At what age should I introduce my son to firearms.

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A side story but...

I have a co-worker who has a 13-year-old son who has never fired a firearm. Three weeks ago two thugs tried to kick in their front door while the boy was home alone. They only ran when they saw the young man on the telephone and he yelled he was talking to 911... cops on the way. The father, who owns a 9mm pistol, tells me he's been thinking about teaching his son to shoot. But... hasn't yet.
 
I'm glad to hear the thugs ran away, but I'd get that kid some firearms education ASAP.

better to prepare for something that doesn't happen than be unprepared when it does.
 
USAF_Vet said:
I'm glad to hear the thugs ran away, but I'd get that kid some firearms education ASAP.

better to prepare for something that doesn't happen than be unprepared when it does.
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I agree and mention this to the father a couple times per week. He keeps saying he "intends to".....
 
Not long after my sons were brought home from the hospital, they were taught firearms are not toys. Although they couldn't fully understand at that time, it's what they grew up with and established as normal in our household. They have always treated firearms with respect and handling them without permission wasn't a problem
 
My girls were born before the boys.

I wanted shooters and I have them.

When each was small and we were at the range--range is vacant most of the time-we set up a piece of 1X6 pine and we backed off about 6 feet and dad shot the board with 12 ga. #8's and showed the kids this type of wound couldn't be fixed. Never a safety problem with any of them!

It's extreme but a demonstrationis worth a 1000 words.
 
Am I irresponsible for letting him pretend to shoot me with a toy gun?
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I don't think so. My wife took the approach to treat toy guns, like water pistols, as if they were real firearms. Seriously, almost to the point of following the 4 rules with them. She told our boy to never point it at anyone, never shoot anyone, and that he could only shoot at the ground. Guess what? He didn't want to play with them then. That wasn't fun, so why bother.

I was reading a book by John Eldredge. You might or might not be interested in "Wild at Heart" or "The Way of the Wild Heart" or any of his books (they're all basically about the same subject). His life-study is the maturation of masculine development, and he goes in depth on the whole 'weapons play' part of a boy's growth. I couldn't possibly explain much of his thesis here and obviously it really only pertains to boys.

Anyway, I didn't want him missing out on some of the things I've been reading about, and I didn't want him having no interest in guns, so I explained the whole cowboys/indians-cops/robbers games that we played as kids and she let up. He can shoot me or the dogs all he wants. He can only shoot his sister or mom if he asks them first and they let him. He's definitely not at any point of interest in real guns and he definitely knows the difference. They are just too loud for him right now.

Just my 2¢. It's all up to the parents and what they think is best. Good luck.
 
Well...

This may be a very touchy subject to some. Personally I've always thought that there's nothing wrong in teaching kids the basics of firearm safety as soon as they're beginning to understand what guns really are. Shooting is not that much different. My father taught me how to shoot when I was about 4 or 5 and that has become a bit of a family tradition. When kids think they're ready and want to try it, they're very receptive to any instructions and it's far better to have them learn about guns and shooting from their parents than from TV.

As a rule of the thumb, when kids are mature enough to understand the danger involved in improper handling of firearms, they're ready to try and pull the trigger themselves. Early exposure to guns and shooting gives kids a good perspective to firearms in general, just like education and first-hand experience always does, regardless of the subject.
 
