anyone introduce there kid

to guns at a young age.. my son loves to go shoot with us. he is 9.. he basically drools over the 10/22 he sees at the range.. is he to young, i dont think he is. cuz he just loves shooting sports.

Mine have been shooting since they were 8-9. As long as they are old enough to understand gun safety and hold the thing up, they are old enough.

I was introduced to shooting myself at age 5, but didn't really start shooting regularly until age 10 when I inherited my grandfather's 22 rifle. I think it all depends on the kid, if he can understand and act with responsibility and safety I see no reason not to let him learn.

Yup. Better they learn in a structured and safe environment than on the school yard from a clueless peer. Took my 12 yr old out and he put many round through my .22 bolt action. Keeps asking to do it again! My 9 yr old Daughter thought it was pretty cool as well....but the rifle was to heavy for her. She promply fell in love with a pink stocked kid sized .22 at the local gun shop.....if she keeps her grades up, she might get it.

Toyman01 wrote: As long as they are old enough to understand gun safety and hold the thing up, they are old enough.

^^ This. I wish I had had the opportunity as a kid.

I was sitting in my fathers lap at five and shooting a 22 semi-automatic out the window along the Ogeechee River.

Both my boys are in Cub Scouts and have had the opportunity to shoot BB's and archery. We shoot BB's here at the house maybe once a month in the warmer parts of the year. My 9-year old is definitely ready to shoot the .22 rifle his grandpappy gave him. I just need to make it happen.

Cub scouts taught us at about 8-9 on .22s, then in the 6th grade I started shooting weekly with the PAL in a range in the basement of our elementary school.

My dad took me out to the NC National Guard armory range a bunch when I was a kid. I learned on a old pump .22 and never shot anything stronger until I was a teenager. I learned all the saftey procedures before I even got to touch a gun too.

I bought my 8 year old a bb rifle from Wal-Mart. We've used it maybe 4 or 5 times in the year that he's had it. I have no intention of having him touch a real gun though.

I think it'll be ok. Proper safety lessons, etc. Sort of like driving, the sooner you start, the more time you have to learn.

I did not learn this as a kid, and it shows. I recently went through CWP training and found, to my horror, that my 4 year old kid already thought guns were bad. Not sure even how. So I did the balloon-knife demonstration for him and spent 15 minutes going over the basics. At the end, he held the pistol, unloaded, pointed in a safe direction, finger off the trigger, for a minute or so. I am not sure I'd do it earlier than that. The day they start wanting toy guns, I'll instead buy real ones. I'd rather have my kid playing with a gun he has to respect than to be shooting everyone and everything with the latest toy.

My 11yo took a 4-H course last year, "Safe Use of Guns" I think it was called, that included a bunch of range time with .22's. It's the entry level class that is required to take any other firearm courses in 4-H (pistol, advanced rifle, shotgun, etc.). He enjoyed it and got a good education about firearms at the same time.

EDIT -

Ohio 4-H page (that looks like it was designed in 1996) - http://www.ohio4hshootingsports.org/

National 4-H Shooting Sports state-by-state list - http://www.4-hshootingsports.org/state_contacts.php

I remember before my dad bought me my single shot .410, he had my try to release the hammer on a different 12 gauge shotgun to see if I was strong enough to de-cock it.

Toyman01 wrote: Mine have been shooting since they were 8-9. As long as they are old enough to understand gun safety and hold the thing up, they are old enough.

I have no kids, but basically this. My nephew isn't even 1 and has been banned from my racecar and firing range.

In reply to fastEddie:

Thanks for that link, I will show it to my 9 year old.

My 2 year old will learn to handle a gun. Start her off with a .22 semi auto and then roll her over to the .17 HMR bolt action. No recoil on either gun, very inexpensive and fun to shoot. Both very accurate. Get her used to the basics and the fundamentals of firearms and their safe operation. Key word, SAFE. As in anything, knowledge and proper instruction are paramount.

I'm not teaching her while she's 2. Maybe 6 or so we will start learning.

My son started learning about that age. One thing I might recommend, though, is something other than a semi-auto (or only load and fire a single round at a time). Kids tend to relax after the gun goes off and also tend to turn around to ask where the shot went and usually pull the gun off target when they do so. Having another round immediately on tap isn't always a good thing. I never let my son shoot with more than one round in the gun until he had been shooting for a year or two and had demonstrated strong safety habits. There are lots of single shot bolt action rifles out there I would recommend over a 10/22 for a "first gun".

My 3 year old knows what they look like and not to touch them unless mommy or daddy is there and helps. He knows that if he sees one, he is supposed to come and tell us immediately. He is already learning the fundamentals of safety. I got my Red Rider when I was 7 and have been shooting ever since -- I think my son will be ready by 5. That Red Rider, and my Great-grandfather's .22 (which has been passed down for 4 generations now) are waiting for him (and the 6-month old) in the safe.

I regularly hunt ducks and other small game with 2 young men aged 10 and 12. They were introduced to .22 rifles about 5 years ago. It was a single shot at a time with their father or me standing directly behind them to take control if necessary. They are both excellent shots and very responsible gun handlers. We will have the boys give us a gun safety lecture and explanation of how the firearms we are using that day operate. I trust them with guns more than I trust most adults with guns. Teach your boy properly and it will be fine.

EastCoastMojo wrote:

Toyman01 wrote: As long as they are old enough to understand gun safety and hold the thing up, they are old enough.

^^ This. I wish I had had the opportunity as a kid.

+2. I've been into guns all my life - having a military historian for a father will do that, but he was never into shooting or anything, despite the fact we always had a few guns he inherited from his father before I was born.

I was shooting .22s when I was that age. I got into a 4-H group that did a lot of shooting sports and archery. Learned a ton.

No kids. But I was introduced to shooting when I was <10. My family has an old .22 bolt action rifle with a small stock that the kids have been taught to shoot with when growing up. Learned about gun safety and were taught care, handling, and respect for guns in a controlled environment.

My dad was actually of the belief that he would rather have us shooting .22 than BB or pellet guns. His reasoning is that a .22 is a real gun and teaches you to respect it like the lethal weapon it is. BB guns are not lethal, so people handle them carelessly and learn bad habits that they are likely to transfer over when using a real gun.

I started my kids off at 6/8 in the backyard with an airsoft pistol. Good way to teach them about safety and dynamics of firearms without much possibility of harm. Now 7, my son just got upgraded to a Red Rider.

I figure if I can instill that a gun is always loaded and should never be pointed at anything you don't want to destroy now, they may bitch slap a dumb friend that whips out his parents real firearm. Recent events have shown that too many gun owners don't properly store/secure their weapons.

kazoospec wrote: My son started learning about that age. One thing I might recommend, though, is something other than a semi-auto (or only load and fire a single round at a time). Kids tend to relax after the gun goes off and also tend to turn around to ask where the shot went and usually pull the gun off target when they do so. Having another round immediately on tap isn't always a good thing. I never let my son shoot with more than one round in the gun until he had been shooting for a year or two and had demonstrated strong safety habits. There are lots of single shot bolt action rifles out there I would recommend over a 10/22 for a "first gun".

this. there is a single shot bolt action kids first gun called the "cricket". it even can be had in pink for those introducing their little girls to shooting. they're sized so nearly any talking and walking kid could likely handle it without it being too big.