What age do you think kids should start shooting?

[Ol' Red]

Does your content get monitored by everyone including law enforcement & legal officials like it does in our country??

All I will say is be careful what you post!

Obviously your laws are different to ours but pictures of underaged children holding guns is opening youself up for a whole lot of hurt, well at least in my country anyway.

You cannot even hold a firearm here unless you hold the appropriate licence.

Cadet licences differ state to state but its normally about 12 years of age.

Now if your going to ask me what is the right thing to do, well I would then say start the education & familiarity process as early as possible, but the age of comprehension is an individual thing so you cant put an age on it imo!

I could not imagine those rules. I don't even know what a cadet license is and please don't tell. I started shooting at about 7 years old and so have most of my kids. Glad to be livin' in the USA.

 

[zb338]

I started my two boys out when they were about 8 years old. I got them pellet guns and
turned them loose. We lived out in the country and they were not anywhere that they
could hurt anyone. I also let them shoot .22 rimfire single shots while I supervised them.
Zeke

 

[35 Whelen]

I did not read all the post but the first few I read seam good. I started hunting at 9 years old. I had been shooting bb guns three or four years before that. I had also been going a long with my dad hunting a couple years before I started hunting. Me and my wife did not have anyone to watch our son when he was very young so we had take him a long when we went hunting. I started him shooting around 7 or 8, he was able to start hunting at 10. AS stated before all children are different, as he grows show and tell him what your doing, this will help him learn. As he grows more teach him safety, take him along when you can shooting and hunting, this will help with many things, safety and help his interest grow and you will be able to tell when he is ready.

 

[charliewhisky]

There is a Netflix series called "Fortitude" available now. The setting for this detective series is an Arctic community just coming out of the long dark period when Polar Bears are dam hungry and expected everywhere. I have watched several episodes and I was very interested to note that in the very first scenes there is a young girl, perhaps 12 years old but, maybe less, and her friend out goofing off alone along the shore. She has a rifle slung over her shoulder and the butt stock is about level with her knees and the barrel extends past the top of her head. She looks as familiar with it as if it were a Barbie doll. I assume that it must be, at a minimum, 30-06. No one gives her a second glance. You see her later in a grocery store with a shopping cart and the rifle is thrown in there with the milk. A new visitor coming to the town is told to buy his own rifle. A cop stops two snowmobiles and sends them back to town because they don't have a rifle for protection. So, the answer to your question is dependent on the age of the child, the threat environment, their maturity, and your ability to protect them every second.

 

[aushunter1]

I could not imagine those rules. I don't even know what a cadet license is and please don't tell. I started shooting at about 7 years old and so have most of my kids. Glad to be livin' in the USA.

Yeh we some pretty harsh restrictions/laws here now.
Wasn't always like that until we had our 1st major massacre in 1996 & we lost all our semi auto's & more.

I actually stated shooting at about 9 using a .22lr, by 10 I was shooting 12G & .303 SMLE's.
I guess when your in the middle of nowhere you can do anything as long as your not seen.

Life was much simpler back in the day, but as time goes by & people take advantage of the rules or lack there of that's where the noose gets tightened.

 

[Window]

My son is only 3months old but I find myself day dreaming of the days he will start shooting with me. I don't want to start any kind of moral debate here. I'd probably start him with a pellet gun and then move on to 22lr. Of course he would learn all about proper gun safety and such. Just curious what you all think is an appropriate age?

All three of mine started when the were five and six with 22's, AR's and 9mm's and obviously with strict supervision in regards to safety. They all love it and hopefully will pass the passion down to the next generation.

 

[Lewishut]

My boy got his savage rascal on his 3rd birthday it's alittle heavy but now he is 5 he shots clay pigeons at 25 yards. I shoot mountains and desert so I just set him up and he will go threw 50 or even 100 shots while I'm shooting. He usually shoots the colibri bullets. You mostly need to stay hands on and not over whelm them with knowlage. He has to shoot laying down or acrossed a log or his knees.

 

[Wingmaster 20]

My son is only 3months old but I find myself day dreaming of the days he will start shooting with me. I don't want to start any kind of moral debate here. I'd probably start him with a pellet gun and then move on to 22lr. Of course he would learn all about proper gun safety and such. Just curious what you all think is an appropriate age?

In raising three shooters my advice is start with good muffs for hearing protection.

