By Bill Riales Anchor
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Published: Tue, December 11, 2007 - 5:59 pm
Bill Riales
Donnie Warren found out first hand the danger posed by air rifles. A year ago a bb shot from an air rifle found its mark, his daughter Amber. When he got the call, Warren said, "When she said a bb gun there was some relief that come through me..cause it was, you know, a bb gun." Warren says his daughter was hit by a bb in the temple and it traveled around her brain causing fatal damage.
It's the perception of these guns as toys some parents might have that he wants to change. We wanted to find out just how destructive an air rifle can be so we took a few of them to the shooting range at Steve's Gun Shop in West Mobile. Shooting instructor Larry Odom demonstrated the guns using an orange and a tin can. He also explained why muzzle velocity is important to know. Odom says, " You've got air rifles that are producing muzzle velocities, and I'm talking about the speed of the projectile coming out of the end of the barrel, is traveling as fast or faster than a lot of the handgun ammunition and faster in some instances that the rifle ammunition."
Odom says he would like to see more comparative information on muzzle velocities on the packaging of air rifles. For example, the Crosman 760 Pumpmaster, the same type of rifle used in Amber Warren's death, is rated at 750 feet per second. That is if you pump it the recommended five times. Warren says the boy who owned the rifle and fired it at Amber said he pumped it ten times.
Our test showed that a five pumps a pellet easily penetrated and exited the flesh of an orange. At ten pumps it did the same but the exit wound was much larger. The pellet projectile was just as destructive to a tin can, creating a jagged exit. Crosman by the way does provide a warning on the gun itself, that it can cause fatal injury.
Donnie Warren told us, "When the neurologist sat down and talked to us and explained to us that basically what happened to her--the best way to describe it was she had her brains blown out but they didn't exit her skull."
We chose the Pumpmaster to demonstrate because it is a mainstream air rifle, moderately priced and could be found in many homes; and because it is possible to increase its rated muzzle velocity with a few more pumps of air. Odom estimates the muzzle velocity of this air gun could approach that of a standard .22 caliber round. In fact there are other air guns on the market rated faster than a .22 according to Odom.
"A box of standard 22 ammunition--the standard speed is around 1250 feet per second. Last night I looked on the internet, I had no trouble whatsoever of finding an air rifle that produced 1750 feet per second."
Donnie Warren says State Representative Spencer Collier has promised to introduce legislation in the upcoming session to regulate these types of guns. We do not yet know the nature of that legislation but you welcome to join the debate by posting your comments. We'll report on what you have to say about it later on News 5 and here on WKRG.com.
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Sorry for your loss. Sure hope the shooter gets some serious probation or sentencing. Never thought I would say this, but maybe the parents of the boy should be investigated for negligence as well. What was shooters age? Did he purposefully shoot at your niece? Was it a complete accident?
So many parents just throw gifts at their whining brat kids instead of explaining and showing them how to handle guns. #1 taught to me by my great dad is to never point it at another person. #2 is to always know your target and what lies behind it. Either one of these would have saved her life.
I have a friend who I don’t visit because I fear that I might get shot accidentally by his kids. His oldest even has a shotgun-scary!
God bless your family.