Firearm expert reminds public to practice safety with BB guns

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Over the weekend a woman was charged with murder after police say she shot a man to death with a BB gun.

Recreational firearms are common backyard activities in the area, but it is important to remember that BB guns, pellet guns and even airsoft guns can still hurt someone if not handled properly.

News 40 teamed up with arms instructor and Marine veteran Adam Ellison to test out a few different kinds of recreational weapons and discuss safety.

“Whether it’s a hunting rifle, an AR15, or a pellet gun or a BB gun that your kids use, because it is shooting a high velocity projectile at a target, so there is a chance for bodily harm to come from that,” said Ellison.

When shooting through both a half gallon milk jug and a cardboard box, the airsoft pellets bounced right off.

The BB gun BB’s penetrated the first side of the object but did not go through the back side.

But the pellet gun shot with the most force of Ellison’s three firearms making its way swiftly through both the frontside and out the back of both the jug and the box.

“You’re talking about the capability to go to cardboard you know we can definitely see where it could penetrate skin it’s probably not going to go through bone it’s not going to be to the level of a 9 mm or a certified handgun or even a 22 caliber weapon but it can cause bodily harm in any time you called create a trauma cavity you have the potential for a casualty,” said Ellison.

Ellison says many families use these kinds of weapons as a teaching tool for their children to learn how to shoot larger firearms someday.

He says while this backyard activity can be enjoyable and a great learning experience for kids and adults, safety must come first.

There are different kinds of each type of recreational firearms and the tests News40 performed may look a little different for other firearms of similar kinds.