Daisy air guns are one of those product names that just about everybody, even those who never picked one up, are familiar with. Daisy has probably the most colorful of all air gun histories invoking more nostalgia among particularly men of all ages who at some time in their lives have owned one of the multitude of Daisy air gun models. Daisy still makes air rifles today after a 130 year history. And their moderately priced and still highly popular guns are sold around the world.

Daisy had numerous competitors in its early years including Matchless, Atlas and Markham among others. Many of the early air rifles from these various companies were crude with limited product lines. When Daisy air guns came on the scene, the company’s high quality products and marketing savvy shot them quickly past their competitors. In fact, Daisy purchased one of their major competitors in 1928. Otherwise, Daisy’s competitors from the early days faded away pretty quickly under the onslaught of the highly advanced products and marketing savvy of Daisy.

From the earliest days of the company, Daisy caught on to national trends and began to attach its newest products to the times America was in, whether times of war and stress, or peace and prosperity. The company found a way to attach its product name to all that was important to the USA. During WWI Daisy produced the Model 40 Defender, a military looking rifle and marketed it to the “Future Defenders of America”. They followed suit with their own model during WWII with the Model 140 Defender with the same type advertising campaign.

Daisy also tied their name closely to American icons of the early days of America including US heroes and famous sports personality. From football players to golfers to tv and comic cowboys, famous names were attached to Daisy air guns. But the most famous cowboy of the 1930s to promote a Daisy product was the comic strip cowboy, Red Ryder. That name was launched with a new Daisy lever action air rifle in 1940 and became the top air rifle for the next 20 years. The Red Ryder remains in production in the 21st century and remains a popular bb gun still.

Daisy launched another campaign in the 1960s called the “Spittin Image” series of rifles. As you probably guess from the name, each one of these bb rifles was a replica of a popular firearm. Replicas of the Winchester 94, Remington Fieldmaster among others. And the Red Ryder was reintroduced as a Spittin Image replica of the Marlin 30-30. In the late 60s and early 70s Daisy began producing ever more powerful bb and pellet rifles powered by pumped compressed air and CO2 cartridges.

Today, the history of Daisy air guns spans over 130 years. It remains one of the leading manufacturers of moderately priced air guns in the industry. And no matter who you talk to, when you mention the name Daisy, more likely than not, childhood memories of roaming the hills and woods with one of these guns is likely to be brought into the conversation. Because the company started and continues today to stay on the cutting edge of cultural trends and quality manufacturing methods, there’s no reason that Daisy shouldn’t be around for the next hundred years.

By: M N Rogers

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