RE: age for starting to shoot
My son's only 5 now and hasn't shot yet. I'm taken him and he handled the noise ok. I don't think it's a matter of age of when to start them but rather an issue of maturity. They've got to be able to understand what's going on and the dangers involved. Drive the safety into them until they're telling you safety measures. When they can show the level of understanding and maturity to deserve to be shooting , it's time. For some that's 6 or 8 for others... heck I know grown adults that aren't mature enough to bring to the range. It's not a question of age.