When are they ready?

[FLoppyTOE]

I am expecting my first child here in about a month. As any excited parent to be I am imagining all the knowledge and activities to pass on to my child.

The question then arises, what is an aceptable age to teach a child to shoot.

I have talked to a couple guys at work. One told me he started when he was 8. Another told me he started his daughter at 4.

I know some of it will depend on the individual child, but does anyone have some insight?

 

[Artigas]

I started at eight. I wish I had started at 5 or younger.

I'd say it ALL depends on the individual child. Are the mature enough, and do they have the physical capacity to operate the firearm, possibly with parent help?

 

[OAKVILLE SHOOTER]

First off, welcome to THR and congrats on your upcoming arrival.

As for us, I bought a Henry Mini-bolt .22 for my son 2 weeks before he was born. I started him shooting it right after he turned 2. I would squat down and hold it, he stood between my legs and pulled the trigger. I had control of the rifle at all times. Finding muffs and glasses was a bit hard, but I found some that fit.

He will turn six in a few months and now shoots his Henry, my 10-22, my Nylon 66, and several handguns. While I am standing fairly close by, he is in complete control of the gun he is shooting at the time. I find that he is a lot safer than some adults that I know, and not that bad of a shot either.

Also, we shoot on our own property, by ourselves. Not sure I would try letting a 2 year old shoot at a public range.

Oakville Shooter

 

[ripmyfly]

totally agree with oakville... 200 years ago a kid was bringing home small game to help with supper by 3 or 4. My son carries a knife in his pocket since the age of three. Ir was a real lockback buck. I blunted the blade slowly bringing it to a 25 degree bevel now at the ripe age of 6. My mother-in-law fought me for 2 years about it. He has never had even a small cut. Just watch his/her personality & teach them that is a tool & it is to be respected. BTW my son is homeschooled so he can get away w/ it. My 2 cents.

 

[Floppy_D]

My son will be 4 in August, and we're going to pick out a bow (supervised use only). He's still too early for a pocket knife (though I let him help me with mine). I'll get him on the 22 before too long.

He can cast about 20ft with a Zebco reel, so we're getting there.

 

[Scanr]

http://www.corneredcat.com/TOC.aspx

Check out this site, this has a lot of information about children and firearms.

 

[chris in va]

6-7. Single shot for starters, or lever action. No semiautos.

 

[doc2rn]

I started my daughter off at 5 with a BB gun and she has excellent control and memorized the four laws. For her 6th birthday she is getting the Henry .22lr.

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

My son carries a knife in his pocket since the age of three.

Wow.

 

[CalebJns]

My nephews (brothers kids) have been carrying knife's since they were 2-3 yrs. old. One is 5 now and the other is 4...he actually just had an accident and cut his forearm, nice little 3" gash! His response was..."dad, I cut myself" Luckily they were only about 1/2 mile from a hospital. A slight scar, 2 weeks and 18 stiches later, you can hardly tell he was hurt. Needless to say, he still carries...they used it as a opportunity to teach him more safty. He also is an exceptional shot with a pellet gun as well!!! Great outdoors man in the making!

 

[Professor Gun]

I started my two sons shooting at around age 4 or 5 with kid sized single shot .22 rifles. About age 8 or 9 they progressed to handguns. About age 10-11 they progressed to centerfires. Only one at a time was allowed to shoot because I was hovering within inches of the one shooting at all times. Plan on getting little to no shooting in yourself.

My sons are now ages 14 and 16 and they are safer and more responsible with guns than most adults I know. Our range trips are the high point of my week as now they are totally independent on the range and getting to be very good shooters.

They were allowed to have pocket knives around age 5. If they had them out inappropriately or did something stupid they lost them for a while-it took only one instance like that to make them very responsible with the pocket knives. Of course pocket knives never went to school.

 

[Funderb]

boy scouts is a good organization, in the right troop.
Probably the best thing for boys.

but before that, about 7 is a good time to do rifles.
before media culture sets in.

bows and arrows with suction cups at sis till then.

 

[.38 Special]

He'll let you know. Don't push, but don't make it forbidden. And be absolute when it comes to setting and enforcing the rules. He'll cry, and you'll hurt, but he'll learn.

 

[Funderb]

most sober drinking advice ever.

 

[mbt2001]

I am expecting my first child here in about a month. As any excited parent to be I am imagining all the knowledge and activities to pass on to my child.

Congratz...

Where is my cigar?

 

[.38 Special]

most sober drinking advice ever.

I thought we were talking about dating.

 

[MaterDei]

Congrats on the new child. I have six kids and in my opinion the answer to your question is... it depends.

