This blog entry was written by Jacob, age 14. *with inspiration and typing skills by MOM*
This past Saturday my parents decided that Ethan and I could each get a BB gun, as payment for babysitting. Our whole family went to the sporting goods store. While Mom (with the little ones) ran around looking at all the clearance deals, Dad, Ethan, and I went to the guns. I knew just I wanted; a M16 assault rifle, not a real one of course, but the BB gun version. Ethan picked out a Pumpmaster 760, brown and black with a sight. Dad really wanted a gun, too, so when Mom joined us, she smiled and said “Go ahead, honey, it will be for your birthday.” Dad said ever since he was a boy, he’s wanted a pistol, so that’s what he picked out.
(Mom got Grace a pink Columbia winter coat for only 19 dollars. It was 75 percent off the clearance price.)
We couldn’t wait to go home to try out our guns.
My gun was not satisfactory. When I shot at the target, the bullet shot out and then curved up. The velocity wasn’t what I wanted, either. So the next day we returned my gun and I got one similar to Ethan’s only black.
After adjusting his sight, Ethan’s gun shot really good. He hit the target more than any of us.
We shot at plain old soda cans that we stuck into a tree.
Dad taught us that when we shoot, we have to make sure that our siblings are behind us or next to us. Or, better yet, in the house. We have to be careful to never shoot in the direction of the house, or at rocks. We also wear safety glasses.
Along with the cans, we now also have a board set up with a paper target nailed to it, to practice our aim. We shoot our guns every day and it’s tremendous fun.
Good to be Home 
Boys and their toys!!
Cool. Do you live somewhere that doesn’t allow real guns?
My girls love shooting bb gun with their dad…they have even set up an old Barbie for target pratice once – now the barbie has a whole different persona – she is the grandma to one of the other Barbies and is a Korean war vet with gun shot wounds. I love the creativity of the Barbie becoming something other than a princess. Hope the boys have fun and sounds like they are playing safe…Good Job Jake – you are an excellent writer!
I love BB guns. I had one growing up…be careful if you let Grace try (I was always a better shot then the boys! with guns and bow & arrows) : ) I know you guys will have lots and LOTS of fun with those.
My boys are sitting here with me this morning, so I read the post aloud.Guns….something they are very interested in. ;)So here are a couple of comments from my boys.With the M16, the 12 gram bbs will hop up. (That is the technical name for the bb curving up.)A 25 gram bb will stay straight. Have fun with your new guns. We love using ours. We shoot with our uncles all the time. Our dad has a pistol, and we shoot with him too. – TylerI have the same gun that you used to have! The M16. I like it, but it works better with 25 gram bbs. That’s what I’ve been using. Good job shooting the cans. – Alex
@Elizabethmarie_1 – Interesting! Thanks for the tips and comments, Tyler and Alex!
I have never been a fan of guns, but growing up with two brothers, b-b guns were a fact of life. Then, when my son got one, I had to conquer my fear again. And NOW, with a six-year-old grandson thinking a b-b gun is the greatest idea ever, I’m back to having gun dread. It is an irrational fear, and so I must deal with it. Your mom is very brave, with two sons and her husband all shooting at once. Be safe–be VERY safe!!
Jacob, you are a splendid writer. I used to teach English, and I think you’re writing very well at your age. I’m so glad you got to enjoy the bb guns. My dad used to let my brother and me shoot his bb guns. We would shoot them at metal barn roofs (only if the cows were at pasture) because we could hear the “ding” of the bb on the roof. My mom once shot a mockingbird she was trying to scare off; my brother and I thought that was hilarious–our mom with a gun! Happy shooting!
what a great post! love that you gave the reigns to your son for a ‘guest posting’…he’s a great writer, and it was so fun to see the narrative with the pictures!
That is awesome! What fun 🙂 In my younger, more tomboy-ish days I had a lot of fun with BB guns with my brother. Thanks for the post, Jacob!
ohhh will we have more ‘guest posts’ from the kids? i think that’s a great idea.Thank you Jacob for sharing your experience both buying the gun and using it. i enjoy that you, Ethan and your dad got to have this fun time together.
what fun! our boys love shooting their guns. I’m sure they would have great fun together. Good for you guys wearing eye protection. 🙂 Great writing and description of events!
Sounds like you are being trained in safety….wise parents you have. Good article!!
How fun! Love how responsible he is. : )
What fun! Nice post Jacob!
Good writer!
My boys bought some airsoft guns last week. Every spare moment is spent at war with one another!
Way to go! My boys loved their BB guns when they were younger. I always thought Mark started them out to soon but deep down was pleased when seeing how father and sons were boys together. To this day Mark has a wonderful relationship with his grown boys.
So cool to hear about the new BB guns from Jacob’s perspective. 🙂 And that is a grrreat deal on Grace’s new coat.
Yes boys love to shoot! Glad to see they have all the safety laws in place! Have fun and safe shooting!
Another added attraction to having a nice large piece of property!!!! Congrats, boys!
Great blog Jacob! I am glad that you and your brother were able to get BB guns. My guys have enjoyed shooting too. David’s troop used to have a rifle shooting camp out in the desert. Good job being safe and having fun!
You write well. Enjoy the time with your brother and dad.
Jacob-Do you remember me? I remember you. Gian and Leandro both got air guns (kinda like bb guns) for Christmas last year. Their dad insisted they were old enough for them, but the guns made me Very Nervous for a long time. Do your guns make your mother nervous, too? The boys’ guns look like handguns and shoot bright orange pellets. They shoot “quite satisfactory” and Gian is a good marksman, people say. I’m not much of a judge of these things. Leandro jammed his brother’s gun full of bullets and broke it once, so Gian has already taught himself gun repair, another useful skill. We live in the suburbs, so the boys shoot in the garage at a target, or in the backyard facing a brick side of the house. They would love to shoot in the woods, like you. Have fun!
Love this post! Jacob, you should blog more often, I really enjoyed reading this. My son, Jacob, (age 5) recently received an air-soft pellet handgun from his dad. He also shoots at pop cans. Sounds like your mom got a great deal on the coat for Grace!Have fun with your bb guns!
Nickolas LOVEd this post:) He’s probably a teeny bit jealous:):)
hi jacob…….what fun for you all! i’m glad your dad gave you safety tips – very important. my boys are looking forward to when they’re old enough for BB guns. for now, it’s still bows & arrows for them. happy practice shooting! (and i’m glad you’re not lazy like me on the computer, using all small letters. i would not get a good grade for punctuation!)
@connie – Hi Connie, I actually typed this for him. I need to find a good typing class for my kids so they can learn. It would have taken him all day to type this. LOL
Hi Jacob and Ethan, It’s Matt Browning. I went to school with you guys. I was in Ethan’s class in kindergarten. I just turned 13 in February. I see you guys got some cool guns. Me and my brother have some, too. It would be fun if we could get together. E-mail me sometime.
Congratulations! Learning to shoot is a good skill. We taught our daughter when she was your age. One of our best friends, won a Bronze Medal in the Summer Olympics for shooting and he was Bri’s instructor. He taught her gun safely and how to shoot rifles and pistols. He favorite is the 9 mm pistol