How young is too young?

[WaltonS]

Recently I was sent a video of a guy videotaping his three-year-old son, with (presumably) his wife standing beside the boy. They were standing outside, and cradled in the toddler's arms was an AR-15. The cameraman proceeded to tell the woman to disengage the safety, and encouraged the boy, who wasn't even paying attention to where he was firing, to pull the trigger.
This appalled me. The little pessimist living in my skull wondered what'd happen if the kid made a big mistake, and someone wound up getting shot. Anyone else here think that such acts are in poor taste?

 

[snow92686]

Thats disgusting to me... that is why the majority of people dont deserve to have kids.

 

[American_Pit_Bull]

I have seen the video and the firearms was controlled my his mother the entier time. I saw nothing wrong with it.

Thats disgusting to me... that is why the majority of people dont deserve to have kids.

At what age does it magically flip from total disgust to acceptable practice?

There are a lot of videos of 6 - 10 year olds doing the same thing, but without the direct control of an adult.

 

[WaltonS]

It's disgusting because of the age and the weapon in question. I mean, if it were a more "traditional" rifle, it wouldn't have been quite so bad.
If you wanna teach your kid how to shoot, fine, but you DON'T put an AR-15 in a child's hands!

 

[RedLion]

Whatever happened to the times like in The Christmas Story?

Maybe the father should have given the kid a red ryder instead. The kid would probably have more fun with it too.

 

[AnthonyC.]

here is the link that I think you are talking about, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGkRKT0Q-L4

 

[Javelin]

Thats disgusting to me... that is why the majority of people dont deserve to have kids.

I 100% completely agree. It serves no purpose and is completely irresponsible. Firearm safey should be taught around age 3 or 4. And thats with a BB Gun or Air Rifle.

 

[WaltonS]

That's the one, AnthonyC.

 

[American_Pit_Bull]

It's disgusting because of the age and the weapon in question. I mean, if it were a more "traditional" rifle, it wouldn't have been quite so bad.
If you wanna teach your kid how to shoot, fine, but you DON'T put an AR-15 in a child's hands!

Oh... Now I see. It was an evil assault weapon that upset you...

I 100% completely agree. It serves no purpose and is completely irresponsible. Firearm safey should be taught around age 3 or 4. And thats with a BB Gun or Air Rifle.

Maybe it did start with a BB gun and then he let him shot one shot through a .22 cal centerfire rifle.



I am just very surprised to see other gun owners showing outright disgust at a small child shooting one round from a rifle that is under the full control of an adult.

 

[WaltonS]

Fine. Let's not make it an assault weapon.
Would you let your child handle an Ingram MAC-10, under the "full control of an adult?"
The first gun I fired was my old Nylon 66. If the kid were 5 or 6, I wouldn't mind seeing him take that out. Hell, half of you people here say it's a big mistake to start off with anything more than a .22 rimfire. It either seems like this guy is eager to put guns in the kid's hands or he's just doing it as a joke, in which case it's a pretty damned sick joke.

 

[AnthonyC.]

Walton, please calm down....

 

[CNYCacher]

Have the anti's invded THR?

 

[ihopewewin]

"CNYCacher Have the anti's invded THR?"

QUICK! To the tin foil bunker!

 

[American_Pit_Bull]

Are you equally disgusted at the sight of this photo?

It is a young boy holding a Remington .223 rifle!

Would you let your child handle an Ingram MAC-10, under the "full control of an adult?"

Although I think that the muzzle flip of a .45 is a bit stout for a young child; I wouldn't have a problem with a youngster shooting a semi-auto .45

 

[WaltonS]

Equally disgusted? No.
Whether or not you want to admit it, there's a certain stigma attached to weapons like the AR-15, and even moreso when you hand one to a child.
Moreover, I, myself said it was distasteful. I was merely speaking for snow92686 when I said it was disgusting due to the age and weapon in question. You'd think gun owners would be slightly more responsible.
Also, think about it for a moment. What is a gun? What did I refer to the AR-15 as in this very post?
That's right. A weapon. So if we wanna let our children handle weapons before they're capable of reading, fine. I was just making an observation.
Moreover, please do not call me an "anti." I own several firearms. If you proceed to call me an "anti," I will have to brand you with a term of my choosing, also beginning with the letter "A," but this time synonymous with "rectum."
I had half a mind to just request that this thread be closed, it seems like a big mistake. But I figure I'll just let it play out however it might. I'm just not watching.
And I didn't ask about a .45 caliber weapon. I specifically asked if you'd let a 3-year-old kid fire a MAC-10.

