Guns and Kids

[SP Shop Foreman]

I posted this once before here someplace, I think, but the second part is true and sorta cool.

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Bringing up kids with "them" in the house.

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Written by the SP owner for his daughter in reponse to a woman criticizing her for owning firearms.


Prologue:
By the age of 5 Tommy was convinced that his dad was hiding something very special in the closet on the top shelf. "Tommy, don't you ever go into that closet. Stay out! Something bad is in there".
At 5 Tommy was definitely afraid to go into that closet..... but Tommy didn't stay 5 years old. Tommy grew, and so did his curiosity. He had stood in front of that closet a number of times when his dad came into the room and sternly warned. "Tommy!! Don't you dare!!" And Tommy didn't dare..... at least not then. But that day did come.... at age 8.
Dad and mom were gone shopping. His Aunt was baby sitting and she was outside in the garden. Tommy was alone.
Dragging a kitchen chair to the closet, he opened it, pushed the chair inside, climbed up and stood on his tiptoes. Nothing there......... nothing but a shoebox. Could that be it?? He carefully removed the box from the shelf, climbed down from the chair, sat on the closet floor and opened the box.
*Wow! How cool! Its just like the cops use on TV!* He found that the cylinder rotated and made a clicking sound. The trigger was too hard to pull so he gave up trying, but..... the hammer! That thing at the back! He was able to pull it back. But now what? Looking at the muzzle of the pistol, he carefully squeezed the trigger. CLICK! *Wow! How cool* Click..... again.
A scream from his Aunt caused him to drop the revolver. "What are you doing!!?? Give me that!!" Tommy dropped the pistol in fear. What had he done? It couldn't be that bad.... besides it looked so cool!
Tommy's dad had made two serious mistakes. First and foremost..... Tommy knew nothing about the dangerous weapon he'd been holding. Secondly, and fortunately for Tommy....... it wasn't loaded.

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She had just turned 5 years old, and I knew it was time. She was aware theat there were firearms in the house because she'd seen them from the time she was cognizant of her surroundings, and they were always well out of reach, but her time had now come.
First came the simple explanation of how any of the firearms in the house could hurt her, or Mommy or Dad. Nodding her head she signified that she understood.......... but she didn't. Not at that age.
She followed me outside and thought the huge hearing protective headset I put on her was pretty neat. I placed a milk jug full of water just 10 feet away. Donning my own ear protection, I put both of her hands around the grips on the huge .44 pistol. Covering both of her hands with mine, I held the pistol as far away from her little body as I could and slowly squeezed the trigger.
Despite the headsets the noise and concussion were horrendous, at least for that little girl they were. The milkjug exploded in a vapor of water leaving Rosemary wide eyed and trembling.
Not a word was said at that moment. I unloaded the pistol, took off her headset and we went to where the jug had been. She looked up at me and I asked her if she understood how dangerous any of our firearms could be. She solemnly nodded her head and from that day until she received her own firearms she never went near any of them in the house.
The odd and surprising thing was when I heard her tell her visiting friends to "stay away from all the firearms in the house!!" And she kept a weather eye on any young visitors.
Fortunately all of her friends had parents who had provided an early education to their children as well.

Mystery provokes curiosity. Education removes mystery.


Among her peers and their families, we've never in our Family history heard of a child injured by a firearm in our area. Rosemary carrys a pistol with her wherever she goes, as does her Brother. We live a long way from town and in the past 10 years or so there are a lot of newcomers from the west coast cities, and with them comes their baggage, IE: crime.
Both of my children were required to read two books before owning their own pistols. "In the Gravest Extreme" , Masaad Ayoob and "No Second Place Winners", Bill Jordan. Books outling the seriousness of carrying firearms and the legal implications involved.
Both of them were taught use and respect of both pistols and rifles. Both have their own pistols and rifles.
I'll go into their education another time, but rest assured that both of them were taught respect for firearms at a very early age.

Mystery provokes curiosity and potential disaster. Education removes mystery and ingrains understanding. Think about this one with logic and practical application.

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Latigo

 

[mljdeckard]

I have a similar dilemma. I have four boys, the oldest of which, a step-child is a bit socially awkward. He's ten, and his mother and I both agree, that he's just not as well-adjusted and emotionally ready to really get into shooting yet. This is more difficult, because his younger seven year-old brother is quite ready and rational. In our case, we think it's going to require a lot of shooting with both of them together, and then some extra instruction for the younger one when the older one is with his (biological) dad. Over time we will be able to ease him into a more responsible role.

