[eborden1122]

Given that the child has already been taught to respect firearms and is under strict parental guidance while at the range. What is a good age to start taking your kids out to the shooting range? How old were you when you first went shooting of any kind? Thanks, Ed

[PanBaccha]

Originally Posted by eborden1122

Given that the child has already been taught to respect firearms and is under strict parental guidance while at the range. What is a good age to start taking your kids out to the shooting range? How old were you when you first went shooting of any kind? Thanks, Ed

A child is a child. As for parental guidance only a parent
can tell if the child can handle the supreme responsibility
of ever shooting a firearm. As for myself I never shot a
firearm till I was drafted into the Vietnam war some years
back. At night the skies would light up with ammo. And I
remember my first reaction to it. It was almost sublime.

[danf_fl]

If the child can safely and responsibly handle a firearm, then it is not too early.

If the child accepts the responsibility, great.
If the child displays disregard for responsibility, then take the oppurtunity away.

(There were many nights I went to bed not being allowed to watch TV when I was younger.)

[foxtrotter]

I first shot a .22LR rifle before I was 10. By the age of 12 I would go around the neighborhood picking up returnable bottles (remember those?) until I had enough to get 50 cents. 22's were 49 cents a box at the local drugstore. I would take the rifle, a Mossberg singleshot, and walk up the hill to an old dump and start shooting. Given all that I also took my son out when he was big enough to correctly hold my Ruger Bearcat pistol, because the stock of the rifle was way to long, he was about 8. He has two sons that he started at about that same age. Proper parental supervision, good attitude on the part of the kids, and plenty of shooting so that there is no mystery about shooting or unfulfilled desire to tempt them. An official program of some sort, NRA, 4-H, BSA etc., will put another adult in their life to reinforce good habits.

[Dennis845]

Good question! I think each child is different and the parent(s) need to judge that accordingly. If memory serves, I think I was 10 when my grandpa bought me my first ever .22 rifle, and he bought me a side by side double barrel 12 ga. shotgun at about 12. I remember intentionally not saying anything to anybody about how that 12 ga. kicked! My children never got interested in hunting or shooting so I didn't get to experience buying them their first gun. Had I done so it would have been conditional on memorizing and quoting the four gun safety rules and demonstrating them first.

[JonM]

i was 8 or 9 shooting 22lr under my dad's supervision.

[c3shooter]

Well, I grew up in a rural culture, where every house had a rifle or shotgun behind the kitchen door- as a tool of country life. Started shooting with my Dad and my uncles at about age 7.

I started my kids (now working on grandkids) at about age 10. They need to be emotionally mature enough to follow directions, physically mature enough to handle the firearm. Some will be ready younger, some are not ready at age 25.

[jjfuller1]

i concur that every child is different. myself i pulled the trigger for the first time at 3 yrs old. but i dont think my son will be ready for a few years. hes too playful and excitable... its actually sort of funny. the first deer i shot was at age 16 with the same rifle i shot at age 3.

[ScottA]

When they were younger, I had no problem with one set of nieces and nephews shooting as soon as they could pick up the gun. The others... well... I wound up teaching them and it was quite a bit later.

Each child is different, and each family is different.

[CourtJester]

I started at 12. Both of my sons started with .22's at 5 years old.