In spite of the age old parental warnings of “No, you can’t have a BB gun, you’ll put your eye out!” millions of youngsters worldwide have fallen in love with shooting, hunting and eventually with firearms and even wildlife through activities experienced with their first “real gun” the BB gun, which is one of many types of guns referred to as air guns. For a large percentage of today’s shooting sports enthusiasts, challenging our early shooting skills against targets that ranged from old bottles and cans, to any available leaf or cardboard box, set the stage for a lifetime of learning responsible behavior and of shooting enjoyment. BB gun shooting is an exciting, worthwhile activity for boys, and it is one of the most popular program activitiesheld at Cub Scout camps. BB gun shooting provides fun and adventure, yet also teaches skills, discipline, self-reliance, and sportsmanship. BB gun shooting is a camp program. Boys can earn BB gun recognition items only at council/district day camp, resident camp, or council-managed family camping programs. BB Gun programs are not permitted as den and pack activity. A Brief History of BB Guns In ancient history, blowguns began to appear in many different parts of the world. Although crude, these primitiveweapons were very accurate. They were made from bamboo or other hollowed-out woods.A blowgun is a tube into which a hunter blows to shoot a projectile out the other end. This idea was transferred into gun form somewhere in the 1500s. The bellows gun, invented around 1580, is the earliest known air-powered gun. A few decades later, the first pneumatic (pump-up) air gun was created in France for King Henry IV. The nobility usually owned these early guns, since they were too expensive for commoners. In the late 1700s, some units of the Austrian army were equipped with air rifles. In America, records show that in the 1800s, Lewis and Clark had an air gun for hunting and impressing the native Americans. The native Americans called it “the smokeless thunder stick.” In 1885, in the United States, the Markham Air Rifle Company became one of the first companies to sell BB guns. These pneumatic rifles eliminated bullets and used a small pellet the size of a ball bearing, soon to be called a “BB.” A few years later, a company that sold steel windmills decided to also sell BB rifl es. By 1895, this company had stopped producing windmills and made air rifles full-time and changed the company name to Daisy. Daisy’s guns were mostly made of steel, which improved the gun’s strength and design. The Daisy air rifle became popular very quickly, and within five years Daisy had sold 250,000 BB guns. Soon, Daisy bought out all of its competition. Daisy also promoted to youth by making special BB guns that related with popular historical characters like Davy Crockett. In 1984, the Olympic Games featured air guns for the first time. Today, BB guns are still being produced in both rifle and pistol forms and are very popular among all age groups. | Quick Links |