They all know I am always armed, and I think they can start with .22s, we have a variety of them. BB guns aren't bad, I just want them to be real with the bang, the recoil, and a taste of the destructive power from the beginning. Maybe if they were a couple of years younger I would start them on BB guns.

 

[andrewdl007]

The first gun I shot besides a bb gun was a .410 SXS when I was about 8. My mother was an anti so I only started shooting when I would go "duck murdering" as she called it, mostly in jest. I moved up in gauge over the next few years but it wasn’t until high school when I shot my first pistol, S&W .357 or my first rifle, M1 Carbine...I think. Personally I think making the guns a mysterious and totally off limits it a bad thing because it makes the kids want them even more and then they don’t learn gun safty.

 

[PinoyInFL]

From the age of 9, I started bringing my daughters to the range. I started them with 22s. Now at 15 they can fire my 308/223 rifles. Before the age of 9, I would let them touch my guns before/after I clean them. Of course, that means that the guns have been checked/unloaded. While allowing them to fondle the irons, I start teaching them basic gun handling (point in safe direction, finger off the trigger, etc.)

 

[cauberallies]

My mom is, and always was a rabid anti. And although my dad would prefer to keep a gun in the house, the mere thought of mentioning it and the discussion that would follow is enough to make him forget about it.

I was given the "worst case scenereo" as far as firearms experience and upbringing goes. Although I never stumbled across a gun when I was younger, I know damn well I would have picked it up and played with it if I had. I loved the idea of guns. I loved seeing them used in TV/movies/video games. I always looked forward to Uncle Tim coming to town, because he is an encyclopedia of gun related knowledge(and that is why my mother can't stand him) and he would answer all my questions, and attempt to teach me basic gun safety. But because of my mother, I was never able to see or handle anything. This only fueled my interest and curiosity.

The first time I ever handled a firearm was at age 7, during an off roading day with my dad, uncle, and their friends. My dad's best friend brought his Remington 870 12 gauge, and his tiny .22lr auto pistol, and my uncle brought his S&W 629 .44 magnum. I was allowed to shoot any of them, but the noise and recoil of the shotgun and the .44 was too intimidating, so I went with the .22. I shot pop cans off a tree stump for about a half hour, and I loved every minute of it, but I had to promise my dad that I would never tell my mom that he let me see, let alone shoot a gun.

But this would be the only opportunity I would have to shoot until I was 16 years old. As the years went by, the more my interest grew. The gun safety ethic I formed by this point was self implemented. When I got the chance to shoot at 16, it was with a few friends, and an older friend who owned the guns. He brought out a .22 mag revolver, a sawed off Winchester 1300 with a pistol grip, and a Remington .30-06 with all sorts of attached tactical nonsense. Even though this was the first time in nearly 10 years that I had shot a gun, safety was the first thing on my mind the entire time we were around the guns, just as it is today.

I would not have the opportunity to shoot again until I was 19, when I decided that it was time to buy my first gun. I picked up a Maverick 88 12 gauge at wal mart, and chopped the barrel down from 28" to 18". I took it out the next day, and had an absolute blast. That was just the beginning...

But since I lived under my parents' roof, I knew the responsible thing to do would be to tell them about it before bringing it into their house. My dad was OK with it, but he knew my mom would not be, and boy was he right. When I told my mother, her face turned beet red, and she looked like she was about to explode. She didn't speak to me for almost two weeks, and when she finally did, it was to scream at me and tell me how stupid I am, and how I am going down the wrong path, and how pissed she is, etc. She took the gun, and it's locked case, the day after I bought it and only gave it back several months later so I could "sell it". I took it to a responsible friend for safe keeping until I could figure out a better arrangement.

Now, I have an AMD 65, the shotgun, a Mosin Nagant M38, and a Mossberg 702 plinkster semi auto .22lr. I keep them safely locked up in my recording studio in the basement. My dad knows I have guns, but he doesn't want to really know anything about them just so he doesn't feel obligated to tell my mom.

The moral of my story is that my mother's unforgiving opposition to guns, and anyone who has an interest in them, very well could have created a disastrous situation if I were to have gained access to a gun without supervision when I was younger. Her hatred of them, and unwillingness to compromise in any way in regards to them, made me a very interested, mystified and curious kid who had not been taught proper gun safety.

 

[metallic]

Best bet is to take the mystery out of them. Let the children touch them and hold them in your presence while they are unloaded. Let them know the rules about when they are allowed to touch them, and then what to do if they come across a firearm on their own (don't touch it, tell an adult). Then when the time is right, take them shooting and let them see the destructive power of these weapons.

