Daisy Adult Red Ryder Rifle

Bought this in 2022 out of nostalgia, despite having lots of real firearms.
There’s just something deeply satisfying about a Daisy BB gun. Just feels right.
Is it as high quality as the classics like my dad’s Red Ryder from the 1950s? Nope.
However, the quality is good enough, especially for the price. I like that the cocking lever is metal, and really wish the youth model was still made with metal.

They still build it with screws so you can maintain it yourself, something other manufacturers don’t do, which is annoying, because if you can’t fix it at home, it’s not optimal. That said, be sure to oil it correctly as per manual. Do not use too much oil, or it’ll collect dirt and dust, gunking it up, and making your accuracy suffer. Accuracy at its best is pretty much what you’d expect from a BB gun. If you want better accuracy at longer range, get an air rifle; these ones are not rifled. They’re plenty accurate for indoor shooting, 20-30 feet to a BB trap. I’m getting a group at 20 feet about the size of a dime, so like I said, good enough.

Holds a buttload of rounds. Use stainless or coated BBs if you intend to leave the gun loaded between uses. If you use copper BBs, you may end up with copper-oxide corrosion inside the gun, and could end up ruining it. I would also recommend painting your iron sights (I do this with my real guns, too). A little bright red/orange paint up front, and white in the rear works pretty well on this one. Makes it super easy to line up a shot quickly.

I grew up with Daisy BB guns shooting minnows in our backyard canal, and 60 years later I bought my second one for different reasons. I now have a farm with lots of livestock, including two new Great Pyrenees dogs that I am about to let loose from their fenced area. However, I know that they will be going after our chickens right away. This BB gun will hopefully work fine to discourage them from attacking the chickens without hurting them more than just a little sting. My neighbor uses one and encouraged me to get one. It was easy to open the package and load BBs. It says it holds 650 BBs, and it’s probably right. I stopped loading after about 100 or so. The loading process is simple enough, but I need to find a better way. Pouring the BBs from the bottle spout doesn’t work well. The BBs get clogged at the small opening. It seemed to work better by pouring BBs into my hand and cupping it just right over the loading spot.

Cocking it is simple and sweet. I held the rifle upwards and cocked it, and it loaded and fired every time. You can cock it with or without the safety on, and it both loads and fires perfectly either way. I fired my first shot at a plastic bucket about 25 feet away, and it hit it and bounced off. I fired many more and hit the target. I tried firing about 50 feet, and the ballistic curve is somewhat significant. I’m not an expert, but I would guess that at 50 feet the BB dipped at least an inch. At 350 fps, I’m guessing that’s about right. Somewhere between .5 inch and 1.5 inch at 50 feet. I plinked at plastic buckets, plywood sheets, metal poles, and a doghouse metal roof. The BBs all bounced off. I got a good indication of the actual force of the BB when I hit the metal pole. Just like astronomers use the intensity of light to measure star distances, the intensity of the ping sound of the BB on the pole about 10 feet away was an indication of the energy of the BB. It was quite a ping. I would not want to be hit by one of these from 10 feet away.

This gun, at this price, is definitely worth the money. I recommend it to anyone looking to own a good BB gun that will perform.

One pump and it really has good power. It is also accurate when using from 20 yards away. I have hung plastic flower pots using fishing wire from tree branches as targets. It’s a nice adult toy. I would like to add it can shoot your eye out.

I was surprised by how sturdy this gun is. Well-finished steel and hardwood, solid cocking action. Powerful. At ranges I engage varmint targets, it’s nearly a flat trajectory. Accurate. You know how a squirrel will poke his head around a tree? That’s all you need. Make sure to cock it as directed by the instructions (barrel pointed up) to ensure feeding a BB into firing position. It is definitely a gun for an adult or older teen as it is comparatively heavy with an adult-length stock and a fairly heavy trigger pull.