badshotbob

All great replys and some great advice - thanks.

I asked him this afternoon if he was ever going to want to shoot his new gun. He said he wanted to and then told me how he shoots with his friends and his grandpa occasionally. See, I am a divorced dad that doesn't have full custody so leading him down the same road I took as a boy has been a little bit of a challenge. Thinking back, you guys are right - a little old for a bb gun perhaps. I was shooting shotguns and 22s when I was 10 or so. But I feel that I have to start him from the ground up. I also grew up out in the sticks where I had a 3-4 square mile playground. It was different back then - no one minded if you went on their land. I live in a sub where I don't have the luxury of turning him loose with a gun or a motorcycle. This has made me think a lot about how my son is being raised. Thanks again.

firsttimeelkhunter

I agree wit A5. I know my kid who is 6 got a couple of gifts that he just said "Dad, thats for a little kid"

Anyway, Ask him! If you have the repor (sp) with him, just ask. If not get started. I problebly have a better repor with my uncle who took me hunting alot more growing up compared to my dad. Not that I have a bad repor with my dad, just can talk freer and easier to my uncle. Some of my best memories are with both my dad and uncle and guess what, they were all either hunting or fishing!

Edit: Didn't read far enough b/4 i started to post. Still I think hunting and shooting would be a great bond for the two of you. A buddy of mine who is going through a nasty divorce is always shooting with both of hus girls. One is 13 and the other is 8. Both BB Guns and 22's

Huntsalotey

Dont get to worried right now. He will come around on his own eventually....

Whe I was young my dad started me out hunting with him. We would squirel hunt and then when bow season come in he would bow hunt I would squirel hunt. But then he would set me out where he knew where i was and probably could see me , but to me he must have been over the mountain on the next one. This made me paranoid and I would get up and start hollering for him and walking in the direction I last saw him. He always popped up on me, right near me. He was always watching over me. He finally taught me this certain whistle like a bobwhite and said to use that. Well from then on its been that whistle when I was searching for him. It wasnt' a couple more years, I may have been 11, 12 most, I lost complete interest. Told mom I didn't like it, and i just went to please him. However , he never pushed it on me, nor did he ever act any different around me. i quit altogether. I entered my teenage years and then high school and still was not interested. I was doing my own thing, playing ball and such. Then about my second year in college, something happened. Idont' know what triggered it or how it came about, but I plunged into hunting and shooting full force. I bought my first high power .270, started bowhunting. Killed my first two deer with a bow in the first season out. IN first two days. I killed a 5 point buck on opening day that year also. That year really sealed me in for life. You know what, Dad and I went hunting and when we needed to find one another, guess how we did it. Your right, that bobwhite whistle. Funny thing is we never mentioned it and had not mentioned it in all those years. It just came naturally as he taught it to me as a boy.
Well now I am 32 years old. I have a family..Two children. A little girl and a little boy. That little boy is my shadow. loves everything I do. He makes me day when I see him doing what he sees me doing. Anyway I was talking to my wife the other day and I told her that our little boy is my best friend. He is 3 years old. Many people dont think that could be possible, but it is. He is my best friend. He goes everywhere i go, crawls in bed and sleeps beside me. I get the middle. He is my shadow, but man I love it. I hope I do half as good as dad done with me and I know those pressures are there wanting that boy to be your best friend and hunting buddy. What I can say is take a lesson from my life and love him to death and in his time he will come around and want to be just like ole dad.
One last thing. Dad hasn't hunted in probably 5 years or more. Alot of different reasons why. Health and such. But I have pressed right along. By myself alot, but one day my boy will go in his time. I have taken up reloading and all. But something special happened this year, Dad wanted to go hunting. I had him meet me and we went to the same place . We walked into the woods together, we told each other where we would be. And we set out hunting. He had one come across his path not more than 30 yards before he could get more than 10 yards away from me. It was a big doe. he couldnt' tell what it was and had his gun mounted sighting that doe in that 44 mag Marlin lever action of his. He turned and asked me what it was, and I wanted to tell him a spike so bad. but he let it go. It was great seeing that rush in him again. We set out to hunt and i found myself wondering about him. I kept looking in his direction trying to locate him if I could just see that blaze orange. I was having no luck and begin to worry. I started moving in his direction and my mind went right back to that bobwhite whistle he taught me as a boy. I begin to use it as I moved towards him. It wasn't long before I heard it. That beautiful bobwhite whistle coming my way. Man what a blessing to be hunting with your dad!!! I think about what I missed all those years and try to make all that we have left count and be the best they can be............ Don't worry. They always come around in their time and more often than not, they turn out just like Dad. Just love him and support him in all his interest and share yours with him. Sorry so long, thanks for letting me tell you that. It made me feel good inside to share that. This year I will never forget.

