Some of you may recall my infatuation with the Benjamin Marauder PCP air rifle, as related a month or so ago.  I’m hardly alone in this new fascination, as the “adult” air rifles are rapidly becoming more popular. 

And for good reason…  These pellet rifles are capable of firing pellets at muzzle velocities in excess of a .22 short… or at about the same speed as a high velocity magnum shotgun pellet.  Even with a relatively tiny .177″ pellet, that’s significant energy to cleanly kill small game… or in unusual but realistic cases, to kill larger animals too. 

Like humans.

While exploring over at the Moose Droppings blog, I saw that in the space of a week there have been two fatal shooting incidents in North Carolina involving air rifles and young children.  In one case, the child was shot as his grandfather inspected the safety of the rifle.  Unfortunately, the muzzle was apparently pointed at the boy’s face at the time, and the gun went off, sending the pellet through his eye and into his brain.  It’s a terrible, terrible tragedy that should never have happened.

In the second case, a seven year-old child received a pellet rifle for Christmas.  Apparently, he was allowed to shoot without supervision, and last week his four year-old brother cried for a turn.  The circumstances get sketchy here, but the bottom line is that the seven year-old was shot once through the chest. 

In situations like these, it’s really easy for everyone on the outside to jump up and down about the gun safety rules that were violated.  Blame the parents.  Blame the kids.  Blame everybody.  But trust me, nothing anyone here is going to say can punish the parents and relatives of these kids more than what’s already happened.  So please, keep it to yourself.  I doubt there’s a reader on this site who can’t see perfectly well what went wrong, and how it could have been prevented. 

My reason for sharing this story is maybe not much more noble than anyone else dogpiling on the story… but I believe it’s an important cautionary tale.  No gun is a toy, but these “Adult” air guns can be deceptive… especially to people who may not be as steeped in gun handling and safety as most hunters.  If you’re buying a new air gun, give it the same respect and handling you give any other firearm, and teach the same to your children.   And if you wouldn’t have your child alone with a shotgun or rimfire, then don’t leave them alone with a high-powered air gun either.

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