Is there anything more heartwarming this time of year than the story of a boy and his first gun? Well, maybe, but why talk about that? Mine was a Daisy. I still remember sneaking out into the living room on Christmas morning and seeing it under the tree. All the other presents could wait. A few days after Christmas, my friend Jeff came over. We were plinking aluminum cans from the front porch steps. I set a can up on a tree stump about 20 yards from us. Fancying myself quite the rifle man, I jacked a Copperhead .177 BB into the chamber, pumped the fore grip, and was about to take aim. "I bet you five dollars you miss." Jeff said. "Huh," I replied with disdain. "You're gonna regret saying that." We shook hands. I rechecked the chamber, spat on the sidewalk, squinted my eyes and drew down on the can. Slowly I released my breath and squeezed the trigger. Pop! To my heightened senses, the sound of the BB leaving the barrel seemed louder than usual. The shot was off. The can didn't move. "You missed!" Jeff cried. "Bull $#!+." I replied. "These sights must be off." "Son!" My father had been standing with us on the porch the whole time. "It's a poor craftsman who blames his tool. To make matters worse, you're looking for a reason to welsh on your bet. You made a bet and you lost. Now pay the man." Grumbling, I went inside, popped the plug out of my Mickey Mouse bank and counted out five dollars. I went back outside and reluctantly handed it to Jeff. "Well, that's the last bet I'll ever make." I said, with a certain degree of newly found resolve. "I'll bet you ten dollars you don't make it twenty four hours." Jeff said. "You're on!" Merry Christmas, everybody!
When I was a boy, I looked just like the kid in the Christmas Story movie, right down to the oversized glasses. Dad got me a Red Ryder for Christmas, despite Mom worrying out loud that I'd shoot my eye out. So as an adult, when it came time to pick an avatar and signature line for GPDO, it was an obvious choice.
Daisy repeater. It came with my first lessons in firearm safety. Once I demonstrated that I had learned those, then came the lessons in how to shoot and finally, the BB's.
Hi Guys, Wonderful BB gun memorys! I had one back in the 1950's, they were more powerful back then.(As I remember it at least) I learned hard & fast about SAFETY! I did not latch the cocking lever correctly ,had my fingers BETWEEN the lever & the stock! I fired the rifle & the cocking lever pinch my two fingers so tightly I cut myself pulling my hand out of the lever! It HURT like HECK! I was very careful to lock it up after that affair! I also learned never shoot at a flat object because the BB might just come back & hit the shooter! Man! We were GOOD! Use to shoot from a fast moving bike at cans & never seemed missed! Be Well & BE SAFE, broom
That's awesome! Never tried shooting from a bike, but I'm a little surprised that we never tried it...
Yours is one of my favorite avatars on this site. I also like Xiclotl's, the one with the Lifebuoy bar of soap in Ralphie's mouth. It's hard to beat a Christmas Story reference.
We used to have BB gun wars, live fire. If you had pump type gun you could only pump it 5 times, . And yes I still have both eyes.