Shooting: For Mature Kids Only?

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I got a 9 year old nephew who sincew the age of two has been able to say the basic firearm safety rules, number one being do not touch daddy'd gun unless Daddy is there to supervise. He did only once!
he's been shooting BB's since about 3 and now has his own youth shotgun
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Shooting: For Mature Kids Only?
9/20/2002
The says competitive shooting teaches students responsibility, but
gun-violence
prevention groups worry about safety and say only mature kids should be
taught to shoot.

The Cybercast News Service reported Sept. 18 that NSSF spokesperson Gary
Mehalik
said that shooting sports are safer than other school sports. "Kids get
injured in football
and doing other things at a rate far higher than they do receive injuries
from competing
with firearms," he said. "Anyone who's mature can participate in firearm
sports safely."

Nancy Hwa, a spokesperson for the , said, "We don't have a problem with
target shooting
and sports shooting. But we do think parents have to be very careful about
the maturity
level of their children, and how the guns are being handled."

Hwa did not dispute the assertion that competitive shooting can develop
responsibility,
respect, and discipline. But she expressed concern that some parents could
become
complacent about their kids handling guns, which could lead to tragedy. Hwa
specifically
cited the Jonesboro, Ark., school shooting in 1999, carried out by two young
boys who
were trained in firearms use.
 
As long as the kid listens and wants to shoot his or her age doesn't matter. Young kids, however, do not have the attention span to shoot all day and a formal match would likely bore them into next week. They also have a tendency to not want to do things they're not good at right away. No big deal. When you take a kid shooting just don't take a whole case of ammo and don't shoot yourself. You need to be helping the kid.
 
I can only think of saying one thing, Switzerland.
Because the people (of Switzerland) are the swiss army, they start teaching kids how to use and maintain firearms as young as possible. It is proven that the younger a child starts learning, the smarter they'll be. It is the early years of a persons life that shapes their future. I know, if you look into the facts about firearms and Switzerland, it will show you that there is no such thing as "too early", when it comes to teaching a child how to be a good person, a safe person, and a responsible person.
I think that it is a good thing that your nephew is learning responsibility and firearm safety at an early age.
 
It is proven that the younger a child starts learning, the smarter they'll be. It is the early years of a persons life that shapes their future. I know, if you look into the facts about firearms and Switzerland, it will show you that there is no such thing as "too early", when it comes to teaching a child how to be a good person, a safe person, and a responsible person.
Click to expand...
Could you post a link(s).
 
Here's a little extra info.
The average Swiss child (boys and girls), begin firearms education around 8. By the age of 10 there are school sponsored shooting contests. Shooting competition is a national pastime there. From the age of 18 to 45 every able bodied citizen is an enlisted member of the national militia. 60% of the firearms housed (by citizens) are military, full auto, weapons. You can find a lot of info about it by searching the web at google, yahoo, or altavista.
here are a couple of links:
http://www.fst-ssv.ch/
http://www.ncpa.org/pi/crime/pd061099b.html
http://www.stephenhalbrook.com/wallstreet.html
You can also read about Switzerland in Richard Poes "The Seven Myths of Gun Control". and I think Dr John Lott has written about it (not sure though).
A neat story I once heard about the Swiss was;

During WWII, The Swiss had an estimated 500,000 militia men. A Nazi general ask for the right to march 1 million nazi soldiers through Switzerland. The Swiss government said no. The Nazi general asked what they (the Swiss) would do if they (the Nazis) marched anyway...
The Swiss replied that every militia man would fire twice.
The Nazis never marched through Switzerland.
:D
 
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I can't disagree with everything that Nancy Hwa is quoted as saying in that story. I think everybody should always be careful about handling their firearms. There are children who just don't have the maturity to handle firearms. Maturity is relative and often has nothing to do with age. I also know adults that aren't mature enough to shoot. I'll bet we all know people like this.

That said, many of us were standing in a tree stand with a high-powered rifle at age twelve without any problem at all.
 
started mine at about 9 with .22

the rifle was too big so we got youth cut models.

they will get bored quick though, like sunray says, but we always alternated so i would get a turn too...

:evil:

thinking more though, ive got a 12 yo now that i wont teach yet because she shows too much tendency to violence when things arent going her way.

so that is something else to be considered

m
 
Define "mature kids." Mature for their age? Able to understand and take responsibility? I start my kids out with BB guns pretty early, and move to .22s soon. My eleven year old daughter has "her own" .22, and I gave my now 16 year old son a Remington Model 7 in .243 for his 11th birthday.

