Is a BB gun the first step?

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

mr_dove

Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2003
Messages
645
Location
Denver
My 5 year old son is starting to show alot of interest in guns. He doesn't currently have any toy guns but he has begun to pretend that just about everything is a gun. I went to Gander Mountain today and he kept asking me if he could hold the guns there.

Alot of people start with BB guns and then move to single shot 22's later. Is there any step BEFORE the BB gun? Maybe an airsoft or other gun that shoots a plastic/rubber projectile?

I suspect that what my son really wants is a toy. He's REALLY into playing "matrix" and play fighting with his little brother. Gosh, what has the world come to when our kids play "matrix" instead of cowboys and indians?

I wonder if he won't be disappointed to find out that guns are not toys because they make them look like so much fun in the movies.

Should I go with a BB gun, airsoft, or go right for a single shot 22?
 
Can you still get the toy guns that shoot plastic darts with a suction cup at the end? If so, considering the age, that is what I'd go with. It will let him shoot, you don't have to watch him all the time, and he really can't "shoot his eye out".
 
BB or pellet gun would be dangerous for your precious 5 year-old. some spring actioned airsoft would be great. i imagine you're older than i am because i'm not old enough to have a 5 year old kid, but i say shop around because kids these days have such cooler toys than when i was growing up. i suggest getting him a big styrofoam block to shoot at, otherwise you'll be finding little balls all over the house :D
 
Does it need to throw out anything? What about those red tipped kids guns that the likes of Sportsman's Warehouse and similar carry. I don't have a Gander Mountain in the area, so can't comment there.

Cap guns are nice too, gives the kid that bang, but really can do much more than burn himself if he tries really, really hard.

Like when you stack about 20 of them on top of each other and smack them with a rock. I think I smacked my fingers far more with the rock than anything. Then I found Dad's hammer.
 
a bb gun CAN be

However the real issue has to do with wether you consider it a actual gun. You see so may people get a bb gun for their kids, and becasue they think of it as a toy, let them run around with it unsupervised.
No kid should have any weapon or even a toy weapon without supervision. I know, I had em, and I am as safe an adult at any, but we live in adifferent world, andpart of that is that we are supposed to be wiser now.
So if you get him a bb gun, or even a pop gun. Lock it up, only get it out under YOUR supervision, and teach all the proper rules of handling and management, just like you would with a powder burning weapon.
for instance, I always asked the boys to quote the 4 rules to me each time we went to the range, from the time they were little, to the tome they are adults. In fact I still require it anytime I go shooting with ANYBODY.
Manage the range (that's ANYPLLACE you are shooting) like a range, and it will become an ingrained habit in your child LONG after you are dead and buried.
Good luck.
 
What hankpac said.....:cool:
I started at age 9 with a bolt-action single shot Winchester Model 67 and even at age 60 (and several rifles, shotguns, pistols and revolvers) feel that I was cheated somehow by never owning a BB gun!:what:
Go figure??:confused:
 
Here was my daughter's progression and will be my son's also.
1. Toy gun with red tip that doesn't shoot anything and or laser tag
2. Nerf guns
3. Airsoft
4. Red Rider for small kids
5.10 pump pellet gun, which she is on right now at 8 years old
6. Next step is the single shot .22 bolt rifle that my dad was taught on, the one I was taught on and hopefully she will be taught on at 10 yoa.

My advice is not to rush him into it. He has plenty of time and right now he just has to learn that playing "Cowboys/Indians", "Cops/Robbers" is FUN. When you get to Nerf stage, that is when I started giving my daughter the 4 steps advice but in little pieces at a time.

The best thing about this whole process is that it gets us to think back on all the fun and good times we had and you will really enjoy it to. Heck, I bought myself one when I bought my daughter one.
 
I think the issue is whether he needs a toy or not.

My son has a BB gun, but he doesn't even look at it if I'm not with him in the back yard going over the 4 rules and me within arms length to make sure he doesn't violate them. I do that to prepare him for the 22.

If he wants to run around the house with a toy, that would be completely different. Anything that has batteries and makes sound would work.
 
