By Jason Mosher GunMag Warehouse
At the mention of a BB gun, the first thing that comes to mind is “A Christmas Story.” Little 9-year-old Ralphie Parker wanted one so bad! His parents didn't want him to have one because they were afraid he would shoot his eye out. But most of us know that to a young boy or girl, receiving their first BB gun is a rite of passage.
They learn to shoot by unleashing havoc on one pop can after another. I remember the first time I received a “pump-up” BB gun. It had more power than a standard single-cock BB gun. It blew holes right through the can, which was impressive to all my other 10-year-old buddies. We picked up the can and stood around shaking our heads. I was shocked at how much power was in that Daisy Rifle.
For several years, that BB gun was my daily carry around the backyard. I shot pop cans, and water bottles, and occasionally took aim at a bird when no one was watching. Now, when I see a BB gun, it brings back happy memories.
I bought my kids their first BB gun when they were about the same age as I was. After opening their new present, I showed them how to hold a gun, load it, and shoot it. When you hand that gun to your kid for the first time, you remember your own excitement and eagerness to go shoot at some pop cans.
What do kids learn from BB guns?
To the child, a BB gun is full of potential for excitement and adventure. But it also helps teach the kid several things. The first is gun safety. Yes, a BB gun can put an eye out, so safety glasses are needed. They can break windows and kill small creatures, too. But compared to most powder-charged firearms, a BB gun is relatively safe for a kid to shoot in the backyard. They shoot hard enough to earn their respect, and this gives the parents the chance to teach valuable lessons. You can teach them muzzle awareness and general firearms safety when handling guns.
The second thing they learn is responsibility. To a child, being handed a BB gun is a big responsibility and conveys the trust the parent has in them. Once my kids knew about basic gun safety, I would let them shoot while keeping an eye on them from a distance. Just like a firing range, they had to keep the barrel pointed in a safe direction and never point it at anyone. They knew I was watching, and this made them want to show me how responsible they could be.
The third thing a kid can learn from a BB gun is confidence with guns. Some may not agree with me, but I believe keeping a child away from something only makes them more curious when they get older, except then they have no training in safe handling procedures. When a kid hits their first pop can, their confidence grows. This also improves their safety skills. The scariest people to be around with guns are those not confident when handling one.
Do kids still want BB guns?
Just like the old song goes, “…the times they are a-changin'.” When I grew up, my first BB gun, pocketknife, bicycle, and other such items were the center of my world. My imagination took over and every day was a new adventure. We didn't have smartphones and our lives were not entwined in a digital world.
Today, it is becoming less common for a kid to receive a BB gun at all. Some of this stems from a world that frowns on teaching a kid to shoot any type of gun. But the other problem is many kids no longer want their first BB gun. They don't long for the same backyard adventures that many of us grew up with.
A cell phone or iPad will keep them preoccupied through their adolescent years. I'm not saying smart devices are bad, and most of us use them. Having a device that entertains a young child's brain all the time, however, does not foster the imagination. For those kids fortunate enough to want a BB gun with parents who will buy them one, good times lie ahead. The birthday gift or Christmas present will become a special memory they will never forget.
Should this be a rite of passage?
It is hard to find statistics on this, but I'm guessing not as many people give BB guns to their kids today. What is easy to find are websites and articles dedicated to discouraging parents from this tradition. Anti-gun advocates believe BB guns are just a method of teaching children to shoot guns so they can grow up and do something evil with them. The gun, however, is not the problem.
My Grandfather used to carry his shotgun to school each day so he could hunt on the way home. This was normal in those days and the teacher was very strict when he told them to leave their guns in the corner of the schoolhouse until after class. What has changed from then until now is not guns. Fewer people educate their children about firearms and firearm safety (in my opinion).
But there are still some who believe in teaching their child to be responsible when handling a gun. They also believe in letting their kid make the same memories with their Daisy Red Rider BB gun, as we did. I have always thought one of the best ways to learn about firearms is to start with a BB gun, then move to a .22. Shotguns, hunting rifles, and handguns all come after that. By the time a child learns to hunt, they should already understand sight picture, trigger control, breathing, etc.
Summary
A lot of kids these days receive their firearms education from Call of Duty or Fortnite. And I'll admit it's surprising how accurate the guns are in those games. A lot of middle schoolers could identify a large variety of American, German, and Russian guns because of those games.
But gun safety, discipline, and how guns should be used are not something they learn from those games. In real life, there is no reset button. A child learns to be responsible when they are with an adult in the real world, having some fun on the range or hunting with a parent.
By the time they are old enough to have their first solo hunting trip or buy their first firearm, they understand the fundamentals of being responsible with a firearm. And for most of us, it all started in the backyard, shooting at pop cans with that Daisy Red Rider BB gun.
Find the original article in its entirety on GunMag Warehouse.