I'm a Hunter Safety instructor, and enjoy working with kids from all backgrounds. Most quickly learn the importance of safe gun handling. They get the four rules first night, are drilled on them throughout the course, and have a pretty good respect for the firearms -- real and simulated -- they handle on the last day.

That said, a friend of mine has a 14 year old son he doesn't trust to babysit his siblings and who still calls his mother "Mommy." I've brought his 12-year-old brother along on squirrel hunts, but the older has a long way to go before I'd trust him with a firearm.
 
Campusninja, There was no link with it, I asked the person I got it from if there was a link........ If I get one, I'll post it here :)

sorry
 
Actually, it's kind of hard to argue with their point: there are some kids I would emphatically not trust with a firearm until they grow up a little bit.

To some extent, the problem of immaturity can be solved by teaching kids the basic lessons of firearms safety. However, if the kid's parents haven't done their part in instilling the lessons of responsibility, common sense, and a reasonable amount of obedience toward those who know what they're talking about, then being able to parrot the Four Safety Rules isn't going to count for a whole lot.

The solution isn't to keep such kids away from firearms forever, nor is it to baby-proof the rest of the world.

The solution is to rear your own children responsibly and to instill those important lessons early on.

Attached is a picture of me and my family, taken last fall during a safety lesson at the range. I am showing the kids what their little .22 rifle had done to a pumpkin, and asking them to imagine what that would have been like if it had hit a human being instead. The kids seemed to absorb the lesson pretty well, and had a lot of fun.

attachment.php


Btw, zucchini work better than pumpkins. Zucchini pretty well explode. :D

pax

Deep thinkers who look everywhere for the mysterious causes of poverty, ignorance, crime and war need look no further than their own mirrors. We are all born into this world poor and ignorant, and with thoroughly selfish and barbaric impulses. Those of us who turn out any other way do so largely through the efforts of others, who civilized us before we got big enough to do too much damage to the world or ourselves. -- Thomas Sowell
 
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From my own experience, you can start shooting as soon as your parents want to supervise you shooting. My dad started me on my 6th birthday when I recieved a .22 Chipmunk as a birthday gift. I was shooting ground squirrels just days later. I made a few mistakes growing up and shooting, but nothing too serious (until I was 21 and had a negligent discharge! Man I felt stupid). I think it all depends on how your parents raise you and how much time they are willing to spend instructing and supervising your shooting.
 
The solution is to rear your own children responsibly and to instill those important lessons early on.
Click to expand...

I think this statement pretty much covers it. Your kids are a what YOU make them. Firearms training begins at birth. If you wait until they become "interested" you probably waited to long. You are better off constantly exposing them to what they are and what they can do. Kids are very smart and learn quickly, but you need to teach every minute, not just when a gun is present. TV is a big part of their lives these days and an excelent teaching tool. All those shows that you "hate" because of improper handling and use can be used to show your kids what not to do. Explain everthing, discuss everything, all the time, always allow access with supervision, and dont wait for them to ask, do it first, and constantly encourage safe handling and checks. If you do this, your kids will be safer than most adults they encounter on a daily basis outside the house. I always told my kids the "tell an adult" rule, but also added, if they look like they dont know what they are doing, get away from them too. Just being an adult doesnt make you any smarter or safer than a kid .
 
i have 2 nephews (13 and 11) that i cannot bring myself to train them for firearms. the older boy is diagnosed as bi-polar manic depressive, and has mood swings that jump all across the spectrum. one moment hes in a good cheerful mood, next hes ready to destroy everything in his sight.
he has spent time in a behavioral health center because of his threatening suicide.
if the right combination of meds are stumbled upon, maybe i'll be willing to instruct him.

his younger brother has add, adhd, and is NOW on ritalin, and is a pill to be around. he spends much of his time in trouble because he tries to bully his younger sisters and thanks to what he has seen with his parents, he thinks its okay to hit those smaller.


my twin nieces are developing normally though (8 or 9, i forget) and they will be joining me at the range much quicker than their brothers will be. i wanted to start them with bb and pellets, but their grandmother (who is taking care of them indefinitely) isnt comfortable with that just yet.


so yes, shooting is definitely for those who are able to appreciate the responsibility involved.
 
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