What is "too young" to start learning how to handle shoot

[Duece]

One of my grandsons turns 6 this June.

I asked my daughter and her hubby if they would be OK with me starting to teach the young lad how to handle, respect and shoot.

They think him learning from me is a great thing, they are good with this

I was thinking of starting out very simply with some basics of handling, a BB gun and shooting

I am curious what others think on the timing or any suggestions

 

[Dadstoys]

The B.B./ Pellet gun is a great starter. Work on the basics, safety, control, aim. Then the .22 and on up.
Mine was shooting my 50 cal. blackpowder at 6.
Drilled the safety part into him first and formost.
At 14 he is outshooting me with pistol now.

 

[speedy]

My son turned 6 last December. He is a Great shot with an air gun, no recoil bla bla. My daughter went to the range as soon as she could hold and shoulder her mini ger Mini Henry properly. I think age 7.
They both know how to align iron sights wery well. Never too early to teach basics. Start with safety.

 

[mac1911]

I will say its all dependent on the eagerness and the attention span of the child. I can remember as far back as 5 my dad bringing me to the range.
Father: Listen this is how it is going to be. The minute you do not do what I tell you or misbehave we are leaving. " around 6 years old I got the bug to shoot and new my dad was serious with his warnings.
I also grew up around guns. I am going to say my dad probably would constantly go over the the basic RULES of gun handling safety at any point a gun be it a toy,bb or real deal as far back as infancy???. THe very 1st thing I did was teach my daughter to not "play" with guns. Get away from any gun she may find or see's children playing with one to get away and find an adult.
I have had the pellet guns out with my daughter as early as 3 years old. I always verbally go through the gun handling safety guide lines(found in the first few pages of any firearm manual) She is still to small to really handle any of my bb/pellet guns. I do let her put her eye through the scope and sqeeze off a round at the water jugs. shes got about a 5 shot interest then its off to do something else(shes 5 now)
The first thing do is ask my daughter. " Is the gun loaded?" YES is the only response acceptable. I will show her the empty chamber and ask again "Is the gun loaded?" Still YES is the answer. Treat guns as if they are always loaded. I have her check to see if the safety is on. I drill her about the finger on the trigger. I have her look down range(my little home range) ask her if theres anything out there other than the jugs.

For me its never to young to at least begin the safety side of learning. My daughter is 5 now. Shows good safety skills in most things but has lost interest for now in shooting....ive lost her to the pink and shinny side....thats ok though.

Just a side note: If your local club has a jr program and they will allow a 6 year old you might want to go that route. I seen my friend trying to "teach" his kid and it was ugly. Signed him up for the jr program....completely different kid now.

 

[MisterHappy]

Depends on the kid.

My kids took their first shots at about 5.

The younger one took to it more than the older, and was shooting trap at 7; on the Trap line solo at eight; "stole" my 12 ga at 9, and went 25 straight before he was ten.

Both are safe and competent, both with long guns, and handguns.

Depends on the physical ability of the kid, and the mental maturity.

Have fun!

 

[kiver]

I took my kids to the Big MOE when they were 4 and 6. While I am on top of my son at all times (now 6), my daughter is quite a good shot for 8. I quiz them every time we head to the range about safety.

 

[el duderino]

Can they wrap their hand around the grip and reach the trigger? Old enough to shoot.

 

[center442]

One of my grandsons turns 6 this June.

I asked my daughter and her hubby if they would be OK with me starting to teach the young lad how to handle, respect and shoot.

They think him learning from me is a great thing, they are good with this

I was thinking of starting out very simply with some basics of handling, a BB gun and shooting

I am curious what others think on the timing or any suggestions

You, and the kid's parents, are doing that youngster a real service. You're demystifying guns as something forbidden and teaching him that they're tools...tools that need to be used properly so no one gets hurt.

We had three kids. Each one expressed an interest at a different age, so I introduced them to shooting at different times. They all learned basic safety, but I never pushed them into shooting as a sport/hobby. IMO, there's no magic age. It all depends on the individual's maturity level...and curiousity.

 

[Pilgrim]

Age is irrelevant. Ability to understand is paramount.

My granddaughter with a Cricket at age 5. Every time we went to the range she had to recite the 4 safety rules before she could shoot.

fast forward to 10 years old:

 

[bullseye]

Is he out of diapers?

- - - Updated - - -

Age is irrelevant. Ability to understand is paramount.