Cap-gun. I can still "smell" the fired cap powder. The good old days.
As far as a starter gun goes. I`d say the BB gun is the first step in a
" projectile firing weapon" goes.
Learning and teaching go hand and hand. Teach the basics on proper handling and respect now and when the time comes you`ve got yourself a good hunting buddy.
There are other steps but I`m sure you`ll handle those.
 
I've taken flack about this before but it's still my firm opinion and you can take it or leave it.

I have no problem beginning to teach a child under age 9 about firearms safety, letting them watch while I clean one, possibly even letting them handle some of the individual parts, etc.

But I simply will not allow any child under the age of 9 to handle an assembled firearm (firearm, not non-firing toys), nor will I allow them to fire one. After age 9 depends on the maturity of the child in question.

I'm not telling anyone else what to do, this is just my own personal conviction.

I wonder if he won't be disappointed to find out that guns are not toys because they make them look like so much fun in the movies.
Click to expand...

I've noticed that this is often the case, at least until they get a little older and realize the -real- fun of firearms. :)
 
I had a BB gun in the 2nd grade. I see no problem with that especially if you live somewhere it is easy and convenient to shoot without causing issues with neighbors etc. I say BB gun, not pellet gun.

Many start their kids at a very young age shooting. Age 9 or so is about right as the child has reached sufficient size to shoot a firearm supervised. I would pretty much allow them unsupervised use after they are in high school. But I would pay attention to what they say and do with firearms. I'd also insist they buy their own ammunition if they are on an allowance. Yes, I would do the actual buying, but with less funds a child will develop skills rather than just blasting away. From a childs perspective, the adult supplying ammunition most of the time is the ultimate bottomless pit.
 
Absolutely get him a BB gun. I got my first one when I was 5. Just be sure and be right there with him for a good while until he learns the rules.
Get him one of those Daisy Cubs (I think that's the name of it). It looks like a Red Ryder but smaller. I think they are about $20 at WalMart.
I bought my 6 year old nephew one and he loves it.
 
My only inhibition with the toy guns is that my son would view guns as toys. I want him to understand the distinct line between toys and guns, and the responsibilites incurred with firearms.

If, however, you were enforcing those rules with the dart/cap/airsoft gun, and your kiddo can understand that, then sounds like valuable training to me.
 
Absolutely your son needs some guns. :confused: Get him toy guns in bright colors, cap guns, dart guns. Get him a BB gun and do not let him handle it unsupervised. He will quickly learn the difference between toy guns and BB/real guns.

My oldest grandson is near 5 years old. He has been shooting (extremely supervised) a Crossman single shot spring BB pistol and my Red Ryder since he was old enough to pull the triggers. When he was too small to hold it himself I would hold it with him standing as I was sitting, him betwen my legs and we would shoot it at the mud puddle (perrenial puddle on a trail in our woods). He loved to see the water and mud jump. Since he became large enough and has developed motor skills to hold the guns by himself I sit and he stands between my legs and aims and shoots by himself. I still have to do the cocking.

He absolutely knows the difference between his toy guns and the BB guns as well as the difference between those and grampa's real guns. And most important in my mind is that whenever he asks to see my real guns I stop what I am doing and imediately open the safe and let him handle whatever he wants. This does not happen very often at all, maybe twice in the last year.

Sometimes when I shoot he is at our home and he knows to stay behind me and asks for his ear covers or he says "wait til I go inside grampa". He understands he may not shoot the real guns just yet. When I am cleaning them afterwords he barely pays any attention to it all.

I believe his attitude comes from my always letting him have toy guns in our home, be able to shoot the BB guns whenever he asks, and can see and handle my real guns whenever I am not shooting them.

In my opinion if you try to hide or keep things out of kids hands it just makes them want to touch or handle them all the more. Certainly if not allowed toy guns, or BB guns when supervised he would be into the real guns the first time I ever left the safe door open and walked out of the room. I have tested him by leaving the door open and him not knowing I was watching and he might glance at it but never one time has made a move to handle anything.

