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View Full Version : You'll shoot yer eye out kid! What do you look for in a child before gifting a Daisy?



Animal
04-11-2014, 08:53 PM
Hey folks, I went on a shopping spree today for a 6 year old boy that we are in the process of adopting. To make a long story short, the kid ain't ever had nothing but the worn clothes on his back and wholly shoes on his feet. We've been doing all the things necessary to prepare a cool bedroom with cool things for him.

I dropped big bucks on toys for him today (things he told us he likes) and a few extras. I decided to get him a Daisy Lever Action Buck air rifle. I couldn't find the classic Red Rider, but this is basically the same. So this is my question,

Is there something in particular that you look for in a child before you put their first air rifle in their hands? Of course, I'm going to spend time training with dry fire, range rules and gun safety/operation before I let him chamber his first BB.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this subject. I'm sure it will bring up plenty of fond memories.

Also, for those of you who might be curious, the child is a home-grown Georgia boy. A lot of people ask "oh, what country is he from?"

sidecarmike
04-11-2014, 09:12 PM
My boy started with a cap gun. I still remember him standing on the porch showing his mother how to unload it before she could bring it in the house. I used pets as indicators. I watched how he treated the neighbor kids and dogs. That was my signal that he was mature enough.

tacklebury
04-11-2014, 09:30 PM
Yep, caps, then I'd get a SPRING operated soft air gun. The larger diameter and lighter bullets hurt if something goes awry, but better than the real deal.

Animal
04-11-2014, 10:19 PM
Both of you brought up some points that I had considered. I felt the same way about the airsoft. They hurt, but don't seem to break skin. So far, it seems like he does very well with other kids and animals.

Now I'm wondering if I would be better off by teaching him archery first?

jmorris
04-11-2014, 10:49 PM
Interest. My almost two and a half year old wanted to shoot a few weekends ago.

Real happy with her first can hit.
http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/IMG_20140329_145554_298_zps60605f82.jpg

5 minutes later she wanted to go back to playing with shovels and sand, so we put it away.

MaLar
04-13-2014, 01:21 AM
Awesome love the cutie-pie!

flyingmonkey35
04-13-2014, 01:32 AM
Take it from me. I did shoot my eye out.

Well sorta me and my little bro decided it would be fun to play army and shoot each other.
Age 12 and 11
Took one in the right eye . cracked and scarred the cornea. I am 30 prevent blind in that eye. 28 years later and 1surgery.

So moral of the story. Education. And a safe.

MrWolf
04-13-2014, 09:27 AM
I think it is great that you are taking in a child for adoption. I took in my wife's niece when her family was killed in a house fire when she was 12. There were a lot of issues even before the fire so my only suggestion would be to make sure the child is emotionally stable enough to handle a firearm. We sometimes forget that these are kids we are dealing with that have been through situations they were probably not capable of handling emotionally and only time reveals how bad it was. With my niece we learned we could never leave my young kids alone with her and luckily found out in time.

Animal
04-14-2014, 09:49 AM
Take it from me. I did shoot my eye out.

Well sorta me and my little bro decided it would be fun to play army and shoot each other.
Age 12 and 11
Took one in the right eye . cracked and scarred the cornea. I am 30 prevent blind in that eye. 28 years later and 1surgery.

So moral of the story. Education. And a safe.

Yikes! My bro and I used to do the same thing! I guess we got lucky.

Animal
04-14-2014, 09:55 AM
I think it is great that you are taking in a child for adoption. I took in my wife's niece when her family was killed in a house fire when she was 12. There were a lot of issues even before the fire so my only suggestion would be to make sure the child is emotionally stable enough to handle a firearm. We sometimes forget that these are kids we are dealing with that have been through situations they were probably not capable of handling emotionally and only time reveals how bad it was. With my niece we learned we could never leave my young kids alone with her and luckily found out in time.

MrWolf, it has been a very fulfilling experience so far. I'm driving down to spend the day with the little booger in the next few hours. He has been through more in his 6 years than I have in 34. I'm hoping the firing range will give him the structure and achievement he needs. I'm the first Father figure he has had, so this could be a great bonding experience. I've noticed that disciplined activities seem to help troubled kids e.g. karate, boxing, bootcamp. I can't teach those three, but archery and air rifles might do the trick.

GT27
04-14-2014, 08:50 PM
Hey folks, I went on a shopping spree today for a 6 year old boy that we are in the process of adopting. To make a long story short, the kid ain't ever had nothing but the worn clothes on his back and wholly shoes on his feet. We've been doing all the things necessary to prepare a cool bedroom with cool things for him.

