Quick Kill 09/05/2006 By: Dave Albert
Figures #10 and #11 show the trainees engaging drop-down and ground based targets with air rifle simulated M-16s. After receiving air gun training, the recruits went on to a regular trainfire range designed for the full-scale rifles. At other training bases, simpler knock-down targets were used instead of the sophisticated range at Fort Polk Another article written by Grits Gresham for the September 1966 issue of Field and Stream magazine shows a photo of recruits going through an obstacle course. Figure 12 shows a recruit starting over a hurdle and as he does, a ‘sniper’ pops out from behind a tree.
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Mention is also made of man-to-man combat training (ref. “It’s a Daisy” (pg.221), “As the Vietnam War progressed, different types of training programs were conceived by the Army, leading up to one that simulated guerrilla warfare in which the soldiers (after being properly equipped with padded uniforms, heavy safety glasses, helmets, etc.) actually hunted each other in junglelike terrain and fired at each other with these BB guns.” Another reference to this type of training comes from a Rogers, Arkansas publication “Daisy ‘Pot Shots’ issue 66c.” “Marines are using air rifles, also. But, they fire directly at each other, wearing protective clothing and face masks. This adds the realism of moving figures.”
One Daisy collector who remembers using the —16 derivative gun told me that his opposition forces used similar guns and he got a ‘significant hit’ during the exercise. He also said his group was provided with eye protection, but he doesn’t remember any padded uniforms.
Another veteran recalls the training at Fort Polk. His experience occurred during his advance infantry training in early 1969. “At the end of our one-day training, we suited up in a padded coat and a helmet with a clear plexiglass face shield, received a loaded Daisy, and set off down a trail through thick brush where we were told three "ambushers" were waiting for us. The first two were not well hidden behind thin bushes, and waved to let us know they were there. But as I neared the end of the trail, and had not seen the third ambusher. I grew more alert. I didn't want to be taken by surprise. Suddenly I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, and spun quickly to my right, raised the Daisy, locked my eyes on my target and fired without even thinking about aiming. The "ambusher" was about twenty feet away hidden by thin saplings and thick brush, and he had just stepped out to "shoot" me by surprise. With a sharp "whack" my BB bounced off of his face mask, right between the eyes. I know it startled him, and I remember thinking, "It works! It really works!"
Looking at other articles published on the Quick Kill Program we find many references to the program. An article was included in the October 1967 issue of the American Rifleman, page 41 titled, “Air Guns for the Army”. Photos show a general firing a Daisy in an exhibition at the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio in August. The article states that...”Quick Kill is now being taught with the aid of 13,000 specially modified Daisy air guns. The principal modifications are omission of both sights and a longer stock, along military lines, to fit adult shoulders.” (Incidentally, Airgun Digest, first edition page 59 indicate that the adult stock measured 37 5/8 inches.)
Other references indicate that the BB gun training was widespread. The Daisy Museum’s montage of many articles on Quick Kill mentions that all 12 of the Army posts that conduct basic training used the Quick Kill concept.
Real life Vietnam training
Quick Kill training occurred not only in the US. The activities of the 25th Infantry Division as recorded in their archival website includes a history of the division and its activities in Vietnam from the unit paper, the ‘Tropic Lightning News’. In Vol.3 No. 40, Sept.30, 1968, we find several references to the use of the Point and Shoot training in Vietnam. On page 18 of this record, a demonstration of the concept is pictured (Figure #13) and in Figure #14 an “Infantry Sergeant watches a group of ARVN soldiers practice the Quick Kill method of firing (with airguns) before moving to a live-fire range”. Quick Kill training with BB guns was a training effort used both in the U.S. and in Vietnam. Daisy BB guns were used in many locations.
Number of Guns and Models used in training
Both the model 99 and 95 were purchased from Daisy by the U.S. Army. Quick Kill military guns of both models with the positive feed shot tube have been identified. There must have been gravity feed models, because in the previously mentioned Field and Stream article, Grits Gresham includes two pictures. One shows a field rack of BB guns, the other shows a soldier loading a gravity feed BB gun and the picture caption describes, “Reloading problems of force feed air rifles were solved by switching to a gravity-feed model.” No authenticated gravity feed guns used by the military have yet been located.
Defining the number of guns purchased is far more difficult. Very few guns have been located that can be proved to have been used by the Military. Figure #15 shows one gun that is marked with a stencil on the receiver and painted numbers on the stock. Another method the Army used for marking guns was to stamp the numbers and letters into the stock of the gun. One such gun is shown in Figure #16. Another example of this type of marking can be seen in Arni T. Dunathan’s book, “The American BB gun, A Collector’s Guide on page 82.
In June of this year, I spent some time at the Daisy Museum in Rogers , Arkansas. In a file of material on Quick Kill I found a document compiled 9 June, 1980. It lists ‘Daisy Manufacturing Company “Quick Kill” Sales to U.S. Army, 1967 through 1973'. In this table are listed sales of Air Rifles, BB Shot, CO2 Guns, CO2 Cylinders, Pellet Guns, Pellets, and Parts. The major deliveries of BB guns were done in 1967 through1970 with from 5,882 to 9,015 guns delivered a year.. Total sales for the seven year period 1967 through 1974 were 33,162 Air Rifles. Unfortunately this table does not seem to be complete as two of the marked guns already discussed have register numbers that indicate they were made in the late 1970's.
Two interesting guns have surfaced recently. They are Model 95 guns with a spring feed shot tube that are stamped on the front left side of the receiver “U.S. PROP.” I have one of these guns that was made in March 1974. With this gun I have a certificate stating that it was purchased from Daisy in Rogers, not from the U.S. government. No one I have found at Daisy museum can identify why this gun was stamped this way. Another gun with the same markings just sold at the Rock Island firearms auction site, and one was posted on Gunbroker. I have no register numbers for these guns so they could be the same gun bought and resold, but the markings are exactly the same as those on my gun shown in Figure #17.
Daisy Competition for Quick Kill Market
There was at least one competitor for the Quick Kill market. Crosman made a special gun based on their V350 BB gun. Figure #18 shows the gun, the instruction page for its operation, some descriptive material about the gun and a picture of the Crosman Vice President watching a retired Army General shooting the gun. I have not been able to confirm that a contract was ever issued to Crosman and am aware of only one V350 gun. The owner of the gun in the insert article in Figure #18 indicates that he believes that only three guns were built.
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