At What Age Should You Start Teaching Your Kids to Handle Guns

tws3b2 said:

At the range today, The Man was giving his usual lecture on safety and range rules. I've heard it many times but this time part of it caught my ear. (Kids 5 to 15 shoot free). I have a 5 year old Great Granddaughter and I would love to introduce her to shooting. But, Is 5 years to early? I was looking at a Sig 22lr that she May be able to handle in her small hands. What you think? That's her on the left. My pride and joy.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure when I first went to go shooting with real firearms. I say that because I first shot a gun at a young age when I got my first toy gun. My Dad took me to the range on the way home from getting that Mattel Fanner 50. Dad let me blast away with my toy gun and then handed me his .38 with one round in it to drive home difference between toy gun and real gun.

It was some time after that he busted out the .22LR Mauser and I "went shooting" with him. Lots of safety lessons about gun handling and so on were passed down.

As for your kids in general, it depends on the kids. I know kids who are 25 that I don't think are old enough to safely handle firearms. Also, what are the parents and grandparents thinking about her taking this step? Only thing I could specifically recommend is starting her on a rifle as it's a lot easier to handle with two hands solidly on it. Of course, it'd have to be scaled down to properly fit her.

I think age five is too early. Wait until she asks to shoot or go with you. If she hasn't asked about it by the time she is in the eight to twelve range, then go for it.

I shot my first gun (one shot from a 22 rifle) when I was five or six. I was impressed with the loud bang but probably didn't start to get hooked on shooting until in the ten to twelve year old range. I had to claw my way up from there since my parents weren't into guns at all. When I got my first BB gun, I was admonished not to shoot anything (meaning birds); well that didn't last long. I also sat on a wall and shot rats with it.

I have a five year old great grand daughter that I wouldn't let touch a gun yet. Kid does what she wants to do except when aunt Kiki gets in her face and she becomes instantly obedient. Any one else, parents, grandparents, and my wife and I get ignored. You just have to physically stop her. On the other hand I have one that is twelve years old that I started with a bb gun at five and she graduated to a crickett at six because she was responsible in gun handling. I still keep an eye on her because, well, she's a kid and kids can forget sometimes.

Kids mature at different rates and it's up to the parents to determine this. There are no hard and fast rules for an age to start kids shooting guns. I know some adults that I won't be around when they have guns.

I don't think five is too early to teach safety. My son was four or five when we bought him his first toy gun, a bright blue dart gun in the shape of a shotgun. I used that to teach him the four rules. He wasn't allowed to leave it out; always had to put it away when he was done with it. He wasn't allowed to leave a dart in the muzzle; had to store the "ammunition" separately. When his grandfather (my FIL) introduced him to a BB gun, he already knew how to quote and obey the four rules. Moving from there to a .22 was easy.

Depends on the kid. I start teaching them the rules as soon as they can understand what I'm saying, and let them shoot as soon as they ask me to. I help them hold the .22 pistol if they're not able to safely do so.

Some kids are interested earlier than others, and some kids are capable of safely handling and shooting guns earlier than others. (some adults still can't.) If the kids start asking me to see the guns, I open the safe, check each gun they want to look at/hold before handing it to them, remind them of the rules (primarily keep finger off the trigger and always point in a safe direction). if they break one of the rules, I say we're done for today, and review what they did wrong, and lock up the safe until the next time.

We also frequently go over what to do if they come across what looks like a real gun at our house or anyone else's house.

I like the advice above. I would reiterate all of that. The only thing I would add is that kid's interest can change. At some point they might be really curious about guns and want to get into them with you. Their interest might also later turn to other things. Don't expect them to be gun nuts just because you are or you want them to be. Admit to yourself that the passion we have is not quite all rational and that kids might be better off with something more balanced. My determination is to be available, inclusive, and to try to make it something they enjoy and find fun. I treat safety as a serious issue with consequences, but without employing a condescending, exclusive attitude of disapproval.

It's not wrong to share the enjoyment of firearms with a 5 year old, but if you wait until they're teenagers, they'll be fine. They won't somehow be destined to be snowflakes because you didn't start earlier. I do think that if you don't teach them or make some kind of provision that they learn about firearms by the end of their teen years that you've neglected something in their education and training. The decisions to start earlier or later and how far to get into beyond the basics can be left to them.

