How old is old enough to start shooting?

[$nake-Eye$]

Hey Calgunners,

How old was your child when you started teaching them to shoot?

I was about 9 years old when my dad started me on the .22 Ruger 10/22 and was also doing .38SPL and 12 ga shotgun about a year later at age 10.

I plan to start my son around that age, give or take, depending on his mental maturity level to understand the basics of gun safety and respect (he's 10 months old now, so I have a bit of a wait ahead of me...)

SE

[coq]

My girls first shot at age 7, but by 9 they are much stronger. They have a Savage Rascal...single shot bolt action 22, very small and weights about 2.5lbs...great learning gun for handling, shooting and safety.

[CAL.BAR]

I started my son at 10. Depends on the child. DON'T start too young. If you scare them or otherwise put them off of it, you will lose them forever.

Also depends if you are shooting in your back yard or a public range. Lower key is better.

[Milsurps]

First maturity, Ever kid is different My father started me ~8yrs on bolt action 22s. Shot my first center fire 30-30 ~ 12yrs. Don't push them.

[Swampcrip]

Its all about maturity. When they are responsible and can follow direction i say go for it. My niece is 8 and can strip a glock and has good finger discipline. That being said i also know 50 year old men i wouldnt trust with a nerf gun.

[gringo m]

BB guns to start. 6 is plenty old. 22's around 8 or 9.

[SoldierLife7]

My son got a BB gun at 6 and once he displayed proper handling and safety with the BB gun, I bought him a .22 Marlin 99M1 (when he was 7).

My younger son didn't display enough maturity handling the BB gun... he now has a super-soaker....he's 15 (slight exageration...he isn't interested, so I taught him to respect guns, and firearm safety and let him choose not to shoot guns...hopefully one day he will become more interested).

It all depends on the kid and their maturity level.

[Guns and guitars]

My sons started with 22s at 5 and 6 years old. Now my oldest is 11 and he can shoot a PTR while his 7 year old brother shoots a Kriss Vector.
Teach em safe, smart and young.

[BigStiCK]

Just started teaching my 8yr old with a pellet gun in the back yard. Its an Umarex 1873 Peacemaker replica that handles just like the real thing. Every time we step to the line we recite the 4 basic rules of firearm safety.

He loves it, and its quality father/son time I wouldnt trade for anything.

[MJB]

10 months lol.....proud Poppa!
Congrats

Get a red rider BB gun, as soon as he can hold it start the training.....plus you'll get him hooked quicker and then you can buy more guns....

People laugh but that cheap BB gun is great training on basic mechanics. I have an entire target range for the RR in my back yard total redneck with tin can lids and ping pong balls on a string for moving targets. Of course not in city limits ect.....ymmv

[M1NM]

Bought my daughter an AR7 at 7 she still has it. My grandson is now 8 I bought him a Ruger Bearcat and gave him a Norinco Browing takedown auto. As soon as mom/dad/us get some time later this summer we're gonna hit the desert.

[audiophil2]

I started my son with a Crickett at 5. He moved to a full auto .22 AR15 the same year. At 9 I gave him a suppressed Savage MKII .22lr. At 10 I let him shoot a suppressed S&W M&P22 pistol. He has shot my full auot 9mm AR15 and my full auto 1919 in both A6 rifle and A4 tripod mounted.

He is surrounded by guns so the mystery was long gone by age 4.

[nyy223]

Originally Posted by $nake-Eye$

Hey Calgunners,

How old was your child when you started teaching them to shoot?

I was about 9 years old when my dad started me on the .22 Ruger 10/22 and was also doing .38SPL and 12 ga shotgun about a year later at age 10.

I plan to start my son around that age, give or take, depending on his mental maturity level to understand the basics of gun safety and respect (he's 10 months old now, so I have a bit of a wait ahead of me...)

SE

Good question. My daughter will be 2 in a few months and I've been wondering about this. I asked my CCW instructor this and he said maturity plays a huge factor in this as well. When he asked how old she was (not even 1 at the time) he said to start off with a squirt gun. We've still got a ways to go wait... I guess that's good and bad.

