Recently on this and other forums, there was discussion on the average age of members. Personally, I expected that to be on the older side, but was a little surprised at just how few people under 50 responded. We need to bring the youth into our pellet-crazed world!
So, for those of you with kids or grand kids, what did you use to start them off? I'm really curious what has or hasn't worked for people.
Here's my experience so far:
Like many on here, I started out young with my trusty BB gun (Daisy 880) so, when I decided it was time to get something for my little kids (7 and 5 years old) to start teaching them about guns and getting them interested, I started with a Daisy buck (because they have a considerably shorter length of pull than typical BB/pellet guns). The results were discouraging: My kids were too young to be able to cock it, and the trigger breaks at what feels like 10 pounds. And, of course, it's still a bb gun that might put 5 shots in 2" at 7 yards. They tried it and quickly got discouraged when they couldn't hit much of anything.
Somewhat disillusioned, I decided to try the Umarex Embark based on Tom Gaylord's write-up. It's basically a Ruger Explorer with better sights and a green stock. I recently got the kids curious again and we gave it another go. This went much better.
What I like:
Negatives:
Overall, I like this little springer a lot - it's light, easy to cock, fits younger children, and is accurate. To me, it's worth it if it's more likely to get a child interested than discouraged -especially with the really young ones like mine. Consider this: how many more adults might have stuck with Airguns if their first one had been a HW30 or HW95 instead of a cheap Chinese air blaster?
Here's my son (5) and daughter (7) in the basement earlier this evening. And yes, my daughter needs to work on her head placement!
So, for those of you with kids or grand kids, what did you use to start them off? I'm really curious what has or hasn't worked for people.
Here's my experience so far:
Like many on here, I started out young with my trusty BB gun (Daisy 880) so, when I decided it was time to get something for my little kids (7 and 5 years old) to start teaching them about guns and getting them interested, I started with a Daisy buck (because they have a considerably shorter length of pull than typical BB/pellet guns). The results were discouraging: My kids were too young to be able to cock it, and the trigger breaks at what feels like 10 pounds. And, of course, it's still a bb gun that might put 5 shots in 2" at 7 yards. They tried it and quickly got discouraged when they couldn't hit much of anything.
Somewhat disillusioned, I decided to try the Umarex Embark based on Tom Gaylord's write-up. It's basically a Ruger Explorer with better sights and a green stock. I recently got the kids curious again and we gave it another go. This went much better.
What I like:
- Length of pull is 2+ inches shorter than typical adult-sized guns. I think this is key - the gun has to fit them, even if all they're doing is learning to shoot off a bench.
- It's light -under 5 pounds
- Very easy to cock -my 7 year old daughter can do it.
- Accurate - with open sights, I can easily shoot dime-sized groups at 10 meters (we'll have to wait for spring to stretch it outside)
- No worrying about BB's ricocheting and shooting an eye out
- It's a springer!
Negatives:
- It's made in China, so it's no Weihrauch, but the finish work and assembly quality is still pretty decent - I'm satisfied for the price point
- Trigger is long and creepy (it's not a Rekord!) But it's waaay better than the Daisy, with a reasonable pull and predictable release - to me, it's good for learning good trigger technique.
- It's a lot more expensive than your typical $35 BB gun.
Overall, I like this little springer a lot - it's light, easy to cock, fits younger children, and is accurate. To me, it's worth it if it's more likely to get a child interested than discouraged -especially with the really young ones like mine. Consider this: how many more adults might have stuck with Airguns if their first one had been a HW30 or HW95 instead of a cheap Chinese air blaster?
Here's my son (5) and daughter (7) in the basement earlier this evening. And yes, my daughter needs to work on her head placement!
