When did you teach your kids to shoot?

[rmatchell]

So just wondering when you guys started teaching your kids to shoot. My son is 4 now and is starting to ask to go with me when I shoot. I think it is way to early just yet, but am trying to teach him to be safe around guns if he would co me across one somewhere. My wife and I dont even let him have toy guns, i figure that until he is old enough to know the difference between thbetween a toy and a real gun.

I bought him a springfield single shot 22 when he was born and really look forward to teaching him to shoot, cast, and reload. I am also looking for another one for my daughter just in case she wants to learn.

[shooterg]

Daughter got a Chipmunk at age 6. When she was 8 she read a book about Annie Oakley, who was supposed to have taken her Pop's old gun and started killing game at 8. She was ready to bust a groundhog shortly after ! Then at 12 came boys...
If the gun fits him from the bench, and he can understand sight picture, I'd be tempted to let him set a few off. I let the daughter shoot pop cans w/water at close range early to show her how destructive a round could be and how careful she needed to be - then on to exploding targets out to 25 yds. Then groundhogs in the garden. Every kid is different, you'll be the judge of yours.
Good times ahead, my man !

[Smitty's Retired]

I have three daughters. All grown now. The youngest is 31. I started them out with an air rifle, then advanced to a single shot 22. Then advanced to larger calibers and pistols as I felt they were gaining in knowledge, responsibility, and maturity with each weapon.

Not all may show a continued desire. My oldest just never took to shooting. My middle daughter enjoyed it and showed decent marksmanship, but if Mama was going shoping, she would just as soon go with Mama. My youngest daughter was the tomboy. She hung with it until she left and went to make her own life. Now she has a young son who is 3 years old. She recently asked me when I thought we could start going to the range. I told her, when he turns 4, I will see if he is ready to start targer practice with the old Red Ryder. Wont be long.

[Wayne Smith]

Started both of the boys in their fifth year using my Ruger Convertible Single Six. They could hold it, they could cock it, single action required time and effort for each shot. The fact that it was a revolver means that muzzle control was easily and continually taught.

[NewbieDave007]

Every kid is different. My daughter (1st born) it was 9. My son (2nd born) was 6. This was all within this past year and now my son has not only shot the 22, but also a 410. With that said, we go to a local range that allows 22's and shotguns on the pistol range and we set it at the first distance so they can see where they are hitting and focus on the fundamentals.

[runfiverun]

if he is showing interest i'd say he's old enough to learn.
I started littlegirl when she was about that age.
she is still shooting the same cut down Winchester 22 I made for her when she was 6 and I seen she was gonna keep on shooting.

[x101airborne]

I have been training my oldest on the bench with a REALLY sawed off JC Higgins single shot 22 and subsonics since he was 4. Of course under the strictest of supervision. My 2 year old can identify my shotgun, my favorite deer rifle, my AR's, and my revolver. My 2 year old loves to go to the range and watch me shoot. Well, I think he likes to wear the earmuffs and eyeglasses more than anything.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

red ryder in the yard or basement range at about 4-5 then statrted shooting 22 rifle about 6

if i had it to do for the first time i would use a daisy 853 air rifle with a cut down stock , from a rest sitting at a table ( we use the 853 for our youth air rifle program it is more accurate than you can be)

before you ever pick up the gun determine eye dominance

first just dry fire your finger over theirs teaching a good trigger pull then let them dry fire a few times , then load a pellet and have them shoot a few without the target so they get the feel , then ad the target

i like the aperture sights , i am a fan of front post but the circle aperture works well also


this is all basically word for word how 4H air rifle is supposed to start for a new shooter

if you start slow , and never teach or let them assume a bad habit you won't have to fight the bad habit out of them later

I get a few kids that are left eye dominate and right handed coming into the program or left handed and right eye dominant , if you can start them working with their eye rather tan against it from the beginning it is much easier. some come with their own gun and are already firmly engrained with putting their face over the stock , breaking that is hard , it will likely take them getting smacked in the face with a gun that recoils before they see what we have been trying to tell them.

remember safety glasses , walmart now carries kids size safety glasses , they even have them in pink frames for the little ladies than want everyone to know even though they shoot they are girls.

[gspgundog]

Both of my kids started with a bb gun at 4-5 followed by .22 rifle at about 6. Not to long after that we progressed to .22 pistol and by 8 it was any gun they could handle (with safety being the main factor). At 8 both got a 20 gauge pump from Santa, which opened up many fun days in the field. Both son and daughter ended up going into the Marine Corps. and marrying Marines. My daughter in law was a 2112 or for you civies a custom gun smith for the Corps. She worked on sniper rifles, and the guns for the shooting teams both pistol and rifle. Needless to say she was a great addition to the family. We all still are active shooters and a lot of time during our visits is spent either shooting or just talking guns

[boltaction308]

I myself started at age 6.

