Gunner Quinn
When it comes to air rifles, one of the most recognizable names is Daisy, and of Daisy’s models, the one most people know is the Red Ryder. However, before the Red Ryder, there was the Buck Jones, and contrary to popular belief, it was the features of the Buck Jones BB gun that were highlighted in the famous movie, “A Christmas Story.” Watch our “American Rifleman Television” I Have This Old Gun segment above to hear the story of Buck Jones and his .177-cal. air carbine.
“Probably one of the most widely recognizable airguns in the United States is the Daisy Red Ryder BB gun,” American Rifleman Field Editor Garry James said. “Not because it’s a great gun, which it is, by the way, but because there was a movie that came out called “A Christmas Story.” And in there, the hero, Ralphie, gets what his dream is to get, a Red Ryder BB gun.”
The movie, “A Christmas Story,” is based on a short story written by Jean Shepherd called “Duel in the Snow” or “Red Ryder Nails: The Cleveland Street Kid,” and it was subsequently adapted into the famous Christmas movie that is still widely watched today.
“The problem with the whole thing was, both in the story and in the movie, is that the gun that they’re showing in the movie has a sundial on it and a compass on the butt,” James said. “Well, the Red Ryder BB gun did not have that. The gun that actually did have it was the Buck Jones.”
The birth of the Daisy Air Rifle Company starts with the story of the Plymouth Ironworks of Michigan, which produced windmills that were sold widely through Sears catalogs in the early part of the 20th century. As an added enticement to spur buyers, Plymouth Ironworks also offered a free air rifle with the purchase of each windmill.
“Their windmill salesmen were leading the field because they were offering a BB gun with the purchase of a windmill,” NRA National Firearms Museum Director Phil Schreier said. “I don’t understand this connection at all, but evidently, it was a great one that has been very profitable for the descendants of the Plymouth Iron Manufacturing Company of Michigan, because when their president was taking a survey and test-firing these various premiums in the form of BB guns, he said, ‘Whoa, that one’s a real daisy.’ And thus the Daisy Air Rifle Company was born.”
Daisy produced a number of air rifles and air pistols, but some of its most famous models were named after popular movie stars of the era. The first named gun was the Buzz Barton, an early Wild West star. Soon after, Daisy produced a pump-action design called the Buck Jones.
“Buck Jones was much more esteemed. He basically started out as a stuntman, but prior to that, gosh, when he was 16, he joined the Army and went and fought in the Philippines and whatnot, and he led a pretty much, you know, a pretty adventurous life,” James said. “But again, he started as a stuntman in movies and then eventually worked his way up to being a star in B features, both silent and sound. And so Daisy figured, ‘Well, gosh, this would be a great person to name the gun after.'”
The .177-cal. air rifle made its debut in 1934 and was produced until 1942, when Jones was killed in the Coconut Grove fire in Boston, Mass. Daisy discontinued its Buck Jones line and rolled out the Red Ryder lever-action BB gun, so-named after a popular Western-themed comic strip that debuted in 1938.
To watch complete segments of past episodes of American Rifleman TV, go to americanrifleman.org/artv. For all-new episodes of ARTV, tune in Wednesday nights to Outdoor Channel 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. EST.
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