by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
Daisy Red Ryder.
This report covers:
- Installs quickly and easily
- Base slants downward
- Scope or dot sight?
- Not a Red Ryder test
- The test
- Daisy Premium Grade BBs
- Hornady Black Diamond BBs
- Air Venturi steel BBs
- Observations
Okay, I am shifting gears on this report. The first 3 reports were about my vintage Red Ryder — a Daisy model 111-40. But it wouldn’t accept the Brice scope base that I wanted to test for you. So Bill Brice sent me a new Daisy Red Ryder to test his base for you.
Pyramyd Air will be stocking this mount, so if you like what you see, you should be able to order one soon.
Installs quickly and easily
The scope base goes on the gun very quickly. Remove the rear sight elevator and then lift the sight and slip the mount base underneath. Use the wood screw that’s on the gun to attach the rear of the base.
Base slants downward
The base slants downward, back to front, giving you a natural lift to the impact of the shot. That’s useful with a BB gun, because of the low velocity.
Scope or dot sight?
With this base you are free to choose any type of optical sight to install. No doubt many will chose a scope, but because I have some experience with scoped BB guns and know that the sight won’t make the gun any more accurate, I chose a high-end dot sight. Dot sights are used to 50 yards with success. I’m using one on the Dragon Claw that launches the Air Venturi Air Bolt, and the accuracy has already produced a Robin Hood (arrow striking the back of another arrow). That’s good enough for me!
Not a Red Ryder test
This is a test of the Brice scope base, not the new Red Ryder. I see a lot of differences in this new BB gun that I will report after the scope base has been tested, but for today and perhaps one more report I just want to concentrate on the scope base.
The rear sight elevator must be removed.
The elevator is gone so the front screw of the scope base can be inserted into the slot.
Base slants downward
The base slants downward, bach to front, giving you a natural lift to the impact of the shot. That’s useful with a BB gun, because of the low velocity.
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The Brice mount is installed and you can see the steep slope.
The dot sight is installed.
The test
I shot the BB gun at 5 meters, using the UTG Monopod rest to steady it. This is as steady as shooting from a rest of any kind.
Daisy Premium Grade BBs
First to be tested were 10 Daisy Premium Grade BBs. The first shot went over the backstop andf hit the backer board I put there to protect the wall. The downward slope of the scope base is extreme! I might have to modify it for a future test.
The first group landed very much higher than the aim point, despite my cranking the sight down by 40+ clicks. The BBs were also landing to the right of the aim point. Ten Daisy BBs went into 1.63-inches at 5 meters. In my experience, that’s about par for a Red Ryder. But it was still shooting too high so I cranked it down about 40 more clicks. It was now nearly bottomed out.
Ten Daisy BBs went into 1.63-inches at 5 meters. They appear to have hit to the left, but actually hit far to the right.
Hornady Black Diamond BBs
Next up were 10 Hornady Black Diamond BB. They made a 1.867-inch groiup at 5 meters. It was still high and now a bit too far to the left, as I had over-adjusted the dot sight. I cranked in a few more down clicks and ran out of adjustment. But I was able to bring the impact back to the right.
Ten Hornady Black Diamond BBs went into 1.867-inches at 5 meters. The gun is still shooting too high.
Air Venturi steel BBs
The last BB I tried was the Air Venturi steel BB. Ten of them went into a wide 2.541-inch group that was still over an inch above the aim point. Clearly the slope of the Brice mount needs to be reduced. And just as clearly, this is not the right BB for this gun.
Ten Air Venturi steel BBs went into 2.541-inches at 5 meters. The dot sight is adjusted as low as it will go and the gun still shoots too high.
Observations
The Brice mount is quick and easy to install and it works exactly as intended. If you want to mount a scope or dot sight on a Red Ryder, or on the Marlin BB gun Crosman used to sell, this is the mount to use.
The slope of the base is way too steep. I think I will cut the rear spacer in half to get the gun hitting at the aim point.
I think next time I test this base I will try mounting a scope, just to experience that. I’ll also try some different BBs, though lead BBs are out because the Red Ryder relies on a magnet in the feed mechanism.
When I finish testing the Brice mount I will do a velocity test and accuracy test with the open sights with this Red Ryder — just to complete the circle. I find that a optical sight is fun on a BB gun, although I do not recommend using one to teach people to shoot. Shooters should always learn to use open sights first, because they are the hardest to learn. When they understand how to shoot a gun, then they can graduate to optics.