How young is too young?

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Too young to really appreciate anything. No eye protection either. I would say 5 or 6 would be the youngest, at this point it would be the same as if I took a video of my dog holding the gun while i shot it.
 
What Wedge said. What's the point in having a kid who's not even old enough to talk fire a gun, except as an anecdote later in life?
 
That is what I was thinking as well when I viewed it.

- No eye protection!
- I doubt the ear protection was designed to be used/work on someone that small, but I may be wrong.

Not to mention the poor little tyke might develop a permanent flinch. ;)
 
It's not my job to tell another person how to raise their child.

I'd only 'suggest' eye protection, and 'load one, shoot one' (just as with any inexperienced shooter).

You can't protect against stoopid. Sounds harsh, but government intervention usually makes a situation worse, not better.

That being said, no I'd never do something that dumb ;)
 
I was unable to view the site because it's blocked here; how old was the kid?

My 'baby' is now 3 years old. He's had a fascination with guns since he first saw one fired at about 18 months. If I had a .22LR at the time, I may have obliged his insistant pleas of "me do it, me do it". Every time I go shooting or hunting, he's begging me to go, and it breaks my heart to turn him down.

I plan to take him out this summer to shoot .22LR, when it's warm.
 
Too young to really appreciate anything. No eye protection either. I would say 5 or 6 would be the youngest, at this point it would be the same as if I took a video of my dog holding the gun while i shot it.
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I beg to differ. My son has been absolutely transfixed with firearms for at least a year, and he's only 3 as of December. We were at the store one day 6 months ago, and we saw a plastic AR in his favorite color (blue), and he absolutely had to have it (never seen him fuss so much), partially because it was like "daddy's gun". He's always running around the house hunting monsters with it, and already obeys the 4 rules (mostly) with it, as you can see here.
 
That kid didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. Dad pulled the trigger every time. Me thinks "just a bit" too young. Maybe next year.:)
 
I started shooting black powder rifles with my grandfather at the age of 4 and was given my first 22 rifle (rossi pump) in 3rd grade. I knew the rules and treated them like gospel. It was not too young in my case but it really depends on how responsible your child is. Starting out with black powder was great because I was too short to load it my self and it was single shot. This made me try and hit the target and think about everything I was doing because it too what felt like ages to reload.
 
I agree about too young to appreciate it. He was looking at the gun and closing his eyes when he fired. It was just a noisemaker.
The first gun I shot was a .38 when I was about 5 out at an uncle's place in the desert shooting at pop cans. At the time I thought it was the biggest hand cannon ever! I missed every round from about 7 yards, but I was hooked!
 
If I ever have kids, they will start on a Cricket or somesuch at around 3 or 4. But the toddler in that video was so young that he really didn't have a clue what was going on. He looked to be 18 months at most. Honestly, what was the point?
 
Caimlus, your son looks ready to do some shooting!

The kid in the video was close to the same age and was completely clueless. At least the dad didn't take his hands away from the gun for a second!

Okay, others have said that boy was 18 months...I don't have kids yet and really have no idea how old they are.

Maybe less about age and more about being ready! That kid wasn't ready.
 
The little guy sees daddy shooting and wants to be just like him. Nothing wrong with that. I'm not saying hand the kid a .44 mag and let him go solo, but a few rounds from a .22 isn't gonna hurt anything.

Besides, I believe that if kids are exposed to guns, taught to shoot early, and taught that its ok to handle guns as long as dad (or mom, if that may be the case) is supervising, they won't see guns as this great forbidden fruit and will be far less likely to play with a gun if they come across one.
 
Besides, I believe that if kids are exposed to guns, taught to shoot early, and taught that its ok to handle guns as long as dad (or mom, if that may be the case) is supervising, they won't see guns as this great forbidden fruit and will be far less likely to play with a gun if they come across one.
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+1

It's amazing that this logic is so counterintuitive to so many people. I certainly won't be teaching my little boy to shoot a real gun when he's that young, but I'll probably start him out on toys to learn the 4 rules. Eventually, when he is at least 5 or 6 I may pick up an inexpensive 22LR rifle in a youth size for him to begin on. Easier to be concious of where the muzzle is pointing than a handgun, and easier for me to reach out and grab it if he does something unsafe.
 
That baby can't be any more than four. He's too young to be shooting because:

1. He can't safely handle the gun by himself
2. He can't understand the 3 safety rules.

Stupid people doing stupid crap. :cuss:
 
Yeah the kid looked a little young to be doing that. At that age i don't think he could really understand the ramifications of guns and what they do. Whats next daddy beer and hookers.
 
Personally

I think Bigreno has the right idea:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=244191

attachment.php
 
I'm not a parent, but when you train a bird dog you shoot with them as a pup to get them used to it. I think that this kind of raising might benefit him in the long run.

BTW, I started shooting when I was three (.22), firearm safety is second nature to me.
 
The grown up with the baby should have his head checked, let the kid go thru day care, and grade school, take him hunting a few times when he's 8-10 yrs older. teach him gun saftey and how much damage can be done with the bullit, which he'll see when a deer drops or a squrril falls from the trees.
 
No eye protection!
- I doubt the ear protection was designed to be used/work on someone that small, but I may be wrong.
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Agreed.

My children were around 6 or 7 when they first fired a 1911 .45 with one round in it heavily supervised. They reacted about like the kid in the video........Whewwwwwwwww........

The kid in the video is a bit young but it is a free country.
 
Think About Gun Safety in the Home

Having a kid that young shoot a pistol is not a matter of him enjoying it, it is a matter of Gun Safety. If the kids knows what happens when the trigger is pulled, he is less likely to find Daddy's gun at some point and shoot himself IMHO. If the kid enjoys it, so much the better, but gun safety is more important at that age IMHO. Shooting a little .22 rifle is good also if they can handle it.

The earliest gun experience I can remember was my Dad helping me hold a .357 magnum revolver and me pulling the trigger. That can give even a young kid a healthy respect for guns and makes sure they know the difference between Daddy's guns and their toys.
 
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