# Shootin peas



## John McKean (Dec 24, 2010)

The other morning ,with my grandson, conditions forced us indoors for slingin' practice. My garage is small & cluttered with weightlifting equipment, but Draes thought the many medals would be nifty targets ;not wishing even small BBs to ricochet around the concrete walls, I bought some dried navy beans & peas at the grocery store-perfect "pings" on the medals and very safe! Then it occurred that kids of Dra's generation have never experienced the joy of the "peashooter" ,our OTHER target shooting device of the 50s and 60s! An online search produced the the only maker of this apparently "forbidden" device (we had NO injuries in my youth,despite epic battles!!) ; a disabled veteran & proclaimed babyboomer named Ron, who has updated & strengthened the design, and is even trying to establish target competitions! His shooters are at - http://www.railriders.net/cometpeashooters.html . Maybe will try to get him to come to next year's ECST for a bit of "comic relief" in a makeshift target shoot, and to help all us oldtimers into yet another way of reliving our youth!!


----------



## NaturalFork (Jan 21, 2010)

Sounds like a great time! Light bands and chick peas are very fun to shoot!


----------



## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Thanks for this! Yep, I was really into pea shooters as a kid ... most of the boys were. One day I cut a buch of pea shooters to just the length of my fist so they could be easily concealed. I passed them out to my pals at school, along with some peas. During class, every time the teacher turned her back, we would blast each other. Eventually the teacher caught one of my pals, and he ratted me out! Yet one more occasion on which I was kicked out of class, sent to the principal, who had yet another long conference with my parents about my wayward and disruptive ways.

A pea shooter competition is a wonderful idea!

Cheers ....... Charles


----------



## SlingGal (Jun 18, 2011)

Love it! Peashooters were fun for me as a kid. I think I might just get a few of the BB shooters.....


----------



## John McKean (Dec 24, 2010)

Charles and Rusty, Yep, as kids I think EVERYONE had a peashooter all the time -at least in my neighborhood & school. I don't know that we used em for target shooting so much, as in shooting each other (politically incorrect these days, but never saw an injury among literally millions of shots fired!!). I fondly recall one year when a constructed new Jr high building was not quite complete in Sept and they housed an entire Jr high population for a month in the big auditorium of our high school ; every morning clouds & swarms of dried beans flew between groups,until the teachers finally got control (and may have had to invent complete shakedowns of us students-yes,necessary!!- decades before airport security controls were ever dreamed of!).I think that Ron, the Peashooter guy, is very interested in attending the ECST, and I'll bet many of us other "babyboomers" will quickly form our first nat'l P-shoot tourney (if we can keep from blasting each other -old habits will be hard to break!!). In the meantime, I was only allowed to buy a few peashooters for my grandson & I ,if I promised grandma that no pea,bean, or lentil will ever be found on her carpets (hope she doesn't check the garage or Dra and I are both dead!).


----------



## flippinout (Jul 16, 2010)

I have just ordered 4 of these. Too cool!!


----------



## SlingGal (Jun 18, 2011)

I ordered 4 too (the bb shooter)! Can't wait to shoot some airsoft bb's!


----------



## John McKean (Dec 24, 2010)

Rusty, The Peashooter guy, Ron, told me that the Airsoft model shooter was designed for more exactling precision, accuracy, and distance! I have both models coming,as I'd like to experiment with differant ammos -but always enjoyed the navy beans as a kid (which I guess I still am!). A funny story that Ron mentioned by Email was that he'd donated a bunch of peashooters to US Marines stationed in Afghanistan; when the guys weren't having peashooters battles among themselves, they relieved boredom by shooting the large spiders that were always about! Rarely did one shot dispatch a spider, but with a whole group firing at once, they bagged their "trophy"! Don't know exactly what ammo they used.


----------



## SlingGal (Jun 18, 2011)

I'm a Blowgun enthusiast as well, and I'm looking forward to these shooters....I know some kids in our blowgun group that will love these little bb shooters!


----------



## NaturalFork (Jan 21, 2010)

I am going to pick up a few of these as well for my kids christmas presents.


----------



## NaturalFork (Jan 21, 2010)

The more I look into these the cooler I find them. There are full on competition peashooting events. That rules!


----------



## orcrender (Sep 11, 2010)

They seem to translate pretty well for blow gun lovers. Think I could shoot these more often than my blow guns.


----------



## SlingGal (Jun 18, 2011)

orcrender said:


> They seem to translate pretty well for blow gun lovers. Think I could shoot these more often than my blow guns.


...and they'd be easier to carry around! I have to cart my 4 foot blowguns in a rifle case. These little peashooters can fit right in my day pack. I'm excited....


----------



## lightgeoduck (Apr 3, 2011)

Well it looks like Me and my daughter are joining in on the fun as well...







waiting for an order too









LGD


----------



## Ry-shot (Jul 22, 2011)

i did this with straws at school , some kid ratted me out , im not surprised with the welt on his neck







it was a shot and a half i was about 40 ft away hahahhahahhahahhahhahahahahahhahahhahhahaah


----------



## Ry-shot (Jul 22, 2011)

well i was never a snitch , i dont understand why you would want to be one , no friends , unpopular , no reputation , its pointless


----------



## SlingGal (Jun 18, 2011)

Got my shooters yesterday! Fun fun fun fun!


----------



## John McKean (Dec 24, 2010)

Yeah, Rusty, got mine,too. Love the precise shooting of the red "airsoft" model, but the ole Peashooter with navy beans is a blast (literally!) too! Lots of good indoor plinking ahead with the weather turning cold!


----------



## pgandy (Aug 15, 2011)

All of us had a pea shooter when growing up and I am a pre baby boomer. I remember well the pea shooter and the dried navy beans from the market. After Christmas I may just order a couple and be a kid again. I say after Christmas as I don’t care to wait in line for 2-3 hours at the receiving station. Thanks for the post.


----------