I dropped big bucks on toys for him today (things he told us he likes) and a few extras. I decided to get him a Daisy Lever Action Buck air rifle. I couldn't find the classic Red Rider, but this is basically the same. So this is my question,

Is there something in particular that you look for in a child before you put their first air rifle in their hands? Of course, I'm going to spend time training with dry fire, range rules and gun safety/operation before I let him chamber his first BB.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this subject. I'm sure it will bring up plenty of fond memories.

Also, for those of you who might be curious, the child is a home-grown Georgia boy. A lot of people ask "oh, what country is he from?"

Nobel thing that you, and your family are doing there,I commend you! In my opinion trust is earned,not given!Let your moral conscience be the guide as you are the adult here!;-)

MrWolf
04-14-2014, 08:55 PM
MrWolf, it has been a very fulfilling experience so far. I'm driving down to spend the day with the little booger in the next few hours. He has been through more in his 6 years than I have in 34. I'm hoping the firing range will give him the structure and achievement he needs. I'm the first Father figure he has had, so this could be a great bonding experience. I've noticed that disciplined activities seem to help troubled kids e.g. karate, boxing, bootcamp. I can't teach those three, but archery and air rifles might do the trick.

Sounds like you both were lucky to find each other - congratulations.

Toddlo
04-15-2014, 08:07 AM
They've got to listen to you and respect the gun. I just taught my 10 year old nephew how to shoot a daisy red rider this weekend while camping. I wouldn't have considered it until just recently as he had some maturing to do and wasn't a great listener before now. The daisy we shot wouldn't even pierce a plastic water bottle and it was perfect to just get him hitting things. He did really well and I was proud of him. My son fired a .22 at age 7, he was just ready and listened much better than his cousin. My recommendation is to just look at how well he treats the toys and things that you just bought him. If he's destructive, he's not going to respect a gun. If there are any doubts, wait a while. Some kids should never go to the range, I know teenagers and adults that I wouldn't take.

Animal
04-20-2014, 01:34 PM
Guys, I've got to say that he and I are a match made in heaven. I got to have him with me for the past 3 days and we have had a great time. We did a short archery session yesterday and I introduced him to little Ms. Daisy today. I wasn't expecting to introduce him to the Daisy this soon, but all the right things just seemed to play out. He follows my lead and instructions very well. After a few house of following instructions with Legos, hotwheels and even academic lessons, I noticed that he wants nothing more than to learn from me, emulate me and grow into a man. His attention to detail when following directions on paper or verbal has been outstanding.

He was a little too weak to enjoy the child's archery set. The poundage is just too high. I'll try getting him a different bow. We spent about a half hour of dry-fire practice with the BB gun. By the time we went to the range for live-fire, his little arm was just to weak to work the lever-action, so live fire ended after about 10 rounds. He enjoyed it. He followed rules very well. After the 10th round, I think he realized that guns require a higher degree of skill than what he learned from movies (not like a toy at all). We put the gun where it belonged, went on a 2 mile bicycle ride and came back home to hunt Easter eggs. Somehow I think that what he learned today is that guns are not always exciting and that they can be tough to use. I know he enjoyed it, but I think this was the ticket to getting him to respect it.

MrWolf
04-21-2014, 06:16 PM
Great news! Sounds like everything will work out. I am a firm believer in what goes around and you must have done something really good to be paired with such a fine, deserving child. Congratulations to both of you.

GhostHawk
05-18-2014, 08:23 PM
I would say hang that gun high on the wall.

Then I would show it too the boy, and outline a series of steps. When they are accomplished he gets to shoot the gun. Supervised at first.

Maturity is what your looking for, willingness to actually listen to you, hear what you say, and do what you say.

Start with a series of basic but easy to do chores and let him climb the mountain. That gun becomes the carrot.

Lies, ducking chores, sassing you or mom all makes the gun go farther away.

Learning to keep it always pointed in a safe direction, to never point it at something he shouldn't is the main goal. Basic Firearm safety is how you get there. You have to teach him that if he is honest, reliable, dependable that he gets rewarded.

Safety first always.

Dryball
05-19-2014, 12:55 AM
Everyone has made good points. Personally, I first looked for maturity, then interest. From there I taught safety and let them handle their gun. Muzzle and trigger finger control are paramount as well as target identification. Started them on pellet/bb gun then on to "real guns." And, if they are "into" it guns are a great behavior modification tool...if they act up or do bad in school they have to take their gun out of their safe and put it in mine. Btw, it's great that you are taking the child in...best of luck!

