Too Young to Shoot? (WWYD)

[misterlarry]

I don't believe that there is a hard cut off for how young a child can be to learn safe firearms handling. As long as they are physically capable, mentally adept enough to understand and receive training, and properly supervised, then I believe it is the parent's prerogative. My Dad bought be a .22 Cooey single shot rifle for me when I was six for $7 at a farm auction. By the time I was ten or so, he would allow me to shoot on the farm on my own but I always had to tell him where I would be and what I would be shooting at before he would allow me to go out. He had been a Royal Canadian Army small arms instructor during WWII and he taught me properly.

I saw the episode posted on the net and thought there was some good support for the right of the parent to decide.

[TVGuy]

Great job on the part of all those that stood up for the dad.

[LSUTiger]

I starting shooting at age 5 and look how good I turned out.

But seriously, the sooner you teach them the safer they'll be.

It's age/maturity dependent, but I wouldn't traumatize them with a .44 mag or a .50 cal right off but start slow with a .22LR and work up from there. It's surprising how quickly they are ready for a little more than a .22 LR but remember to go as slow or fast as they want to. The idea is not to scare them away from guns but teach them gun safety and pass on a way of life (gun culture, freedom, liberty, marksmanship skill, survivor mindset etc etc) from generation to generation.

[maintenanceguy]

I grew up around guns. I was shooting .22's by myself on the farm many days after school from the time I was probably 12 or 13. At 14 I asked my dad if I could get a BB gun. I had been working on the farm and saved money for it. He said no. He felt that people didn't respect BB guns and the damage they could do and was concerned that it would be treated as a toy. He took me out to buy my first real rifle instead. It was a 10/22 which my 8yo son and 15yo daughter now shoot 30 years later.

[michaelludvig]

Like you guys I also grew up around guns, simply because even from my great grandparents, to parents and until now, we are surrounded with guns and no question even in my younger years I already know how to operate guns and how to takes care of them. An d most of all it is advisable while you were still young the better you have to practice shooting more that by the time you reached at the age of maturity you are already very good or rather excellent in handling and shooting any shotguns or handguns actually.

[TexasCajun]

Other than when they brought out that evil "assault rifle" (the AK), the demonstration was pretty good. Since I didn't see the actual program, I have no way of knowing how they treated their findings in the intro or exit. But on it's own, not too bad.

As far as the how old is old enough, it depends on the child. My son just turned 3, so we've been watching the Eddie Eagle videos on YouTube to introduce the idea of firearm safety. I have visions of getting him his first BB gun next year and his first single-shot .22 the year after. My wife's envisioned timeline is much further along than mine. Like most things, it'll probably be somewhere in the middle.