 

[ericbc7]

I got my first BB gun when I was 9 or so -about the time I learned to use the gas push mower By myself. My dad wasn't a hunter or it might have been a year or so sooner. That thing would bounce bbs off sparows to no apparent effect. I could easily see the bb fly through the air and proceeded to put my lightly gloved palm over the barrel and pulled the trigger - lesson learned. My point is that I probably should have had some more supervision lol. Never forgot that lesson though 46 years later And counting.

 

[Pwbergen]

I have always advocated introducing children to firearms for the sole reason that they would understand firearm safety. It seems inevitable that they will encounter firearms without an adult present in someone else's home. In fact, we averted a disaster when my daughter kept an (untrained) nephew from picking up a handgun found in a friend's home - because she had been instructed.

I started all three of my kids on a .22lr rifle with CCI Quiets before they reached the age of three, and the key was to have a fun experience. These rounds are incredibly quiet, and this eliminated the need for (distracting) hearing protection. I would sit the child between my legs while I sat on the ground, so I had complete control of them and the firearm. The best targets for children with limited attention spans are reactive, so I used cheap soda from Food Lion for targets. If you shake them up good, you get a good explosive reaction even when hit with these slow bullets (~750 FPS). Shaving cream Is also a good choice, but is pricier.

I eventually moved them up to full-power .22lr with hearing protection. Finally, when their body frame was large enough, they progressed to 9mm in full-size handguns (to mitigate recoil), small centerfires (.223 and 300 Blackout suppressed), and finally 20 gauge in O/U or semi-autos (to manage recoil). Interestingly, I had a .410 to start my girls, but almost immediately they jumped up to a 20 gauge and did not mind the recoil (probably because they were crushing targets).

 

[Varminterror]

We started our son when he turned 2, and for Christmas at 2.5 he got his own Marlin 60 and Savage Mark II (cut down stocks on each) Shooting from a bench, front and rear bags, with an integral laser and red dot. At 3, I upgraded his red dot and started him shooting standing with only a front support, by 4 he was shooting pop cans at 50yrds offhand using shooting sticks (tent poles). He's about to turn 7, and stalks rabbits in the woods with a 22 or single shot 410 while I'm cutting firewood. He's shot my ARs and my PRS match rifles benched and prone out to 800 and 1,000yrds, but he's still struggling with how to use the scopes properly (lots of shadow and parallax issues, since we don't have a stock which fits him properly right now).

I ordered a Defiance Ruckus and a Manners compact stock for him for Christmas, and a 6 Dasher prefit from Proof as his first centerfire rifle.

With my Sis's oldest girl took to shooting a little later. She didn't enjoy it until she was 4, also 7 now, and wanting an AR of her own. She's a lefty, so Uncle VT is building her a Stag to keep the port away from her face.

I've instructed a lot of new shooters, and a lot of kids among them. It's really a matter of the kid. Some are ready to deliver the responsibility younger than others. Some are still unable even when much, much older.

 

[SSgt G Cody]

My kids all started on a BB gun at 8, and a .22 at 12; They're all grown now, great kids, and great shots on a variety of weapons. I'm proud of 'em!

 

[longrangebob]

It depends on the child & interest - I started "Hunting w/my Gifted Daisy Pump BB Gun (so old it had wooden Buttstock & Foreend) OMG almost 70 years ago - on my own @ 5ish - had been showed Safety by PGF & Dad - But I had the temperament & such to be comfortable and follow those rules w/o supervision having once been shown - took my son & daughter @ 4&6 (same time), Niece @9, and now my Grandson @ 7 - it's a matter of comfort & Interest (IMO)
but I absolutely support - When It Goes Crack - Hearing Protection -

a Friend of mine Started his Daughter @ about 2 and now as an older teen a very successful Hunter & Competitive Shooter!!!

 

[DCAN]

As a former LE Rangemaster, my daughter and I started early. She was about 3 years old when firearms safety training was started. Shooting a BB gun at 4. 22LR SINGLE SHOT at age 5. Killed her first bobcat at 8. From there there was no stopping her.
Because of the safety/technique training at a very young age, her safe firearms handling was muscle memory prior to the first BB gun. Over the years, it has been a source of pleasure to watch as the early lessons in safety continue to show themselves. IMO, until the safety is second nature, nothing more dangerous than a spoon should be in the hands of a kid.
In the beginning, keep things fun, positive, and short. Be prepared to answer the, Why?, question. If the answer makes sense, the lesson will stick. Don't hesitate to ask questions yourself during the training. The, What would you do if a friend of yours showed you a gun they had found? type. I could ramble on for a long time on this subject. Sorry if I already have.