a seasonal novelty
It only exists while the Christmas event is running, out of Presents, and the roll is poor enough that you will be tearing through a very large pile of them. Its power sits at the early end of the gun list, so if the event catches you mid hardmode this is a shelf piece rather than an upgrade.
the reference
The Red Ryder BB gun is a real product, and the tooltip is quoting A Christmas Story, where the running gag is every adult in the film warning the kid he will shoot his eye out. It is also one of only two guns here that borrow a real trademark outright, the other being the Uzi.