DaveInFloweryBranchGA
05-19-2014, 07:24 AM
The NRA has some of the best safety programs for children for firearms there are. Do a google on Eddie Eagle Firearms Safety Program or something along those lines. Nothing like safety education to prevent injuries from typical kid behavior.

The great thing is, these programs are very inexpensive for what you get.

Newtire
11-01-2014, 10:13 AM
I sneaked around borrowing other kid's bb guns because my dad said I'd shoot my eye out if I bought a BB gun until one day my dad asked me if I'd like a .22 air rifle. Wow, I couldn't believe it! Then he said, "Well, save up your money and get one!" Inside of 2-weeks, I had enough money mowing lawns saved up to order a Crosman 140 thru Finnysports out of Toledo, Ohio for just under $23.00 shipped. It took forever to come but finally got it. I was real careful! A couple years after that, I graduated to being able to use Dad's M12 shotgun and have been a firearms shooter mainly up to now.

Now, I have got the itch for some pellet gun shooting again and got out my old airguns and bought a couple of new ones. Trading one addiction for another again! Other people go to therapists and it's tax deductible-why not us?

stephen m weiss
12-01-2014, 04:11 PM
I have trained 4 of my 5 kids on guns. They get buck bb guns at age 6. We have quite a few at this point. I tried an airsoft gun, a pistol, but the older girl just kept pointing it at the boy when she thought we were not looking. Now it's mine. We have family shoots at a pop can hanging from a tree. The audible feedback is great. I have to draw the sight picture by hand to give them the idea before they ever hit anything. That's always the case. After they hit the cans a few hundred times, we get out the army men and play artillery battles. (they set up their guys i set up mine, they shoot mine, i shoot theirs) By this time I have figured out their typical accuracy, so I handicap myself so I win half the time. They keep getting better, so keep winning more so they like it. On camping trips, we sneak the buck guns out on the trails and toss a can ahead of us as far as we can, then shoot at it, taking a step forward each time we miss. The one who hits it gets to toss it, while the other shoots first.

I don't get too worked up about safety. Safety isnt first. Survival is first silly!!! haah (You can be unsafe and survive, but you cannot fail to survive and be safe.) When they break a safety rule, we scold em and explain it. It's not a big deal. They are gonna break the rules a hundred times in a hundred ways and we just keep pointing it out and making them get better. With the changing games, motion, hiking etc there are lots of situations that are not immediately obvious and by having lot's of opportunities to do stuff with a pretty harmless gun, it becomes learned intinct. They are not just safe at a range. They are safe on a trail, running like heck to get out of the rain, crossing a fence, putting the guns down for lunch, loading them, not shooting them when their younger siblings try to run out in front, and putting them in and out of vehicles, etc.

Something I do is after shooting a bit, and observing them shooting safely, I leave the guns with them and go in the camper or the house to use the restroom. But I watch for several minute from the window to see what happens. I keep the guns under my control at all times until they are 15 or so. No reason to have some gun crazy cop shoot my kid 10 times in the back for having a bb gun in an empty field. I make them very aware that law enforcement are armed, aggressive, and not too bright. They are NEVER to be seen with a gun in public.

Any leo's who are offended by me wanting my young shooters to survive any encounters by leos, well, try ALWAYS acting in ways that inpire the educated moral public's confidence and respect. LEO's are definately one of the dangers to advise young shooters about.

Multigunner
12-03-2014, 12:01 AM
I gave a friend a low end airsoft pistol to plink with from his porch while recovering from a Brown recluse bite to the leg.
Of course first time his wife bent over while cleaning up the yard he shot her in the butt.
She was a very pugnacious lady a former armed security guard. She went directly to her closet and brought out her Daisy and buried a BB in his good leg.
Moral is an airsoft gun is more dangerous to the shooter than to anyone he might shoot.

Thats not even mentioning how the cops have shot kids playing with air soft pistols. They shot one in Knoxville when he had a clear plastic airsoft pistol. Never figured out how they thought it was the real thing. A kid with a laser tag pistol was shot in South Carolina many years ago, before air soft became common. The cop in that case stated he didn't know what he was doing because he had been using crystal meth stolen from the evidence locker so he could work double shifts till he paid for a new bass boat. I don't think that defence would fly for a non LEO.

Any way I would not consider giving a child an air rifle or any toy guns that looked anything like a real gun, unless I kept the gun in my locked cabinet and only allowed him to use it in my presence.
Too many trigger happy clowns out there these days.