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How young is too young to shoot a gun?
Not carry it or hunt, just to shoot it under close adult supervision and start getting familiar with it, learning it's not a toy?
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RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
bb gun with dad, 3yrs+ ?
think I shot my .410 for the first time when I was 8 or something, knocked me over! haha. but a .22 or something, I think just about any age, with close adult supervision, but 3+ I'd say would be the minum for just plinking etc.. The thing I would caution, is showing him how much fun it is to shoot, then having it unlocked in the house...he'll quickly learn how to use it, and being curious etc...could find it load it, and shoot it, kids are curious, and don't have the rational/logic we adults do, something I've noticed is oftne overlooked by adults, they assume because they can think etc... that everyone can think, even teenagers don't have the where with all that a 20yo does. So if you are planning on having a youngster shoot, I'd make sure you have a gun cabinet/ safe. |
RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
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 :D 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.... |
RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
I think it all depends on the kid......My boy for instanceI felt was a little immature for his age growing up (he's 10 now) so I didn't start him on the BB gun till he was seven...yes seven. I felt he was mature enough to show good finger discipline and muzzle awareness. He took to shooting like a duck in water (takes after his old man!:)) and rarely misses what he's aiming at. He's shooting .22's and 410's now and I'll soon move him up to a 20ga and larger rifles as well.
Now contrast this to some of my buddies who have their kids shooting .22's at about age five and up and BB guns about as soon as they could hold the gun. It all depends on the kid and only you as the adult will know if they are ready mentally to start shooting.....I'm glad I waited with mine, he's a much safer and more aware shooter because of it. My daughter is seven now and she is starting with the BB gun. She is way further advanced mentally than my son was at her age and is fully aware of what she is doing (it's scary actually:D) but since I had him wait I thought I'd just do the same with her. This way his feelings wouldn't be hurt and she's none the wiser. Had I only had her I probably would have started her on the BB gun earlier. Just use your best judgment and remember there will be plenty of time for them to shoot when they grow up but bad habits are hard to break. Teach them right early on and it will stay with them, if that means waiting a few extra years....so be it. |
RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
It seems my son has grown up way too fast but he got a very early start in shooting. It doesn't hurt that he is also quite big for his age. Each birthday starting when he was 5 brought a new gun of some type. At 5 it was the Gamo pellet gun, 6 a Marlin bolt .22, at 7 he was shooting prairie dogs with me and his 22-250 by 8 he had a 20 ga. shotgun and a .260 Remington. He shot his elk and his antelopelast year with a .300 Win mag....he just turned 15 this year.
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RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
I started my son out with a chipmunk when he was 5 or 6 don't remember exactly and had to cut the stock 2" or so .
Bought him a 410 shotgun when he was 10 years old . I bought him a 20 gauge semi when he was 12. He has a Tikka 308 at his disposal whenever he wants to go deer hunting It all depends on the maturity level of the kid and his/her physical size. I am around whenever he shoots something anyway until he gets a little older . I started shooting a daisy red ryder in 7th grade and have never looked back. No one in my family owned guns or hunted so I was pretty much on my own. |
RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
I am glad you posted this. my 3 kids are going to be 3 in Jan.....I was thinking once they start school would be a good time to introduce them to a BB gun....There mom is not happy about this idea at all....Her nephew is now 10 and I can't teach him yet....
any thoughts on changing someones opinion |
RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
I have a handicap son who started shooting when he was 8 he is now 12 and shoots mostly a 22rf tube feed as it works best for him. He is a birth quad amputee. His ortho surgeon was the one who finally got mom to let us try. He has shot my .375 winchester and my 45-70 but they really thump him.
I also have a 2 year old that is really interested in firearms and in two years we will go out and see how he acts. We have a daughter who's son went out with granddad and dad last Christmas for the first time at 4 and had fun shooting a 22rf, 40s&W, 45auto and did quite well for being only 4 and the first time out. I will be a really old guy when this one is ready to hunt and dad will take him if he wants and we will go target shooting if that is all he wants. He is the one who has to decide. I also have a 1 year old daughter that my want to shoot and hunt and dad will take her out too. Don't matter to me if it is a boy or girl that I go out with it is just plain fun to shoot together and spend time with the kids and them with dad. Mom goes once in a while and that is fine too. |
RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
3 years for a smart kid. That's just bb guns. The way the kid handles the bb gun will determine when to start him on a .22.
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RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
Both My Son and Daughter started shooting 22's at the range and BB's at the house at 5yo.My son loves watching the heavy steel targets fall after he hits them from 25, 50, and 100 yards. I know many like to start with a scope but I started with open sights and they had no problems at all understanding them. My son is now 8 he is hunting turkey with a .410. I don't let him shoot animals that he does not understand the end use of. I do not want to intruduce him to killing animals like varmits untill he understands the differance between killing a animal to benfit the envirerment and harvisting animal to provide us with food.
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RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
ORIGINAL: NBDeerHunter I am glad you posted this. my 3 kids are going to be 3 in Jan.....I was thinking once they start school would be a good time to introduce them to a BB gun....There mom is not happy about this idea at all....Her nephew is now 10 and I can't teach him yet.... any thoughts on changing someones opinion |
RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
Shdwlkr ...god bless you sounds like you are a great dad and have a great family
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RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
I shot first around the age of two....but actually holding the gun and all on my own I was four. WHen I was five I was allowed to "hunt birds" with my BB gun. Start out with a .22 and close supervision three or four years old will be ok.