Then comes the common sense. Keep the weapons locked up when you aren't around. Whether you keep the weapon and ammo separate is your call. I personally consider an unloaded handgun to be useless since I keep them around for defensive purposes.

With enough education, your kids can be safe around your weapon collection. I did the same thing with a friend's kid when she was staying with me temporarily and we had no problems out of him. I was much more worried about his young friends being in my house than anything.

 

[Knightrider03m]

Both of my parents were/are cops so I was around guns my whole life. I remember my parents teaching me about guns and gun safety around the age of 8 or 9.

 

[jimmertoons]

I was a shooter as a kid, but had left the sport for some time. My son started with firearms through the Boy Scouts. After my son started with the Scouts, I got back into shooting. I had an agreement with my son that he could look at and handle the guns anytime he wanted, if he approved it with me first. It really took away the mysticism of firearms. Jim was also able to shoot anything I owned.
My daughter grew up with guns in the house. We used the Eddie Eagle program from the NRA to introduce the idea of gun safety to her. I also shared that program with several of the neighbors, as well as neices and nefews. I have no doubts of the safety in my home, but never know what will happen in other homes. The best way to protect kids is to educate them early. As my daughter has grown, we started with the 3 safety rules from the NRA(the Boy Scouts use the same 3). She had to know and understand the rules before she could handle any firearms. Any breech of safety rules, and she was not allowed to participate. She made quite a few trips to the range with big brother and myself before she was able to start shooting. Once again, break any of the rules, no more shooting. I started her out on a bolt 22, with bags. She is now, at 11, shooting her 10/22, 7mm-08, Buckmark and now I am shopping for a new 9mm, as she has decided my old Baby Eagle is hers.
For younger kids, the Eddie Eagle program is great to teach them to keep hands off, and tell an adult. The program starts as young a 3 or so. Reinforced with allowing handling with an approved adult, helps to quench curiousity.

 

[Bill of Ojai]

Jeez, I was lucky! My father and grandfather were hunters. Owned my own Winchester 22 at 6 years, 20 gauge bird gun at ten years, and single six at 12 years.

While being safety trained at home, I also participated in the NRA Hunter Safety course early-on, was on a Boy Scout Rifle team as well as a military school rifle team.

We had a ranch and my brother and I were allowed to roam with 22's in hand. That my family TRUSTED us with guns was a big influence toward safe handling and shooting.

 

[renegade1alpha]

I keep my guns unloaded and locked in a safe. Sometimes my five year old will see me open it and ask me questions. I will answer them for him and will sometimes let him hold one (after it is THOUROGHLY checked) so that there is no real mystery in it. When you make it mystery, that is when kids get curious and hurt. I have also told him what to do if he ever sees a gun; dont touch, get away from the area and go get a grown up.

So far no problems.

 

[reddog1083]

Well, I am 18, and have had no interest in guns until July 06. It was a couple of months before my 16th birthday, but I convinced my mom to buy my first gun for me. After looking around, I landed on the Sig Mosquito. Now I know it is illegal to knowingly give a minor a handgun, but it's not like I live alone, and I am sure I could pass it as hers (being under her name) if ever questioned.

But anyways, back on topic, I was raised by my mom, who doesn't lean more one way or the other relating to guns, and my dad is a cop who didn't really approve of non-cops owning guns until a couple of months ago, when we started going to the range together. Since my first gun, I have purchased a Mosin Nagant, Remington 700 sps, Yugo SKS, RIA 1911, and came into possession through family a Berretta 92FS and Ruger Blackhawk. Interestingly enough, my dad bought the 1911 for me, got me the Beretta from an officer (their district was switching to glocks) and gave me the Blackhawk after getting it from his dead uncle.

My dad/uncle taught me how to shoot, and safety... the only complaint my dad had was when he found my 1911 with one in the chamber, unlocked in my "gun closet". I said the only reason I had one chambered was the fact that it was SA and de-cocked, with a heavy trigger pull, so I wasn't worried about accidental discharge. I have experienced two robberies in my lifetime (lucky before owning any guns), and have started to stay alone at home due to my mom having to travel. He then said that if a minor came into the house, got the gun, and shot somebody / himself, that I could be charged with manslaughter. I didn't realize that the law was like that, and have since gotten a safe to keep my loaded gun in + ammo.

So I guess from my perspective (the kid and not the parent), being trusted so much made me felt very responsible, and I guess owning the gun made me feel more confident and whatnot.

phew, I guess playing online poker at 5 am makes me want to type more.

