When are they old enough?

[OAKVILLE SHOOTER]

Just got back from target shooting with my four year old. I started him out with a Henrt Mini-Bolt when he was two. Mostly, I would hold the gun and he would look down the barrel and pull the trigger. Now he is up to shooting cans and steel plates from sandbags. Mostly 22lr and 17hmr, ocassionaly 38 S&W or 38 Spcl. Anyway, just wondering what age y'all have started your children out at.

 

[yesit'sloaded]

I started at 3 and had my own .22 at 8.

 

[07Lway]

I fired my first revolver when I was 5, and my first rifle when I was 7.

 

[AnthonyC.]

I was 14 when i got my first .22 and i had to talk my dad into buying it for me. He had never shot a gun before. I dont know how i managed to get that rifle but I did and now my dad goes shooting with me just about every weekend. and he really enjoys it.

A.C.

 

[bdjansen]

Wow two! I have a 2 year old and he is jumping off the dining room chairs as I write this. No way would I let him near a gun.

I very much look forward to the day I can take him shooting. I figure that will be about the time he can ask me about my guns.

 

[Shadow Shock]

My dad bought me a New England Arms Pardner series single shot .410 for Christmas when I was 3. 2 weeks later i killed my first nuetra rat.

 

[MASTEROFMALICE]

I started shooting when I was 7. My son just turned 3 yesterday. He seems to instinctually know how to hold and shoot a gun (he plays with his toy guns) and I have little doubt he would kill everyone in the house without having any idea as to what he was doing.

When are they old enough? When they understand the concept of consequence.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

I shot my first gun when I was seven. I happen to believe any younger then that the kids are going through the motions and don't really know or comprehend what is going on. In the five years between the ages of seven (when I first shot) and twelve (when I got my .22 rifle for my own) my father impressed upon me the principles of safe shooting and gun handling. I had to prove to him that I was worthy of having a gun in my own right while I lived under his roof. He stressed to me that having a gun being underage was at his discretion and was not open to debate. When I got my .22 rifle when I was 12 it meant that I could not only keep the rifle in my closet but the ammo too. To me it was a rite of passage and my son has gone through it with his maternal grandfather's Mosin Nagant rifle. He not only knows where every other gun and ammo in the house is kept, he has his own gun and ammo. I trust him as my father trusted me before.

 

[mrsig]

I start them as soon as they want, but they must listen and act without pause when around guns.

- Sig

 

[pax]

Here's how we decided: http://www.corneredcat.com/Kids/rangeready.aspx

pax

 

[Fburgtx]

I've been around 5 and 6 year olds who will follow directions to the letter and ok with guns. I work with some guys who are 40+ and you couldn't pay me enough to be around them if they had a gun. It's much more of a maturity issue than just a pure age issue. I can remember my father letting me look at his rifles before I had fired/received my own "real" (not bb) gun (around six years of age). As soon as I unzipped the case he'd say "what do you always do first?" and I'd check to make sure it was unloaded. I can remember him explaining what cease/commence fire meant and all the safety rules when he first got me that bb gun. Maturity is more important than age,though.

With that said, I think it's unfortunate that some wait until their children are 13 or 14 to try to introduce them to hunting/shooting. By that time, many have already found other hobbies/interests. As a child/teen, fishing/hunting/shooting were the "things I did with dad." Even at that age (14-18) when hanging out/doing things with parents wasn't "cool", these were things that I enjoyed doing with my dad. I've seen lots of parents ignore their kids for years and then think that in one day they're going to get them interested in something.

 

[DixieTexian]

I think that when I was six or seven I would have been OK shooting a gun under close adult supervision, but not keeping one for myself till I was 11 or 12. I'm under a month short of 22 now, and am working on improving my gun collection.

 

[Thernlund]

8 to 10 for a small caliber long gun (.17 or .22). 12 to 14 for a shotgun. 15 or so for a handgun.

But that's just me trying to get my hands around the question. Honestly, I'd put a 1911 in the hands of an infant if I thought he/she could handle it responsibly. Then of course, I do know people in their 40's that I am thankful for them not owning a gun. Case by case I guess.


-T.

