When did/do you start teaching your kids to shoot?

[NinnJinn]

I was blessed with girls, but have seen several videos of Father/daughter shooting at the range. Saw a couple of videos where girls were field stripping and reassembling AR15 in lightning speed....

How young is too young? IMO I wouldn't dream of letting either one of my girls touch my gun/guns before they were teenagers, My Uncle thinks otherwise.

He was also telling me about a 12 or 13yr old female home alone, 2 guys broke in when police arrived 1 was dead and the other was critically injured and there were only 2 rounds missing from the magazine and 2 spent casings on the floor.

 

[71silverbullet]

My son is 14 my daughter is 11. Both have been safely shooting under my supervision for over 2 years. They both went turkey hunting this year in the youth season, my son was successful in bagging his first bird, I will be taking them both deer hunting this fall. Every kid is different, each has their own maturity level. There's nothing like watching the look on their face when they hit the target that they are aiming for, whether its a paper target or live game.
Take them to a hunter education course, attend it with them. It will be a good learning experience for both of you. It will give you a feel for their attention span.
You will be able to tell when they are ready, what it really comes down to is when YOU are ready to teach them

 

[superjoe76]

13 and 10 here. I would have done it earlier but I wasnt sure if they would be into. I am so glad I did. We love going to the range and slinging lead. They are very safe and understand when I correct something.

 

[85t5mcss]

Mid teens. But that wasn't because she wasn't ready. I had justten out of the game. She enjoys it. But the maturity level and attention span arethe key factors I would pay attention to. If they can hold interest stripping a gun while the TV is on with a show they like then you are probably good to go.

 

[Patternpimp]

I'm thinking 10-12 is a good age for my son. He has his entire life explore firearms so I don't see the need to rush it.

 

[Jeepcrazed]

I think it depends on the kid.
My son is 9. He and I actually started together, taking a basic pistol class with ACT. It was fantastic. As 71silverbullet posted, going to a class with your kid allows you to see how they react to it, what is their attention span, and even interest.
We've since gone on to shoot steel and silhouette matches. I love that he and I have something like this to do together and I don't even mind when he reminds mom about the safety rules.

 

[warhawk77]

My boys are 7 and 10. I just started taking them to the range this summer.

My 7 year old gets bored after about a hour, I think that is just because of his age he wants to be running around and we can't do that at the range. I load the rifle, point it down range, hand it to him, turn off safety(still have hands on rifle), he will shoot the 5 rounds, I take the rifle back clear it. The whole time I have my hand on his shoulder, so he knows I am there if he needs me.

My 10 year old would shoot all day. He enjoys the diff animal shadow targets and every time we shoot he wants to go father our. I have been watching him from 3-4 feet away, makes sure the chamber is clear before setting the rifle down. He is learning how to treat fire arms with respect.

I let them shoot a .22 with a scope so not recoil. Their mom says "Nothing bigger than a .22 until your 12." Not sure that rule will hold up both want to go to my Hi point carbine (9mm) but we are going to wait a while longer. They have even asked about going hunting but not sure they are ready.

The memorys you will make taking them to the range is the best part. I also want my boys to know what a gun can do so they don't "play" with one at a friends house.

 

[Jay]

I started at age 8, as did my sons. I took an old, non-functional pellet pistol, and laid it around the house. When they would ask a question about it, I'd answer it. The more involved the question, the more detailed the answer. I allowed them to start any conversation about the gun, until they asked to go shoot. Then we held safety discussions, and an informal basic firearms class. That worked for me, but as posted, each child is different.

I'm firmly convinced that if you make guns "mysterious", most kids will find a way to access them. Education when the child is receptive, and mature enough to absorb it, would be my suggestion.

To demonstrate the power of a firearm, I took a small pop can to the range, the first time we went.... when the kids couldn't see it, I shook it real good on the way to the berm, and set it down. When they hit it with a .22 LR, the pressure inside the can and the bullet impact virtually destroyed the can. Little bullet added to massive destruction, (for an 8 yr old) produced wide-eyed acceptance of the fact that firearms were/are NOT toys.