 

[WardenWolf]

My family has a rich gun history. My grandfather served in World War II and purchased an M1 Carbine when they liquidated them. He also brought back an Arisaka 99. My father and his family grew up hunting. My mother isn't into guns, but she knows how to handle one. When I was about 8, my dad showed me his guns, and explained never to touch them, they were dangerous. And never to mess around on the shelf where they were kept. And that was that. When I was around 12 I got a BB gun and started nailing soda cans in my back yard. My yard backed out to the desert, so any fliers weren't a problem. Only thing I had to watch out for was making sure nobody was walking down the trail at that time, and I could easily hear them coming. When I was 13 or 14 my dad took me to the range. I got to fire anything he had, although strangely enough I liked the .45 1911 the best. I didn't like the 7mm Rem. Mag, and don't to this day. Now I'm grown and own more guns than my dad. Point being, though, learning about guns at an early age kept me from doing something dangerous.

 

[Davek1977]

I was raised on a ranch, and guns were never a "taboo" subject. AS a youngster, they weren't locked up, but I was told never to play with them...and I didn't. When I first expressed the slightest curiosity about guns, I got "the talk" (no, the GUN talk, not the sex talk....I never got that one, other than "be safe" which was what the gun lessons amounted to as well...just far more detailed) LOL. I remember, plain as day, sitting in our basement, while dad brought out every gun, one by one, and allowed me to hold and handle them after he taught me how each one worked, the differences in action types, and whatnot. I didn't get to go shoot that particular day, but soon enough, the day came when we stepped into the back yard (we lived in a VERY rural area) and I got to shoot pop cans with his Browning BL-22. Soon enough, I was allowed to shoot at our backyard "range" any time I wanted to, after several "supervised" shoots. Not long after that, I was granted FULL gun cabinent privedges, where I no longer had to ask permission, and any gun I wanted to shoot (rifles/shotguns only at this point) was fair game. I was allowed to roam the countryside of our ranch, hunting and plinking as I saw fit and safe. I was lucky in that I had the opprotunity to shoot basically any time I wanted to, and I took FULL advantage. Almost every single day, after shool or during the summer, I got some "trigger time" in. I don't get that kind of opprotunity these days, but when I do get to shoot, the lessons learned from shooting every day I could are certainly appearent. Today, I get just as much enjoyment watching my nephews (6 and 10, respectively) shooting in the very same backyard that I learned to shoot in. It just reinforces, to me at least, no matter how much things change, sometimes the very best things don't. I hope they realize just how lucky they are...I took it all for granted until I moved out @18 and realized shooting wasn't nearly as convinient as it once was. Oh, how I look foreward to November, when the oldest nephew gets to hunt deer with us for the first time, as well as my wife! At this point, she's just starting out in the shooting world, but witht he gift of a Model 60 Marlin that belonged to my grandfather this Christmas, she's getting the bug most definitely. She even bought her first ammo the other day on her own!

 

[moooose102]

i have 2 small kids, a boy, 7, and a girl, 5. i started with them @ age 3. we started shooting a bb pistol in the back yard. they both show interst, i am sure partly because it is one on one daddy time. my son has shown enough interest that i bought him a CZ452 Scout 22lr for his 7th birthday. my daughter, is still to young to understand the safety issues involved, but she has asked several times for a rifle of her own. my son, does a pretty good job, as long as we shoot often enough, which has been a problem this past winter (and so far this spring). right now, he will have to go back to the basic starting point, where i watch directly over him, and help him through every aspect of shooting. it has been roughly 5 months since he has shot. the big thing, IMO, is this. NEVER turn your back on them, even for a second! if they have a real firearm, it can kill you! (let alone anyone else in the area)and when they are young, even though you expect, and want them to KNOW all the rules of safe firearm handleing, it is YOUR responsibility to watch them like a hawk until they are fully trained. i do not think that many kids under the age of 10 will have enough maturity and comprehension to do that. some kids never do, even in "adulthood". a bb pistol, or rifle is a good way to start them off, then progress to a 22lr, then, when you are absoloutly certain that they understand safe handleing, you can introduce them to anything they are interesed in. if you are taking them to a shooting range, a good time would be early in the day, on a weekday, when many people are at work. if you belong to a range, you may be able to convince them to set up several beginner firearm training courses. we live in the sticks, so it is pretty much up to me. which is fine, my dad taught me well, and i do not take my child raising responsibilities lightly. both of my kids will know how to hunt and fish and drive way before they are required to. plus as many things that i know as i can cram into their brains in our time together.