I agree with 1KPerDay and Walkalong regarding that it depends upon the child. I have seen five year olds who were ready and I have seen five year olds who absolutely were not. I think it must be left up the parents.

I began shooting at seven. My own children began lessons on gun safety as soon as they could comprehend them, and took their first shots at about seven as well.

My sister had be teach her 4 year old how to shoot a pellet rifle. He quickly graduated to a 357 lever action with 38s in it.
Everything is a case of judgement. How is she maturity wise?
My 2 year old is "shooting" a toy gun when I shoot. Even with it being a toy, I don't let him point it at people.

The first question is the child mature enough to be responsible for the safety of others? Will the child listen to you, the teacher.

As a former 4H shooting leader I had kids that listened very well at young ages and teens not listen at all.

My 9 year old is incredibly intelligent but lacks maturity in a lot of ways. He shoots his bb gun some while supervised, but isn't interested in shooting anything "real". Like everything else, I mention and invite him but never force it on him. He's held different firearms of mine while I've shown him how to do so safely...first verifying it's clear, always pointed in a safe direction, etc.. He really enjoys the science and mechanics as well as watching me handload. Just doesn't care about the actual shooting.

tws3b2 said:

But, Is 5 years to early? I was looking at a Sig 22lr that she May be able to handle in her small hands. What you think? That's her on the left. My pride and joy.

Click to expand...

5 is plenty old enough if the kid is mature enough. I know people who are well past 50 years old and aren't mature enough yet, so it really does depend on the individual. My kids started learning around 3. I assume we're talking about actually learning to shoot, not just safety around guns. That should be started as soon as they're ambulatory and can understand yes and no.

All depends on competency

My son was taught safety from early age, but never taught to shoot until 12 years old. I spent a lot of time with him in the woods teaching him how to read deer sign, where they bed, what they ate, turkeys, squirrels, bear, plants berries, etc.Taught him how to backpack, use a compass, fish etc. . Essential skills in the outdoors. Instilled the love of nature. Respect and understanding of the animals of the forrest. He traveled in those woods many times over and over and watched and listened about gun safety. When he was 12, I took him to a NRA Hunter Safety Course.. Then started basic skills of shooting a gun with BB and Pellet guns. Then on to the NRA Youth shooting with young shooter matches. When he started shooting, at the age of 12 he was able to understand the "Zen" of shooting. Using the wind, patience, and inner self and becoming one with the gun. The importance of the One shot one kill. Yes, start them early, but there should never be a rush just to shoot a firearm, so many things to learn first.
Away's had a dog. Teach and watch a child take care of his dog. Feed it before feeding himself after time in the field. Grooming, playtime etc. See how they handle responsibility. If they cannot take care of their own dog, then they are not capable of taking care of themselves with a firearm.

I like how Leginnaire put it.

my boy is 8 now, but since he was probably 4 or so, he’s enjoyed Nerf guns. I use that as an opportunity to instill good habits. Trigger and muzzle discipline, and knowing where your shot is going to go.
sometimes we shoot targets, but usually it’s guerrilla warfare around the house.
we deduct points for lousy trigger discipline, and if Mommy gets hit, it’s an automatic loss!

He’s very bright and Ive shown him the destructive potential in firearms.

he doesn’t have much interest in the real ones, but he does have his own Bronco survival rifle that he’s used.

He has more interest in bows, so that’s kinda neat.

TLDR;
Never too young to teach safety, but how young to handle the real deal is best gauged by the maturity and aptitude of the curtain climber in question

As soon as you can...

One's age doesn't determine maturity or responsibility......more dependent on maturity of the parents and how well they raise the kids. Grandson got his first turkey before he was 5, he had good instruction and training. Even with that there are physical limitations, youngsters will struggle with trying to handle guns that are too large for their body size. No one answer for all situations.

