Daisy’s Contribution to our National Defense
Quick Kill 09/05/2006 By: Dave Albert
During World War II, companies made many sacrifices to the war effort. Daisy converted from toy gun production to producing 37mm canisters for the War Department and various other products as a subcontractor to other defense suppliers. This part of Daisy’s history is well documented and most of those interested in the Daisy story know about it.
On the other hand, how many people know that during the Vietnam war, Daisy sold BB guns to the U.S. Army? These guns were used by the Army in their firearms training programs in the U.S. and in Vietnam. This is one or maybe the only historical example of spring powered BB guns being purchased and used by the U.S. military. (Note: spring powered BB guns are different than compressed air guns.)
In “It’s a Daisy”(pg 219 - ‘Daisy Guns Go to War’) Cass Hough defines the use of Model 99 derivative guns in an ‘instinct shooting’ training program. Another reference to BB guns purchased and used by the military is found in Dunathan’s book, “The American BB Gun”, page 82, where a photo of the butt stock of a Daisy BB gun is shown with the stamped-in marking, “PROPERTY OF U.S. GOVERNMENT. The second line of the stamping is not easily readable, but I have located a second military gun where the stock stamping is more legible...” Q.K. WPNS. DEPT. USAIS (which probably interprets as Quick Kill Weapons Department, U.S. Army Infantry School)
I surveyed the internet, contacted the Army Marksmanship unit at Fort Benning, and put questions on BB gun related web sites related to BB gun use in military training, Responses included some personal anecdotes of experiences with BB gun training but no real model numbers or detailed description of how the guns were used by the Army.
In June of 2005 at the ‘first annual meeting of AIRGUNSUSA’ in Rogers, Arkansas, I was lucky enough to be able to spend some time with Orin Ribar at the museum and discussed the Daisy involvement in the Army training program. He showed me a Presentation Document given to Daisy by Major General Williamson, U.S. Army. The document is an elaborate scrapbook of black and white glossy photos (which has a very impressive engraved brass cover plate) and includes descriptive material with most of the photos. The photos illustrate the guns used, the training facility at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and the modifications that the Army unit at Fort Polk and Daisy developed to make the gun a more real simulator, replicating the M14 and M16 guns used in actual combat.
I located General Williamson and talked with him about the program. He confirmed that the point and shoot program was one he supported in his tenure in the military while stationed at Fort Polk and later in Vietnam. The program in the military was designated the ‘Quick Kill’ program.
The purpose of this article is to define in more detail the BB guns used in the program. As we explore this subject, we will see derivative guns that were developed, but never put into production and photos of actual training and the special training facilities constructed.
The following paragraph was extracted from the introduction to the Presentation Document.
AIR RIFLES AT FORT POLK
The air rifle, formerly used for backyard target practice is now an integral part of military basic combat training and advanced infantry training.
The birth of the air rifle’s use with the military started at Fort Benning , Georgia, when a group of civilians suggested its use in training soldiers in a new weapon firing theory known as Quick Kill
Quick Kill, now a regular part of training at Fort Polk, puts to use the idea that effectively engaging an enemy target “is as easy as pointing your finger.”
Guns utilized in the training program
The gun that Cass Hough mentions in “It’s a Daisy” is the Daisy Model 99. The base gun pictured in the Army presentation appears to be a model 99 target model. Figure #1. The interesting thing about this picture is the statement in the descriptive material that the “concept” (Quick Kill) was introduced and included in the training after, “14 years of military experimentation with the above air rifle”. Obviously the government evaluation of the proposed training approach was thoroughly tested before it was adopted.
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Figures #2 and #3 show how the Model 99 was modified to look and feel like an M14 and an M16. It is interesting that the only other mention of ‘derivative’ BB guns appears in “It’s a Daisy”, page 220. Cass Hough mentions the M16 derivative. Limited research reveals no other mention of the modified guns. No examples have appeared at the Midwest shows that I have attended and none have been advertised on the various auction sites. Cass Hough describes the effort General Williamson expended to convince Daisy to tool for the production of a M16 replica BB gun. “Daisy prepared a cost estimate for production of 50,000 M16 replica guns, but no purchase order was ever received. The Army went on to purchase standard Model 99s with no front or rear sights”. One recent contact provided me a picture and some descriptive material of a Crosman Quick Kill candidate gun reportedly built and submitted to the Army in response to a request for proposals (RFP) to produce point-and-shoot airguns for training. Unfortunately the document with the gun is only a Crosman operating instruction and no dates or government procurement information is included.
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Prior to the 2005 ‘Thirteenth Annual Daisy Get Together’ in Mason, Michigan, two very knowledgeable people in the Daisy collecting circles provided me with some detailed photos of the M16 derivative gun. Figure #4 is a closeup of the receiver of the M16 modified gun. “Yes, Virginia, there was a M16 Daisy BB gun!” And, it was used at training bases other than Fort Polk. One Daisy collector remembers using an M16 configured Daisy at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Training program and special ranges
The Presentation Document pictures and describes the training program that recruits were exposed to at Fort Polk.
The Army had two manuals that described the concept. One was US Army publication TT 23-71-1, ‘Principals of Quick Kill’, the other the ‘US Army’s Advanced Rifle Marksmanship Manual FM 3-22.9, Chapter 7'. In chapter 7, the concept is referred to as Instinctive Fire. Both of these manuals and the related concept are discussed in a fine website devoted to point shooting... http://pointshooting.com.
The Army Quick Kill training had several components. The first component was point shooting at airborne targets. (see Figure #5) In these exercises, two individuals are teamed. One throws an object into the air, the second shoots at the object with an air gun. The Presentation Document photo shows a line of soldiers training in this concept. This photo was widely distributed and has appeared in several other publications. Figure #6 shows another photo also seen in various publications that illustrates that the women in the military were also given Point and Shoot instruction.
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The Presentation Document describes that after the trainee has gained some experience and confidence shooting...and hitting ...airborne targets, he is challenged to engage ground targets that appear and then disappear quickly. To do this, the Army personnel at Fort Polk designed and built special pop-up targets and incorporated those targets into special ranges to be used with airgun training. The 1st Training Brigade B.B. Gun Range (Experimental) is shown in Figure #7. Accompanying this photo, the Army described the use of air rifles ‘duplicate to the M14 rifle’ being used on a miniature qualification range. “The purpose of the miniature range is to build confidence in the trainees and improve their marksmanship, resulting in more and higher qualifications on the actual M 14 trainfire range.” The foliage and underbrush added to give the miniature marksmanship range a more realistic appearance are shown in Figure #8. An enlarged photo of the pop-up targets and the men associated with its development are pictured in Figure #9. The Fort Polk Quick Kill training was a rather large facility that included eight ranges.
Two ten-lane combat reaction ranges on Peason Ridge used with an air rifle replica of the M16
Two smaller ranges , with five lanes , used for quick reaction training with the simulated M16
Four miniature marksmanship ranges that basic trainees fire on with air rifle duplicates of the M14
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