What age do you think kids should start shooting?

[DarryH]

Scout, Jaycee's, and 4H start gun safety at age 8. My son wasn't ready until age 9. Having said that, it is NEVER too soon to start safety training. Basics can be taught just by having your kid with you when you go shoot. He needs to learn how to behave and be safe in a shooting environment. As you go about your shooting, talk to him about what you are doing, and why.
I frequently encounter parents with kids at the range. I most often tend to have guns made in the 1800's through WWII. I have let quite a few of the parents and kids shoot one of my old timers. It may be the only chance to ever get to shoot one, and hopefully it kindles a strong interest in the hobby. My son later came to me a told me he really did not care for the guns or archery shooting, but he had fun being with me. It made me sad and happy at the same time. I dreamt of sharing the love of my hobby with him, yet I was proud he knew he could come to be, be honest, and know I wouldn't be mad. I hope you get a lifetime of fun with your son. I may not spend shooting time with mine. but I am so proud of him,and we do other things together.

 

[Matchbook454]

I started my daughters off with BB guns when they were 4. One of them really likes to shoot while the other does not. They're 7 now (twins) and the one is shooting .22 and .410. I'll have her shooting a 20 ga. off a Caldwell Field Pod this summer in hopes that she'll shoot her first turkey next spring.

 

[YZ-80]

Lots of great insight here. Nate started at 6 and is now 13. I bought him a CZ 452 Scout the year he turned 6 for Christmas. I introduced him to guns when he was about 4 because he was always asking me what was in the safes. I told him he could see and handle my guns under supervision at any time as long as he followed the rules and understood that while guns were fun, they were never, ever toys. Over the years this quenched his curiosity and guns became a normal part of our family life. Always handled properly and always respected. Anyway, like others have said, I made it fun. He'd shoot that Scoped CZ from a field bench at reactive targets, usually soda cans filled with water hanging on tea cup hooks from a 2X4. Man would they explode! Then we'd follow range safety rules going down range to post new targets. I wanted to impress upon him the lethality of a 22lr and he has grasped the concept. He's since moved on to AR-15's, .243s and 6.5 Creedmoores and he is still supervised but each year I give him a little more autonomy in the woods. His little sister will start soon (10). We'll follow the same protocol and hopefully she will take to it like he has. Thank God we have the freedom to share this right with our kids!

 

[willtim]

I did not read the whole thread so this may have been discussed. Determine their eye dominance and teach them to shoot off of their dominate eye. It's not so important for rifles but critical for shotguns. Both of my boys are right handed but left eye dominate. They started off shooting a Red Rider left handed and now it is natural for them.

 

[Riflehunter1776]

depends on the kid. some might be ready to go early. My daughter was shooting stuff at age 8, then her first deer at 11 or 12, and at least one every year since. My son is not as conscientious as she was, so he's going to wait longer.

 

[tony d willIiams]

I've been wondering this myself lately. My wife is due in less than two months, with twins, and I have two sons, so I'm soon to be a father of four (and these newcomers will almost certainly be here just before my oldest boy's 3rd birthday - I probably won't remember anything from the year ahead!). It will be non optional that they know firearm safety and know how to effectively use a firearm should they have to one day - beyond that I have no interest in pushing this obsession of mine onto them, if they're not into hunting or shooting they don't need to be. That being said, I struck out last hunting season and it got me reconsidering that as well, I joking/not joking said to wife "once they're teenagers they WILL go hunting with dad or they will accept a vegetarian lifestyle, I can't afford to buy meat for a family of 6 carnivores!" She agrees. She's even wanting to get into hunting herself for the same reason, and I swear I never thought I'd see that day! So that's a big win on my end of things.

Time to take her out scouting. I am sure that grandmas will trade off with each other while the two of you have some quiet time.
Be sure to let her rest a bit, I know the births and pregnancies tired my sweet wife a lot.

 

[tony d willIiams]

I did not read the whole thread so this may have been discussed. Determine their eye dominance and teach them to shoot off of their dominate eye. It's not so important for rifles but critical for shotguns. Both of my boys are right handed but left eye dominate. They started off shooting a Red Rider left handed and now it is natural for them.

When I was younger the dominate tests broke even. Now that I have reached my 60s, middle aged, my left eye focused better and has become my iron sight eye. Scope works well for each.

