I have 3 daughters (7, 3, and 1.5) and the two older ones sit and watch the hunting with me for a bit.. Sometimes they get up and go play then come back and so on. The oldest has been asking me for the last couple years to let her shoot a deer. So finally this year i went and bought a H&R .223 compact. We are going to give it a shot. It all depends on the kids and how they are raised...And I agree that when it is shown in sporting good stores there should really be no hustle and bustle about it...