The Viking asked a very good question in what kind of air rifle should a father purchase for an enjoyable time with their children and I always fall back on KISS, keep it simple stupid.
When I was 8 my dad for reasons to this day I do not understand actually bought for my birthday an air rifle. It was the only gift I have ever received from him and as a child it still stuns me.
Air rifles are really not some toys. The late Col. Charles Askins utilized shooting an air rifle daily to keep his shooting eye sharp, whether it was for African game with elephant rifles or shooting quail in Texas. Having been shot with one by my stupid brother, I can attest they are not toys and can do painful damage to limbs.
I still should pay him back by "accident" for that little drama that dropped me like a rock.
I have no experience with expensive air guns. TL and I have a Crossman CO2 pistol which is not a nail driver and likes to eat CO2 cartridges. My brother had those Red Ryder BB guns which ran on a spring piston as did a youthful friend who had a bb gun that one depressed the barrel which still does not seem sound.
My rifle is a Crossman 760 in which one pumps the forearm to obtain varying pressures. It is the original old style in being made of all wood and not plastic. I like it as I had it repaired by Crossman when it leaked air and I can shoot pellets through it, steel bb's which are cheap and it actually looks like a gun.
I am aware of the more expensive rifles, but they all look Olympic in sights, and have the appearance of clubs. Those types of air rifles are for the time if you really make shooting your lifestyle instead of some quality time in the back yard or fields.
You can have a scope on these rifles, but I prefer open sights. Scopes on air rifles take a great deal of punishment due to the fast vibration of the gun going off.
So in simplicity, you have just a pump gun with perhaps 4 pumps as you are not trying to kill English sparrows or starlings, and my "game" was pretty simple in I had a variety of old shotgun shells from 10 to 410, which came in different colors, which I placed on weed stems at varrying distances, and that was my game in seeing what I could hit.
My niece greatly enjoyed it and with my brother, we had a very nice time in just seeing what we could hit.
I always shoot sitting, as the main gun positions are prone, sitting, kneeling and standing. You always want a solid rest and when sitting it is your knees with your elbows rested on them, so you hit what you are aiming at. That is the great secret to shooting is just a solid rest, taking a breath, half exhaling it, and then squeezing the trigger lightly.
I am not going into Olympic styles and trigger pulls as that is not what this is about, but simply shooting and enjoying yourself.
For people like my Mom who is left eye dominant, or TL who is left handed, you can shoot from whatever eye you choose, but if you shoot left eye, then place the stock on your left shoulder, as it is uncomfortable and not anything you will be shooting to hit anything having your eye raised up so far above the stock.
Do not expect to be Annie Oakley. Just enjoy the experience and the time with others. Some people are naturally better shots, but all good shots are made with practice. Rifles just are easier to hit things with by sight plain, and pistols require hundreds of hours to just start hitting the mark, which is not what most people want in another chore in their lives.
I suspect dowels set in the ground would work too and they do have little bb gun targets you can get too which flip about, but as I never have money to spend I just use what I have around, and dowels sometimes look like different sized twigs stuck in the ground.
Just always keep the safety on. ALWAYS be aware that the muzzle of the gun is either pointed up away from all things not shot at or down and at an angle away from you, pets or your feet.
You can never take a bullet back after it is down the barrel.
The pump air rifles are nothing accurate, but they are affordable shooting and with bb's you will find they will devour quantities with great enjoyment. Just follow the instructions for care and probably do not leave your rifle outside over night as I did as a child in the rain.
I never wear eye protection, but I suppose that caveat should be placed here, as some eye shades do look extremely cool to wear.
I see that everyone from Walmart to Amazon has the 760 and people are delighted with them, both young and old, and the girly pink ones have an appeal to them too, compared to the manly ones, so that is my choice and depending on what you want, for under a hundred dollars, you can be on safari in the back yard.......I suppose boonie hats are a suggestion with a feather in them too so you can join the Carlos Hathcock scouts.......I do tend to embellish my adventures as much as possible, without digging a foxhole...but if someone else cared to as their adventure, I probably would take advantage of a foxhole too with suggestion of a snack bar might be what George Patton would like.
The old maxim was if you take your kids hunting you will not have to go hunting for your children. Shooting empowers people, especially women as it builds confidence in them to know they can accomplish things and master "dangerous" things like weapons.
Just don't shoot your eye out by shooting ricochet things or the neighbors cat for shitting on your lawn which is always a most tempting target.
agtG