[$nake-Eye$]

Starting them early, starting them right...

Originally Posted by nyy223

Good question. My daughter will be 2 in a few months and I've been wondering about this. I asked my CCW instructor this and he said maturity plays a huge factor in this as well. When he asked how old she was (not even 1 at the time) he said to start off with a squirt gun. We've still got a ways to go wait... I guess that's good and bad.

[Barbarosa]

I started on my sixth birthday; by the time I was eight I was allowed to hunt jackrabbits on my own. My how times have changed.

[A-J]

As others have said, it's a matter of maturity and understanding that there are significant consequences to mishandling a firearm. Age is just a number - I've seen girls at 14 running 3 gun, and I've seen 25 year olds act like a gun is a toy.

I tried taking my boy when he was around 12 - 13, and he never quite pulled the trigger from fear. It took another couple of years before he could do it. You can read about it here:

http://calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1124082

[DaveInOroValley]

I was four years old and shot a .30 M-1 carbine. Pictures some where in my Dad's archives. He believed in starting us pretty young I guess. Shot plenty of BB guns and Speer rubber loads before that so I was ready for the real stuff.

[$nake-Eye$]

Got my first pellet/BB gun at around 25, guess I was late for that milestone...

Originally Posted by daveinwoodland

I was four years old and shot a .30 M-1 carbine. Pictures some where in my Dad's archives. He believed in starting us pretty young I guess. Shot plenty of BB guns and Speer rubber loads before that so I was ready for the real stuff.

[claylakers]

My twin brother and I got a single shot 22 for our birthdays....I want to say like 3rd-4th grade....put a lot of rounds through that thing over the years and we both have a fair collection now. That said, if I have my druthers, I'll start mine earlier so that they are that more comfortable with firearms at an even earlier age.

[doggie]

They should be of a certain height, weight, strength, and "maturity", to be able to handle whatever gun they are given to shoot.

[Bane_619]

[Gun Nerd]

My 2 yeah old son walks around the house with a P320 frame (no slide) and an empty mag. He can drop the mag and insert it by himself, and points at stuff to pretend shoot.. It's kinda funny to watch.

[ScottsBad]

It really depends on the child. Since some kids understand safety and are more responsible that others at the same age its difficult to say what the right age is.

I started really young. I started my kids with BB/pellet guns to learn safety. Then .22s pretty young. Now 15 and 16 they have their own 5.56 rifles. They can handle AKs from the bench, but they are small girls. I didn't get a chance to teach my older son (divorce), but his step dad taught him safety and I've done some shooting with him and gave him a rifle years ago.

I'm sure you will do a good job if you just put the focus on safety.

[Tom-ADC]

Started my grandson at eight on a 10/22, and at nine a friend had a H&R Topper with a youth stock in 28 ga he shot that at skeet, but couldn't do doubles of course. When he got a little bigger maybe 10/11 he was using my 28 ga O/U at skeet and more than held his own. He os 31 now but we still make it to a range now and then on one of his day off's.

[njineermike]

My son got his handgun saftety cert at 10. I was hunting at the same age.

[farmerjoe]

Started my daughter out at 6 with a BB gun in our garage, with a very simple "bullet" trap and targets. Once I knew she was relatively competent, around 8, we moved up to a 10/22.

Biggest issue I found was her hand size and strength vs. most of the handguns I owned. We stuck with the 10/22 until she was right at 12, and she graduated to a S&W 22A. I let her shoot an AR15 at around 14, with a few turns on the Garand from the bench. She announced she wanted an H&K USP9c for her 16th birthday.

I think the main thing is allowing them to progress at a pace they're comfortable with and not to push them to far beyond that, with liberal doses of encouragement and reenforcement.

[Prime]

I started shooting when I was probably 7 or 8. Right on the back porch of my grandpas house with a Remington 22 and a single shot 410. Would sit there for hours shooting the boxes we had for targets. Had a BB gun before that though.

[More2LifeThanMPG]

I have been going back and forth with this same question, my daughter is currently 9. She's had a Daisy rider BB for about 3 years now. So she pretty comfortable with that.
My issue I've only been around firearms for a little over a year now, so I'm still kinda new to all this as well. I have had an assortment of BB and airsoft guns since I was 16 though.