For gear, I don't give 22LR all the favor everyone else does, especially for kids. Rimfire ammo is filthy. The bullets are often exposed lead and the priming compound is lead styphnate. They're almost always supersonic and a serious risk to hearing. For all the downsides, they don't even introduce meaningful recoil. If that's not enough, consider how few of the rimfire rifles are even adjustable for length of pull, comb height (for sights or optics), and the eye relief. If they fit kids at all, the kids outgrow them. How lame.

My current favorite for kids is air rifles, especially PCP. You can get them lead-free pellets like those from Haendler & Natermann and the propellant is lead free. You can get rifles with adjustable length of pull and comb (Air Force brand for example, but there are many more). The rifles are very accurate out to 10 meters shorter ranges keep it simple and quick to see results whether from the shooting position or a quick walk forward. With the PCP, there's nothing about the gun that small hands and relatively weak muscles can't operate. There's no problem with stiff springs. They're also totally hearing safe. (There are a few extreme models PCP rifles that might not be but those are very atypical).

With a good air rifle, kids can learn all the fundamentals of marksmanship without the toxicity and harsh noise of a rimfire rifle. There is really nothing the rimfire offers as an advantage over an air rifle that a centerfire rifle does not offer much more of. What is the main advantage of rimfire rifles? The ammo is cheap and the recoil is low. Air rifles are better at both. How is the rimfire rifle better than an air rifle? It has longer range and more power for hunting small game or blowing up reactive targets. Centerfire rifles are better at both.

Kids are ready to go beyond an air rifle when they are prepared to be successful to go 100 yards and beyond. It would be very frustrating to start at those ranges, but at some point they will be up to the challenge. They're ready to go beyond air when they are prepared to be successful small-game hunting. Beginning to shoot game before their skill is adequate would result in needless failure and neglect the teaching of the ethics of clean kills. Kids are ready when they're prepared with the basics so that introducing recoil is a gradual step. Because of all these things, rimfire is not a good intermediate step between air rifles and centerfire rifles. If a kid is skilled with the air rifle, the rimfire adds little more than noise and fouling. A good centerfire rifle opens the whole world to them. They can hunt small game or big. They can shoot 100 yards or 1000. They can bust soda cans or burst 2 liter bottles and watermelons. There is an abundance of centerfire rifles that are adjustable to fit kids. They're adjustable in the length of pull, the comb height, the eye relief, etc. They're not heavier either. In a lot of cases they're lighter. They can be had in chamberings that are cheap to shoot with low recoil for fun plinking like 9mm or .223 or for cartridges that are suitable for deer and other big game which can be downloaded with Trail Boss powder for low recoil plinking.

If there was any irrational misconception about guns that I could fix, it would be that 22LR rimfire guns are good for kids. It's so wrong.

6 months.

Son is six. His first time shooting was last Thursday with his savage mk2. He wanted to shoot a .357 mag but I told him no. He was so disappointed but I got my eyes on a ruger bear cat for him

Howland937 said:

My 9 year old is incredibly intelligent but lacks maturity in a lot of ways. He shoots his bb gun some while supervised, but isn't interested in shooting anything "real". Like everything else, I mention and invite him but never force it on him. He's held different firearms of mine while I've shown him how to do so safely...first verifying it's clear, always pointed in a safe direction, etc.. He really enjoys the science and mechanics as well as watching me handload. Just doesn't care about the actual shooting.

Click to expand...

Yep. My oldest son shoots like a pro but has zero interest. We go shooting and he comes along (because we usually get a treat or lunch afterward) and brings a book or a video game. He shoots 10 cans in a row and says "can I be done now?" LOL

No such thing as too young. It starts with them observing how guns are handled by the adults around them. Never with any alcohol, the guns are always checked to be sure they are unloaded and never pointed at another. Kids (and I know as a kid I observed this early on) see and learn this on their own. I carried a stick gun while tagging along with dad...and was quickly corrected when it was pointed the wrong way. Very easy to start indoctrinating kids on proper handling and safety.

Age is irrelevant. Some kids are responsible and some should never hold a firearm.

@labnoti Nothing wrong with using .22 LR for teaching kids to shoot. The ammo is after all cheap and guns in that caliber are around at low cost. Just make sure the kid(s) washes his hands and face before eating...