What age were your children when you taught them to shoot?

[dajowi]

Children are overrated.

[Pahoo]

Nothing bugs me more than giving a small child something way more powerful than they can handle. I recall when I was small firing a very powerful 12 gauge load- put me off shotguns for years.

When it comes to teaching kids and women, this one also bugs me. Not at the top of my list, but pretty close. When working with guns, I don't play tricks on kids or try to teach them a hard lesson. It burns them out fast...
Currently I've go my 11-yr. old Grandson comfortably shooting a .38spl. and almost ready for a 9mm. We always have fun and we both learn. ...

By the way, I also don't see much humor in those U-Tuber Recoil videos...

Be Safe !!!

[kahrguy]

I started to learn to shoot a 22 rifle when 6 years old with tight supervision from dad when a colt hunsman later that year. by 12 i could go behing dads budiness and shoot on my own. Shot some most weekends. I was hunting with a 12ga springfield pump for deer at 13 and had a old '53 jeep pickup of dads to drive in the woods. Seems sheriffs and wildlife officers were fine with us back then .

Not sure age has as much to do with when a child first learns to shoot. More about how there brought up and how they handle the chance to learn about them and to shot them.

Like others said I know 15 & 16 years old not worrthy of handling a firearm much less shot them.

[BuckRub]

I think my son and daughter have been shooting big guns (308, 30-06, 40 cal , etc) since they were around 6-7 years old.

[ChasingWhitetail91]

I wasn't saying let them shoot a slug or large steel shot load, but a 2 3/4 target round is a nice introduction to a little recoil without scaring them. I was more then happy to be shooting dad's shotgun for the first time when I was younger.

[Jeremiah/Az]

My boys had .410 shotguns when they were 6 & 7 yrs old. They were taught safety by then, but they still had to stay within arms reach of me, one on either side, when we were hunting. They killed many rabbits & squirrels with those single shot .410's. If they stumbled or made any mistake with their guns, they carried an empty gun the rest of the hunt. Kids learn quick!

[SPEMack618]

Depends on the child.

I got a Red Ryder for Christmas when I was in the 1st grade, so five, but shortly thereafter lost it for taking pot shots at my sister's barbies in the house. (Never sure whether it was taken for shooting in the house or target selection)

I started shooting in the backyard with Pops when I was about seven, and got "my" first rifle at 11 in the sixth grade. I took to shotgun shooting, low brass 20 ga field loads and then low brass 12 ga loads the next year.

My older sister, however, didn't get real invovled with shooting until just recently, having never been more than a handful of times before Christmas and now evovled to the point of exhausting my supply of small pistol primers in a matter of weeks.

A lot of parents seem content, in my experience, to let their 11 year olds handle a gun for the first time during the rifle merit badge at summer camp, which I think is a great enviroment for it.

[Tucker 1371]

Congrats Glockstar! I started at age 7 with a .22 chipmunk. My grandpaw taught me with close supervision and grilled me for an hour over the 4+1 safety rules before I was allowed to touch a live round.

[shafter]

Nothing bugs me more than giving a small child something way more powerful than they can handle. I recall when I was small firing a very powerful 12 gauge load- put me off shotguns for years.
April 12, 2013 03:43 PM

I'm kinda on the fence about this. I remember as a young kid my shoulder being punished by my dads 12ga when we shot clay pigeons. I'd come home with a headache sometimes but I always ASKED to shoot it.

Same with hunting. People often say you shouldn't sent kids out into the woods with cheap hunting clothes. If they're wet and miserable they will be turned off from hunting. Let me tell you I SUFFERED on many occasions. I remember being soaked, so cold that I climbed out of my treestand to go lay in the field and soak up what little warmth I could get from the sun.

You know something? As much as I "suffered" I was always chomping at the bit to go back out that same afternoon. To me the cold and wet was all part of the experience. I can afford proper gear now but I have some fond memories to look back on.

[dlb435]

I never set an age limit. It so dependant the that individual child. Some are ready to shoot at age 8 or so, some are never ready. It's not the age, it's the maturity and responsiblity.

[BIGR]

Congrats to you.

Sorry, I am not a dad, my wife and I never had any kids.

[SauerGrapes]

Wife and I never had children.
My father bought me a Ithaca mod 49 at age 7. I still have it. Seems nobody wants single shot guns anymore.

