My wife says my son's not old enough.to shoot..

[FTG-05]

I bought my son his first gun when he was 1 year old, a Remington M-7 in 7mm-08, I'm just breaking it in for him!! His second gun was a single shot .22. He started shooting that around 4 and quit at 5. That's when he learned about my Ruger 10-22 and .22 pistol. Now he wants nothing to do with the single shot and he's since "stole" both of my Rugers.

When he was 6, I left him at the .22 firing line with other adult shooters while I mowed the rifle range. One of the adults stopped me before he left and told me that my son was very mature and very safe with my (now his) guns. It made very proud!

He started shooting an AR-15 at 7 and now at 9 wants to shoot his M-7 and my AR-10. Life doesn't get much better when your kid wants to shoot your guns.

To answer your question: No, your son is not too young to shoot a gun.

 

[Jeff OTMG]

OOPS!!!! (mouth closed)

 

[pax]

psssst! Jeff! You may want to read the thread starter's subsequent posts before you go insulting his wife.

pax

We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart. -- H. L. Mencken

 

[sm]

Well I started with a 22 revolver at around 3 or 4 with help. 1911 style at age 6. I didn't own a BB gun till I hit about 34 ...I turned out OK My folks set me loose as early as 6 with MY 22 revolver.

I believe it depends on the maturity of the child. Poplin make a great point, and not just in reference to firearms. Kids are curious, better to learn it right from the get - go from a responsible adult. Especially parents.

I'm glad the problem is resolved, I guess mom got over the original idea of the kid getting into her gun fund Why do I percieve the kid shooting the SKS and the parents shoooting the .22 ? Parents, I swear !

I see pax taught her kids to carve pumpkins as I was taught...I learned using .22lr, .38 spls , and 45 ACP saves wear and tear on kitchen knives, less likely for one to slip and cut themselves. Humm, '06, kinda sorta not recommended for pumpkin...not for decoration or lantern anyway...pies...yep saves a few steps...

(pax, just ribbing ya, nice bunch you have)

 

[MeekandMild]

What gives these people the right to concern themselves with what hobbies kids have outside of school?

Nothing, but this is the perfect opportunity to train the children in the facts of life in a meddlesome society. This is a good lesson in the fact that some people will screw you over on the presumption that they have business meddling in your life.

Also it is a good lesson on the old adage "loose lips sink ships", a rather dated but pertinent observation on the need for minding one's own tongue.

I have found that early reading of the Heinlein childrens' novels was very helpful in gently broaching the subject that sometimes what people do is their own business and not the nanny-state's. I think that Heinlein can be introduced to children at age 8 or 9 if they have good reading skills. I recomend "The Rolling Stones", "The Menace From Earth", "Have Space Suit Will Travel", The Red Planet", "Starman Jones" et cetera then slipping in "Citizen of the Galaxy" and "Tunnel in the Sky". By the time they are 10-12 they should be reading everything except his latter novels.

Don't let them read any of Heinlein's adult works until they are 16-18.

Ditto for George Orwell. He is probably better delayed until about age 15-16. I still recall my dread at reading 1984 when I was 12.

 

[GSB]

Eight is a great age to start teaching a skill. How many of us as adults say, "If only I'd learned how to [whatever] when I was a kid, I'd be so much better at this."

There's a reason they start kids young in music, martial arts and chess.

 

[MoNsTeR]

I was 8 or 9 when my uncle taught me to shoot. Later, I shot NRA smallbore when I was in the 5th grade, every thursday night.

I can't see what harm it could possibly do. If someone proposes otherwise, I challenge them to make an argument for their position instead of an assertion.

 

[Black Snowman]

Enjoy your family night out at the range.

I don't have any kids but my roommates son is about 5 now. When he was 4 he became interested in my gun collection and reloading. Reloading bored him pretty quickly but he was still curious about the guns.

I told him that the guns were dangerous and could kill, but if he wanted to know how they worked or to see any of them to just let me or his dad know and we'd show him. I took the time to go over at least the "point in a safe direction" part of the 4 rules before he interupted me.

He said "That's OK, I like my toy guns better. I can play with them without hurting anybody."

Since then he hasn't shown much interest, but I bet he'll be pro-gun when he gets bigger

 

[RocketMan]

My Dad had me shooting his Stevens Model 87A .22 the first time at age five. Of course, he had to hold the rifle up, I just aimed. Did pretty well, too, as I remember.
FWIW.

 

[OneShot]

Well, all's well that ends well. Here Mike is at the range this morning shooting the 10/22. His little Mini Bolt clears for pick up on Tues. You might notice Mom in the background blasting away!!

I'm a happy man--Oneshot and family

 

[OneShot]

Mother and Son

 

[MaterDei]

A Ruger 10/22 with a hot lips mag. Nice!!! He looks like one happy boy.

What kind of scope/mount are you using there? I'm in the market for a scope for my boy's 10/22.

 

[Wanderer]

Age is not a factor. Responsibility and Maturity are.