With a pop, the BB whizzes out of the gun and, hopefully, toward the target. A dull thud indicates the target was hit, while a metallic clatter is a sign it hit the floor.

For an hour on Sunday, children and adults could take a shot at using BB guns in the shooting range of the World War Memorial Building. It was part of the free activities offered for the Bismarck Parks and Recreation District's Flurry Fest.

Hunter education teacher Gene Kouba gave the BB gun demonstrations, as well as an archery demonstration later in the afternoon. He will teach a three-week long BB gun class for children starting Tuesday in the indoor shooting range.

Sunday afternoon, two girls came into the shooting range and Kouba started giving directions and asking questions. First, he wanted to make sure they knew which eye is their dominant eye for sighting the target. Then, he demonstrated how to load the BB gun and shoot it.

"I'm strict on how to cock the gun, load it, and where the safety is," Kouba said.

He helped Cambrie and Courtney Leben flip the switch to safety, cock the gun, load a BB in the barrel and tap the butt of the gun on the chair to make sure it is loaded. He told them to make sure it's pointed at the ceiling for safety when loading.

When he has a class, students shoot five BB's at a time, and must place the gun down and sit until everyone is finished. He instructed the girls to aim through the rear and front sights before firing at the cardboard boxes on the ground. Sometimes they'd hit the target and sometimes they'd miss.

"I like seeing if I can hit the target and how many times I can hit it," Courtney Leben said. The most times in a row she has hit a target is 5, and "I'm not as good as my sister."

Cambrie, 10, has her own BB gun. They shoot at pop cans or targets that their father sets up for them, she said. The girls like BB guns because they do not seem dangerous, they both said.

"Just because they're not that dangerous, they can be," Courtney Leben said. That is why a person should learn gun safety, she said.

Kouba teaches safety in the BB gun class. He also teaches gun safety as part of the hunter education class he teaches in October. People must be at least 11 years old to be in that class, he said.

Part of that class teaches people to load and unload guns. This is important for when people come back from hunting and store their guns, he said.

Flurry Fest activities continue through the week. For a list of activities, visit www.bisparks.org. Information about the BB gun class also is available at the park district Web site under the drop down menu for "youth programs" under "rifle." The park district can be reached by phone at 222-6455.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)