Posted on 09/10/2009 8:28:29 AM PDT by KeyLargo
Sep 9, 2009 10:40 pm US/Central
Air Rifles And BB Guns: Toys Or Weapons? SEND A TIP TO THE 2 INVESTIGATORS Reporting Dave Savini CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Just a few hours ago a Naperville high school student was arrested for shooting a BB gun at students from Chrone middle school. Fortunately no one was hurt. Not the same can be said for one Glen Ellyn woman who had a BB pellet pulled out of her heart. That's why there is a growing call to have BB guns and air rifles regulated like handguns. CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini takes a look at whether these are toys or weapons.
They are powerful and can cause fatal injuries.
A pellet was removed from Heather Van Horne's heart.
"I was hooked up to life support," Van Horne said. "This my scar."
She was just a teenager when she was shot by an air rifle at a New Year's Eve party in St. Charles. Van Horne is proof that a pellet gun or BB gun is dangerous.
"It almost killed me," she said.
Van Horne wants pellet guns and BB guns treated the same as other lethal weapons.
"These are deadly weapons. I don't care how you want to look at it. These guns kill," said Dr. Michael Tuchek.
Dr. Tuchek is the surgeon who saved Van Horne's life at Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.
Dr. Tuchek grew up on a farm using guns, and isn't opposed to people owning air rifles or BB guns. He just wants them regulated the same as other lethal weapons, with background checks and firearm cards.
This CO2-powered hand gun fires pellets nearly 400 feet per second. This rifle with a scope: 1,200 feet per second.
"They can kill somebody just like a 38-caliber or Saturday night special," Dr Tuchek said.
Dr. Tuchek says anything that shoots a projectile can cause serious injury, like an 8-year-old who suffered damage when he was struck by a paintball.
The Valentino brothers have been struck by pellets fired from the increasingly popular Airsoft guns. Vince Valentino, 10, and his 9-year-old brother Jim have sustained welts playing in their Lemont neighborhood.
They say the battles happen in the woods, and they've seen kids get hit in the face. Vince says he was shot in the face with an automatic.
"First time I got shot with that, I was crying for like 10 minutes," Jim said.
We found even Airsoft guns can fire pellets 300 to 700 feet per second.
"It's made 'em bleed," said Vito Valentino, Jim and Vince's father.
When he found out about it, their father says he put an end to their involvement in the neighborhood battles, especially after he learned kids had found a way to increase the velocity of their Airsoft guns.
"They have the CO2 cartridges for the Airsoft guns which makes them five times more powerful than a gun like this," Vito said.
So for now the Valentino boys are only allowed to shoot at paper targets.
So what would Vito's warning be to any other parent out there whose kids want these guns?
"If they don't have them, don't get them for them," Vito said.
And when it comes to the availability of the more powerful BB guns, Heather Van Horne says more regulation can't come too soon.
"I also wonder what it's going to take for people to want to take it more seriously," Van Horne said. "I am not the only one and I won't be the last person."
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission as many as 20,000 injuries have been recorded in a year. And there are typically four deaths a year from high-powered air guns.
We have received numerous tips about kids hurt by the Airsoft guns as well but we could find no central database about the number injuries associated with them.
I grew up with guns, BB guns, and pellet rifles. Fortunately Daddy was a bit of a fanatic on gun safety and responsibility.
I really do have mixed feelings about pellet guns. First of all, I absolutely do not believe in any government controls on them or firearms for that matter. I really enjoy shooting them and have over a dozen different pellet guns.
Still pellet rifles and BB guns in the wrong hands cause tremendous damage. Hold kids and parents strictly responsible for misuse but never assume they are going to be misused.
Not to worry. They will fix that for him at Parris Island.
Semper Fi!
A kid could choke on a nerf gun projectile. Better outlaw those too(!) :O
No such thing as a *BB pellet*. It’s either a BB or a Pellet.
Already banned in at least Massatwoshits and New Yawk.
I’m shooting lead pellets. Not plastic.
Ahead of the Bell: Smith & Wesson shares rise
Associated Press, 09.10.09, 09:17 AM EDT
NEW YORK —
Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. shares rose sharply Thursday as the pistol maker’s quarterly earnings beat analysts’ estimates that were based on expectations that an “Obama-led frenzy” of demand for firearms would start dissolving.
In premarket trading, Smith & Wesson shares added 69 cents, or 12 percent, to $6.30.
Late Wednesday, the company said its fiscal first-profit climbed to 21 cents per share from 5 cents per share a year ago while revenue rose 30 percent to $102.2 million.
Analysts expected a smaller profit of 10 cents per share and $94.1 million in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.
Springfield, Mass.-based Smith & Wesson also predicted greater-than-expected revenue for the fiscal second quarter.
Wall Street analysts had expected that the spike in firearms purchases that followed the election of President Obama would decline by the summer. That spike in demand stemmed from concerns that the new Democratic administration and Democratically controlled House and Senate would move to restrict gun ownership.
“One of the largest concerns has been that consumer firearms demand might slow dramatically from Obama-led frenzy levels,” said Merriman Curhan Ford analyst Eric Wold. “However, not only did consumer sales increase 29 percent, but law enforcement and international sales jumped 32 percent and 12 percent, respectively.”
Wold reiterated his “Buy” rating on the shares and raised his fiscal 2010 earnings per share estimate to 55 cents from 41 cents and his fiscal 2011 earnings per share estimate to 58 cents to 51 cents.
The analyst increased his fiscal 2010 revenue estimate to $440.5 million from $412.5 million and his fiscal 2011 revenue estimate to $505.5 million from $491.5 million.
Forbes.com
They are toys until used as a weapon. Same thing with a bow and arrow set with suction cup arrows. If you choose to take the suction cup off and shoot someone with it then you have turned your toy into a weapon.
Back in the early-80’s my brother and I used to take our metal transformers and other die-cast toys and chuck them at each others heads. Same principle.
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