XD Talk

Obscura · 04-02-2011, 11:32 PM

Are you on a budget looking for a tactical lever gun? You say it must have a capacity of more than 500 rounds and cost less than $30?

YouTube - Trench Warfare Drill: "Lever Gun Action!" by Nutnfancy

After reviewing this video and doing additional research, I found that Daisy has been making air rifles for 125 years! It was decided that the Model 1998 would be the perfect first gun for my daughter.

Brand: Daisy®
Length: 35-1/4 in.
Weight: 2.2 lb.
Action Type: Lever-Cocking/Spring Air
Maximum Muzzle Velocity: 350 fps
Caliber (in.): .177
Caliber (mm): 4.5 mm
Maximum Shooting Distance: 195 yd.
Ammunition Capacity: 650 Shot
Warranty: 1-Year Limited

Found one on Amazon.com, new with damaged box, paid $16 for it!

Now I should mention here that I didn't just give this to my daughter. She had to pass a test first. For months now I've been quizzing her on Eddie the Eagle's rules for gun safety.

STOP
DON'T TOUCH
LEAVE THE AREA
TELL AN ADULT

Before buying ammo or even cutting the zip tie locking the action shut, I put the rifle in my office where she would see it and called her in. I asked how her day at school went and the usual stuff then told her I had to get back to work. As she turned to leave, she saw it and did exactly what she was supposed to do.

I've also been quizzing her on the four basic rules:

ALL guns are ALWAYS loaded.
NEVER let your muzzle cover ANYTHING or ANYONE you are not willing to destroy.
Keep your finger OFF the trigger until your sights are ON the target.
Be SURE of your target, and what is behind it.

Today we went to Gander Mountain for ammo and paid $4.99 for 1500 rounds. That's enough to fill the magazine, TWICE, and still have 200 rounds left over. Don't let a down economy stop you from getting time in at the range. This is a very economical weapon system.

The rifle came with instructions for building your own range, a luxury I never thought I could afford. We followed the instructions and built a BB trap out of a cardboard box, bundles of old magazines, and crumpled newspaper. The backdrop was a heavy canvas painters drop cloth draped over our fence.

Before letting her come out, I tested that our range was doing a good job of ricochet mitigation. The target was trapping BBs and I shot a few into the canvas backdrop on purpose to test it. If she is far enough off to miss the backdrop, any ricochet would be at an angle so that it was headed away from us.

Once we got started shooting, I didn't keep count of how many rounds were fired. She did great and other than a few mosquito bites, it was a perfect day.

Awesome for what it is: Inexpensive, accurate, well made, and lots of fun.
As noted in the TNP video, if you're a lefty the tassels will get in the way. For a lever gun the action is stiff and you've got to remember to shake it when working the action to insure that a BB gets loaded. They have engineered a small window where you can see a BB being loaded so you know it's working right.

Good times today, we're both looking forward to the next range day at the Obscura compound. (tomorow)

Spooled · 04-02-2011, 11:49 PM

cool way to bond with your daughter. have fun and stay safe

**jmichna** · 04-03-2011, 11:51 AM

Obscura,
Great range report, great way to introduce your daughter into the world of shooting. Lots of hits in the red... good shooting! Will be looking forward to future range reports when she gets her first .22 rifle, then her first handgun!

Obscura · 04-04-2011, 01:03 AM

When my daughter was really small I had cut myself shaving and she said, "Papa, you're leaking."

One of the things I want my daughter to learn right away is that guns, even a bb-gun, can be very dangerous. To demonstrate, I filled an empty milk jug with water and some red food color. We headed out to our private range. After a few misses she connected. "It's Leaking!!!" Mission accomplished.

Later on that evening, she mentioned that the milk jug in the fridge was almost empty. She asked if we could use green food color to make monster blood.