Daisy (the Red Ryder)

This Firearm Friday comes with a sad message to Australian's. Please read and share, as this is another hit to our community.

We heard yesterday from the importer of Daisy (the Red Ryder)

that they no longer could import Daisy Red Ryders Air Guns into Australia. Apparently, Border Force (Customs) and Australian Federal Police had complained that the Daisy Red Ryder's did not have the serial number stamped on the receiver, it was (deeply) engraved but not stamped. Of course as the Daisy Red Ryder, which is in any sane persons opinion a Childs Toy, is made from Pressed Metal if it had to be stamped, (after assembly) the press would crush the Red Ryder.

The importer (Winchester Australia) has of course pointed this out to Border Force and ADF Australian Federal Police and asked for some sanity. However they have refused and Winchester then informed Owen Guns that there would be no more. We, at Owen Guns have been selling them for 50 years, the Daisy Company has been selling them for nearly 100 years, Australian Border Force and the AFP are an embarrassment to the people of Australia in many ways but for this one, they should hang their heads in shame. They have obviously never had the joy of watching "The Christmas Story" or their children opening the Red Ryder box on Christmas morning.

Now just a bit about the Rifle...

Arguably the most popular BB gun in the world, this 35.4-inch-long little rifle weighs just 2.2 pounds and holds 650 of the .177 caliber BBs.

Recommended for kids 10 years of age or older, a Red Ryder is capable of generating approximately 350 feet-per-second muzzle-velocity and has a range of around 195 yards.

Introduced in 1940, this air rifle represented the ultimate of a Western-style airgun at that time. Daisy air rifles date back to 1888, when the company produced its first crude model.

By the late 1930s, Daisy had been offering a “Buck Jones” model for some years, but, when the famous cowboy star tragically died in a flaming building, the firm brought out an improved version of that smoothbore, using the then-new comic strip cowboy “Red Ryder.”

The brainchild of cartoonist Fred Harmon, this red-headed cowpoke was a rough ridin’, straight-shootin’ buckaroo who became the cowboy hero of many of America’s youngsters.

The airgun featured blued metal parts, copper-plated barrel bands and a saddle-ring with a “gen-u-wine” leather thong—just the right touch for Red’s little saddle pals. It was the first air rifle to feature such appealing details to the youngsters of the day.

Initially selling for $2.95, this dandy gun was a rousing success. When the U.S. entered World War II in December of 1941, the Daisy Manufacturing Company turned its efforts toward producing defense materials and ceased production of the Red Ryder until 1946.

The post-war version remained mostly unchanged from its pre-war version, except it had blued barrel bands rather than the earlier copper models