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RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
my four year old killed 4 deer with his .223 last year. he knows better than to even look at the gun if I'm not with him.
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RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
As soon as a kid can wipe his/her own but they are old enough.
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RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
bigangrychickenx2 on knowing better than to look ata gin w/out me. I staryted my daughter on the Daisy route when she was 5, we have grown since then and we are now shooting 22. at 10. She likes to sit in the stands but isn't real sure about killing part. That's fine w/me, I got a decent camera, food, my daughter sharing time w/me and understanding the sport;.
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RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
I got a 410 when I was 3 at 11 I was swinging a Mod.12 12ga and an 06' at 12 . My Dad andGrandfather and I were always hunting or off to the trap range till I was about 6 things dried up a little .Life got in the way I guess we moved about 4 times. Starting all over again at10 was harsh too be sure .
That said my 4 went to the range shooting , hunts when I was "on the move" from the time they were 7,5,4,3 . the oldest 2 were about 5 and 3 when I started them but life got in the way for a year or so . I'd say if the kid is old enough to grasp the consept of "if you bang your head on the table edge or bottom it hurts and this tiny little package in this tube will shread a hole big enough for your whole armthrough a table top all the way down the hallway " that's old enough . Anyway it worked for me . The Seals won't let my daughter (SeaBee's) qualify w the 45 (5 in the x body 3 in the head 25yards 5 seconds) because she scared them . The baby qualified in the Army asMarksman(?) w the AR right and left handed and scored no misses with the M-9 . Both missed Sniper by less than 5 points . The oldest shoots perfect scores when qualifing for his duty CCW w/M-9 and riot M-500 . The last is just not in to it at all total natural archer and shooter she pops pill bottles at the 50 w/ 22s every time she goes and has just 1 pin on her Martin compound and that keeps her inside 6" from 20-60 yards 3" when she's really focused . |
RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
I gota daisy bb gun when I was 3. I learned to shoot by plunking pop cans in the back yard all day. I started going goose hunting with my dad when I was about 7yrs old using a .410 shotgun which I still have today. (recently refurbished it too)
I believe it depends on the kid. If your kid has behavior problems I would wait on it. Other wise I don't see any harm in giving a bb gun rifle to a youngster coherant enough and big enough to operate it. as with anything the younger you learn the better. My dad was big on keeping the gun on safe at all times so that is something I am now overley cautious about. It's good to engrain these things at a young age so they stay there for life. btw, once I wanted to see whata bb shotfelt like so I put my finger on the end of the bbl and shot my finger. fortunately the bb didn't go in very deep& I learned a valuable lesson that day, as did my parents. Don't leave the bb gun where your kid can reach it, after he learns to use it he will think he is ready to do it allby himself, naturaly. |
RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
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 :D 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.... |
RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
Before reading anyone else's post I want to say that it all depends on the child. If the child will follow directions and the gun will fit him/her, then I'd say go for it. I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old.Both boys, not that that really matters. I have tried to let my oldest fire a 22 once and didn't like how that went so we're going to wait a while. I realize I was probably rushing things with him, but I just can't wait to have my little hunting buddy drop his first deer
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RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
I will say that you can start a kid as early as you are willing to work with them,I started working with my daughter around three and she has progressed well, she took her first deer last year at the age of 7 years old. Of course with my supervision, as long as you are willing to put the time in and teach them the correct way to handle firearms and have consequences when they make mistakes, they will learn and pick it up quickly. My daughter started shooting with me and then as she progressed I moved her up to a BB gun on her own, then on to shooting the .22 off the bench by herself and on to the .243 off the bench with very close supervision. You put in the time and energy they will surprise you.
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RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
Both my kids started shooting at 5. - bb, air rifle and .22 at first. My daughter always wanted to shoot the next bigger size, once. She then learnedher limitationsand wouldwait another year to try again.She is now a teenager andshootsthe .30-30, .40 S&W, and 20 ga pump. She does not like the 12 ga pump. My son marks his progress in a two year lag behind her. Youcan feed off the kids actions and see their interestand ability.
Bringing them up too soon may bring in too muchrecoil andcould lead todevelopingbad habits and alack of interest. I now have my kids back toshooting a tack driving.22 rifle (I almost lost them to shooting due to apoor performing.22). The successful feelingof good shot placement, even on paper,isa good motivator. I did thewhole Eddie the Eagle routine with both of them and kept the gunsin the safeas they were growing up. You have some good years ahead of you. - Good Luck! |
RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
My son just turned 4. He sat in my lap and shot the 22 long rifle yesterday while i held it. However, I feel that he is too young still to even carry a BB gun at this point. He is very smart, he just has a little bit too much energy at this age and I feel as though he isnt capable of containing it properly while holding a fire arm (Barrel Awareness for the most part). Other children i have seen would have no problem with the safet factor at this age, but mine seems to haev a little bit more uncontrolled energy at this age and therefore he will sit in my lap for a few years and shooting whatever I am holding until he is of the age where his awareness of objects and the direction they face is firmly imprinted in his mind at all times. Best of luck to everybody with their children and firearms.Its great to see so many people trying to get their kids involved with the outdoors when all i see in my little suburbia area is parents trying to get their children to sit still with a nintendo wii or some equivelant.
If you want to get a child to slow down,relax, pay attention, and listen.....then take him to the outdoors, its a mental wonderland! |
RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
I remember shooting a 22 with my Dad at 5 yrs.
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RE: How young is too young to shoot a gun?
i remeber shooting 22's way back. My dad shouldered the gun i sighted it and pulled the trigger.
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