Of course I never fail to tell him how one day the safe and a lot of what is in the safe will become his. His big concern with that comment is that he hopes it does not happen for a "long long day". Kind of tugs at grampa's hearstrings it does. :)

I dunno what my moral here is other than you should teach you kids the right way from the get-go. So buy him some guns! :D
 
I agree with a lot of the opinions above. my kids shoot bb guns, but they don't have "toy" guns. I feel that gives the wrong impression about what firearms are supposed to be used for. obviously, when they are old enough to understand the difference, i see nothing wrong with airsoft or paint ball, but not at 5. we practice in the backyard with bb guns, but nothing resembling a gun is EVER pointed at anyone in my house.
my mother(who is VERY anti, I might add) always told us, "guns are not toys, and war is not a game". well, that's true. on that subject, I agree with her. but once that rule is established, guns can be LOTS of fun:D
 

Attachments

  • DSC00243.jpg
    DSC00243.jpg
    82.1 KB · Views: 36
If he's five, I wouldn't get anything besides a cheap springer airsoft gun... $15 is what you should expect to pay. Ammo is like 5000 for $7.

Make him memorize gun safety, and if he violates any of it with his airsoft gun (well, unless he's playing airsoft of course) confiscate it for a month or so.

If he's responsible, get him an air rifle at like age 7 or so.

I must emphasize that you have to teach him that life isn't movies or video-games.
 
I don't see the problems of giving your kid toy guns. Most toy guns have orange tip and are made of plastic or wood. I had tons of toy guns and swords as a kid, and I don't think they made me think of real guns as "toys"I respect and am safe around real guns today, but treat the toys as just that, toys. I don't see how shooting cap guns, airsoft, or rbberband guns at targets, imaginary enemies, or friends during "battles" makes me think as guns as toys.
Oh, and I wouldn't get him an Airsoft gun. Springs are hard to pull back, electrics (unless you get top-end) are finicky, and Co2s are too powerful.
I stand by my original recommendation.
 
I got my son a Red Rider BB gun on his 7th bday & he helped pay for a .410 shotgun for his 8th bday this last year. He has shown me that he can be safe with firearms, he saved up the money to pay for 1/2 (a used h&r single shot). He knows the 4 rules, I think the younger the better, I would have bought him a bb gun at 5 or 6 if I could have(We adopted him & his younger sister at ages 6&5). They recently changed the rules here in UT. If they can pass hunter's safety then they can hunt small game (age doesn't matter). He is currently registered for a hunter's ed class & we will see how he does.
 
Oh no!

Just thought of something on the toy gun topic: my daughter has 5 and 2 year old girls. Her inlaws are tree-huggers from California. When my daughter went to visit her inlaws last month, her mother-in-law had bought the girls squirt guns to play with. She then thought about it and asked my daughter: "You aren't upset about them playing with toy guns are you?" My daughter replied: "Are you kidding - we are Republicans!!!"
 
when i was in high school and ealier on in college i popped squirels and birds and rabbits with my BB gun. i also had a benjamin pellet gun that had a pump and that thing was so damn powerful i took it with my for quail whenever i went hog hunting. my point is those things can do damage and i wouldn't consider them toys. if you're gonna get one for your 5 year-old, he needs to have the maturity double his age. only you can be the judge of that. me? i was watching Barney when i was 5...
 
Careful he'll put his eye out with the BB gun. :(

My parents wouldn't let us have one, said the least powerful we were allowed was a .22 so the 'bullet' wouldn't bounce back off the eucalyptus trees.

I enjoyed toy guns but sometimes get anxious about the lesson they teach on safety. I would support rubber band guns, though there is the same issue.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

A
  • Locked
Not Your Dad's BB Gun (Washington Post)
2
Replies
31
Views
2K
Mikul
M
I
  • Locked
Toy (ish) Gun Related Moral Question
Replies
17
Views
703
Deus Machina
D
G
  • Locked
What to tell a child about pointing toy guns at others?
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
1911 guy
1911 guy
G
  • Locked
teaching our kids and others kids
Replies
6
Views
463
whm1974
W
C
  • Locked
starting young son shooting
Replies
19
Views
923
FieroCDSP
F
Back
Top