BB guns make excellent first guns for your children. If you plan on taking your child hunting, you most certainly do not want to start him or her out with any other "real" gun. First, teach your children how to properly use BB guns.
The key to teaching your children to use BB guns is to make sure that they understand that these guns are not toys! There are two reasons for this: one, you want them to know how to properly handle a "real" gun when they get one, and using BB guns is great practice. Two, BB guns really are not toys. They can cause injuries and even fatalities.
If you do decide to give your children BB guns, there are some things that you need to be aware of. There are many people that who do not agree with the use of BB guns, but this is generally when they are misused. Here are some things that you should consider:
· The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) suggests that only kids 16 years of age or older be allowed to use BB guns. The laws vary from state to state.
· Some say that playing with "toy" guns, like BB guns, might make it more likely that your child will mistake a real gun for a toy. Be sure to clearly establish the difference!
· For your children, buy only brightly colored BB guns. Do not allow them to remove any colored markings. It is possible for policemen and others to mistake a BB gun for a real gun if markings are removed.
· Be sure that your child wears eye protection when shooting a BB gun. These guns can cause eye injuries, especially because the BBs often ricochet.
· Try out the BB gun before giving it to your child. Make sure that the firing sound is not overly loud. You do not want to damage the hearing of your child! Give your child hearing protection!
· Be sure that your child knows to treat all BB guns as though they are real guns.
These are just a few safety rules related to BB guns. There are, of course, many more. Make sure that you go over general gun safety with your child before (not after) you give him or her a BB gun.
Also, you can check with your local NRA chapter or other gun groups and see if they offer any courses in gun safety. They can create a fun and safe environment for your child to learn all about guns and BB guns.
BB guns can be fun and useful, as long as they are used properly. Be sure that the experience that your child has with a BB gun is a good one. He or she may gripe about having to learn about gun safety, but in the end, you will be thanked!
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Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
How a BB Gun Works
BB guns can use any of the operating mechanisms used for air guns; see the powerplant technology section of the air gun article. However, due to the limited accuracy and range inherent in the BB gun, only the simpler and less expensive mechanisms are generally used.
Since nearly all BBs used today are steel, it is common to find BB guns that use magnets in their loading mechanisms. Since the BB is too hard to be swaged to the bore size, magnets are often used to hold the BB at the rear of the barrel—otherwise, the BB would simply roll out of the barrel if it were held at a downward angle.
The traditional, and still most common powerplant for BB guns is the spring piston type, usually patterned after a lever action rifle or a pump action shotgun. The lever action rifle was the first type of BB gun, and still dominates the inexpensive youth BB gun market. The Daisy Model 25 BB gun, modeled after a pump action shotgun with a trombone pump action mechanism, dominated the low price, higher performance market for over 50 years. Lever action models generally have very low velocities, around 275 ft/s (84 m/s), a result of the weak springs used to keep cocking efforts low for use by youths. The Daisy Model 25 BB gun typically achieved the highest velocities of its day, ranging from 375 ft/s (114 m/s) to 450 ft/s (140 m/s). Lever action guns often have huge ammunition capacities; one of Daisy's early lever action models held 1000 BBs, in contrast to the Daisy Model 25 which held only 50 BBs. The ammunition in the lever action BB guns is gravity fed, such that the gun must be held at the proper angle when cocked to load the ammunition. The ammunition in the Daisy Model 25, on the other hand, is spring loaded, and no shift in gun angle is required to reload another BB.
Multi-pump pneumatic guns are also common—many youth oriented pneumatic pellet guns provide the ability to use BBs as a cheaper alternative to lead shot. These guns have rifled barrels, but the hard, slightly undersized BBs don't swage or obturate to fit the barrel, so the rifling may not impart a significant spin. These are the type of guns that will benefit most from using precision lead BB shot. The pneumatic BB gun attains much higher velocities than the traditional spring piston types. One interesting use of a pneumatic BB gun is in the calibration of ballistic gelatin, which is done by measuring the penetration of a steel BB at a velocity of about 600 ft/s (180 m/s).
View the original article here
Since nearly all BBs used today are steel, it is common to find BB guns that use magnets in their loading mechanisms. Since the BB is too hard to be swaged to the bore size, magnets are often used to hold the BB at the rear of the barrel—otherwise, the BB would simply roll out of the barrel if it were held at a downward angle.
The traditional, and still most common powerplant for BB guns is the spring piston type, usually patterned after a lever action rifle or a pump action shotgun. The lever action rifle was the first type of BB gun, and still dominates the inexpensive youth BB gun market. The Daisy Model 25 BB gun, modeled after a pump action shotgun with a trombone pump action mechanism, dominated the low price, higher performance market for over 50 years. Lever action models generally have very low velocities, around 275 ft/s (84 m/s), a result of the weak springs used to keep cocking efforts low for use by youths. The Daisy Model 25 BB gun typically achieved the highest velocities of its day, ranging from 375 ft/s (114 m/s) to 450 ft/s (140 m/s). Lever action guns often have huge ammunition capacities; one of Daisy's early lever action models held 1000 BBs, in contrast to the Daisy Model 25 which held only 50 BBs. The ammunition in the lever action BB guns is gravity fed, such that the gun must be held at the proper angle when cocked to load the ammunition. The ammunition in the Daisy Model 25, on the other hand, is spring loaded, and no shift in gun angle is required to reload another BB.