MOST children cannot grasp the finality of death until about age 5-6,before those years most children envision "heaven" as just some-place else that their (grandparent,cat dog,goldfish) is that they cant see or travel to, so my opinion is no hands-on firearms until that age (depends on child maturity) I started my kids on air-soft guns shooting at empty pop-cans off the back deck around 6-7 years,, BUT NOT UNTIL they could tell me who "ANNA " was...
Always treat every gun as if it IS loaded
Never point the barrel at ANYTHING you dont want to kill
Never put your finger inside trigger guard until sights are aligned on target
Always know your target and whats behind it..
I still drill my kids on "Anna" EVERY time they are to handle a weapon (now that their in their teens they act like,Gosh dad im NOT stupid) but I INSIST on them reciting "Anna" to me ,,
Having said that IMO shooting airsoft was a great learning platform for them, they make just about every gun in airsoft as they do in firearms,(Pump-shotguns,bolt-action rifles,semi-auto handguns) so they get the mechanics of operation of each BEFORE they even put a "real " gun in their hands
Now that my kids are teens my oldest (17) only wants to shoot things that explode or blow apart (milk-jugs,old appliances) and is not content with punching paper My 15yr old girl dosent have ANY friends that shoot with their parents so it's just "not cool".
My 14-yr old boy however is a future "gun nut" LOVES to shoot everything i have from the 10/22 to my .243 but especially likes my .223 AR15 and would shoot it to death if i could afford to feed his habit as well as mine,, :)
I use TV and movies to depict whats REAL and whats FAKE..
Fake meaning endless shootout's where the good/bad guys never run out of bullets,are perfectly calm under fire and never have to re-load
The best REAL depiction of what happens when you shoot someone i found to be the scene in "saving private ryan" where they overtake the German sniper nest and the youngest member of their squad gets hit in abdomen and essentially dies in some-one's arms calling for his "mama" ,,, very dramatic and realistic with their friends trying to save him,, Not for the younger-viewers as it may cause nightmares but when you feel they have a grasp on the finality of death in relation to firearms it drives the point home.
Hopefully this helps ,,
 
Only thing I can add, don't measure a child by age. Maturity counts more and my son, now 45 and boys of his own were taught that anytime they wanted to see a firearm or shoot, just ask dad. I did this with my son, he did it with his boys. If they know they can they will ask. We didn't have to go far to shoot, the back yard worked fine with all my firearms.
 
I have a bit of a scary personal story, and I think it might convince OP that gun training is very necessary for little children. My father is very interested in guns, and he always kept a few scattered around the house. One in particular that i always liked was the S&W airweight on the top shelf of the closet that he used for CCW. (I think you can see where this is going.) Because of his career, he always had an irrational fear of me getting hurt with one of his guns, so he tried to hide them from me. Of course, hiding didn't work, because we all know five year olds are sneaky little buggers.
One day I decided to see the gun in the closet, so I got some boxes, books, chairs, etc. and made myself a little step ladder. I got to the gun down off of the shelf and pressed the button to release the cylinder by accident. It was nothing short of an act of God that the cylinder came loose, because I was about to pull the trigger. I had some idea of what the little silver things in the cylinder did, so I worked at getting them out for a good ten minutes. (I didn't know you could just press on the rod to take them out.) After that, I pulled the trigger and heard a click. So I pulled again. It was very entertaining. Then my father walked in.
Needless to say I got a helluva beating that day.
Something tells me that many children play with guns when their parents are not watching. I was one of the lucky ones that had seen the operation of a gun before and understood that bullets go bang. Other than that, I was completely untrained. The result could have been disastrous.
And so, my response is: Show them that bullets blow things up as soon as they can understand English, and then start teaching them proper safety and operation right away.
 
Firearm safety should be taught starting when they first show interest. Actually firing a weapon is more dependent on physical size and ability. I got my first SS .22 when I was 12, but then I got Polio when I was 6 and spent a long time fighting through that. I don't know what age my dad would have taught me if I had not been incapable of walking for most of those years.

I taught our daughters (all 5 of them) at different ages (6-8). The older 3 are all big girls (5'8"-5'9") like their mom, the younger 2 are like my mom, (5'2"-5'3"). The physically bigger girls could all handle a gun much younger, just because of their size.

I am not sure that allowing them to fire a larger caliber handgun when quite young (6) is the best thing to do. None of our daughters like my 38 Colt, all of them like their mom's target .22's.

I would be of the opinion that a SS .22 rifle (or pellet gun) is a good place to start and that 6 is not too young. When they have the handling of the SS down, and can consistantly hit a target with it, then move them up to a small .22, say a Ruger Bearcat or something like that.

Disclaimer: Opinions are like behinds, everyone has one, and they all smell.
 
I love this thread. As the father of a 7 (boy), 5 (girl) and 4 (boy) year-old it is pertinent.

The reoccurring theme is discernment. When my oldest and his friends were about 4-5 they started playing star wars games shooting each other with pretend blasters, which were fastened frome everything from Legos to dolls. We allowed this game as harmless and pretend until my son started shooting people with his fingers anytime he got frustrated or angry. At the same time he desparately wanted to learn to shoot. I taught him basic gun safety rules and made the deal that when he stops shooting people for pretend, I will teach him to shoot for real. He is getting an air rifle for his birthday next month. I SOOOO proud of how he matured through the process and learned to control his anger. He is a future gun-nut.

