How young is to young for kids?

[dangitgriff]

I took my two boys at ages 9 & 8 and showed them what a gun (1894C .357 magnum 158 gr. XTP HP) can do to a watermelon.
They got the point.
The youngest likes shooting, the oldest not as much. They’re teenagers now, and gun-smart. The youngest wants to get after some squirrels bad but I just have no place close to home to hunt. I do take him to the range once in a while, though.

[perotter]

My dad wasn't really a gun guy. But when I was 8 I got a .22 and was allowed to take it sparrow or pigeon hunting by my self. My youngest brother start taking either that .22 or my .410 out whenever he wanted when he was 4 years old. When he was 5 he was taking a 12 gauge(he was a big boy). The same deal with my nephews.

On the other hand for the ex-step son I got a gun for him when he was 14 with a gift card I was given. Before giving it to him I decide he wasn't ready for one so didn't even mention it to him. Ten years later, he still isn't and may never be.

Different individuals, different decisions.

[perotter]

.....

And don't forget, you have boys. We like guns, guns are cool, guns are fun. They think the same way because we adults do. Everyone here saying, that they can't play with them because they aren't "toys". True... How many times do people talk to there buddy or whoever, and mention the "new toy" they just bought while the kids are listening. For a child, a toy is a toy. Don't tell him that its not a toy when you just got off the phone with Jerry the neighbor saying that you just bought a new toy. They can't comprehend metaphors and sarcasm.

Yup. I never call nor consider a gun, bow & arrow, motorcycle, ATV, power tool, riding lawnmower, etc a toy.

[M-Tecs]

Yup 14 is too young to handle firearms...........................

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/wor...RgAw5lNfbzLl-g

Joined the Marine Corps at 14, Medal of Honor by 17

[fcvan]

I just got done building a higher end 6.5 grendel AR, and I have 4 year old twin boys who know proper gun safety. But I cannot keep them from wanting to play with this AR. So how young is too young to let them go to the range?

Attachment 258556

My oldest daughter was in diapers when she first went out 'shooting.' It was a BP pistol I had made from a kit. Well, she loaded her diaper the first shot. When she was 2 1/2, I took her out shooting, she wanted to go, and I told her 'anti gun' mom it would be educational. We got home, and mom asked what she had learned. Word for word, she described everything she learned about safety, backstops, etc.

My girls all learned to shoot, how to reload, and their husbands all like shooting as well. are they as 'hooked' as Dad? no, but they don't think I'm a gun nut. My first wife was such an anti-gun nut until she wanted a pistol for self protection. Funny how anti-gun nuts change when they feel threatened. My present wife of many years thinks the gun safes are too small.

[fcvan]

I started teaching my oldest daughter (4) this past christmas with a red ryder bb gun. Shes not big enough yet to shoulder it properly but it sure is a lot closer than my marlin 60 or henry golden boy youth.
Teaching her the destructive capabilities of guns by using water balloons (and pumpkins) as our targets.

I got a shotgun before I got a Red Ryder BB gun. One was a tool, one was a toy. I started shooting with Dad's Ithaca before I got my first 870. As my dad taught me, I taught my girls. Guns are tools, not toys.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Kids definitely should not go shooting before being born, that's my rule

I was case forming and handloading our .243 super accurate ammo for Rock Chucking before age 10; Not every kid's up to that, but some ARE. And for darn sure I was shooting more accurately offhand back then than I can now, I suspect. Emotional stability and some empathy are good here, you don't want a 10 year sociopath or psychopath shooting unsupervised, let's just say that...

[Scrounge]

I just got done building a higher end 6.5 grendel AR, and I have 4 year old twin boys who know proper gun safety. But I cannot keep them from wanting to play with this AR. So how young is too young to let them go to the range?

Attachment 258556

I fired my first handgun at age 4. About 60 years ago. SAA Colt in .45 long. Knocked me on my butt, and taught me respect for firearms at the same time. Dad was a bit of hard case, and made sure all of us knew firearms weren't really toys. There were guns all over the house, but we knew very well not to "play" with them. It was another 11 or 12 years before we got to go out with firearms by ourselves. Step-father #2 wasn't quite so careful about BB guns though. We did know not to shoot them directly at one another, but were pretty good about putting a ricochet where we wanted one sometimes. Proper adult supervision will be the key to making sure your kids learn gun safety to the point that it's as near instinctive as learned behavior can be. You're probably going to be busy for about the next dozen years. Might look for an NRA gun safety class for them. I'm not totally happy with the NRA, and haven't been since about 1968, but that is one thing they do well.