 

[American_Pit_Bull]

there's a certain stigma attached to weapons like the AR-15

Yes, by the media and by people that are not familiar with firearms...

And I didn't ask about a .45 caliber weapon. I specifically asked if you'd let a 3-year-old kid fire a MAC-10.

It looks like you are attaching a stigma to a .45 caliber firearm? Shooting a MAC-10 is no different than shooting any other .45acp...
And if you are comparing it to the video... I see no problem with letting a youngster shoot a single shot through any .45...


I have also seen that the child was only shooting a 9mm in the video that you were referring to... That is about as much recoil as a light weight bolt .22 rifle.

 

[AnthonyC.]

Thread closed in 3...2...1....

 

[Ed Ames]

Looks like the AR-15 in that video was sporting a .22LR conversion. I'm going by the shape of the magazine. Is .22LR a bad choice for starting a kid off shooting? I think pellet guns are a better choice but .22LR isn't bad.

The kid had eye and ear protection. I know of potential shooters that were forever driven off by their fathers dragging them out as kids and having them shoot without protection.

It wasn't so much that the kid wasn't paying attention but he was paying attention to his dad. It's hard for kids to split attention.

I think the kid was too young. Why? Because he didn't keep shooting. But I don't know the kid or the parents so I'm not going to second guess anyone.

I do have a problem with parents who want to show their kids to shoot specifically to bore them. There was a guy on guntalk last week who was just pleased as punch that he showed his kid how to shoot and now the kid wasn't interested in guns at all and never wanted to go back out again. That, to him, was the whole point because now *his* guns were safer. Didn't sound like he cared at all whether his kid ever took up shooting. This vid might be the other side of that coin... parents a little too enthusiastic about passing the traditions on.

 

[Nightwing]

Hey man! My kid is 4. Guns are a part of his life. And you know what? HE DOESN'T CARE! Because he knows the difference between a toy and a real gun! He's not fascinated with guns, becasue of curiosity of the "un-talked about items in the house". He is as educated as he can be at his age! And you know what? He knows that if he finds a gun, he needs to find an adult and tell them, whether he thinks it's real or a toy! Leaving a child unfamiliar with a very dangerous object is just plain irresponsible. And I can't risk him being at a friends house, playing with his little buddies, going into a friends bedroom, finding daddy's handgun in some unsecured location, and accidentally firing the gun! He has to know to come find an adult and NOT TOUCH THE GUN whether its a toy or Real!
If someone has no information or education on something, THEY WILL TRY TO FIGURE IT OUT FOR THEMSELVES (especially children). If they EVER show interest, or it is a subject that could cause them harm if they aren't educated... it's our duty as adults to make sure they're educated using Facts and common sense, and NOT fear and negative stigma.
I love my son, and he has no access to my guns, nor will he until he is much much older, and will still require my permission and me to remove any gun from the safe for him. Once he is of the age to posses his own firearm, it will be up to him! If I think he is too irresponsible to own one, I will not allow him to if he is living in my home. Once he's out on his own... I can't control him, but I can be positive that I have done everything in my power to educate him and prepare him to be a responsible member of society!

By the way... the gun in the picture IS a BB gun.

 

[Crunker1337]

Why does the fact that the kid was using an AR-15 relevant if he only fired one shot?

 

[American_Pit_Bull]

Looks like the AR-15 in that video was sporting a .22LR conversion.

The video's author states that it is a 9mm.

My 3 year old son is learning to shoot. Weapon used today is a Colt 9mm AR15 rifle. The extra mass of the bolt carrier and buffer add to the percieved recoil of the little 9mm round, the by-product of a blowback design weapon.

 

[RLsnow]

kid didnt look too interested.

otherwise i dont see anything wrong with it.

 

[Firethorn]

There's no functional difference between a bolt action firearm loaded with one round and a semiautomatic one with one round loaded.

At extremely young ages you start running into any rifle fitted for them is dangerously close to SBR status, and working the bolt of anything but a 22 might be too much.

Any firearms 'play' should be in extremely controlled terms; and expressed as such.

At what age this takes place at depends.

 

[Heavy Metal Hero]

I saw nothing wrong with that video. Try watching it with your eyes open next time.

 

[AntiqueCollector]

I don't have a problem with a child that age handling a firearm with parental supervision. Only problem I have if the description is correct is that they weren't making any effort to teach basic safety (like watching where you're pointing the thing). Who cares if it's a semi-auto, a machine gun, a lever or bolt gun or an antique muzzleloader? Makes no difference to me. A gun's a gun to me, they just all have different uses.