 

[Swiftkill]

Lots of great insight here. Nate started at 6 and is now 13. I bought him a CZ 452 Scout the year he turned 6 for Christmas. I introduced him to guns when he was about 4 because he was always asking me what was in the safes. I told him he could see and handle my guns under supervision at any time as long as he followed the rules and understood that while guns were fun, they were never, ever toys. Over the years this quenched his curiosity and guns became a normal part of our family life. Always handled properly and always respected. Anyway, like others have said, I made it fun. He'd shoot that Scoped CZ from a field bench at reactive targets, usually soda cans filled with water hanging on tea cup hooks from a 2X4. Man would they explode! Then we'd follow range safety rules going down range to post new targets. I wanted to impress upon him the lethality of a 22lr and he has grasped the concept. He's since moved on to AR-15's, .243s and 6.5 Creedmoores and he is still supervised but each year I give him a little more autonomy in the woods. His little sister will start soon (10). We'll follow the same protocol and hopefully she will take to it like he has. Thank God we have the freedom to share this right with our kids!View attachment 193034

Great pic!

 

[WinMag4me]

I have a two daughters,29 &25 and a 14 year old son.
The oldest girl started hunting at 7.
She participated in 4-H bb until she was old enough to shoot in 4-H shotgun.
She advanced to shooting in the USA Shooting Jr Olympics in International Trap
with a great group of So Ga kids.
I followed her to Colorado Springs on many occasions for the Jr Olympics for competitions where she impressed me greatly.
This started when she was 13.
I followed her to Sparta Illinois and other facilities.
She was invited to train at the Olympic Training facilities in Colorado where she trained with top shooters.
I am thankful for the opportunity's she had to highlight the positive side of the shooting sports for the youth of this great country!
She chose a career over shooting and made me a proud dad.
I feel that we need to promote the shooting sports in our youth to carry on what many have fought and sacrificed for for that opportunity.

 

[Bubba Q]

Not the whole state, just the part around the Sound. Where most of the people are. Get outside that area and you're in a different state.

Nevada is the same way. Las Vegas doesn't even recognize the north, which happens to be the best part of the state (in my opinion) !!!

 

[scpaul]

My 2 girls started shooting at 5 & 6 respectively. My older one San outshoot her country husband and my other one set a new rifle score for her high-school rifle team. It was shot military discipline, standing, kneeling and prone. Possible 300 score, she got 287 if I remember correctly. That was the late 80's to the early 90's. I still plann on framing the targets. Good framing is expensive.

 

[scpaul]

I have a two daughters,29 &25 and a 14 year old son.
The oldest girl started hunting at 7.
She participated in 4-H bb until she was old enough to shoot in 4-H shotgun.
She advanced to shooting in the USA Shooting Jr Olympics in International Trap
with a great group of So Ga kids.
I followed her to Colorado Springs on many occasions for the Jr Olympics for competitions where she impressed me greatly.
This started when she was 13.
I followed her to Sparta Illinois and other facilities.
She was invited to train at the Olympic Training facilities in Colorado where she trained with top shooters.
I am thankful for the opportunity's she had to highlight the positive side of the shooting sports for the youth of this great country!
She chose a career over shooting and made me a proud dad.
I feel that we need to promote the shooting sports in our youth to carry on what many have fought and sacrificed for for that opportunity.

We need more people to teach kids weapon safety and use at young ages. It might help some of the gun problems if they grow up knowing the damage that a firearm can produce, accidental or on purpose. I think that the defensive return fire would benefit too.

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

I had my 5 and 7 y/o shooting the .300 BO off the back porch last summer.

 

[MontanaJack]

Depends on the child's physical and cognitive abilities. I was 4 or 5 when my dad started teaching me how to use open sights. He set up his Mod 92 Win 20-20 using a box to hold the rifle stationary, pointed to a box across the living room He made a black round dot about 2" in diameter with a handle. I learned to yell stop when the dot was in the sight picture and he would mark the center of the dot on a white paper taped to the target box. After 3 "shots" he would draw a triangle using the 3 dots. We took turns with mom's help. I even got a smaller triangles than my dad sometimes. Later, dad coached me how to squeeze a trigger with controlled breathing, dry firing only. I got to fire live rounds at the range when I was big enough to aim dad's 22LR, laying prone with a front rest at about 6 years old. Lot's of instruction and practice before shooting live ammunition. My boys started shooting similarly, at about 7 or 8. Some of my grand children started young and others didn't care to learn until they were in their teens. The child needs interest and cognition to understand safety and have the discipline to understand and conform to the rules.