It depends on the individual child and it depends on you and your wife and how well you raise your child. Some kids are very self aware and responsible at 4 or 5 and others aren't at 18. Most should fall in the 5 - 8 year range, all of mine have. BB guns are fine but I started mine on 22s because I live where we can shoot around the house and the loud bang of a 22 imparts a more serious atmosphere to the safety rules than does a BB or pellet gun, IMO.

Again, congrats. You're about to embark on a wonderful journey.

 

[B yond]

My daughter is two. We're working on the difference between real guns and toy guns and it's working out well.

She loves to pretend to shoot her toy Beretta 92, but whenever she sees the butt of my carry gun sticking out or sees me handling one of my weapons she stops me and points saying, "real gun, not a toy, don't play with." It's incredibly cute.

I occasionally let her handle them (unloaded of course, checked a dozen times, safety on, mag removed) under very close supervision so that they're not some uber-cool mysterious object. She knows not to point a real gun at people.

Occasionally she goes to the range with me and stands waaay back with mom (no hearing damage) and watches me shoot, then helps scavenge brass, which she loves.

I figure I'll get her a Crickett .22 when she's about 5 and let her shoulder it and pull the trigger while I keep a good grasp on the forend. Depending on how that goes we'll move forward slowly.

I want her to enjoy shooting as much as I do, and I think it could be a great bond that we'll share as she gets older. I'm not going to force it on her, and I'm not going to tell her she can't participate or hide it from her. I AM going to do everything I can to be sure she knows the 4 rules and respects firearms for what they are capable of. I'm hoping to raise a responsible and competent gun owner.

Big Daddy B

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

2 or 3 and carrying a knife? Seriously, am I the only one that thinks this is not only insane, but incredibly irresponsible on the parents part?

2??????????????????????????????

 

[TAB]

It depends on the kid...

when they are old enough to understand thier actions have consequences.( don't let your pride cloud your judgment with this)

Some kids are ready at 5, some kids are still not ready at 45.

For most kids( myself indculded) 8-12 is about right.

 

[3KillerBs]

8 seems to be right for our DS#2, who is a bright and compliant child but who does not listen attentively. 6 months ago would have been too soon.

DD, who is now 14, probably would not have been ready until 10 had we had a range handy at that age. She is a rules tester who fears nothing. It took a long time for her to understand the concept of danger and without that there is no understanding the need for safety.

DS#1 was handling Civil War reenacting rifles with black powder and bayonet at 13 and was praised for his safety awareness. Had we had a range available he probably could have been started around 6. We'll see how the 2yo shapes up.

 

[4RAR]

Most people folks here will shoot guns in their teen years but not own them until they are in their 20s. my old man let me fire weapons when i was 14/15+ but wasnt allowed to own or carry handguns until i was 19/20.

 

[1911 guy]

As stated, it depends on the kid.

They should have decent, but don't expect fully developed, hand/eye coordination. Lacking this to an extreme degree will be discouraging to them.

They should be able to follow example and instruction well. Don't expect perfection, but if they can't stop goofing off then it's too early.

They should have the ability to understand that firearms are not toys and that they can cause serious harm or death. Some kids grasp earlier than others that real life does not resemble Wile E. Coyote cartoons.

Start them off with a .22 or even a BB gun under supervision. Report and recoil we consider no problem can be a big deal to a kid.

 

[Sato Ord]

2 or 3 and carrying a knife? Seriously, am I the only one that thinks this is not only insane, but incredibly irresponsible on the parents part?

2??????????????????????????????

I've been carrying a pocket knife since age four.

I have been shooting regularly since age five.

It depends on the child. My son is eleven and still doesn't have his own pocket knife. Not because he can't use it safely, he just isn't responsible enough to not lose it. Fortunately we finally found his cell phone after it went missing two months ago. When he wants to use a pocket knife I loan him mine and gives it back before moving on to something else.

I bought him his first BB gun for his tenth birthday. I finally took him to the range about a month an half ago. He shoots fine and is responsible when he is handling a knife or a gun, but he tends to just put things down and lose them when they aren't directly in use.

Like I said, it depends on the kid. I don't think my seventeen year old will ever be ready to own something as expensive and dangerous as a firearm. She spends her paycheck on a i-pod and loses it the next day, and then isn't concerned when it turns up on her bedroom floor broken from being stepped on. The only thing she seems to be able to keep track of is her cell phone, and that's because it's attached to her ear twenty-four/seven.

Teach the kid to shoot and buy him/her a firearm when the time is right. There is no set age limit.

 

[buck00]

The question then arises, what is an aceptable age to teach a child to shoot.

At 22 months he should be able to field strip a Mosin-Nagant and get 2 inch groups, but that is just my household.