The Dangers of BB Guns
They Are Not Toys
The young boy, who had been shot, did survive, but he has brain damage for the rest of his life. The boy who shot him, still lives with the guilt of hurting his friend. It was an accident, the older child picked the gun up thinking it was empty. He aimed and pulled the trigger, and changed many lives that day. Those boys believed what I believed as a kid, a BB gun is just a kid's toy and it can't really do much harm. I remember my brother and his friends shooting each other in the arms and stomach with BB pellets as a joke. Fortunately for them, the BB guns they used were not some of the high powered pump action BB rifles that could have done serious damage. The truth is, BB guns are not toys and should not be used by minors without adult supervision. A BB gun is dangerous and it can be deadly.
I was reminded of how harmful the pump action BB rifle can be, when I watched the CBS11 news the other night. They had a story on about a 5 year old Haltom City, Texas boy who was accidentally shot in the back of the head by his 13 year old cousin who was playing with a BB rifle. Almost the exact circumstances of the 911 call I went to over 5 years ago. This 5 year old boy spent days in the hospital in critical condition, until finally losing his fight. Now a young boy is dead and his 13 yr old cousin could potentially face charges from this incident.
If your child owns a BB gun, you need to make sure they understand basic safety with the gun. BB-guns.org has a list of safety tips for BB gun/rifle owners; this is a small part of the list;
BB Gun/Rifle Safety:
*You should never point your BB gun at anyone, even if you think it is unloaded.
*Always check first to make sure your BB gun is unloaded.
*Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
*Remember that BB's can ricochet off hard objects and strike something you were not aiming at.
*Do not shoot at a target with anyone standing behind it or near it.
Those seem simple enough. However, if you watched your child playing with a BB gun, without them knowing you were watching, you might be shocked to see all these safety rules completely disregarded. Remember, kids tend to believe they are invincible, that no harm will ever come to them. It is your job to try and make sure that no harm ever does come to them. I'm not anti BB gun or anti guns in general, but safety should always be a first priority, especially where children are concerned. If you choose to own a BB gun or buy one for your child, make sure they really understand the potential dangers involved. An adult should always supervise minors using BB guns/rifles. Better to be safe now, than sorry later.
Sources: Personal experience of the author
http://www.bb-guns.org/infobbgunsafety.html
http://cbs11tv.com/local/bb.gun.shooting.2.1074326.html
Published by Sherri Thornhill
I am a retired Police Officer and a professional freelance writer. I enjoy writing about a variety of topics. In addition to Yahoo Voices, I write for Examiner.com as the National Generation X Examiner, the... View profile
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30 Comments
Post a CommentMy son just got hit between the eyes when he was shooting a BB gun at a bird in a tree. He said the BB ricocheted off a branch and hit him. It was bloody and he came in to show us & get help. I put a cold rag on it and wiped the blood. It could of put his eye out. You need safety goggles!
Evan..send him the link to this article. If he still doesn't believe you, he can email me through AC adn I will tell him some more sotries from my days as a police officer, and the pain and damage a BB gun can cause when it is not used properly. If he keeps pointing any types of guns at you after you asked him to stop, he isn't much of a friend I'm afraid.
i have a friend how doe not beleve this and i tell him not to point at any one and he still point it at me and said its just a bb gun it cant kill or hurt you and say yes it can i would like to say to him are you a idiot its not a air soft gun its basicly a real gun also he has a paint ball gun and he points that at me i dont think he suld own one or touch my bb gun and any other gun please i dont know what to tell him or make him belive there danges
Great writing, teammate!
This is not a fear mongering article William..I like BB guns, but some people use no sense when they have them. Kids are especially subject to making dumb decisions with BB guns. These were steel pellets that caused the damage. If you have never held a kid shot in the head by a bb gun with the pellet still inside his head while he froths at the mouth and goes into convulsions, then who are you to say they can't inflict the damage I described?
Wow all this from a bb gun? What type of bb guns where these? Because unless they where the barrel cock marksmen rifles you can purchase for a few hundred dollars or maybe even the multipump rifles your talking sub 300 fps, which could not ever inflict the type of damage your describing. Of course if the victims has pre existing medical condition that's something you should mention as well. What type of ammunition was being loaded? BB's or pellets? Why not include some actual details or links to the stories instead of putting a fear mongering article out? On avg 4 people a year die from "bb guns" From what i could find the vast majority of these were the high powered marksmen air rifles using pellets.
You did an excellent job of describing what can happen. A boy in a nearby town was accidentally shot with a BB gun many years ago. The BB went up his nose. I don't know the details, but it killed him. Like you said, they're not toys. They can kill or cause serious permanent injuries. Thanks for sharing this very important info.
You can kill food with a BB qun. Children today just do not pay enough attention to safety. even a bull whip could really damage someone. I agree with teaching early responsibility if the parent is able and willing to teach safety. I do not believe it is capable for some to teach how important gun safety truely is.
I had a pellet lodged on my knee years ago. I had to have it removed surgically. Kids should not be playing with these. Excellent info here.
No reputable vendor of bb guns will sell them to minors. This means that when children get them, they've either been given them by an adult or the guns have been left out where the kids can get them, and the children have never been taught that they aren't toys and should not touch them when an adult is not around. My father had a rifle (real) in plain view behind the headboard of the bed when I was growing up. I was taught not to touch it. I never did.
The problem with BB guns is that there are as many adults as there are children who thinks that BBs can't hurt you, let alone kill you. People still think they're toys and don't give a second thought to the idea of shooting animals or people for fun.
Until adults understand the damage a BB can do, children will be allowed to treat BB guns like the virtual guns in their favorite video games.
BTW, I own a BB pistol for shooting paper targets. I would never let a child get the idea that it's a toy.