is to hunt small game, primarily grey squirrels. I am only now thinking of the opportunities this might open in regard to new locations to hunt. People seem to be more inclined to allow airgun hunters access to their property vs conventionally armed hunters. Time will tell!

[todd2]

been there but early 70s for me lots o fun my poor mother

[rogn]

Good stories. IIRC, got my first BB gun in about 56, lived on a farm so plenty of targets. Friend and I would spend all Saturday shooting. When Co2 came out got one for Christmas, had lots of empty bottles. In 8th grade did a science project by making black powder( try that today). Friend and I “ discovered” that driving a #8 nail in top of empty Co2 bottle we could trickle black powder in bottle. Fuse was hard to come by until we discovered “ jetex” model rocket fuse. The fun we had.

I can relate, if kids now what I did then there would be a steady steream of LE, feds and militery looking for the source!!!!

[Freightman]

Born in 1939 got a BB gun Red Ridder in 46, we had some big Elms in the yard lots of sparrows. The neighborhood (gang) decided to have a contest on how many sparrows we killed (had to show no telling) I won three months out of a year. No telling how many # of BB's I went through. All that gang have departed over the years I am the last one but it was sure fun.

[Winger Ed.]

I can relate, if kids now what I did then there would be a steady steream of LE, feds and militery looking for the source!!!!

Oh yeah. If kids some of the things we did, they'd get chased around by a black helicopter.

[Capt Keith]

I was allowed a BB gun when 12, a 22 when qr. still have the 22 after 53 years.

[Digger]

Was raised in the mountains of So. Cal back when ....
Very rural in those days , had four close friends in our grade school days and we all had bb guns .
On occasion we would get together , suit up with heavy jackets, football helmets , goggles and toss a coin down to the odd man out.
He wound up being the target ....
We would set up our ambush points along side the road and the target would come thru as fast as he could peddle ..:lol:
Forgot to mention heavy gloves also ...[smilie=b:
And again here ... if kids were doing this these days , the world would come to an end in panic !

Later on in the years , also picked up a Benjamin 22 pump pellet rifle and brought home quail for dinner quite a bit now and then ...great on the barbeque !
So many stories ..