 

[Roccobro]

First daughter at 5. Might try second at age 4. She might have trouble holding the Crickett up, so a nice appropriately sized bench rest might be needed.

I've been teaching them both Eddie Eagle type safety since little, like "don't touch, tell Daddy" if they find a gun in their way. Now I ask them the four rules whenever I happen to have a "pest problem" and the appropriate tool out in the living room for them to ask why the gun is out.

Justin

EDIT: #2 just woke up and wants to play at 12:30! Had her shoulder the rifle, and she can't keep it lifted. She has a natural point, and had no trouble using the peep sight when the gun was rested. After I put the gun away, she said; "When we go shooting, can you bring the red thing" (Predator rest) Smart girl!

 

[RLsnow]

i would say when they are developed enough to understand the concept of gun safety, (and of course listen to what you say)

 

[Navy_Guns]

Can the answer be a negative number?

My #1 favorite memory is of my wife, 9 months pregnant with our son, firing a friend's full auto Thompson with a drum magazine from the hip... So, my son wasn't even born yet when he got his introduction.

He would sit in my lap at age 2 while I shot my .45 - and for the next 6 months whenever he saw me with a pistol he'd ask "Daddy, are we going to shoot some more pumpkins?" Last fall he would help me watch for deer in the back field from our porch with his own little pair of binoculars.

Now he's 3 and he was giving me a countdown for every round I fired out of my new AR the other weekend while I was sighting it in. He's very aware of PPE - before we shoot we have to get our muffs and glasses and he says "Safety first!" He caught me starting up the riding mower recently without my muffs on and he ran up and yelled "You need your hearing protection, daddy!!!"

So, I think Santa may bring him a youth-sized .22 for Christmas this year...

 

[taliv]

NO that answer cannot be a negative number. search the archives for a number of articles about shooting while pregnant.

 

[Eyesac]

I was 4, and as I recall took it all very serious. I say start whenever they ask.

 

[telkontar]

My son shot a .22 rifle at 3 with adult assistance. He enjoys pulling the trigger (squeezing is not yet possible). Now 6, he is allowed to shoot my old BB gun unassisted, but it has a range of about 20 feet. He also likes the CO2 pellet pistol.

 

[GRIZ22]

When are they old enough? When they understand the concept of consequence.


I agree. My daughter's first trip to the range was when she was 4. There are some people I know who are 44 and shouldn't handle a gun.

It's hard to explain in a few lines but pax's link does it quite well in detail.

 

[romma]

let's see?? I shot .22 when I was 11 or 12 in the Boy Scouts...

After my brother shot me accidentally when I was 14, I hadn't been around a firearm till I bought my first one almost 4.5 years ago...

Now I have my AR15, 3 pistols, and my grandfathers shotgun.

I want more, but life gets in the way!!

 

[cnorman18]

when they listen

Had my first .22 at 7, a BB gun sometime before that. I learned the rules early and listened and was careful; my brother--not so much. I distinctly remember the Christmas I got my BB gun; I must have been 5 or 6--and my brother, who was 21 or 22, saying "Aw, it's not loaded," and pulling the trigger.

You could still see the BB stuck in the ceiling many years later...

 

[cmidkiff]

I started my daughters between 7 and 9, each depending on their ability to follow directions, and their desire to do so.

Started them with a child sized .22 rifle, and allowed them to try a .22 pistol shortly after.

 

[Sharps-shooter]

Both of my girls shot when they were basically toddlers, I'm not sure the exact age, with my hands on their hands, guiding them and preventing them from doing anything wrong.

I didn't let my older daughter shoot by herself until after she had handled a pocket knife safely for a year (general responsibility with something dangerous) and learned archery (similar safety rules, maybe less devastating consequences for failure). So she was about seven before she got to hold the gun and shoot with me watching from the sidelines.

 

[RNB65]

I started shooting .22 rifles when I was about 6 and got by first shotgun (break open 20GA) when I was 10. I never shot that little shotgun much because it kicked too much. When I was about 13 or 14 I started shooting my dad's Browning Light 12 instead. I started shooing my dad's H&R .32 revolver as soon as I was old enough to hold it in my hand and pull the trigger.