I was in Princess Auto a couple months back, and while at the check-out I noticed a guy buying a BB gun with which I was unfamiliar. The store didn't actually display any BB guns inside, just had a poster with a list of different models they sold with some basic specs and prices. I had naturally looked this over while shopping, but didn't see anything that piqued my interest. But this guy was buying a gun that wasn't even in the poster. I accosted him in the parking lot and asked him about it.
It was an Umarex lever action gun, similar in overall form to the iconic Daisy Red Ryder but not identical. He had seen an ad for the gun which listed it as On Sale, and had to ask about it to get the clerk to get him one. It was, IIRC, regularly $70 on sale for $50. Having had my last Red Ryder give up the ghost while my eldest granddaughter was shooting it awhile back, I obviously needed a replacement, so I headed back inside and picked one up.
The thing operates, loads and shoots just like a Red Ryder. It feels a wee bit bigger and more adult-sized, but I have no way to directly compare the two. Function is perfect, and accuracy is...okay...just like the Red Ryder. The stock is now plastic, and the rear sight is a crudely-adjustable aperture rather than the open sight of the older gun, a nice upgrade IMHO.
My two younger granddaughters both had a chance to try it out recently and both gave it an enthusiastic thumbs-up. But by the end of the day they had progressed to .22lr so the Umarex sits waiting for my just-born great-granddaughter to grow into it a bit.
It's marked as a Marlin, in traditional Marlin script, but also says made by Umarex under licence from Ruger. Quite the collaborative effort for a 50-buck gun. But it's well worth the money, a nice toy and a nice memento for those old enough to remember using the originals. It hits just as hard...or just as weakly...as the old ones. Unlike most new guns I have bought recently...I'm gonna keep it!
It was an Umarex lever action gun, similar in overall form to the iconic Daisy Red Ryder but not identical. He had seen an ad for the gun which listed it as On Sale, and had to ask about it to get the clerk to get him one. It was, IIRC, regularly $70 on sale for $50. Having had my last Red Ryder give up the ghost while my eldest granddaughter was shooting it awhile back, I obviously needed a replacement, so I headed back inside and picked one up.
The thing operates, loads and shoots just like a Red Ryder. It feels a wee bit bigger and more adult-sized, but I have no way to directly compare the two. Function is perfect, and accuracy is...okay...just like the Red Ryder. The stock is now plastic, and the rear sight is a crudely-adjustable aperture rather than the open sight of the older gun, a nice upgrade IMHO.
My two younger granddaughters both had a chance to try it out recently and both gave it an enthusiastic thumbs-up. But by the end of the day they had progressed to .22lr so the Umarex sits waiting for my just-born great-granddaughter to grow into it a bit.
It's marked as a Marlin, in traditional Marlin script, but also says made by Umarex under licence from Ruger. Quite the collaborative effort for a 50-buck gun. But it's well worth the money, a nice toy and a nice memento for those old enough to remember using the originals. It hits just as hard...or just as weakly...as the old ones. Unlike most new guns I have bought recently...I'm gonna keep it!