I taught kids to shoot at my local NRA club for 14 years. I taught kids as young as 6 but that was me teaching someone else's kid. Now our club has an age limit of 11 but they gear it more towards competition.

I now teach archery and we have an age limit of 8, but thats because it takes more muscles to shoot a bow than a rifle.

I think it depends entirely on 2 issues. 1) Do YOU think your child is ready, I have seen vast differences between 2 kids of the exact same age, and #2) Are YOU ready to teach them. Teaching a kid to shoot requires patience on both the kid and the adult.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

there is no such thing as a quick trip to the range

it is best if you can either have the range to yourself , at first , or start on something like a BB gun or air rifle that could be shot in the garage or basement first

range manners , and procedures should also be taught but to keep there interest shooting and shooting right should be first up

it does take patience and , you can forget about doing any shooting yourself when you take them to the range , unless you send them to play on the playground by the club house when they are finished shooting then you might get some of your own shooting in.

kids have an attention span of about double their age , shot lessons , so if you have to drive 40 minutes to the range , teach what you can in little lessons at home on the red ryder or air rifle first

[Duckiller]

No. 1 son found out about toy guns and "bang, bang" at age 2 from two older children. #2 learned from #1, they are two years apart. Now 32 and 34. Not quite sure how I did it but both KNEW that they were not to play with daddy's big strong guns. They didn't! One of the reasons they didn't play with my guns, in addition to them being locked up, is that anytime they asked to go shooting I would take them to the range. Would rent two adjacent benches and #1 would get the Security -Six and a large can of .38 Special wadcutters. #2 shot a .22 rifle. From memory they were about 4 and 6 when we started doing this. You would be suprised how fast a 5-6 year old could go through a 3lb can of wadcutters. They are both into guns and enjoy shooting. Don't push too fast but wait until they are physically capable of handling the gun and are mature enough to be safe with a gun. They should safely handle a gun with you close by to oversee.

[x101airborne]

there is no such thing as a quick trip to the range

range manners , and procedures should also be taught but to keep there interest shooting and shooting right should be first up

it does take patience and , you can forget about doing any shooting yourself when you take them to the range , unless you send them to play on the playground by the club house when they are finished shooting then you might get some of your own shooting in.

Brother, you got that right!!!! LOL! One of the best things I did was I got two cases of skunked beer from a buddy for targets. I started setting them up for my kiddo at about 15 yards and letting him pop em with a 22. That worked so well, that he wanted to pop some more. Then he wanted to try my hornet. Then my 223, then the cast loads for his 7-08, then the cast loads for his 30-30 at deer hunting levels. He liked seeing those cans pop so much, he was keeping his eyes open during the recoil of the rifle. That was great! I know men who have hunted all their lives and have never been able to watch a round impact through a scope!
But it is true, I dont get to shoot much anymore unless Tyler is with his donor father. But I do spend a lot of time casting and reloading for my son and I enjoy that too.
And Tyler does help with the reloading and casting, so that is just bonus time I get to spend with him.

[375supermag]

Hi...

I started both my daughters at around 10 years old.
Youngest (36) has never had much interest in guns, shooting or hunting. Always shows up with a fork in hand when I start frying venison backstraps.
She thinks that I should train my grandson to shoot when he's a bit older...he's 3 now( if his father will allow it, despite being an ex-marine he doesn't like guns).

Oldest daughter (soon to be 40) has always liked to shoot, she even went hunting with me a couple of times.
She has shown no interest for years, but wants to go shooting with me next weekend with my eldest grand-daughter (16). I think her other two daughters (2 and 3) are a bit young yet.

My son has been shooting since he was 8 or 10. He's 19 now and is "proficient" with handguns, rifles and shotguns. He loves to hunt and has been hinting around about buying a progressive press so I can load more ammunition for him to shoot. I want to teach him to reload, but he is more interested in other things.
He has probably fired over 5K rounds a year average for the last 7 or 8 years.