Multi-pump pneumatic guns are also common—many youth oriented pneumatic pellet guns provide the ability to use BBs as a cheaper alternative to lead shot. These guns have rifled barrels, but the hard, slightly undersized BBs don't swage or obturate to fit the barrel, so the rifling may not impart a significant spin. These are the type of guns that will benefit most from using precision lead BB shot. The pneumatic BB gun attains much higher velocities than the traditional spring piston types. One interesting use of a pneumatic BB gun is in the calibration of ballistic gelatin, which is done by measuring the penetration of a steel BB at a velocity of about 600 ft/s (180 m/s).
View the original article here
History of BB Guns
BB guns are a type of air gun designed to shoot projectiles which are named BBs after the birdshot pellet of approximately the same size. These projectiles are usually spherical but can also be pointed; those are usually used for bird hunting. Modern day BB guns usually have a smoothbore barrel, with a bore diameter and caliber of 0.177 inches (4.5 mm). BB for modern day BB guns are usually steel, plated either with zinc or copper to resist corrosion, and measure 0.171 to 0.173 inches (4.34 mm to 4.39 mm) in diameter. Some manufacturers also still make lead balls of slightly larger diameter and which are generally intended for use in rifled BB gun barrels, as were formerly used in BB guns. Some Asian companies make plastic BBs for recreation.
While it is often stated that the term "BB" originated from "ball bearing" or "bullet ball" (if it's made of plastic), this is not the case. The original BB guns used the BB-sized lead shot for shotguns, midway between B and BBB size. BB shot was nominally 0.180 inches (4.57 mm), but tended to vary considerably in size due to the high allowable tolerances for shotgun shell use. Around 1900, Daisy, one of the earliest makers of BB guns, changed their BB gun bore diameter to .175 inches (4.45 mm), and began to market precision-made lead shot specifically for their BB guns. They called this "air rifle shot", but the "BB" name was already well established, and everyone continued calling the guns "BB guns" and the shot "BB shot" or just "BBs".
In the 1920s, Daisy began to receive reports of BB gun users salvaging scrap steel ball bearings for use in their guns; a number of guns came in for repair with split barrels, from oversized steel balls being forced down the barrel. The bearing manufacturer, American Ball Company, quickly seized on this as a marketing opportunity, and started to market 0.171 to 0.173 diameter steel air rifle shot specifically for BB guns with a bore diameter and caliber of 0.177. This quickly led to an exclusive marketing agreement with Daisy, as precision ground steel BBs were cheaper to make than precision lead BBs. The lighter steel BBs also provided higher velocities than lead BBs, which made new BB guns shoot flatter and more accurately at the short ranges where they were effective. By 1939, Daisy had acquired American Ball Company, which it used to produce its own steel BBs. Since Daisy was the dominant player in the BB gun market, other makers followed suit, matching Daisy's bore diameter and switching to steel BBs in 0.177 caliber (4.5 mm) measuring 0.171 to 0.173 in diameter.
View the original article here
While it is often stated that the term "BB" originated from "ball bearing" or "bullet ball" (if it's made of plastic), this is not the case. The original BB guns used the BB-sized lead shot for shotguns, midway between B and BBB size. BB shot was nominally 0.180 inches (4.57 mm), but tended to vary considerably in size due to the high allowable tolerances for shotgun shell use. Around 1900, Daisy, one of the earliest makers of BB guns, changed their BB gun bore diameter to .175 inches (4.45 mm), and began to market precision-made lead shot specifically for their BB guns. They called this "air rifle shot", but the "BB" name was already well established, and everyone continued calling the guns "BB guns" and the shot "BB shot" or just "BBs".
In the 1920s, Daisy began to receive reports of BB gun users salvaging scrap steel ball bearings for use in their guns; a number of guns came in for repair with split barrels, from oversized steel balls being forced down the barrel. The bearing manufacturer, American Ball Company, quickly seized on this as a marketing opportunity, and started to market 0.171 to 0.173 diameter steel air rifle shot specifically for BB guns with a bore diameter and caliber of 0.177. This quickly led to an exclusive marketing agreement with Daisy, as precision ground steel BBs were cheaper to make than precision lead BBs. The lighter steel BBs also provided higher velocities than lead BBs, which made new BB guns shoot flatter and more accurately at the short ranges where they were effective. By 1939, Daisy had acquired American Ball Company, which it used to produce its own steel BBs. Since Daisy was the dominant player in the BB gun market, other makers followed suit, matching Daisy's bore diameter and switching to steel BBs in 0.177 caliber (4.5 mm) measuring 0.171 to 0.173 in diameter.
View the original article here
You'll Shoot Your Eye Out - BB Gun Blog
This blog is dedicated to those baby-boomers who misspent many afternoons terrorizing their neighbors, neighborhood dogs, neighborhood cats, tin cans, coke bottles, and all flying creatures with their Daisy BB guns.
If you have a BB gun story, then please share it. I know that there are a lot of Ralphies out there! And I know that your mom, just like mine, said those infamous words many times over!
If you have a BB gun story, then please share it. I know that there are a lot of Ralphies out there! And I know that your mom, just like mine, said those infamous words many times over!
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