What is the minimum age of shooting in MA?

[xtry51]

Interesting

My daughter will be 3 in December and I was thinking airsoft/rubber pellets next spring and maybe pellet gun in the fall or when she is four, then let her tell me when she is ready for the 22. My wife is generally on board, but we're not going to "push" anything on her.

Were you worried about impulse control and generally lack of patience at that age with them. (I mean obviously not, but I'm trying to pick your brain.)

My boy is 16 and I trust him to be respectful and safe more than most of the "adults" I see at the range when I pull up some days.

No simply because they literally were only allowed to sit and pull the trigger. No aiming or anything. I set the rifle up with a support and bags and aimed it at the target 5 yards away. It's very basic at that age. Think about teaching a kid about steak knives. Kind of just a demo type situation where they do that one exercise, then observe mom and dad shooting. They get to help with things like hanging targets and loading mags. Then cleaning guns when we get home.

I'd say they weren't allowed to hold the gun themselves (22lr, rifle at a table, on a rest) until about age 5. At that point they had been around guns so much that it's not a worry. My kids literally don't know what its like to not have guns around 24/7. What's strange to my kids is other people not having guns, or other kids not knowing how to shoot one.

Also I wouldn't classify my kids as "gun nuts". They shoot at the range maybe 20 times a year. They don't pester me about going to the range, nor do they whine when we go. It's just kind of a normal activity.

The boys do have pump BB guns they use in the yard regularly, but we don't consider those the same as real firearms. They can use the BB guns whenever they want as long as they tell us first.

 

[browncoat]

No simply because they literally were only allowed to sit and pull the trigger. No aiming or anything. I set the rifle up with a support and bags and aimed it at the target 5 yards away. It's very basic at that age. Think about teaching a kid about steak knives. Kind of just a demo type situation where they do that one exercise, then observe mom and dad shooting. They get to help with things like hanging targets and loading mags. Then cleaning guns when we get home.

I'd say they weren't allowed to hold the gun themselves (22lr, rifle at a table, on a rest) until about age 5. At that point they had been around guns so much that it's not a worry. My kids literally don't know what its like to not have guns around 24/7. What's strange to my kids is other people not having guns, or other kids not knowing how to shoot one.

Also I wouldn't classify my kids as "gun nuts". They shoot at the range maybe 20 times a year. They don't pester me about going to the range, nor do they whine when we go. It's just kind of a normal activity.

The boys do have pump BB guns they use in the yard regularly, but we don't consider those the same as real firearms. They can use the BB guns whenever they want as long as they tell us first.

This right here is one reason why I can't raise kids in MA. I can't believe that BB guns and air rifles require adult supervision here.

 

[xtry51]

This right here is one reason why I can't raise kids in MA. I can't believe that BB guns and air rifles require adult supervision here.

Yeah, that's dumb. Even CT wasn't that full retard.

Take a kid and hunt a squirrel or two with a pellet gun in the back yard. They get the "it can be deadly and is not a toy" idea a lot faster than most people give kids credit for.

 

[Beansie]

No simply because they literally were only allowed to sit and pull the trigger. No aiming or anything. I set the rifle up with a support and bags and aimed it at the target 5 yards away. It's very basic at that age. Think about teaching a kid about steak knives. Kind of just a demo type situation where they do that one exercise, then observe mom and dad shooting. They get to help with things like hanging targets and loading mags. Then cleaning guns when we get home.

I'd say they weren't allowed to hold the gun themselves (22lr, rifle at a table, on a rest) until about age 5. At that point they had been around guns so much that it's not a worry. My kids literally don't know what its like to not have guns around 24/7. What's strange to my kids is other people not having guns, or other kids not knowing how to shoot one.

Also I wouldn't classify my kids as "gun nuts". They shoot at the range maybe 20 times a year. They don't pester me about going to the range, nor do they whine when we go. It's just kind of a normal activity.

The boys do have pump BB guns they use in the yard regularly, but we don't consider those the same as real firearms. They can use the BB guns whenever they want as long as they tell us first.

Thanks for the response.

I don't think my daughter is ready to listen enough to even do the table thing yet, but we'll see in a couple months.