.22 Dueling Tree with a Red Ryder?

[ToLiveDeliberately]

Howdy partners, the wife let me get her daughter a Red Ryder for Christmas this year. Has anyone ever shot one of those .22 dueling trees (or any of the other little spinners) with one of these classic low powered spring bb rifles, and do they have enough power (at about 20' or so) to make everything go round?

I'm trying to think up things more interesting to a seven year old than shooting at paper targets so if anyone has any other suggestions I'm all ears! Thanks for your help friends!

[ScubaSteve]

You shoot your eye out! 


No really, be careful shooting at anything hard at close range. Those BBs are not going very fast and will likely bounce back at you if you shoot them at steel.

[Rangerat67]

That is great that you got a Red Ryder for your daughter! These are great trainers for young kids. You can even shoot them in indoors! In response to your question regarding 22 spinners and other fun targets, I have several comments:

1) A Red Ryder will not flip or spin a 22 target. The BB will bounce back toward the shooter. Avoid this type of target.
2) The dollar store is full of fun targets. A pack of cheap dinosaurs, farm animals or army men. Line them up and knock them down.
3) The accuracy of a Red Ryder is fair at best. Start out with aluminum pop cans to build some confidence.
4) For indoor use, print paper targets and images. As an example, print various sizes of a T-Rex and pin them to a card board box lightly stuffed with old cloths.
5) If you want to spend a little, these steel silhouettes are for BB guns. I have purchased them from Amazon but I do not see them currently listed. I found them at this link.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Air-Venturi-Shoot-N-C-Animal-Targets-Deer-Theme-Round-Shape-3-Layers-Paper-Material/194399070

6) These little clays are fun to shoot as well.

https://daisy.com/product/shatterblast-clay-targets-with-target-stakes/

6) The Red Ryder is a fun rifle. If you want to upgrade to a accurate BB gun, the Daisy 499 can't be beat. The stock is even a good size for young shooters. This BB gun comes with peep sights and a sling. It will hold a <2 BB size group at 5 meters. It is still a simple "cock" with spring action BB gun. This BB gun is accurate enough that you will want to purchase Daisy Match Grade Precision BB's to take advantage of its capabilities. I have contests with my grandkids using this gun! We shoot a paper target with rings the width of a BB (The Official NRA 5 Meter BB Gun Target).   

https://daisy.com/product/daisy-model-499b-champion-competition-rifle/

have a great time shooting BB's with your daughter!

Rangerat67
Rick

[Fulcrum]

When I was a kid with a BB gun, I used to like to shoot aluminum cans or even paper cups. The targets need to be pretty lightweight to react.

[UpACreek]

Notice it's men suggesting shooting them indoors.  All I'm thinking of is patching and painting drywall and repairing leaking pipes in addition to the safety hazards.  ScubaSteve is the exception - you'll shoot your eye out - or your dad's eye out.  My husband came close to the latter when it ricocheted off the basement wall.  Thankfully, it hit my father-in-law's eyebrow instead of his eye.  Their kitchen light and exposed plumbing in the basement were also unintended victims (among other things).

You need safe targets outside.  We had a big hill behind us that was perfect for my kids to shoot wooden targets, plastic toys, and trees.  I bet you could make spinners out of popsicle sticks and clay.

Have fun!  As a good friend of mine, One-Eyed Jon, frequently says, wear eye protection.

[Fulcrum]

Notice it's men suggesting shooting them indoors.  All I'm thinking of is patching and painting drywall and repairing leaking pipes in addition to the safety hazards.  ScubaSteve is the exception - you'll shoot your eye out - or your dad's eye out.  My husband came close to the latter when it ricocheted off the basement wall.  Thankfully, it hit my father-in-law's eyebrow instead of his eye.  Their kitchen light and exposed plumbing in the basement were also unintended victims (among other things).

You need safe targets outside.  We had a big hill behind us that was perfect for my kids to shoot wooden targets, plastic toys, and trees.  I bet you could make spinners out of popsicle sticks and clay.

Have fun!  As a good friend of mine, One-Eyed Jon, frequently says, wear eye protection.

My brother and I had BB guns as kids. We were not allowed to shoot them indoors, but that doesn't mention we didn't still spill a lot of BBs around the house. My mom said she really enjoyed the sound of BBs being sucked up the long tube of the canister vacuum.

[Rangerat67]

When I was young, my parents gave me a Daisy BB gun Target Trap for Christmas. I shot my Crossman 760 pump at this target trap in our basement for a couple of years. One day, me and my friend decide it would be fun to shoot this old wooden clock that was sitting on a shelf in the basement. You know, we ran an experiment, how deep the BB would go into the wood per pump. Apparently this junk clock was some kind of antique. That was the end of my indoor BB gun shooting as a kid!

As a Grandpa, me and the grandkids shoot BB's in our basement at my home-made BB trap. Only at paper targets and usually supervised by Grandma!

Rangerat67
Rick

[Roswell]

I remember having BB gun wars with pinecone hand grenades as a kid. At one point I purposely broke my stock to turn it into an SBR. I miss the 80's. 

[Not Sure]

It was with my Red Ryder that I learned about Kentucky windage by watching the BB curve its way toward the target.

As others have said, steel BBs and steel targets are a bad combo.  A Red Ryder ricochet off concrete missed my eye by about 1/4" as a kid.  Cookies, gummy bears, or small fruits like grapes would make entertaining targets for kids.  I've also heard of marshmallows referred to as ballistic gel at these power levels.

A huge step above would be a used Daisy 853 from the CMP $140 shipped.  They are accurate and pretty low power ~4ft pounds.  They come with diopter sights but can be fitted with a scope and even a TKO moderator if desired.  I can't recommend enough to avoid cheap Crosman pellets and buy some quality ones like JSB.