Rogers, AR: Home Of The Red Ryder BB Gun

Our family enjoys watching "A Christmas Story" every year at, well, Christmas, silly.

Especially our second oldest son Scott, who has a special bond with this movie. He knows all the lines to every scene, and its fun watching the movie just to see his excitement. And it is a funny movie.

We think the movie is set in the late 40's/early 50's, but are not sure.

One theme in the movie is the young boy's desire for a special "Red Ryder BB Gun" for Christmas.

Wouldn't you know that Rogers, Arkansas is the home of the Daisy BB Gun Museum?

The museum has an incredible display of all the BB guns made from the late 1800's into the present day, including many R&D mock-ups, including some that never went into production. Lever action BB guns. Pump action BB guns. Air powered BB guns. Single shot BB guns. Semi-automatic BB guns. BB Shotguns. Competitive Shooting Match BB guns. Air powered BB guns used by the US ARMY in WW II to teach aerial shooting skills. The variety of BB guns made by Daisy over the years is incredible.

I even found the BB gun I had as a young boy. It was a pretty unusual CO2-cartridge powered semi automatic BB rifle with a pistol grip and simulated wood plastic stock which gave it a very futuristic and distinctive look. Only made for a couple of years, there it was hanging in a place of honor with all of the other models made by Daisy.

In addition to the types of BB guns, the descriptions of how they are constructed is amazing. Daisy was recognized for having produced 50 Million BB guns by 1960.

How many since then? Who knows...

Especially entertaining, given our interest in the movie, was the display of Red Ryder BB Guns, including the special edition made just for the movie.

Too much fun for only $2/person. Only $2 that is, if you can avoid buying a new BB gun at the end of the tour where they conveniently have the current models made by Daisy (right here in Rogers, AR) available for sale. Standard single shot BB guns all the way up to BB guns with laser sighting devices or optical scopes.

We observed one family buying a new BB gun for their son, who looked to be about 10 years old. The boy looked pleased but his enthusiasm was no where near the fever pitch of excitement his dad exhibited. His dad ran from one model to the next, trying them out for size (his size, not his son's). Then he began scooping up BB's from a huge barrel, showing his son how many BB's he could pack into a small tin container. He must have spent well over $100 buying a gun, BB's, targets, sights, and books.

I'm pretty sure it will be a long time before that boy gets to play with 'his' BB gun. His dad will be having too much fun making sure 'everything works correctly' before letting his son have a chance to shoot the gun. Too funny.

And yes, I did manage to avoid buying myself a BB gun despite the solid 'tug' of memories from my childhood.

See Ya!