[felix]

One son started at age 5 using a softloaded 357 BlackHawk; he started casting at 9 or so, and was an expert by 12 making my BR 22s. Another son did not start gun until he was a sophomore in high school by shooting an AK47 with ammo and gun bought with his own money. ... felix

[bear67]

We have always had a range at the farm wherever we lived and we go shoot as a family. I started all my children on bb guns, then pellet guns, then .22 rifles and starting age depended upon size of the child, interest and how they showed responsibility towards firearms and safety with guns and range safety. I coached 4H trap and skeet teams for years and started kids at 11-12 to give them time to develop a frame that would handle several rounds of clays in a practice session. Most of our shooting was 12 ga as that is what the reloaders were that I had set up. The team members rode the bus to our house after school and spent a couple of hours with adult supervision at the presses at least twice a month. Same thing, Monday afternoons were practice days for Trap at the farm. For Skeet practice, we had to drive to town 45 miles. But I had
Texas Championship teams out of this. I also had a 4H rifle team for 4 years or so. I am certified to run ranges for Boy Scouts and take our troop on a range campout every year still. I have taught Shooting Sports at National Camp School for BSA for adults and older staff members for summer camp certification. I have volunteered and instructed at the Adventure Camp for NRA at the Whittington Center in NM.

But the most fun I have is shooting with the 5 grandchildren now. Youngest is 5 and she has her own pink ear protection and safety glasses and shoots a bb gun at a target at our house and her house. We have promised her she can move up to the youth 22 (Anchutz woodchucker) when she reaches 6 and proves she is ready. She reminds me of this often. Each child has different motivators and interests and I try to feed what they want. One grandson is extremely interested in military guns and the history of their development and use and he has even written papers for school on the History of Axis firearms in WWII. One grand daughter is a natural pistol shot and out-shoots every one in the family including her LE father (he now is an instructor for his agencies acadamy and recert classes). When she wanted a pink .22 for Christmas last year, I spend a week doing a custom red, white and blue tigher stripe camo duracoat 10-22. We will have a family range day tomorrow afternoon and one grandson is going to shoot .38 spl ammo that he loaded himself for the first time.
I have more fun and receive a lot of satisfaction in watching them develop as children into responsible adults and with a love of shooting and hunting to share with Papa Bear
Take a kid shooting tomorrow.

[elginrunner]

My daughter got her first rifle for her 3rd birthday. She got a cricket. She would load the rifle as she sat on my knee. I of course had to cock it for her. I had a air rifle scope on top, and she shot pepsi cans in the back yard. She would pull the trigger as long as there were cartridges to be had. She always got a delight from making them jump around....

[km101]

I taught my oldest son to shoot when he was 9. Started with a .22 rifle (Cricket) and then a Ruger Bearcat .22 pistol. Next oldest (daughter) started at 8, with the same guns. They progressed to larger calibers and heavier guns as they were able to handle them. Youngest daughter and youngest son both started about 7. You just have to start them when they are ready to learn and be responsible. Don't forget they are KIDS! Be patient and make it fun, or they wont want to do it. Keep training sessions short and comfortable. You may not mind the heat or cold but the kids are not as able to tolerate extreme conditions. Keep it interesting and they will want to keep coming back.

Then stock up on .22 ammo and reloading components! You will be amazed at how much ammo your kids can run through in an afternoon! My oldest is 33 and he still wants to spend an afternoon at the range fairly often, as do the others when time permits. They will be lifelong shooters and are already talking about teaching their kids. I'm looking forward to the job!

[shaune509]

Had youngest age 4 after pre school at the gun shop, she asked and I complied to get her the pink chipmunk on display. Took it home and she with my help holding it shoot a few rounds. Next day go to pick her up at school and a friend that was a teachers aid pulled me and wife aside and informed us that she had to calm down the teacher after daughter informed in sharing that daddy got her a gun. It never went any futher but who knows what if that friend didn't explain that we lived in the country and that we were safe people. Youngest now going on 8 knows to not talk guns at school or friends houses, always having to remind son 16 to clear all his coats and bags as not get caught with shells etc after his hunting weekends.
shaune509

[Blacksmith]

I've been teaching kids to shoot for almost 50 years, NRA Instructor, and every kid is different. Don't force them but encourage them if they show interest. Don't rush the big bores let them get comfortable and work their way up, my grandsons worked themselves up to handguns in .45-70 and S&W .500 calibers by age 12 or 14 they are not scared of recoil. Make certain you know the right way to shoot so you don't teach bad habits or find a shooting program with trained instructors. Younger kids have short attention spans so keep sessions short to start. Keep it fun use a variety of targets.

The 4H, Boy Scouts,Civilian Marksmanship Program, NRA, American Legion, and Jaycees all have junior shooting programs.
The CMP and NRA have club/program locators on their web sites.
CMP club locator:
http://ct.thecmp.org/app/v1/index.php?do=clubSearch
NRA course locator:
http://www.nrainstructors.org/searchcourse.aspx
NRA Training and club locator:
http://findnra.nra.org/

My sons real training started about age 7 with a BB gun in the basement although he had pulled the trigger sometimes before that. Got him involved with a NRA .22 junior program at about 12 would have done it sooner if one was available.