Guns and Kids

[thepenismightier]

I'd love to hear from any of you who have children (or were exposed to guns as children), what methods have been most effective for you in "demystifying" guns for your kids, teaching them, etc?

Also, at what age and with what caliber do you think kids should start actually firing a gun if they have an interest? Should they learn to shoot even if they don't have an interest, just to have the knowledge?

I was not personally raised in a household with firearms, but now have three small children in my own home. I'm trying to expose them in a way that will promote a lifetime of safe practices with firearms, especially since they spend time in the home of their biological father, who is decidedly not safe and responsible with his guns.

This is a question I brought up in the thread discussion for Adames v. Sheahan, but I think it got lost a bit in the rest of the issues and I only got one response (thanks jfh!). Chime in with your stories/methods!

 

[007BondJamesBond007]

A 22lr single shot bolt action would be a good start. they are cheap and can be had in small kid size. My kid shot a 30 30 Marlin at age 5.

 

[Carl]

When I was little, we'd go up to the family cabin and my dad would always bring his single shot .22lr Marlin rifle. After a while of letting me shoot at pop cans off a large stump, I'd beg him to bring it along and he'd let me walk around the property with it and a pocket filled with brass. I'd shoot at ground mice, frogs by the pond, low perched birds, etc... Anyone does that nowadays and someone would flip out if they found out. I'm not that old either, I'm only 23.

 

[BacSi67]

Kids

Both my sons learned to shoot from the age of seven. It taught them safety as well as responsibility. I repeatedly told them that once you pull the trigger there's no taking it back. I also showed them what the results were once they did shoot something.
The first time we hunted I was a little apprehensive. I told them there would always be another target so if they were'nt sure of what they were shooting at or what was beyond it to pass on the shot and wait for the next one.
It worked and we are all still here and still doing it. LOL
BacSi

 

[alohachris]

I just started my son, age 6, with a Savage Cub .22 single shot. He loves it and I'm getting him drilled on gun saftey. It's cold so we've been shooting reactive targets at an indoor range. By reactive targets I mean balloons

When not in use it's locked up. I don't fully trust his judgement to allow him out in the woods with it unsupervised.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

These are fairly personal issues that are case sensitive. Only you can be the judge of this. However, a BB gun, then a .22 would be the proper progression. One thing you said bothers me,

"their biological father, who is decidedly not safe and responsible with his guns."

Who came to this conclusion? Is this just a biased opinion? Don't even try to tell me a court decided this. Where is the supporting evidence? If this is true, why would the kids even be allowed to go there?

 

[DHJenkins]

I wouldn't need a judge to tell me someone aimlessly pointing a loaded firearm around a living room was being "...decidedly not safe and responsible with guns". Are people not allowed to form their own opinions now? We need someone in a black robe for that?

I'd start with a pump action bb gun, the a CO2 pistol, then a .22. Just teach the 4 basic rules and that should be good enough.

 

[Sam1911]

My daughter started with a Ruger Mk II .22LR pistol at 3 years. Before she turned four she's "fired" (with Daddy's help) .45 ACP 1911s, .22 rifles, and a 7.62 AKM. All at her request, and with excruciating care and safety precautions. At 6 she started to really like my 629 with .44 Specials.

Her brother started at 3 with a Ruger Bearcat and Savage Cub T, both .22 LR. He also enjoys the 5.45 mm AKS-74.

They've also both fired a 12 ga. (with a lot of support and a highly modified stance).

The "right" age varies a lot with the kid because it has to be motivated by their own interest level and fear/confidence levels. You also have to have a clear idea of what you're expecting them to accomplish or get out of the exercise.

At 7, my daughter is just starting to show understanding of the concepts of sight alignment and accuracy. Everything up to this point is just for fun and familiarity. And, most importantly, opportunities to hammer home the 4 rules!