 

[42769vette]

guess i was the odd ball i killed my first deer at 7. i started shooting a 22 laying down between my fathers legs at 5.

my daughter is only 3 months but i expect ill start her shooting in 4 or 5 years. i think if they are laying prone between a adults legs there is not much they can do wrong before a adult stops them

 

[Bunnykid68]

My kids have been handling my guns since they were about 4 or 5.

 

[Mr. Habib]

My youngest daughter started shooting with me when she was four. Now she's eight and would live at the range if she could.

 

[yotewacker]

With BB guns when they were 5.

 

[SideArmed]

I have started to introduce gun safety to my 5 year old. He seems pretty interested, so we got out the Marlin Mod 60 the other night and I took him through all the parts of it, and showed him how to make sure the chamber is clear and how to take the rifle down and clean it.

We have been going through the 4 rules for a few weeks now and he's got them down pretty good. I also started him on the Eddy Eagle cartoons, that really helped to drive home what to do if he ever does see a gun somewhere outside or inside our home.

I also believe that the earlier you expose children to firearms, not neccesarily teaching them to shoot, but show them they exist and are in the house, it will take some of the curiosity out of it. Yesterday my son asked me if he could see my rifle, just like I had told him to do. So I explained how my grandfather had bought the gun back in the 60's and someday it would be his gun.

 

[Icemancometh]

Started my boys at 7 or 8. My oldest bagged a 11 point buck on his hunting trip at the age of 9. 80 yard heart shot with a Rossi single shot in .243. I enjoyed that trip more than any I have had on my own.

 

[Glockshooter149]

I was 5 when my dad started teaching me to safely handle guns and taught me to respect them. I would only shoot a 22 until I was bout 10 when he started teaching me about handguns, shotguns, and rifles. I feel that by starting that early, a kid will have the respect and safety knowledge ingrained in them so the safety and respect will always be there.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

It definitely depends on the kid. Temperament is the keystone. I was able to concentrate and be conscious of instructions at a very young age. My son, not so much. He could concentrate on some things, but he was a little too impulsive, so I waited a while with him. Took him to the 4H hunter safety class when he was 10 I think, and he got to fire some things after that. It also dispelled the taboo and satisfied the curiosity, so I don't feel unsafe leaving a pistol where he can find it. He has an appreciation of the power, but not the curiosity of something forbidden.

 

[hammer24]

My boy started with a BB gun at 4, soon graduated to a .22. He is now 7 and loves shooting! Granted I am VERY hands on with the loading and cocking and such, and always sitting right next to him watching his every move. I talk him through each loading process and shot. He has done almost all of his shooting from a bench which really helps with the safety issue of muzzle control. He is greatly conciensus of safety because I am very clear and harsh about that topic. He really seems to take alot of pride in his shooting and believe it or not his self confidence really has gone up since he's started taking a real interest in it (he is a good shot). I stopped doubting his shooting ability this summer when I had him plinking water bottles hanging from strings at 25 yd. He looks to me and says he's going to cut one of the strings! He's a Bob Munden fan! I told him to go ahead (very skeptical) because I couldn't even see the string in the scope. First shot! he drops one of the bottles to the ground! He made me a believer. Now he routinely splits playing cards. All that being said I agree with many of the other guys, it depends on the kid.

 

[Cherryspringer]

Age to shoot

My oldest son was 18 and my youngest was about 12. It's not because my 1 st born wasn't ready but he was just too busy with sports. They're still not hooked by any means. They love to shoot zombies though.

 

[IndySSD]

I learned around 6 by shooting paper plates with a .22 at about 20 yards or so. I was hunting the following year squirrels with the .22 and rabbits with a 20g single shot.

 

[hammer24]

Oh, and from what I've seen in my experience many girls are naturally better shots sooner than boys. I don't know if they don't get as excited or they have better concentration or what? Boys have to work on their shot a little more. A buddy of mine has three little girls from 8-12 and the two older girls are absolute deadeye shots!