Introducing your kids to guns - request

[Paul47]

In terms of questions - I guess a good starting pt would be why do you own firearms - is it for sport, protection, culling pests?

Defense against crime, deer hunting, hobby, and in case the government goes off the deep end.

Did you grow up with them?

My father was an occasional deer and bird hunter, all relatives owned firearms.

Is gun ownership just a traditional part of life in the US?

Yes, of course.

How much of a concern was gun safety when you started a family?

Just part of safety overall.

The best manual by far for raising kids around guns is Massad Ayoob's Gun-Proof Your Children. He gets it exactly right. I have used this method with my son.

I started shooting with him when he was 5. Obviously at that age you have to really hover around them to make sure they make no mistakes. He's 14 now, not really gun crazy at this point but it is just an ordinary part of life for him.

When you hear about shooting accidents involving kids, what's your first response and do you think more could be done to prevent these types of incidents?

If you dig into the statistics, e.g. Gary Kleck's work (see also this), accidental deaths have been declining ever since they started collecting the data, back around 1906 or so. That is in total numbers of deaths, despite the increasing population and despite the increasing numbers of guns (although I don't know what the percentage of population owning them has been doing). The reason is that safety in gun handling has been more consistently and widely practiced over time (particularly, Cooper's four rules). So the obvious remedy is more of the same. But like any tool, the number can never go to zero, and it makes little sense to expect it to. And that is so whether people are disarmed or not; just look at England. Breaking out gun deaths and ignoring other kinds of deaths is dishonest.

In the end, the statistics are irrelevant. Free people do what they want to do. If they want to own guns, as half of Americans do, then there will be Hell to pay if the government ever decides we shouldn't. It will be the end of that government.

 

[Yo Mama]

I first bought a shotgun when I was working nights, and my area had multiple rapes occur. My girlfriend and future wife was alone at home, and I felt the responsibility to protect her.

We started my first girl shooting when she was 2 with a pellet gun that we held, and she aimed.

Then at 3 she fired a .22 rifle the same way.

She just went hunting with me for her first time at 3 and a half, and watched as I shot birds, and understands the impact a bullet has. (She even helps clean them, G-d I love my kids!) She'll be running circles around those boys!

In terms of safety, it's all been hands on, with the guns, so that there is no mystery. If she ever wants to look at a gun or knife, she asks, and I don't care what I'm in the middle of she gets to look at them with me. I never had this, no guns growing up, no toy guns, cap guns, water guns.

If you ask her what to do if she ever sees a gun, she will say, "Leave the area, tell an adult, don't touch". Straight from Eddie Eagle. The DVD is a must in my opinion.

I hope we here on this forum present responsible gun ownership, and we welcome you.

 

[Ausglock]

G'day Nicky.
I'm in Australia.
Yes, we DO have a Gun Culture here. Ask any sport shooter. Autralian gun owners are made to jump through many hoops before we can own a firearm. Yet the media make us out to be the bad guys everytime there is a Bikie shooting Drug related shooting or scum on scum shooting.
It is just that we have been shafted so many times by the Australian Media since the Hoddle Street shootings back in the 1980's, we are very wary of any TV network wanting to do a "Shooter friendly" type story. It usually turns into an Anti-gun rant.

The Australian Media seem to have a direct line to Gun control Australia and the Greens. Now these groups seem to get the ear of anyone looking to sensationalize the firearm sports. What these groups know about firearms can be written on the head of a pin.

If you are serious about an un-biased story, contact the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia. The SSAA is the Australian equivalent of the U.S NRA.

full contact details are:-

Ali Newbery
St Marys Pistol Club
02 8889 0409

Thanks.
Regards, Ausglock
Australia.

 

[AussieShooter]

I probably don't need to, but I would warn the people posting on this thread that the media in Australia is notoriously biased against the shooting community in this country. They will warp your replies into some sort of so-called evidence that America is the big bad wolf that Australia is somehow becoming (if only that was true!!!).

Network 10 will no doubt fail to mention that the 500 million dollar gun buy back where the federal government outlawed pistols greater than .38, and semi-automatic rifles was a complete failure, with no added decrease rate in the amount of gun crime, and further analysis revealed not even the suicide rate decreased.

Good luck to everyone here

 

[al123]

Firearm ownership has been, one way or another, part of my family. In my case, it was my children who used firearms first, then introduced them to me - with other relatives . I've never been anti-gun, but until recently, not had an interest in them.

I also have additional relatives who are extremely anti-gun. This makes for interesting discussions. They view firearms as instruments of oppression and domination . Yeah, there's no logic involved, but it's a prevalent view. They see the teaching of minors in the use of firearms as a means of 'spreading violence'. This is hardly the case.

Safety was taught foremost. If anything, it instilled discipline with everyone involved. Regardless, my children are well aware that the right to bear arms can easily become an unobtainable privilege through carelessness and apathy.

