How young is too young for a firearm?

[riverara]

My kids have handled firearms under adult supervision and do well with that. I plan on buying my 6 year old a BB gun for his Bday this year. And hopefully next weekend I will take him to the range for the first time to watch an IDPA competition. See how he does/listens.

[FTG-05]

I bought my son his first gun when he was one year old. A Remington Model 7 in 7mm-08. I used that gun, "breaking it in" for about 12 years until he started going hunting with me with his own gun.

He first shot a gun at either 4 or 5, a "Woodchucker" single shot .22. That worked OK until I let him shoot my Ruger 10-22 when he was late 5 or early 6, never shot that Woodchucker again.

At 6, I left him on the 50 yard line at the Blue and Gray R&P with a brick of .22's while I went and mowed the 200 yard line. When I got done, about an hour later, a Camp Perry Grand Master (and the club FFL) walked up to me and told me that my son was the safest shooter he had ever seen.

The bad news is that shortly thereafter, my son stole my 10-22 from me. :( Later that year, he successfully stole my Ruger .22 semi-auto pistol, the good news is that I saw it coming that time (yea, I eventually learn).

At 10 he started shooting my BM/Armalite AR-15 carbine with the Armalite mid-length hadnguards. He's been trying to steal that from me every since.

At 12 and then again 14, he was a great jack rabbit killer in the Nevada deserts. Some pics are below.

It's all about how you raise them and how mature they are. Sounds like yours is on a good start!

[Arh75]

I had my first Bb gun at 5 and 22 at 7 dads until I was of age and shotgun/4-10 at 9 . But before all that I had to complete the safety school and was raised how to respect Firearms. I feel its all about the parents teaching good values and safety beyond all else.

[G50AE]

Icemanmpls claimed to be in his 50's, IIRC. For him, that age is obviously too young. I use this example to agree with a few other posters who have said that it is not about numerical age, but about personal maturity.

[LS-208]

Kids with a passion for shooting

At 4, my daughter had an air rifle and air gun. She handled the rifle well with a rest. At 8, she had her own Walther P22 which she loves and she shoots it better than I do. I was a little apprehensive about getting her anything earlier than that. At 8yo she could read and understand the 10 commandments of shooting pretty darn good.

[MYGLOCK]

I bought my five year old son a single shot Cricket .22 for Christmas last year mainly for sentimental reasons. He shot it for the first time last month and had a ball. We shot it at my brother’s house so we didn’t have the typical distractions of a gun range. I sat in a chair and he stood between my legs while I helped him aim and charge the gun. My son can name the parts of the gun (bolt, barrel, trigger, stock, etc). I make him go though several safety checks before firing. First he keeps his finger out of the trigger guard, then we look around and beyond the target before firing, then I charge the rifle, then he takes the safety off and finally he tells me before he shoots. He got to see the damage a .22 can cause to milk jugs, apples, oranges and soda bottles. He understood that his gun is not a toy. We had a fun safe an educational day but I’m still about seven or eight years away from letting him shoot without me right next to him.

[Tucker's Mom]

((I am not going to change the font of this because I can't and I do not want to re-type this copy and paste thingie....so what you see is what you get. Enjoy!)




A TOUGH OLD COWBOY FROM EASTERN OREGON COUNSELED HIS GRANDSON THAT IF HE WANTED TO LIVE A LONG LIFE, THE SECRET WAS TO SPRINKLE A PINCH OF GUN POWDER ON HIS OATMEAL EVERY MORNING.

THE GRANDSON DID THIS RELIGIOUSLY TO THE AGE OF 103. WHEN HE DIED HE LEFT BEHIND

14 CHILDREN,

30 GRANDCHILDREN,

45 GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN,

25 GREAT-GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN, AND

A 15-FOOT HOLE WHERE THE CREMATORIUM USED TO BE.


Sorta brings a tear to your eye, don't it?

[TlWheatley]

My 6 yr old daughter does not own a gun, but she shoots a walther .22 and a cricket 22 rifle at the range often. So ownership is not important, but teach the the skills for the day you feel comfortable to say "this is yours".......

[tuts40]

You can't put a number on it. It's all about maturity and discipline...

IMHO, nuff was said way back with this post as, for me, it answers the original question nicely.