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When he's about 7 months or so old you can start exposing him to gunfire.
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I've shot birds over a staunch point when my dogs were as young as 4 months. The GWP I have now is not quite a year old. She hunted her first live Chukar and Pheasants at 5 months. The chukars she could retrieve, the pheasants she had problems with. She was introduced to gun fire @ 3 1/2 months. Again, she was a hundred yards away in her crate in the back of the jeep while my sons and I shot magnum revolvers getting ready for deer season. My wife was with her, talking to her, making sure she wasn't stressed or fearful. When it was apparent she wasn't, my wife put her on her leash and walked towards us slowly as we continued to shoot. When they were about 40 yards away we switched to .22s. When they got close we quit shooting and threw a stick(she a stick dog LOL). After she had fetched the stick a few times we took the next step. Next time my son the threw the stick, I shot the .22, and she never flinched as she went after it. We did that about a dozen times. Next time she heard a gun it was a month and a half later, behind her as the first Chukar broke. From that day on it was hard to leave the house with a gun in my hand if she wasn't coming with. My wife said Turkey huntin' season this spring was the worst. The dog would see me leave @4:30 in the morning in my hunting clothes with my gun and she would drive the wife nuts till she went to work @ 8.
From my limited experience, I've found, if you pay attention, the dog will tell you when its time. A birdy pup can never start to hunt too early. If it loves to hunt, you need to hunt it. Just as pushing a dog before it understands what is wanted of it, makes for a upset owner and a confused dog. Altho one must be patient and be sure the dog is ready for the next step, waiting till a such and such pre-determined time can do more harm than good if the dog is already there. Like kids, every dog will mature differently. Not all kids learn to walk @ 9 months of age, but most of them lean to walk at some point. If a kid tries to walk@ seven months you don't force him to continue to crawl. Don't judge this dog by what your last dog or your brothers dog did.
BTW, Many gun shy dogs were made gun shy by loud noises other than those made by a gun.