Airgun pellets come in a variety weights, sizes and shapes. Which one do you choose? It all depends on what you’re going to do. Will you be hunting? Then you might want to select a heavier hollowpoint pellet. Plan to shoot at paper targets? Then select a lighter-weight wadcutter, which will cleanly punch through the paper target and make it easier to score. No matter what you plan to do, picking the right pellet will help you be more successful. Watch our video to get spun up on airgun pellets!
I really like these vids – what a great idea to introduce folks to the hobby!
I can’t wait for the more advanced topics 🙂
Keep up the good work.
Please check your links – when I click on episode 4, episode 2 plays.
Jim,
Thanks for the heads up. We’re working on getting the correct video in place.
Edith
Great info and presentation. Love to try and see more of them!
As the single mother of two young boys(twins,7 years old), I would like some advice on when I could introduce them to air guns. I’ve read through previous comments on your blog and the youngest kids I could determine using air guns were 8 year old girls. Your Instructor(he doesn’t introduce himself like your Reporter does) does not mention the age,size or sex for who these instructions are meant. Although twins, my boys could not be more different from each other in size. Both are anxious to get started. Could Bob(what I’ve been calling the Instructor in my mind) speak to that in one of your videos so my kids could watch it. I don’t want them to know I asked this question. Thanks……………Cathy
I am a 4-H shooting sports coach. I have started kids as early as 1st grade and they normal do fine in an organized environment. I have had parents and mons make kids cry because they think their kids should be doing better to soon. Typical in all sports.
Yes Shooting is a sport. NRA has a program that allows kids and adults to self pace and earn patches at home. Called Winchestwer Qualification Program.
I do suggest parents to get into an orgainzed group such as 4-H, each state, county, etc has different paths. We have archery, rifle, pistol and shotgun. I would suggest keeping kids out of shotgun until older do not rush into shotgun.
We start kids on BB Gun, then Air pistol and air rifle. Then 22 rifle and pistol.
We are lucky we have 6 coaches for rifle and pistol, all are 4-H trained and many have other training. Contact you local extension office to see what they have to offer in your area.
Cathy,
Thanks for your question! The video host is Tony Canon. Your idea about a video to get children started in the shooting sports and which guns are appropriate for which ages is a good one. Let me see what I can do. However, the blog has had a large number of postings and comments about starting new shooters. If you post your query on the blog, you’ll get a LOT of answers and comments from people who have taught children (younger than your boys) to shoot airguns. Also, the blog that’s posted on this site is relatively new, and the historical archives (which go back to 2005) are on another site. Searching the other site, I’ve come up with the following postings that are pertinent to your situation:
Shooting BB guns: a message for parents and teachers
Teach a person to shoot – Part 1
Teach a person to shoot – Part 2
There are others, but these will get you started. Specific ideas for guns for you boys (I don’t know if they’re average size or small for their age):
Ruger Explorer
Air Venturi Bronco. This gun will be quite accurate (an important point), but it might be too long. Your boys might have to tuck the stock under their arms instead of putting it against their shoulders.
Daisy Red Ryder. This gun shoots steel BBs, which have a much greater tendency to ricochet. The other guns listed shoot lead pellets.
Pyramyd AIR has a listing of youth rifles, but I believe most will be too long for your boys. To determine the length of a gun, look at the specifications of each one.
Again, I encourage you to post your question on the current day’s blog. It’ll be the top-most one posted on this page. Scroll down just a bit til you see the first link for “COMMENTS.” Click on that link & post your question. The blog readers are very helpful and are sure to give you a ton of good advice.
Edith
Cathy, I started my two sons on air rifles (Daisy Red Ryder b.b. guns) when they each turned 6. I myself was given my first .22 when I was 8 and was shooting competitively in a youth division at 9.
My feeling is that 7 is in no way too young to introduce your girls to air rifles if you willing to properly supervise them.
Strictly supervise them.
I spent an afternoon going over safety rules with them. Specifically that you never point a gun at something you don’t intend to shoot. That even a b.b. gun, at close range can maim. And stick to whatever basic rules you set. (one of mine was that if, even by accident, they pointed their gun at someone, it went away for two weeks…they both only did that once).