Meanwhile my daughter has shown limited interest in guns. She never joins her brothers playing gun games. Occassionaly she will come down the hill to help me pick up my brass, but usually goes back to the house after 20-30 rounds. WELL....we were at the hunting store the other day and they had a rack of Crickets down at kid-level. She ran up to it, grabbed pinkest-of-pink ones, pretended to move the bolt, held it up to her shoulder and pointed it at me saying, "Look daddy, here's a gun I can shoot!" I realized then that I had mis-read her disinterest and been negligent in teaching her safety rules. I have since had two gun safety lessons with her.
 
You really have to judge it based on maturity. I shot my first gun when I was 6, and in part b/c I grew up a pacifist, I didn't own a gun until I was 17. Now, I have 5 bolt guns and an SKS.
 
I think you should start teaching your children when they are very young about basic fireamr safety, but especially by the time they might be visiting other kids in their homes. As far as shooting goes, I would start them when they show the interest. If they are interested, they will listen to you and try to learn. If no interest, I wouldn't bother teaching them much of anything beyond "don't touch" and basic safety. They need to be able to identify a real gun from a toy gun.

Coromo said... I don't think so. My wife took the approach to treat toy guns, like water pistols, as if they were real firearms. Seriously, almost to the point of following the 4 rules with them. She told our boy to never point it at anyone, never shoot anyone, and that he could only shoot at the ground. Guess what? He didn't want to play with them then. That wasn't fun, so why bother.

....Anyway, I didn't want him missing out on some of the things I've been reading about, and I didn't want him having no interest in guns, so I explained the whole cowboys/indians-cops/robbers games that we played as kids and she let up. He can shoot me or the dogs all he wants. He can only shoot his sister or mom if he asks them first and they let him. He's definitely not at any point of interest in real guns and he definitely knows the difference. They are just too loud for him right now.
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It is a difficult subject when you have a spouse that is so protective of their children that they want to restrict their development. Firearms are part of life, especially in the country, and the sooner they learn the better. I knew more about guns than I did how babies are made when I was 12.

I have no set age, but I really wasn't comfortable beyond a BB gun until I was around 8 or 9. Let the kid's interest or lack of interest guide you in your choices.
 
My yard is infested with gophers, and my single shot 20 gauge has proved itself a fantastic 'gopher getter' I can usually get one or two every evening when it starts to cool off. The rest don't pop their heads up once they figure out Eugene isn't coming home. Yeah, I've named the gophers once they are dead.

Anyhow, my stepson has gotten mad at me because I didn't tell him I was going gopher gittin'. He's made me promise to let him know when I go out to shoot gophers so he can watch and learn. Since my gopher problem isn't going away anytime soon, and he is getting a .22 / .410 for his birthday, he can get some training before I let him take a few shots at gittin' some gophers of his own.
 
It seems to me that the issue of introducing kids to real guns is closely related to the issue of allowing them to play with toy guns. Toy gun play, by its nature, involves the antithesis of safe gun-handling rules, and it negates the serious consequences of shooting real guns. If it were up to me (and I don't have kids, so I guess this is easier said than done), I'd take them to the range with me and let them handle real guns, under supervision, as soon as they were physically able, but I wouldn't let them play with toy guns at all. This is simply to prevent mixed messages from confusing their little minds. Now, there's a cultural conspiracy involving the entertainment media and the toy manufacturers (and peer pressure), so nixing toy guns in one's household may be an uphill, losing battle. I have to say that I had toy guns when I was a kid, and it didn't do any permanent damage, but then again we didn't have any real guns in the household at the same time (no overlap). So I was able to make a "clean graduation" from toy guns to real guns with no mixed messages.
 
I grew up with toy guns, but no real guns. The minute I laid hands on a real fire arm, I knew the difference, because I was told the difference. Don't make the mistake of thinking kids are not mentally aware enough to not know the difference. Playing with toy guns and action figures that have guns is a normal male thing when growing up. Watching tv and movies, even shows and movies gear toward kids, you'll see gun violence. It may be a laser gun against a computer animated robot, but a gun is a gun, regardless of it's depiction.