-Sam

 

[jbkebert]

I have started teaching all 4 of my kids about guns at the age of 3 or so. They are not granted permission to handle or shoot them at that age. I just want them to be exposed to the rules of don't touch. The boys started shooting bb guns at 5-6 or so the girls are not that old yet. They were graduated to .22 at 7 years old. I let the kids start going afield with me at the age of 6. still no firearm handeling just exposure usually during Turkey season it is warm enough that they can handle it at this point. It is important to let them get used to it and not to force anything. I let my kids carry a red ryder afield now if I have both of the boys with me ages 8 and 9. If I just have one kid with me they are allowed a .22 or a 28ga unloaded with some shells in their pocket. Permission has to be asked to chamber a round. I watch them for muzzle control and saftey in general.

I will let them take shots on frogs, mice , a pop can and the like. I try and let them have fun while we are out. My oldest son has started hunting and has taken a deer with a muzzle loader and a couple turkey's and a few rabbits. My 8 year old loves to shoot but at his request does not want to shoot at game yet. I guess the most important thing to me is exposure and learning saftey before learning to shoot. I also think that it is important to teach ethics while out with your kids. They are watching you and if you are willing to take a pop shot at game they will be willing also. When they become old enough to hunt leave your gun at home. It is there time to hunt and there time to shoot. I see to many dads blasting away while there kid doesnt get the safety off before its all over with. I also would say don't push your ideals on just taking a big buck or a tom with a 10 beard miniums on kids. As a hunter ed instructor I have heard so many times people telling there kids they can't shoot a less than 130-140 class deer. BS any game animal is a gift and if a kids waits until that big buck comes into range they may hunt for years and never take a shot. They will also become frustrated and quit hunting, quit shooting, and not pass those traditions on to there kids.

 

[mtlucas0311]

When I was a kid, my dads guns, like many, were in his bedroom closet. They were kept unloaded and I still don't know where he hid the ammo, but he made it very clear that I could see, hold, fiddle with, etc. the guns absolutly any time I wanted to. The stipulation was that I had to ask, and I put that to the test fairly frequently. Not once do I remember him saying "not now", he always got up off the couch or stopped what he was doing so I could see the guns. It was made abundantly clear that if I EVER was caught in that closet without asking, HELL was coming; and I believed him. What ended up happening, was that each time he appeased my curiostiy a lesson in weapons safety was taught (without me really knowing). It was always an exercise in checking the chamber, clearing the weapon, make sure it is pointed in a safe direction etc. Now, it's likely a little more P.C. (and I have to admit, safer) to keep the weapons in a security container if possible, but I feel the logic is solid.

 

[Franco2shoot]

My 2 cents

I had a good friend that was a certified rangemaster. He competed every weekend in a club and had a range of handguns as well as long rifles.

When I purchased my first BP handgun (I already had a 1911 under serious lock and key, trigger lock, in a case locked, but worried) I decided to educate the boys, ages 8 and 12.

Harold volunteered, and we set a date at the range.
He started both boys with a .22 and stressed all the safety items as well as teaching control and general shooting techniques. I can still remember him ragging on my younger son "Are you just sending lead down range or are you concentrating on what I told you?" Harold has passed on, and I miss the guy to this day. At any rate, the second day, we met up again, and he progressed through .38 and all the way with the boys firing the top .44 mag as well as the .45 Springfield 1911. At weeks end both boys had a very different understand versus what they had seen on television and movies.

So overall, at least in my situation, you can quickly progress through the various calibers. As a footnote to the above story, the younger boy, now nearly 21 went on to embrace Harold's lessons and has become quite the marksman. The older boy never had much fascination after the lessons, still goes shooting with Dad and younger brother, but its not his thing per se. And, once the boys were educated, I stopped worrying about guns in the house.

KKKKFL

 

[robsc]

MY dad had an auto shotgun, an auto pistol, a revolver, and two rimfire rifles.

