Quote of the day
I’m dealing with the problem a different way, by teaching my daughter to shoot.
Good. But it begs the question, as the father of a three year old and 17 month old, how early do you start? I’ve gotten Junior somewhat acquainted with guns but she’s way too young to head to the range.
September 19th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Du Toit says before 10.
I dunno. If you’ve raised the kid well, it should be about the time where the stock on a kid-sized .22lr fits them. On the other hand, there are lotta kids out there that I wouldn’t trust with a gun at 21.
September 19th, 2007 at 10:35 am
My son’s 6½, and I’m planning on bringing him to the range for some single-shot .22LR experience next spring.
This will be after he demonstrates an understanding of the four rules, which I’ve been teaching him for about 2-3 years now through his Nerf™ guns, as well as a basic safety lesson and range etiquette.
September 19th, 2007 at 10:49 am
I started my son shooting at 8, (he’s 13 now) after years of him handling and learning the rules.
Almost kicked him off the range last week for putting his finger on the trigger before sighting in on the target.
Kids are still kids, they get excited sometimes.
September 19th, 2007 at 11:08 am
I had mine out at 2 or 3 watching (they loved black powder pistols), and shooting before kindergarten age…22s and black powder.
September 19th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
my 8 year old and i go out several times a month, he loves to shoot the ole .22… im thinkin about getting him a Rossi .22/20ga youth for christmas
September 19th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
I’ve been asked this question recently by someone who’s putting together a documentary on gun families.
There is no magic age. My girls are 2 & 5. The 2 year old cannot manage a sippy cup properly, much less a firearm. The 5 year old has the attention span of a… well, 5 year old.
However, my oldest helps me clean the rifle and pistols after I get back from the range. She can tell you what she’s supposed to do if she finds a firearm (don’t touch, leave the area, find an adult), she even draws me targets to take with me. I am hoping they will learn about firearms the same way they learn to talk – by watching and listening to what I do. So I teach by example.
If I weren’t in city limits, I’d take Georgia outside and shoot some .22, but alas that’s not feasible right now.
September 19th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
I learned to shoot a 22 at 5. At ten I learned to shoot a 1911.
September 19th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
I taught mine about what a gun is and gun safety when he was 3.
I think right after he turned 4 he decided he needed one of his own and managed to convince me to get him a cheap little air-soft type. Then we went over the 4 rules and training on how to handle one as well as the not handling from before. He treats it just like a real one including, “Ok, we’re done, put it in the safe.”
Sooo… I’ve got a toy gun taking up space in my safe. 🙂
4 and now 5yr olds don’t have the patience for much discipline, but in 15 minute increments they even like the time of strict rules and learn the dangers of unattended firearms without forbidden fruits problems.
September 19th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
My dad started me off with a Daisy BB gun at 6. Ultimately, though, YOU know your kids better than anyone…
September 20th, 2007 at 2:34 am
I started my son at 3 by holding up a 1911 and letting him ease the trigger back while I held the gun up and made sure it was a safe experience. Only loaded 1 shot at a time so no chance of a double tap. He learned about “BOOGER HOOK & BANG SWITCH” effectively and safely. He’s never had an AD & he’s 26 now & shoots perfect scores on CHL quals with just about anything he picks up. But, wouldn’t you know it, his favorites are 1911’s. They’re never too young to experience what happens when the “BANG SWITCH” is touched, just do it where everything is totally controlled by dad.
September 21st, 2007 at 1:37 pm
My greatest memories of time spent with my father occured at around age 4-5. We would go into the back yard and I had my ear and eye protection on, and although I did not fire the .22 rifle we had a branch that he would shoot and try to break off a tree. Each time I would push with both hands on both ears (on top of my ear muffs) he would fire. This made me think that I was actually firing the gun. Until such time as I was old enough to hold and fire a gun we played this game with the rest of non shooting time devoted to firearm safety.