iamkris
Member
At what age does it make sense to introduce kids to shooting?
First a bit about myself. I'm 38 and have been shooting seriously since I was 15 or 16. A buddy and I in high school started exploring the shooting sports (pistol, shotgun mostly and reloading) together, although no one in my family enjoyed the guns. My dad had the foresight to put me through hunter education when I was 12 and took me rabbit hunting a grand total of 2 times, but probably because I wanted to go...he never really enjoyed the sport.
Though I grew up on a farm, I now live in the northern suburbs of Chicago. I've "converted" my wife from a mild-anti to a mild-pro-gunner...although she still won't go shooting with me. When we had kids our agreement was that the guns could stay, but I have them in a locked room (my reloading "cave" in the basement) in a gun safe, with trigger locks (triple redundancy!).
We didn't mention guns to our kids (boy-6, girl-3, boy-2) but I noticed that my kids started coming home from school/daycare saying "guns are bad!". Those places will send your kids for psychological testing if they draw or make a pretend gun out of their finger.
I immediately got agreement from my wife to openly talk about guns, have them out for cleaning and ordered the entire NRA Eddie Eagle gun safety package. They chant the "Stop, don't touch..." mantra when watching the video. We've agreed that carrying a gun in the field hunting can start around 12 (walk with me earlier.)
I want to intro my kids to shooting...in a controlled environment, .22 LR first. What has been your experience as to the right age where kids have the mental capacity to understand the safety rules and have the attention span to listen AND enjoy themselves?
First a bit about myself. I'm 38 and have been shooting seriously since I was 15 or 16. A buddy and I in high school started exploring the shooting sports (pistol, shotgun mostly and reloading) together, although no one in my family enjoyed the guns. My dad had the foresight to put me through hunter education when I was 12 and took me rabbit hunting a grand total of 2 times, but probably because I wanted to go...he never really enjoyed the sport.
Though I grew up on a farm, I now live in the northern suburbs of Chicago. I've "converted" my wife from a mild-anti to a mild-pro-gunner...although she still won't go shooting with me. When we had kids our agreement was that the guns could stay, but I have them in a locked room (my reloading "cave" in the basement) in a gun safe, with trigger locks (triple redundancy!).
We didn't mention guns to our kids (boy-6, girl-3, boy-2) but I noticed that my kids started coming home from school/daycare saying "guns are bad!". Those places will send your kids for psychological testing if they draw or make a pretend gun out of their finger.
I immediately got agreement from my wife to openly talk about guns, have them out for cleaning and ordered the entire NRA Eddie Eagle gun safety package. They chant the "Stop, don't touch..." mantra when watching the video. We've agreed that carrying a gun in the field hunting can start around 12 (walk with me earlier.)
I want to intro my kids to shooting...in a controlled environment, .22 LR first. What has been your experience as to the right age where kids have the mental capacity to understand the safety rules and have the attention span to listen AND enjoy themselves?