He would show them to me and tell me speicifically that I was not to touch them without asking him first. Whipping if I did and I knew it. No touching the guns. He usually kept them locked in a trunk with only the auto pistol available for himself and nobody knew where it was `cept him.
When he cleaned the guns, he would let me watch and hold a rimfire rifle in his presence. He would make sure that I had no ammo and that there was no ammo laying around in sight.
He would take me target shooting. He was an auto and bus ( public transportation mechanic). Later, he was self employed with a radio and TV repair and electrical appliances business. There were many old worn out TV glass vaccuum tubes and larger picture tubes that he would bring along for targets to teach me how to aim and hit what I aimed at.
We went squirrel/rabbit hunting alot. I had to memorize ten gun safety rules and then illustrate them at home with him before I was allowed to carry a loaded rifle by myself while we hunted together in the woods /fields.
He died aged 82 yrs old in 1992. All the guns are mine now. The shotgun was stolen from us back in 1969. It was a Remington M11 12gauge with polychoke 27inch barrel. Under the butt cap I had burned my initials RCM into the wood and then burned a circle around them. If you should come across it, send me an email letting me know where you saw it.
Thanks,
Robsc

 

[inclinebench]

For me, it was BB gun, then 4-H camp basic firearms class, then hunter's safety class, and then range time with and old Navy UDT guy, who, finally took me hunting. I learned a good deal with a BB gun, and the safety basics as a kid. Then 4-H camp got me shooting enough to really get my enjoyment of firearms flowing. Hunter safety applied some practicality beyond the range safety taught in 4-H. The Navy UDT guy was a smart man with a passion for shooting, and no fear of being "too mean" if I did not know how to do something, or did something wrong/stupid.

My four year old will get to shoot a BB gun when he shows me he is ready, and we will progress as he shows me he is mature enough (in my eyes). He has been shooting bows for almost a year now, and the kid listens well, and I never have to repeat any saftey rule twice. I think he might be ready for me to break out the old BB gun. I would rather err on the side of caution. However, I do have a gun, new and unfired waiting on him.

 

[snipe300]

If memory serves, I was about five when my dad handed me a loaded 12 gauge and told me to get that rabbit. He was standing right there of course, but I'd already been around guns enough to know not to point them at anything I didn't want dead. I think my grandparents got me my first air rifle when I was about 6 and then a single shot 20 gauge when I was 7. My dad kept his shotgun and .22 in his closet and I probably could have loaded the shotgun if I had worked at it. I dont remember how exactly it was explained to me that I wasn't to touch them, but there was no doubt that I wasn't supposed to.

 

[indoorsoccerfrea]

^^ your dad was standing right by you? was that before or after the recoil threw you...

 

[Yo Mama]

Get them an NRA membership, and have them read the Rifleman.

Any time my girl goes to the bathroom, she gets one out, and starts reading it. Pissed off my in-laws, but she can tell them at 2 years old the difference between a shotgun, pistol, and revolver.

 

[DCortez]

Really depends on the kids, they mature at the different rates. My kids both loved their 22's for a long time.

How to de-mystify? Make them clean the guns. J/K, attend a safety class with them, treat them like adults when handling firearms, and take them to the range often when first starting out.

 

[runrabbitrun]

Two words.
Common sense.

To elaborate past that.
Teach them that guns are tools, not toys.
Deadly tools, to be ALWAYS treated as though loaded and ready to take life.

No matter how many times it's handed back and forth at the range,
in the home while cleaning and handling.

Teach them, THE GUN IS ALWAYS LOADED
and treat it as such, at ALL times.

I love the fact that my 16 year old will pull back the bolt,
EVERY TIME we are handling them.
Even in front of each other in the home and moments before
he/we saw each had checked the gun once again, was NOT loaded.

That one simple habit and doing it time and time again,
have me as confident as I can be, that this kid KNOWS
there are no second chances to make sure that the weapon is hot or not.

It's all about safety and practicing common sense safety tips, habitually.
Remember... THE GUN IS ALWAYS LOADED.

