ORIGINAL: mauser06
good advice salukipv....
every child if different. i know some very young kids that are more responsible and id let shoot a gun than many adults or teenagers etc.
i know i was shooting a BB gun with dad at probably 3 or so...wasnt long after i was shooting the 22. remember dad put a 38 special in a full sized 357mag for me to shoot...i was pretty danged young....but i was hooked
by the time i was 12 i was shooting a 308 and 12ga. actually liked the 12 more than my small, light single shot 20ga and got a 12ga when i was 13 i believe.
but no matter what, its always a great idea to keep guns and ammo away from children...i know thats probably "common sense" but "common sense" aint so common...so dont be offended...i just rather say it and hope its followed. saftey is always the most important issue at hand.
i was brought up differently than most kids...i was doing things at ages muccccch younger before most kids would EVER get the chance...i was always around firearms and always will be. different kids mature at different ages...teaching them young can help things...but if you find out they are "too much of a kid" IMO its safer to pull the plugs than to let them keep shooting and such...
it was a REAL long time before i was EVER allowed to shoot my pellet gun without dad standing over my shoulder. then it was even longer before i was allowed to shoot it when he wasnt outside with me...had a safe large area to shoot...but dad was careful with me. he also took me to the woods to shoot...or private ranges we were the only ones at...never went to a range with others until i was older. just easier to teach, instruct, and no distractions for the youth....
I was had my first bb gun when i was three, and at that time i wasnt aloud to shoot by myself, but when i was like 7-8 my parents said if i was ever caught shooting unsafely i would never shoot again, so guess what i new not to and i didnt, i was aloud to shoot by myself when i was 7 but that was a bb gun, i shot my first shotgun when i was 10, but my bb gun was always in my room, but i guess some kids are different, i see kids i would never even think of letting them hold a bb gun, but everyone is differnt, but back to your question i would 3yrs would be the youngest.