At what age do you teach your kids about guns?

[orangeninja]

What age do you teach them about guns?
What age do you teach them how to shoot?
What age do you buy them their very own?

How did you go about teaching them and what was the outcome?

 

[tc300mag1]

Taught him at age 3 not to touch still instilling as much as i can
Taught him to shoot 22 rifle 223 ar-15 and let him shoot my 45 auto with me holding it .

My dad bought him a 22 crickett bolt gun for his 6th birthday this year.

I taught him not to touch at all if he saw one come find me all the usually stuff then i tried teaching him to shoot was awkward for both of us as im left handed hes right handed but got it done finally.

Out come is good plan for more shooting this year

 

[P95Carry]

Ideally, re the ''four rules'' you start em as early as possible!

When I started serious shooting around 1980 .... and compos etc ... my two were about 5 and 4. For quite some time it was just a case of ''Dad has gone to range'' .... or ''dad went out to shoot rabbits''.

The turning point tho came when they got to accompany me to the range ... spend the day there with me... watching at first for quite some time and then over the years ... they got to try simple stuff like .22lr rifle . and then .22lr handgun. By time they were both in teens .. they could shoot most of my handguns.

When my son was approaching 20 he was at the range on a day when we were doing a PPC compo ... I shot my detail and, cos I had enough ammo loaded .. my son did the same shoot. First time shooting the course of fire (with my 686) but oh man was he ever a natural .. and he claimed much of that was thru early familiarization too.

My son now hunts and has a GP100 ... poor fella has way too little time to enjoy shooting tho, like his old man can!! If I could ... I would have bought them their own guns way back.

My daughter has hardly shot at all over many years but ... joy of joys .. when she and her old man were staying last year ... she shot with all sorts and handled the P97 like it grew in her hand. Pride? I'll say!

I'll even see if I have the pic of her I posted ages ago, with P97 ... many have seen it but ... it makes this ole fella proud ... the intro to guns way back paid off handsomly.

I might add ... she lives in UK and so shooting is out. Were she here, then I'd make a point of buying her a gun ... but instead just look forward to her next vacation visit when again we will share the joys of shooting together.

 

[19112XS]

IMHO it's more about maturity than age. Some people are mature enough for guns at an early age; some people are never mature enough.

When someone is mature enough, teach them to respect the firearm and teach them the 4 rules.

I read a post a good while back from a person who taught their child about firearms. One thing that stuck in my mind was that the adult agreed to give adult supervised access to the unloaded firearm any reasonable time the child requested and also agreed to take the child shooting within one week of the child's request to go. In exchange for this the child agreed to never handle the firearm without the adult being present.

Hope this helps. YMMV. Good Luck!

 

[Kodiak AK]

Lot of good info here .
http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=65168

 

[Majic]

Mine was 4 when i sat him down with a rag to help clean parts. Since he was asking every imaginable question I just put him to work.
At 5 years old I had him shooting air rifles.
At 6 years old I got him a used Marlin 25 and cut the stock down for him.
By the time he was 10 years old he was shooting everything that he could get his hands around and didn't have a heavy recoil.

 

[P-35/53]

I have two sons 24 and 17 . At age 3 to 4 started telling them not to touch the guns . The guns were also stored so they could not get to them ammo in a seperate locked place. [Except for my work gun, which was always with me] At age 7 or 8 or when curiosity arose about them I told my boys if you want to see a gun ask and we will look at it together . At this time I started reciting the saftey rules till they had them memorized. After the rules comes observation if they obey the rules and corrections if they break any. At age 10-11 both boys stared shooting - but not with Dad - with the Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts. This reinforces the saftey rules. I took both my boys shooting with me at age 13 or so - strarting with 22 rifles then pistols. At 16 my oldest son was given a 22 rifle of his own by his Grandmother with mine and my Wifes permission.My youngest son opted for a bow at 16. The funny thing is I am mostly a handgun collector and shooter my oldest is a rifle shooter and my youngset is a avid archer. Also of intrest is my youngest is very observant of other peoples safe handling at gun shows and stores

 

[Series 70]

Mine were coming to the range around age 6, after demonstrating an understanding of the Four Rules. They'd enjoy watching and policing brass. They started shooting at ages 9-10.

My son loves to shoot his grandpa's old Remington model 12 .22 pump. Grandpa used it to control pests on the farm, taking his lunch and his rifle to the top of a haystack. Lotta gophers to take care of in the fields. He also likes my Walther PP.

Daughter likes shooting, but she's a teenager with the attendant demands upon her time. She takes after the wife with an affinity for wheelguns.

 

[cool45auto]

I started my daughter last year when she was 7. She can quote the four rules! I bought a Beretta Neos to have fun with and she shoots it.

 

[AK103K]

I started with both our boys the day they were born. Its not so much a specific age or time, its ALL the time from the time they are born. Kids are a learning sponge and usually are very willing to learn. Its up to you to get the programing started right away before they have to ask you whats up with guns, or knives, or anything for that matter. I dont by the argument that some kids are more or less capable of understanding. Its not your kids fault if they are a knucklehead, they learned to be one from one, not by themselves. I think its very important to constantly talk and go over with them and never refuse a request to see their gun, or any of yours for that matter. If you start them properly handling and teach them the difference between real and toy from the time before they can talk, you will have no trouble once they have the language down. Well, other than the constant whining, "Daaaad, I need another mag!"

Get them a gun that fits them, in both size and weight. Teach them proper positions and tecniques, and they will amaze you and make you proud.
There is one other thing you will want to do when they are born. When you start that college fund, start an ammo fund too, your going to need it!

 

[Smoke Rizen]

I worked with my 2 at an early age. I'd guess around 4-5. At that time I just kept them in the closet and told them they were not to touch them. I always believed they wouldn't. I also kept the ammo in a different place, locked up. They learned of the destructive nature of the bullet at about the same age. Began hunting with me at 7 on easy hunts with good chance of success. They began shooting at about that time 6-7. Both still hunt with me, though my son is in Il. now and all I can do is look forward to the next time. My daugter hunted with me last season. Although she didn't fill her cow elk licence we did get close to a few bulls, and passed on a couple questionable shots. I've asked them both if they obeyed the rules when they were young. As adults they can say they never touched any guns without my ok. As stated before, it's a matter of maturity, and trust. When you can trust them to do as instructed. Some adults never reach that level. S.R.

 

[blades67]

I've been teaching my boys about guns and safety from the day they came home from the hospital. It's paying off, at three and four they build the best Lego guns in the neighborhood!

 

[Stickjockey]

My three-year-old just loves to sit in my lap in front of the gun safe and handle the different guns. He's known since two to always check them first thing, and it's the first thing he does. Astounds visitors, and just makes me all proud and stuff.

 

[P95Carry]

He's known since two to always check them first thing, and it's the first thing he does.

Jockey - Damn!! That sure is stuff to be proud of ..... gives me the warm fuzzies .... hard to express how it makes you feel eh. Sense of achievement in part I guess but ... also a knowledge that when this is ingrained .. right now at this tender age ... there will be much less to worry about later.

Oh, I just love that! Great.

 

[Spot77]

In order to save bandwidth, check this thread too. I asked the same question last year and gor all the same responses you'll get here

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30461