Air Rifle near Boston

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Just starting to teach my 9 y/o about gun safety with a BB Gun (Red Rider!). Is there a club near Boston that permits air rifles somewhere? Ideally not on the pistol or rifle ranges.

Many thanks!
 
Tewksbury allows air rifles at the indoor and outdoor ranges. The indoor range has 8 bays and is empty the vast majority of the time. 98% of the time my wife and I go, we're the only ones there. I shoot a couple PCPs there at the 50ft indoor. Airguns are sadly banned in Tewksbury (ugh)
 
Tewksbury allows air rifles at the indoor and outdoor ranges. The indoor range has 8 bays and is empty the vast majority of the time. 98% of the time my wife and I go, we're the only ones there. I shoot a couple PCPs there at the 50ft indoor. Airguns are sadly banned in Tewksbury (ugh)
Probably can't shoot BBs though since they tend to ricochet. Usually only pellet guns indoors.
 
As mentioned, BB's ricochet, besides that, the flight path is anything but straight. Pellets are a better option as they tend to flatten and drop to the ground plus the flight path is straight with a rifled barrel. You can build an easy enough back stop for in the house or garage use. There are a ton of options at pyramid air.

I don't know if it matters or if you belong to a range but I started all my sons off with .22's at about 4 or 5 with a cricket (Keystone) bull barrel rifle. It's a very safe rifle as it won't fire until you pull the bolts cocking mechanism back. He can load it, get settled in, let you know he is ready and you then pull it back. You can start him out with sub sonics then move up to standard velocities. The new models have feed ramps so it's even easier for him. You should be able to find them for about $120.00 or so. There are other options for a bit more but as I said, it's a very safe rifle.
 
I'll give you my honest opinion as an instructor.
Teach him someplace quiet and private first.
Once your confident he has all the basics and safety stuff down pat , then move on to a more public venue.
Trying to teach a kid when you have to shout over hearing protection and then have someone a few stalls down cut loose with a hand cannon is not going to be productive.
 
Just starting to teach my 9 y/o about gun safety with a BB Gun (Red Rider!). Is there a club near Boston that permits air rifles somewhere? Ideally not on the pistol or rifle ranges.

Many thanks!

There is an air rifle place in Hudson, MA. New England Air. You can rent the lane. Has cameras so you can see your shots. You can rent and purchase air rifles there as well as being able to bring your own. Also plenty of great food options in the area to make a day of it.

New England AirGun - Home
 
Basement or garage with a hanging runner rug as a backstop works great. Backup with cardboard boxes if in doubt.
 
The daisy Red Ryder comes with a nice set of instructions on shooting and target set up. You should not be shooting the red ryder much more than 15' anyway.
Growing up we shot in the hallway at a large cardboard box with random papers stuffed in it backed by a old wool army blanket.
BBs do bounce off solid objects so do pellets.
 
Just starting to teach my 9 y/o about gun safety with a BB Gun (Red Rider!). Is there a club near Boston that permits air rifles somewhere? Ideally not on the pistol or rifle ranges.

Many thanks!
We set one up in the basement. Before little Jill got her first .22 rifle at age 6, she spent two years with a Daisy 880. We used 3/4" OSB covered with old carpet (stapled into place) and pinned the targets to the carpet with thumb tacks. Although the 880 can fire BBs as well as .177 pellets, we used pellets only to prevent overpenetration and ricochets. Lexi has the 880 now and we use the same setup. Works well and very safe!
 
The daisy Red Ryder comes with a nice set of instructions on shooting and target set up. You should not be shooting the red ryder much more than 15' anyway.
Growing up we shot in the hallway at a large cardboard box with random papers stuffed in it backed by a old wool army blanket.
BBs do bounce off solid objects so do pellets.
Same here with the wool army blanket. I set up the basement and hung the blanket folded over a drying rack so there were 4 layers of wool for the stop. Pellets would flatten out and land in the floor.

As has been said.....bbs are a no go they will go through the blanket and bounce everywhere. Ask me how I know.
 
Build a simple wooden target box with a couple of blocks of electrical duct sealant inside. Works for even the mid-to-higher power pellet guns.
This does work well but a tad impractical at this stage.
Although I can tell you lining the back of my pellet trap with those keeps others from complaining about the thwack, bang. From down stairs
 
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Lots of helpful suggestions but I live in an apartment in Boston and don't have a basement to set up a target in. I see that several local clubs do allow air rifles but as someone mentioned, a crowded range is not the best place to teach a young child.
 
Lots of helpful suggestions but I live in an apartment in Boston and don't have a basement to set up a target in. I see that several local clubs do allow air rifles but as someone mentioned, a crowded range is not the best place to teach a young child.
Any place in your apartment you can get a 15-18 foot spread. Inside one room through door way into another room?

maybe try to find a local Jr. League ?
 
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I'll give you my honest opinion as an instructor.
Teach him someplace quiet and private first.
Once your confident he has all the basics and safety stuff down pat , then move on to a more public venue.
Trying to teach a kid when you have to shout over hearing protection and then have someone a few stalls down cut loose with a hand cannon is not going to be productive.
BTW, it has gradually dawned on me that
the average club with enough acreage to support hunting
(or at least a 3D archery or sporting clays course)
probably doesn't actually have rules requiring that all gunfire in the woods
be for hunting (or clays) - not random target practice.

Now, you of course have to be very sure to have a reliable backstop (hillside?),
and have enough visibility to detect any wandering goobers trying to cross your lane of fire.

But especially with air/CO2, if you're off the beaten track,
no fudds are going to hear gunfire
and come running to "investigate", hurr-durr.

So if you belong to a club with enough room,
stop obsessing over indoor/outdoor range rules,
and take your kid target shooting in the woods.

(Biggest danger is the ticks -
spend more on permethrin than ammo).
 
If your looking for a decent entry level target air rifle for 10m
Cmp has reconditioned 853s for about $120.
 
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