The showing and teaching the older Grandkids about the use of firearms using the BB pistol went much better than expected. In fact the older Granddaughter was more interested than I could have imagined. I started out just one on one with the Grandson. Being a boy I thought it would be a natural thing for us to bond over and have some fun. He has never shot a BB gun and has never even been exposed to one as far as I know. This was all new to him. Started with the basic firearm safety and would grill him about it while we were shooting. He had a little trouble remembering everything. The gun was a little too big for his hands but he did pretty well. It has a very long trigger pull so it made it pretty difficult to get the trigger back consistently. We weren't worried too much about accuracy. The BB's curve at times heading to the target so even hitting the paper can be an issue. But he did pretty well.
It wasn't long before the Granddaughter came out. She nailed the firearm rules every time surprising me. She had much more difficulty with the trigger and getting it pulled back far enough to shoot. She actually got sore red spots on her fingers before we were through. On the third time through she was managing to get the trigger pulled without as much trouble.
We emptied a couple air cartridges and went in for lunch. She wanted to know if we could shoot again the next day. She sat down and wrote down the 3 basic rules along with other safety things I taught her i.e. trigger discipline and muzzle discipline. Next morning bright and early she wanted to know if we could go shoot again. Well OK.
Everything was pretty much the same as the previous day. However I let them run the show themselves with me standing back on the patio. Things were going well and I heard this loud farting noise. Then the gun stopped shooting. I assumed the air cartridge had a malfunction letting the air escape. Nope. This happened.
See that shiny sliver thing at the end of the muzzle? That's the barrel. It isn't supposed to be sticking out like that. There are no screws for me to take the gun apart and attempt a repair. I am not sure how they manage to even put it together without screws. But here we are with a broken BB pistol that will go in the trash. I will probably replace it with a cheaper model if I do. This thing was virtually new as far as use is concerned but I have had it several years just stuck away in the closet. I blamed the Granddaughter for farting and breaking my gun. She just rolled her eyes and shook her head at me.
The good thing is, I planted the seed in a young mind about firearms and safety and she was very enthusiastic. Something I can work with. Win one for Poppy.
Happy Trails
1 comment:
Good times! And sorry it broke, but at least nobody was hurt.
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