 

[geoff l]

i can understand the negativity that some people have about the way he media portrays guns in australia, however if you watched sixty minutes with charles woolly last year he did piece about a family that are ssaa members & they took him out on a hunt.

It was a very positive piece & it was good to see that the media can present a good positive story about shooting.

lets give channel 10 some credit & hope that george negus & nicky give this story the credibility it deserves.

 

[rfwobbly]

Mr Ten -
In the United States, introduction to shooting sports is a regular part of Boy Scouts of America and 4H Clubs everywhere. Typically younger shooters start out with a BB gun (about age 7), progress to (air or gas propelled) pellet, and then to .22 rifle (about age 12). In fact the NSSF offers a sew-on patch for such youth oriented clubs and organizations. HERE

A typical Boy Scout shooting range. Notice the accent is on safety. Boys are behind the "red line" and all rifles are open and pointed "down range".

In Boy Scouts shooting is done from a bench position only. The Scout is not allowed to handle the rifle other than to take it up or lay it down, action open. Eye and ear protection is mandatory.

After you earn your Rifle Shooting Merit Badge a Boy Scout can move onto Shotgun Shooting Merit Badge. This is my son in 2004. He's just finished breaking 46 out of 50 clays to tie the camp record.

There are numerous merit badge options in Boy Scouts.

 

[jhco50]

I started teaching safety at 4 yrs. At 5yrs we went to a canyon in the mountains and I went through all of the safety I taught them and then showed them how to sight the rifle I had. After they were comfortable with the rifle I taught them on a 999 H&R Sportsman revolver. My son's rifle was an Ithaca M49 and the girls learned on Chipmunks.

 

[USAF_Vet]

My step kids are 7 & 9, and each have their own Daisy pellet gun. They handle them properly or have them taken away, and only handle them with supervision. As it is, they are locked up with the rest of the guns.
They have each shot my .22, and will get one of their own when they pass their hunters safety course.
Whenever a new gun is brought into the house, they are made aware of it. I show it to them, show them how it operates, and will allow them to fire it if the recoil won't hurt them.

 

[kludge]

I have adopted the Eddie Eagle approach in my home (I have five, ages 4 to 13) as soon as they show any awareness of or interest in guns.

Stop. Don't Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult. My four year old has been able to quote the rules for about two years now. He was the earliest (he has two big brothers) to become aware of the existance of guns. Usually it's about four years old, and it's not like I hide it from them.

In addition, I have taken away the "curiosity" by allowing them to look at, hold, touch, all while reinforcing and following all the safety rules, at any time they want, for as long as they want. I also let them shoot at the range. My 11 year old is pretty much self sufficient at the range with his single shot rifle and a box of ammo.

"Dad, can I look at your gun?"
"Sure, what are the rules?"
"Point it in a safe direction, open the action,make sure it's not loaded, keep your finger off the trigger."
"OK. What direction are you going to point it?"
"That way."
"OK, what's on the other side of that wall/floor/ceiling, etc? Is it safe?"
"Yes."
"OK, here you go." (and I stay right with them)

In a little while they get bored and move on, but we've reinforced the rules that we follow everywhere, even on the range, and we've put the rules in action -- it's not just some words on a poster.

The key is only with permission and only when I'm present with them.

After a while they don't even ask any more to see them, they just wait until we go to the range.

why do you own firearms - is it for sport, protection, culling pests?

Enjoy shooting. Personal protection. Hunting.

Did you grow up with them?

Yes.

Is gun ownership just a traditional part of life in the US?

Yes, and still is, regarless of where you live, urban and rural, where it's part of the family/cultural tradition.

How much of a concern was gun safety when you started a family?

Depends on what you mean by the question. I am not concerned about accidents because I am disciplined with ALWAYS following the rules and making sure the people around me are too. I store guns and ammunition separately, and I teach discipline to my children. There has NEVER been an issue in my home as a parent or in my home when I was a child. We never would have dreamed about getting into my dad's gun stuff without his permission, and I hope my kids feel the same way. By the way they act it's fairly apparent that they have no interest in getting into my gun stuff while I'm there or while I'm not there. None of my dad's gun or ammo cabinets were ever locked. I have two loaded handguns in a pistol safe. Ammo is locked up, as are handguns. Long guns are not locked up.

When you hear about shooting accidents involving kids, what's your first response and do you think more could be done to prevent these types of incidents?

With young children the fault will almost universally lie with an adult. Speaking in generalizations accidents with small children happen when the adult hasn't taken proper precautions in handling, storing, education, or discipline. For older children it is, in my opinion, the cumulative effect of lack of education and discipline over many years.

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

My oldest is 7 years old. I took him shooting for the first time a couple years ago. Last year I bought a gun with him and my younger kids in mind.



We went over basic gun safety several times but I always go over it again when I take him out again.

Last time we went shooting, he did great. Of course I was there right next to him supervising the whole time. He didn't want to stop shooting though. It was a great experience for both of us.

