The Best BB Guns
The Red Ryder BB gun has been the classic American outdoor toy since 1938. It is the gun that a generation of boys received for Christmas and that generations of parents worried they would shoot their eye out. The BB gun teaches the fundamentals of marksmanship -- sight alignment, trigger control, breathing -- in a low-consequence environment where tin cans on a fence rail are the appropriate target. Safety equipment is always required; an adult should supervise all use by children under twelve.
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How to Choose
Spring-powered BB guns operate by a spring-loaded plunger that compresses air when the lever is cocked; the compressed air launches the steel BB. Velocity is low -- 275 to 350 feet per second for most youth models -- which makes them appropriate for backyard target shooting with a proper backstop. The lever-action design requires cocking before each shot, which teaches the discipline of one shot at a time. CO2-powered models are faster to shoot but require cartridge management.
Daisy Red Ryder 1938B BB Gun
If you only buy one, make it this one. Read the full guide below for alternatives at every price point.
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Daisy Red Ryder 1938B BB Gun
Daisy has been making the Red Ryder in Rogers, Arkansas since 1938. It is a lever-action spring-powered BB gun with a 650-round magazine, a 350 fps velocity, and the classic wood stock and lever that has not changed significantly in eighty-five years. The Red Ryder is the benchmark against which every other youth BB gun is measured because it has been teaching American children to shoot since Franklin Roosevelt was president.
The Red Ryder has been in continuous production since 1938. Eighty-five years of unchanged design is the most powerful endorsement possible.
Find on Amazon arrow_forwardDaisy Model 880 Powerline
The Daisy 880 is a multi-pump pneumatic -- each pump of the fore-end adds pressure, up to ten pumps, which gives the shooter variable power from 175 fps (one pump) to 715 fps (ten pumps). The variable power makes it appropriate for both indoor target practice (low power) and outdoor tin-can shooting (high power). The 880 has been in the Daisy line since 1972.
Variable power in a pump pneumatic teaches the relationship between effort and result. One pump for indoor targets; ten pumps for outdoor distance shooting.
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