DM

Personally, i think you should have bought 2 BB guns!!! Then go out to shoot yours regularly, and invite him to take his out too. That way, he see's that age is NOT a factor in BB gun shooting, and has "dad" to shoot against!!

I blow up baloons with my air compressor big, so they pop easily, and shoot at them with the kids. They really like to see them pop! BUT, don't stand close, as a tuff baloon will bounce a BB off it!! When he gets better let the wind blow the baloons around as you both shoot at them!!!

Drilling Man

vatidefan

I was raised much like you. First gun was a Remington 1100 at 11. I wouldn't worry too much. Get him out of the sub when you have him and take him into the woods. He'll grow into shooting soon enough.

BigBore1895

Not sure why he doesn't like it. I am 21 and I still shoot my red ryder all the time. Currently I am cleansing the entire neighborhood of pigeons with one. I also set up a little range in the hallway. Fun as hell, and somewhat cheaper to shoot than my 45/70!

sawbill

Badshot...he's not playing with dolls so thats one worry off your mind. I know a few kids who just weren't interested in hunting but became fishing freaks. I also know one kid who didn't like the outdoors until he was 14. He got his hunting licence, now his mother never knows when hes gonna come home.

ELKampMaster

My bet it is one of two things.

One, he just likes archery better (there are folks out there like that).

Two, almost eleven? I'm afraid you're a bit behind the curve. The gun is probably going to have to go "bang" before it is going to gain much interest; the bow and arrow has more power and perhaps more range (sshhhhhhhthackk!) than the BB gun (snap-tap-ping). If he is interested, then turn the kid loose with some real firepower!

Good place to start is 22LR's into a dirt bank where he can see the impact of every shot -- Ruger 10/22 with a full clip (towards the end of the session) would be tantalizing, shotgun with trap loads (hand thrown cans [with dirt in them] are easier to hit than clays), .223 into jugs of water off of a rest makes things interesting -- give the kid some exposure to something with some adrenaline to it. In ones youth (yours, theirs, mine) there is a definite attraction to firepower -- not magnums, just something with some sex appeal to it.

Nowadays one of my favorite guns is a 5mm air rifle, BUT ONLY after that I had already been down the road from 22LR to 416 Rigby and .410 to 10 gauge.

My $.02.

Good Luck and Good Hunting,
EKM

7mm MAGNUM

I'd take him out a few times with the BB gun and let him know that when he gets good with his saftey habits and accuracy WITH his BB gun,... he will get to graduate to the .22 long rifle.

At the age of 9 or 10,.. I was consistantly shooting a .22 long rifle and a "early-version" Browning semi-auto lightwight (gold trigger) 16ga. Every now and then when we went to the range, my dad would let me shoot his 30-06 Springfield and that was a REAL treat, however after 5-6 round I had enough

Be sure that he is proficient in all the areas necessary while handleing and shooting a BB gun,... then move on to the next rung in the ladder.

eldeguello

I hate to say this, Bob, but he may be a bowhunter! I brought my son up right, taught him everything I know about rifles, pistols & shotguns plus hunting with all of these! He became a better hunter than me, but after about ten years, lost interest in hunting with firearms! It became too easy for him! So he bought a bow, and has been using nothing but for the past 15 years or so. He is so good at calling elk, he now gets at least one every fall, and most of his shots are at 15 to 20 yards! He called a nice bull in for me in Oct., my first elk, and I shot it at about 20 yards! No further away than that! Used a 7mm Rem. Mag., though, not a bow!!

Now he's a great hunter, but I don't consider him to be a shooter, or a gun-nut, like his father! Oh well, you tries your best, but things don't always work out like you planned!!