 

[RogueLeader]

I agree with Kludge. Many children who have accidentally discharged a firearm have never been taught what a gun is for, they get their ideas from television and movies. They are very curious and when they find a gun, usually in a closet, or in a dresser drawer, they take it out and play with it. Their parents have never taken the time to properly introduce them to guns, they tell them guns are bad and hurt people, and to never touch it. Well, as most of us know, when you tell a child not to do something, especially if it is something they are very curious about, they wait till mom, or dad are gone, or are busy doing something else, and they look for, or accidentally find the gun and want to either examine it, or play with it. They have no idea how to check it.

I find that, if introduced at the right age, children who have been taught safe gun handling and the actual handling of the gun takes away their curiosity and they will leave the gun alone unless a "RESPONSIBLE" adult is present. This can be as early as when you are handling a gun, whether in preparation to go hunting, to the range, or in the home cleaning one, if the child starts to ask questions, or shows any interest, it is best to take the time then and there to satisfy their curiosity. Sorry for the long post, but I get emotional when I read, or hear about some child accidentally shooting themselves, or another child because they found a gun and started playing with it all because of curiosity. I always wonder why the parents didn't take the time to explain the dangers and allow the children to satisfy their curiosity.

 

[gregj]

Here are my contributions.

In terms of questions - I guess a good starting pt would be why do you own firearms - is it for sport, protection, culling pests?

All of the above. My range partner is my 16yr old son. I am hoping years from now, when I am long gone, he will have learned many valuable lessons (in life and in gun ownership), and look back on these times and smile.

Did you grow up with them?

Yes. For my 13th birthday I was given a .22LR single shot rifle. With it I dispatched many a jackrabbit at my grandparents ranch. When I was 14, I was given a Remington .222 which was my deer rifle, and with it had taken several deer. I also hunted dove and qual quite a bit with my father. I lost my father to cancer when I was 15. These hunting memories are the best memories of my childhood with him I have. My sons also have grown up around firearms. First it was paintball, then airsoft, then the real thing. They know how to handle a firearm safely.

Is gun ownership just a traditional part of life in the US?

I think it is in many parts of the country. It was where I grew up (Texas).

How much of a concern was gun safety when you started a family?

It was a big concern, and now that my sons are grown (20 and 16), it still is.

When you hear about shooting accidents involving kids, what's your first response and do you think more could be done to prevent these types of incidents?

My first response is I am sad for the child, that they had to suffer due to a parent's negligence and probably more appropriately ignorance. But just because one is an adult, doesnt qualify them to be a parent. We've all seen poor decisions from people that have no business being parents, from lack of control/dicipline, to abuse, to you name it. This includes firearm education. Firearm ownership is not something to be taken lightly, but often is. Unfortunately, you cant fix stupid. Well, you can, but it probably isnt legal.

 

[XxWINxX94]

In terms of questions - I guess a good starting pt would be why do you own firearms - is it for sport, protection, culling pests?

Did you grow up with them?

Is gun ownership just a traditional part of life in the US?

How much of a concern was gun safety when you started a family?

When you hear about shooting accidents involving kids, what's your first response and do you think more could be done to prevent these types of incidents?

1) Some sport, some protection, alot collection, and sometimes hunting.
2) Started when I was 14, so a little later than most. Guns were inherited to a family who was neutral, but my grandfather and I took interest and put our minds to learning about guns, shooting them, and everything in between.
3) I would say nowadays it is a regional and era type of lifestyle, however not so for the past. I'm from the south side of Chicago so no, at first my family and I knew very little about guns. My grandfathers family was born/raised on a farm in Northern Mississippi and relied on guns to put food on the table (the grocery store was miles away, no car, no money). I would say older people (young when they used guns) who live(d) in more rural parts of the U.S. have a better chance of having/had firearms incorporated into their lives.
4) Gun safety was very important and still is. At first, extreme measures should be taken, then slowly after years of shooting, you could be a little more lenient on safety, IMO.
5) Depending on where/why the accident happened. My first question is the legality, if it was gangbangers or just an accident on the range. The first answers that problem itself. The latter should be blamed on whoever taught the individual gun saftey (if a child), as well as the individual involved because they obviously did not exercise the proper saftey measures if an accident happened in the first place.

 

[Messenger Guard]

Guns were not made a forbidden fruit in my house. Generational gun ownership has been the norm in our family. I carry a gun everyday so I didn't want to have to lock it up every night due to my kids being untrustworthy. Both of my kids fired weapons as early as three years old. To take care of "Monsters under the bed" we had the "monster gun". One shot at a hated toy convinced my children we had no monster problem at my house hence no "wake up calls" in the middle of the night by scared youngsters. I told my kids they were always welcome to see my guns, they just had to ask my first. They take it like most kids take automobiles. They know it is the realm of adults unless they are responsible enough to be let in. Children in Italy drink wine with most meals and alcoholism is not an issue in Italy. If you expose your kids to things and take the forbidden fruit aspect away you would be surprised how they become very mature.