Quality BB gun?

MBanning · Sunday at 4:02 PM

My nephew wants a BB gun for his birthday. He is turning 9 and I would like to get him something nice. He is a responsible young man who already has a .22LR for pest control on the farm.
It seems most BB guns are all plastic and quite cheap. I don't want CO² cartridges, PCP, or anything that is too hard for him to cock. Are there any decent options? Budget isn't unlimited but I would be happy to pay a few $100 for wood and steel over plastic.
Thank you for looking and for any help you may be able to offer,
MBanning

Pomyluy · Sunday at 5:13 PM

I've heard good things about the Diana Oktoberfest, but personally haven't shot / don't own one (yet).

Coffee_and_Pipes · Sunday at 5:22 PM

Given his age, I’d probably get him a Red Ryder. I understand that’s going in the opposite direction, but here are my reasons:

Inexpensive — he’ll have plenty of time for nicer BB guns when he’s a little older and can appreciate them more, and inexpensive means you could buy 2-3, and impromptu shooting competitions are fun
Low/no maintenance — pour BBs into it, lean it in the corner when finished shooting
Simple, easy to use action — he’ll be able to shoot it without constantly handing it to an adult, if his family wants that
Low velocity — you can somewhat see the BBs arc as they fly off, so it’s a great opportunity to learn about trajectories and holding for elevation, plus lower velocity could mean lower collateral damage to surroundings, and, he’s already got a .22

I’m all for your nephew having all the best BB guns there are, but I’d argue that right now is about setting foundations, and a Red Ryder, or 3, is great for that.

Coffee_and_Pipes · Sunday at 5:31 PM

Alternatively, find a nice BB gun for yourself, like what you mentioned above, and take it over to his place and have him shoot it with you, and tell him that when he reaches ___ age, the BB gun will be his.

hlee · Sunday at 5:46 PM

I was at my dads place and ran across my old red Ryder a couple of years ago. Grabbed a couple of empty soda cans out of the recycling and threw them in the yard. Popped each a couple of times, then handed it off to my smirking teen-aged son. We went back and forth for about 1/2 an hour, and he learned how much fun a simple spring operated BB gun can be.

DownhillFromHere · Sunday at 6:31 PM

I was going to say Crosman 760 - variable-velocity pump/bolt action. BBs feed from a magazine, .177 pellets single feed. Smooth bore, but pellets are as accurate as one can get without rifling. These things have been around forever - I remember the guys in my neighborhood had them. Yeah, they are plastic and cheap... but they WORK.

So I checked the Crosman web page to insure they're still sold, and see that the 2100 is offered... similar to 760 but has a rifled barrel.

I'm not sure "quality" and "BB" are achievable on the same platform.... Even when I was a kid in the early '60s, most BB guns had plastic stocks. I had a weird Crosman model that was cocked by pumping the barrel straight back into the receiver and it had a wood stock, ~~but I can't even find it on google now (not that I looked very hard)~~ - maybe the V350..

CavReconScout · Sunday at 6:37 PM

Our BB gun club uses these. Not horribly expensive, but really accurate https://www.daisy.com/product/daisy-model-499b-champion-competition-rifle/

CMP sells these M853s. I have one with the Monte Carlo stock and it’s a shooter too.
https://thecmp.org/sales-and-service/sporter-air-rifles/

Not in the same price range as the Diana, but they sure shoot great!

Basher · Sunday at 10:47 PM

Does it have to be a BB gun, or can it be a pellet gun?

If it can be a pellet gun, I’d recommend either a Weihrauch HW30S or an HW50S in .177. The 30 is a little smaller and is easiest to cock, which translates to lower velocities though still enough for small game at short distances (~20y and in or so). The 50 is a full-size rifle that’s still easy to cock, but pushes velocities up into the 700-800fps range, making it capable of small game at more extended ranges (~40y or thereabouts). Both are a ton of fun to shoot and being break-barrel/single-shot, he won’t blow through pellets too fast and will learn to make each shot count. More importantly, both are quality air rifles that should last generations if properly cared for.

supercorndogs · Sunday at 11:38 PM

Winchester number 12 or daisy number 25 pump action bb guns. I had modle 25 when I was little that was the most fun non co2 non pcp air gun I have shot.

SortOfClear · Monday at 1:08 AM

Firearms - Feinwerkbau 300s .177 Target Air Rifle

This is the gun that started it all for me in 1986 in ROTC. I learned 3 Position shooting with this rifle in high school. Those were the days. These were an Olympic grade pellet rifle in the early 80s and will punch a single hole at 20 meters. Out of nostalgia, I purchased this one when I taught...

www.snipershide.com

Lever cocking air rifles might be what you are looking for. Tend to have better fit & finish.

spife7980 · Monday at 5:46 PM

Daisy powerline 880 is the only answer. Better than a red ryder but its cheap enough that he can take it apart etc for science and experimenting. Its plastic... but I still have mine 30 years later.

Pumping it once is super soft, 10 pumps will take down a whitewing. Bam, instant ballistics lesson. But unlike my break barrel springers, its easier to get the 10 pumps than overcoming the spring.

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Quality BB gun?

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