As long as the child is properly educated and supervised, and their curiosity is satisfied, I don't see the problem. Toy guns are not guns, they are toys. If they start treating real guns like toys, then you've already missed the boat.
 
I grew up with both. No issue discerning either. My old man kept most locked up, and, while I learned where the ammo cabinet key was, I didn't learn the safe key location until just a couple years ago.

To answer the earlier question, my old man took me to the woods to hunt with him around age 5 or 6. I learned to shoot BB guns and .22s. I remember shooting styrofoam coffee cups off a post with the BB gun, then he put a 2 liter full of water up there and blasted it with a model 97 Winchester. Hydrostatic forces blew that thing in half.

Moved from 22s up to a single shot 20 gauge and slew Bambi at age 9, then on a a 243 a couple years later, then a 30-06 when I was about 14 or so.

Secure the guns, secure the ammo. Separately. A shoebox in a closet is not secure. If they find a gun, it should be unloaded, and the ammo should not be readily available.

The adults at home should have access to a self defense gun, but the kids shouldn't, as long as they are still kids. Once they become young adults, then maybe knowing where one is would be good.

"Give me the child until he is seven and I will show you the man" is a quote, often altered, and this version may be as well, attributed to the Jesuits. So, before seven, but after 4, maybe 5 or so.
 
CoRoMo said:
I don't think so. My wife took the approach to treat toy guns, like water pistols, as if they were real firearms. Seriously, almost to the point of following the 4 rules with them. She told our boy to never point it at anyone, never shoot anyone, and that he could only shoot at the ground. Guess what? He didn't want to play with them then. That wasn't fun, so why bother.
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Absolutely no disrespect intended, but that seems a bit much. Must have sucked to get his ass kicked in every water gun fight. :)
 
LOL, my wife is paranoid of guns, but thankfully she lets me buy and shoot them. I think that 8 or so would be a good time (at least maybe by then I could convince her to let the kid try). But I might not get her to budge until later.

But the funny thing is just yesterday she asked her friend (whose husband is also into guns) when they are thinking of letting their 4 y.o. start. Her friend said that they started when their son was 2! Maybe I can use her friend to my advantage. :)
 
Interesting thread.
Iramo94, it should have been the other way around. You should not have gotten a beating. Your father left a loaded gun out not locked in a safe.
 
Im glad i found this thread, im soon to have little girl, and have been wondering all these things. My dad is not a gun guy, by that, he mean he only owns a .22 revolver and thats his HD gun. Get the idea? So ididnt really get any of that. He used to hunt, but dont know anothing abiut guns, go figure. Anyway... I dont have any real "well this is how my dad did it" experiance to go off of. My uncle taught us ( me and my cousins) the basic safetly rules and sometimes let us shoot a few rounds from his bb guns. but that was it. And we were 11-12 at the time. And i dont really have experiancebwith children at all, other then my brother in law who is 11, and not very mature at all. I wouldnt hand him a nerf gun. So i have no understand yet of what to expect, but i tell you abiut him for the sole teason of understanding that its maturity and not age that defines the proper time. At least IMHO. I also think maturity is both from a natural growth, being diferent in every child, and howbthere raised. My BIL for example, i believe his issue is how he is raised, he is the 4th and last child, and only male, almost 10 years younger then number 3. (My wife was there second child) and for what rver reason, they baby him way more then i think they did there other three. Last night i was over there and he was playing some game that was like grand theft auto but worse... At 11! Talking to me about how fun it is to shoot the hookers.

Maybe i need to teach this kid, honestly. Hebdoesnt have any real respect for fire arms. When he gets older i will for sure.
 
Don't get him Duke Nukem Forever then. Hooker shooting is part of one level.
 
8y.o. learns finger off toy's trigger

Lots of young kids running around the neighborhood playing with nerf guns, water pistols...shooting at each other.

Among them is an 8 y.o. boy whose father is not interested in doing stuff with him. I figured that the kid might benefit from some basic gun safety. Showed him how to keep his finger alongside the toy rifle's receiver unless he is about to take a shot...just like real soldiers and cops do unless they are about to take a shot.

Also said that if he learned this safety habit now, that when he got older the local hunters and shooters would welcome him at the local range.

That was 2 months ago. He is still running around with his finger off the trigger.
 
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