My granddaughter with a Cricket at age 5. Every time we went to the range she had to recite the 4 safety rules before she could shoot.

fast forward to 10 years old:

Time flies, its precious!

 

[Neuro]

i would say, what ever age you feel them being comfortable with a nail gun.

 

[Wendell]

Don't forget to emphasize wearing eye protection - always.

 

[K7500]

I have 1/2 yr old. Starting him on rubber band guns now. Hahaha. I dunno. He'll be shooting the 22 rifle first

 

[Spanz]

this has a few past threads on it. In my case, it was 5 years old with .22 rifle at the original Harford gun club. They had a standard long shooting table situation, but also had a nice little area for prone shooting. Prone shooting, I think, is a little safer as it is a lot harder for a kid to forget and sweep anyone with the barrel. But a parent has to evaluate each kid on his own....he/she has to be able to listen and understand a couple key instructions.

If they do not have any at the range, bring a couple of sand bags for the kid to rest his hands on.

 

[thesyguy]

Perfect plan. The same thing we do in Boy Scouts. Start with the BB gun and work your way up.

 

[PatMcD]

I remember this question being asked a long time ago. The answer was something like "Would you trust the youngster to go down to the corner store with a $5 bill and a grocery list?". If yes, then he/she is old enough.

 

[MisterHappy]

I remember this question being asked a long time ago. The answer was something like "Would you trust the youngster to go down to the corner store with a $5 bill and a grocery list?". If yes, then he/she is old enough.

The real question is "Do you expect to get change back?"

 

[ShadeWPI]

A lot of it will depend on the maturity of the child, their wiliness to take and follow instruction and their ability to focus. For most kids, I've found it's between 5 and 8 years of age when they're able to listen and focus well enough to be trusted to safely handle a firearm under supervision. I've met a few 4 year olds (mostly girls) who were able to handle it and I've known a lot of kids older than 8 who shouldn't be trusted with a standard fork much less a firearm.

My son has been practicing safe handling with NERF guns - Point in a safe direction, finger off the trigger, only shoot at targets, etc. He's five now and we'll get out to a range this spring/summer to he and see what it's like to shoot a .22LR.

 

[SR556]

My daughters only 8 months old and I'm already teaching her about guns. How much of it is sticking I have no idea, but whenever I get a new gun I always sit down with her and show it to her and teach her about how it functions, it's history, etc.

Even if she is screaming and crying, the easiest way to calm her down is to sit down with her and show her a gun. It fascinates her.

I plan on letting her shoot as soon as she's old enough to hold a rifle and be safe with it. Maybe 3 or 4.

 

[Wrench75]

It depends a lot on the child's attention span. My father put his service revolver in my hands at 2 yrs. old. That guaranteed that I never looked at guns like they were toys. I started shooting in earnest at 4 yrs old. 6 is plenty old enough to start teaching him w/ a 22. A MKIII would be perfect to learn on.

 

[Mass-diver]

Depends on the kid.

I got a .22 rifle for my 7th b-day and had been going to the range for a couple years before hand. I would certainly not wait until 10, the younger the better. I can't wait to start shooting with my daughter.

 

[sweetjeep]

Duece: I didn't read all the other posts, I am just posting my experience... and I have thusfar based my decisions on "history".

I have a 4 year old and have had guns since before I had him. What I have done it ALWAYS cater to him when he is curious about them, interested or wants to shoot or "whatever".

If I have a gun out and he is curious I make the time to show him and discuss. The FIRST THING WE ALWAYS DO is talk safety. "What do you do when you see a gun?" "What do we do when we are allowed to touch one" etc etc. THEN once he is able to repeat to me the rules we do whatever we are doing (looking, touching, shooting, etc). The reason is to force feed safety and to shunt his curiosity and make him comfortable.

If you're a kid and dad always tells you to stay away from something, what's the first thing you do when you are unsupervised? You haul ass to that thing. If my son is allowed to see/touch/shoot whenever he wants, he won't be digging in the safe when he shouldn't. Or if I leave something unattended. Or more specifically, if he is at another house and sees something. And if he does, he knows what to do. Maybe my logic is flawed, but it's working so far.

As to the actual shooting, he's been shooting with me since he was 2ish. I'll hold a 10/22 and let him lean over it and rip off the magazine or 2 or 3 or whatever. His hands are too little for a pistol, but the 10/22 is about good since he can just pull the trigger and look at the red dot.

 

[WargameHub]

My vote is they are too young if they cant.comprehend safety. So for some people I know its 35, for others its just a few years old.

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