I just purchased a ruger 10/22, and I have been thinking about taking her with us to the range in September. Booked a private range there, plan to go with a couple of friends for the day.


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[blackberg]

What kind of range is best to take kids too?

-bb

[Dragunov]

Originally Posted by $nake-Eye$

Hey Calgunners,

How old was your child when you started teaching them to shoot?

I was about 9 years old when my dad started me on the .22 Ruger 10/22 and was also doing .38SPL and 12 ga shotgun about a year later at age 10.

I plan to start my son around that age, give or take, depending on his mental maturity level to understand the basics of gun safety and respect (he's 10 months old now, so I have a bit of a wait ahead of me...)

SE

The younger one was 8 when I started her on an AR15, and the older one, first shot a pellet rifle in the back yard, and graduated to an AK47 when she turned 9.

Both had there own weapons almost immediately afterwards (AR15, and SKS).

[dwalker]

My boy has had a BB gun since he was 5, and has his own 22 rifle now that he is 7. Unfortunately when he is in CA he cannot shoot anything but the BB gun at most ranges, as they want him to be 10 or older to shoot even a 22.

Here he is with my AR10 6.5CM weh I was between rounds of dry-fire. Pretty good form for a 7 year old.

[meno377]

Everyone is different OP. Only you know your child.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttMuvmspa8o


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYqyq70b6BE

[Blade Gunner]

First time I shot was a Remington nylon 66 at age of six. My mother thought it was a toy gun. I got pretty good at hitting jack rabbits with it. Then my Dad handed my his Garand to shoot. Ended up on my butt, I thought I had shot myself.


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[BHP FAN]

I let my boy shoot my grandma's Remington slide action .22 when he was six. It's his now,and he turns thirty in five more days. He lived! Seriously, it depends on the training your child has been given, and the kids comfort level around firearms.

[kmas]

CO2 pellet guns at 6
.22 rifle at 13
handguns at 16
AR15 at 16

All fully supervised until they were proficient and demonstrated maturity

[ojisan]

Old enough to pay attention, follow directions and understand cause and effect.
First thing I did was have them shoot something that reacts / crumbles / blows up (full soda can, water jug, at least a clay pigeon) so they can get a visual reference of the energy they are releasing.
Then I point out that if they shoot someone they will cause the same damage.
(If their eyes get big and you can see that they are thinking, they got the message)
It's kinda hardcore and sobering, but I think it is worth it to get that concern for safety hammered in at the very first shot.

I did this with both my sons and even some newbie adults, there has never been an issue with safe handling.

[steel30]

My kids all shot the Ruger .22's at ages 8-9. My son and I took Hunter safety when he was 10. Got his first dove that same year with an old Winchester model 50 20g. My daughters were not interested in continuing the sport, though they know firearm safety and are around firearms quite a bit.

[ibungy30]

Like the idea of starting them off with BB guns first, makes sense.

[amishfarmer]

I agree, BB rifles, since that helps reduce muzzle sweep and like how I teach my oldest daughter, she can shoot off a rest to build confidence and focus on sight picture and trigger pull. I just picked up a Winchester 190 on consignment and after a good cleaning and range test by me that will be her upgrade as soon as I feel she is ready.She does well with the BB gun and loves to shoot it, she was really excited about the 22 as well makes me happy.
She is 9 BTW got the Red Ryder when she was 7 for Christmas

[ar15robert]

I started my son at about 6 years old and my daughter about the same age but it was with me standing behind them helping them out.My daughter is now 11 but for the past 2 years she has been loading the 10/22 and shooting it all by herself and shes pretty good with it.

My son was similar hes 15 now but about 11 he was loading the 22 up himself and shooting now hes been shooting my ar for the past couple of years all by himself.Hes pretty set on longer distance targets.

Both dont feel comfy shooting the handguns i only have a 10mm and a 45 but will buy a 22 for them to shoot soon.We do family weekend camping shooting trips in the winter about 3-4 a year to the desert.