I'd like to add as another posted:

Start with a BB gun, then a .22 would be the proper progression. IMO

 

[ThrottleJockey]

"I wouldn't need a judge to tell me someone aimlessly pointing a loaded firearm around a living room was being "...decidedly not safe and responsible with guns". Are people not allowed to form their own opinions now? We need someone in a black robe for that?"

When someone is admittedly not knowledgeable about firearms, I cannot consider them a good judge of what is safe and what isn't. As a fathers rights advocate, I stand by what I said, and will not even remotely consider letting "dadbashing" take place without speaking up. If it's not OK to bash irresponsible LEO, then get off of the Dads back and it's not ok to bash Dads either.

 

[1KPerDay]

I start talking to my kids about guns as soon as they can understand me. Usually start handling the guns (unloaded, checked, out of a safe) with them about 3 years old. If they demonstrate the 4 rules they can see/hold them whenever they want (with my permission and supervision). If they mistakenly sweep anyone with the muzzle or something like that, the guns go immediately back in the safe and the handling session is over. the kid gets an explanation of what he/she did wrong and he/she has to wait until next time.

I take them shooting starting about age 6, shooting .22s. I try to only take 2 kids at a time; it's too difficult to supervise more than that. ANY hint of a safety issue and the child goes and sits in the car for the rest of the session. I've never had a serious issue; by this time the kids are well versed in the 4 rules and know I mean business.

At no time are the kids handling guns unsupervised. We also drill what to do if they happen upon a gun in someone else's home.

When they're about 8-10 I start teaching them how to actually clear a weapon, usually starting with semi-autos. Drilling them that you first remove the magazine and then check the chamber at least twice. This is combined with the reinforcement of the "don't touch; leave the area; tell an adult" rules when in someone else's house.

but in my house, when I get a gun out of the safe, I check it, then when I hand it to the older child, he/she checks it. Every time. I just figure it's a good habit to get into.

 

[runrabbitrun]

but in my house, when I get a gun out of the safe, I check it, then when I hand it to the older child, he/she checks it. Every time. I just figure it's a good habit to get into.

Exactly.

 

[zminer]

1KPerDay makes a good point, that some people have overlooked - while it's important to make sure your child understands the rules of guns at your house, it's perhaps even more important to ensure that s/he knows what to do if they're at their friend's house and the friend pulls out a parents' gun. They need to know that the rules you teach them are for safety, and to keep them - and everyone around them - from getting hurt.

Going hand in hand with this, as BacSi67 noted, it's important to show them what happens to something when you shoot it, so they know how destructive a bullet can be. It is the first step to creating caution and safety around firearms, but without causing blind fear. Knowing what a firearm is capable of is a lot better than simply knowing "that thing is dangerous!" and nothing else.

 

[runrabbitrun]

it's perhaps even more important to ensure that s/he knows what to do if they're at their friend's house and the friend pulls out a parents' gun.

Excellent point above.

Had that occur too with my son at around age 5-6.
Found a sawed off shotgun sitting on a bridge
at my brothers house. He came and got daddy,
never touched it.

Very smart young man and I guess daddy
already had begun his Jedi training.

Now we will rule the universe as father and son...
with our 'dark side' guns. lol

 

[Owen Sparks]

My Dad let me shoot his 12ga when I was way too small. It kicked the crap out of me and I did not want to fool with it for a few years after that.

 

[thepenismightier]

ThrottleJockey...you're absolutely right, I'm making a judgement and I could have left it out. I completely stand by that judgement, and it's a practical issue the kids' mother and I do have to deal with, but perhaps I should have refrained from including that info in the post. That being said, while he isn't exactly "pointing loaded firearms around the room", let's just say that all of the wonderful suggestions being presented here...well, he's not following any of them.

Thank you all for your input, by the way. There are some great stories and suggestions here. I've definitely noted several ideas that I wasn't already using that I think I'd do well to implement.