All 3 of my kids started shooting when they were about 6 (youngest is 24 now). They were helping me reload when they were 4 or 5. In high school my daughter used to instruct the boys in reloading and cleaning AR15's, then bring them to the range and clean their clocks on the steel plates.
Same with my granddaughter. She turned 9 in February, has been shooting for 3 or 4 years. She doesn't miss a ballon or clay target out to 100 yards. Biggest thing she shoots is .223 in an AR15, she has no problems at all with that.
Yesterday at the range:
Her 10/22:
Target 10/22 with a much nicer scope than hers - she wanted to trade me hers for this one. She easily keeps 10 shots within a 1" square (shooting fast - still trying to get her to slow down) with this one at 25 yards.
She prefers the AR15 because it is much more impressive blowing up water jugs and aluminum cans in ditches - she loves blasting them 20 or 30 yards into the air. However, she isn't paying for her own ammo yet - and it's hard to load fast enough to keep up with her shooting!