[Yankee Traveler]

Children are overrated.

I always thought I was underrated as a child myself...

When my son was 4 I thought he was mature enough to get him a .22 for his 5th birthday. When he turned 5, I thought about his 6th birthday. When he was 8 1/2, he got a BB gun for Christmas. Maybe for his 10th Birthday.

His little sister though, thats a different story, way more mature at 4 years younger. Of course she runs in when I am watching a gun show of some sort, pauses for a moment and says "I don't want to kill anything, like deer." and starts dancing.

[Dalek]

My eldest daughter fired off her first rounds at 6, using my old Mossberg 341 22 lr. A devoted (and talented) shooter to this day.

[2ndsojourn]

My son and daughter were both about 6. We have a BB gun shootin' gallery in our back yard. We shot both BB's and pellets. And through the years we accumulated 3 air rifles and 2 air pistols. We also had some hay bales for archery and crossbow. A couple years later we went to a real range at a Pocono resort and they got to shoot a variety of guns. They really liked the Uzi and the 22's. The 357, not so much. They're out on their own now and don't seem to be pursuing much interest. I'll have to work on my granddaughters.

[WiscBuckmaster]

I don't have children but my dad taught me to shoot a co2 pellet gun when i was 5 and was squirrel hunting with a break action .410 at 6. I grew up spending a lot of time on the family land in the north woods. Everyone started young and it was an exciting and memorable time all kids looked forward to but also understood safety and responsibility first with a lot of demonstration and patience, attitude is everything.

[NWPilgrim]

I taught my daughters at 5 and 6 yrs old. They were mature enough to understand the safety rules and follow clear instructions. Nowadays with their own kids they don't get out to shoot much but they are enthusiastic gun rights and shooting sport supporters and plan to get their CHL this year.

[Mac Sidewinder]

I am currently teaching my 10 year old daughter and 15 year old son how to shoot. They both really enjoy it and are learning how to properly handle a firearm. They've both seen what guns can do and are developing a healthy respect for guns.

Mac

[pmeisel]

They were about 13.

[Gbnk82]

I had a daisy bb gun at about 6 or 7a but i was about 8 when i shot my first real gun and got one for christmas later that year a .22 armscor rifle which i loved and had until i was about 16 when it was stolen out of our moving truck while moving..i now have a daughter who will be 2 in a few months and have wondered that myself..i think 10 is a good median age but as said earlier it really is more about maturity than age..i currently have a remington 597semi thats a project gun for me but i assume this will eventually be her first gun passed down.That is of course only if she is ready for it i think a bb gun is always a good first for a kid so they can prove they can be safe with it before moving onto the real thing.

[Rifleman1952]

I took my son to the range for the first time when he was 10 years old. We had a great time with a Marlin Model 60.

[alaskabushman]

My dad handed me a bb gun when I was around 5 years old. After the proper training he let me wander the 40 acres he had at the time unsupervised. At 8 years old I graduated to a .177 pellet gun and was told "if you kill it, you eat it". I was 14 when I got my very own .22 although I had been allowed to use my dads single shot Remington unsupervised by about age 10. I would like to follow a similar pattern. My oldest daughter is only two but I cant wait to take her out shooting! We'll go out with the bb gun as soon as she can relay instructions back to me and understand the rules of shooting. When will she be allowed to shoot unsupervised? I'm not sure, time will tell and I think each kid is different.

[45_auto]

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!

[Old Grump]

At 5 they started on BB gun in the basement, at 6 they moved up to a shortened 22 rifle and I saved the stock end so I could put it back together when they grew into it. By 12 boy was shooting expert with my 45 and his 11 year old sister wasn't far behind. They knew guns were serious and could only shoot with me but all they had to do was ask and most of the time I was able to spare the time or make the time.

[Alabama Shooter]

IIRC:

We learned everything we needed to know with the BB guns at six.
Once everything was learned they moved on to .22s at eight.
Shotguns and ARs at ten.
Large bore rifles at twelve.

They have shot handguns before but I am waiting until they are 18 to get serious about it.

By learning I mean they keep their weapons in their room now on their own, securely. I don't recommend this for everyone, even where legal. All kids are different and everyone learns at a different pace. Some are more irresponsible have less control of their emotions and some have weird friends.

Whenever other kids stay overnight (a rarity these days) the guns go back in the safe until they leave.