Daisy Targette Shooting Gallery (Set No. 320)
$275.00
Featuring the bright chrome/nickel plating, the Daisy Model 118 bb gun rests on the red plastic "Targette" base. This set was only manufactured for a brief window from 1949 to 1952 out of Plymouth, Michigan. It was marketed as a safe, low-power indoor parlor game for the whole family.
This piece shows a fantastic, authentic patina. The chrome plating on the slide and frame has some expected minor pitting and oxidation from age, and the white plastic spinners show the characteristic scattered dark marks and light scuffs from being peppered by steel shot over 70 years ago.
The white spinning targets inside the red plastic housing is intact and themed after playing card suits (spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds). When hit by the low-power shot, they spin around the central metal axis (a single target in the very middle is broken as shown in the images).
Daisy engineered the 118 with an intentionally weak spring, unable to penetrate a single sheet of cardboard at 10 feet — making it safe for indoor use.
Notably, this gun does not shoot standard .177 caliber BBs; it was designed for the smaller .118 caliber steel shot. Since Daisy discontinued that ammunition decades ago, lead #6 birdshot is the accepted substitute. The gun cocks but has not been tested for shooting.
During WWII, Daisy halted all civilian production to manufacture military goods, resuming in the late 1940s. That transition marked a pivotal shift: pre-war Daisy products were strictly wood, blued steel, and cast metal, while the late 1940s brought their first foray into molded plastics — like this gun's red gallery base. These early plastics were prone to cracking, making intact examples especially prized today.
Just as Daisy hit its post-war stride, the Korean War brought fresh government restrictions on steel and strategic metals, again curtailing production in the early 1950s. This scarcity is why the Targette No. 320 had such a short production run, vanishing from the catalog by 1952.
Rising costs in the Detroit/Plymouth area eventually pushed Daisy south to Rogers, Arkansas in 1958. The Targette stands as a pristine artifact of their classic Michigan manufacturing peak.
This object is 10.5” Long x 6” tall and 3.5” deep. If you haven’t yet, please familiarize yourself with our policy (in the “About Page”) prior to proceeding with a purchase.