The guns are kept under lock and key when not in use…not because I don’t trust them, but, being proud of their guns I can’t guarantee that they won’t want to show their friends. And if I’m not around I don’t trust their friends.
Another thing that is just my personal opinion is that you can’t tell a 7 year old that they can shoot their sibling with ‘that’ gun (a toy)…but not ‘this’ gun (their Red Ryders). So I try and limit their toy gun collection. When they start horsing around playing ‘war’, if I have time I will say ‘lets go to the basement and practice target shooting with your b.b. guns.
It’ worked very well. Now they are 9 and 8. Both of them can outshoot their Red Ryders (at 25′ hitting a pop can is iffy with a b.b. gun). So this summer they are getting pellet rifles (the BAM AK-47 lookalikes…very cool). But again we will spend a few afternoons going over the safety rules…now they have guns that at short range could possibly kill.
But I have no doubts they will be responsible with them, as I’m sure your girls will be with proper instruction.
Hope these comments are helpful
Sorry Cathy…I see you have boys…not girls…my booboo!
Cathy,
I concur with Bob Todrick. Many of us started out with small B.B. guns. The Red Ryder is a classic. I would second the “strict supervision”. If only one rule is broken the gun is taken away for a ? week?
Whatever you choice of airgun, and especially a B.B. gun, safety glasses must be worn at all times while shooting. B.B.’s richochet all over the place and will find an eye.
kevin
Daisy 953 could be a good choice Cathy.
This videos are really great. It really perked my families interest in airguns. My son turned us on to the site. My daughter wants to know who the cute instructor is. He’s very easy to understand and keep our interest. Kudos also to the production crew. I’ve watched alot of these internet videos and they are so lame next to these. Keep them coming.
I don’t wish to undermine anyone elses suggestion but I would try the 953 first at the store. I have the Avanti 853c (same thing with an expensive target barrel). My 9 year old (who is not a lightweight) has difficulty cocking it…I usually do it when he wants to shoot it.
The Red Ryders, or some of Daisy’s pump b.b./pellet rifles would allow most children to cock the rifles themselves.
The pellet rifles my boys are getting next month are very easy cocking sidelevers (about 1/2 the effort of the Avanti)…I know my 9 year old will be able to handle it, but I fully expect to be cocking it for my younger son for the first year.
I only bring this up because my boys (fairly typical I think) would get frustrated in the ‘early’ days (when they were 6) and had to constantly ask me to cock their Red Ryders.
Thanks so much,everyone,for all the help and thought put in to your replies to this rookie in air guns! Edith, the links you gave me were just the type of information I wanted. Guess I was looking in the wrong place all that time. I will be reading through them before we begin shopping so I have a decent understanding of the subject matter before I start with my kids. I’ll also make a mental note that your Instuctor’s name is Tony and not Bob as I’ve been calling him! 🙂
Thanks for your input,too,Bob,Kevin and HK. I’ll be checking the videos frequently for more of Tony and any comments that might pertain to my situation. I suspect that I will be learning alot,too, once my boys get into this!
Thanks again,
Cathy
Cathy,
I’m going to address your situation in the blog next week. What I say won’t be everything you need to hear, but I bet our readers’ comments will fill in the blanks. Anything that we leave out, you go ahead and ask questions, and we’ll just refine a program just for you.
B.B. Pelletier
I learned a lot about pellets that I did know and will help in my selection of pellets in the future. I look forward to future videos.
Hey, how about the spherical ones… I use them cos they are SOOOOOOO cheap, but i don’t really know how are them in deep because I’m a noob. I think that this pellets are more piercing than the others because they are solid and don’t suffer any deformation… But also they are not precise enough at long distances. Am i wrong?
Precisely, although there lead round balls out there:
/ammo/pellets
Look for the Round Balls
Rodrigo,
I think you may be talking about steel BBs. They’re very inexpensive, but most BB guns aren’t very accurate. Pellet rifles and pistols are more accurate than BB guns.
Edith