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02-14-2008, 08:01 PM
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All of my kids started young... 5 or 6... My daughter received a Chipmunk rifle at 8 after shooting for a couple of years...CrickettRifle, Crickett.com, Keystone Sporting Arms, Inc. Davey Crickett, My first rifle, New with safety lock, .22 rifle, Davey Crickett kids club, rifles, accessories, scopes Keystone Sporting Arms, Inc., Davey Crickett, My first rifle, New with sa
Now she is 18 and is going to Thunder Ranch for the home and vehicle defense class in July (with mom and dad)... we must have done something right....
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"Under the table Greebo sat and washed himself. Occasionally he burped. Vampires have risen from the dead, the grave and the crypt, but have never managed it from the cat." "Greebo turned upon Granny Weatherwax a yellow-eyed stare of self-satisfied malevolence, such as cats always reserve for people who don't like them, and purred. Greebo was possibly the only cat who could snigger in purr" Greebo the Cat - Terry Pratchett "Witches Abroad" 
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02-14-2008, 10:18 PM
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02-14-2008, 10:33 PM
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The next day I ran accross his dad, very nice gentleman.
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"A kind word only goes so far, a kind word and a gun goes a lot further" Al Capone 1924 Be Safe, Be Confident, Get Trained! ® Copyrighted 1996 Amateurs Talk Hardware (Guns) Professionals Talk Software (Training) greg@firearmstraining.com Oh Yeah! Piss On Golf! Waste of a good range.
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02-14-2008, 10:35 PM
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Rico I want you go out there, and win one for THE Gimper. 
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02-14-2008, 11:01 PM
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My son got his first rifle at 8 (Savage Arms Cub .22lr), and daughter also when she turned 8 (Cricket, in PINK). Both of them had been through Scout BB Gun training, at least 3 times each, which is basically the rules of gun safety, drilled into their heads, then practice with spring BB guns.
Honestly, my son has taken to shooting quite well, he is a good marksman, and is a regular at Burro Canyon with me, our daughter had trouble handling the gun, it seemed too large and cumbersome for her (even though the Crickets are dinky guns). I am hoping that this year she will do better, having gotten taller and stronger arms (kids are such wimps, lol!). Frankly I don't know how a smaller child could possibly be expected to pick up and handle a firearm, even a youth sized gun. I have seen adults load and prep guns, then have their kid pull the trigger, while the adult holds the gun, but I don't really believe that is much of a learning experience. Then again, some 5 year olds are strong and seem physically and mentally able to handle such things--I think the initial gun safety rules, and the basic practice with bb guns are the key essentials. I have also seen some adults I dont think can be trusted to handle a gun correctly, guess it all comes down to training and upbringing. Last weekend was my son's 10th birthday, and as a treat I brought the SKS, and let him shoot his fill, he had a blast, but he did decline the .30-06 1903, he recognized the heavy recoil might be painful, even though I offered a shooting vest, smart boy! My father was in the Swiss army during WWII, he was issued a rifle at the age of 12, had to carry it to school (yes, through the snow, uphill, both ways), with ammo, every day. It was a Schmidt-Ruben Cadet rifle, which was similar to the K31, but was only a single shot, but the ammo was full size 7.5x55 ammo, which is similar to .308--my point is that even fairly young kids can handle guns given the right training and mindset. Last edited by sealbeach : 02-14-2008 at 11:06 PM.
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02-14-2008, 11:40 PM
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SheWhoMustBeObeyed... got two purses at SHOT.. one is Bison skin..... She bought me a really cool ZT knife... then hid it from me until Today... at least she gave it to me instead of keeping it... My 13 year old was reading this... thinks I'm an idiot...I haven't killed him yet... I am a patient man...
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"Under the table Greebo sat and washed himself. Occasionally he burped. Vampires have risen from the dead, the grave and the crypt, but have never managed it from the cat." "Greebo turned upon Granny Weatherwax a yellow-eyed stare of self-satisfied malevolence, such as cats always reserve for people who don't like them, and purred. Greebo was possibly the only cat who could snigger in purr" Greebo the Cat - Terry Pratchett "Witches Abroad"
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02-15-2008, 08:50 AM
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I've started my 3 1/2 year old son with the Eddie Eagle rules. I make sure he knows that they apply EVERYWHERE, whether it's at a friend's house, grandpa's or uncle's house, if he sees one laying around outside, etc. He has been repeatedly told that he is never to touch a gun unless 1) I say he can, and 2) I am right there next to him.
I have also tried to dispel the mystery of "daddy's safe." If he asks to see, I'll stop what I'm doing and show him. I'm hoping that this will limit his motivation to explore. While he is handling any firearm (always under my direct supervision) I work on the three basic safety rules (don't touch the trigger, don't point it at anyone, etc). After I put everything away and close the safe, our next stop is to the bathroom to wash our hands thoroughly to remove any lead/oil residue. While it might be a little harsh (especially remembering myself at a young age), we don't even allow him to play with toy guns or pick up a stick and pretend. Again, that may be a little over-restrictive, but my wife is a closet anti- and this keeps the peace between us and avoids more restrictive edicts like "he's never to see another gun again." I don't want him to have to figure out why it's bad to play with a real gun but a toy gun is ok. As an additional layer of protection, I put a rubber band around a little key tag with the words "Gun Safe" on it inside the safe. When the safe is open, I keep the rubber band around my wrist to remind me that I need to close it again in case I get distracted. He asked a few days ago if he could go to the rifle range with me. His maturity level won't support that yet, but it's got me thinking about some airgunning. I'll have to see how that shakes out with the wife... 
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Optimist: "The glass is half-full." Pessimist: "The glass is half-empty." Engineer: "The glass is twice as big as it needs to be."
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02-15-2008, 05:40 PM
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I started my son somewhere around the age of 5 with a pump pellet pistol. We talked safety and I would pump and load and he would shoot. We chatted about safety, the last shot, how to aim and just about anything while I was pumping and loading. This was quality time with my young man.
As he demonstrated his capabilities we graduated to the 22 pistol, revolver and 10/22 Ruger. Of course this meant we also graduated from the yard to the national forest range area we use. I am in full agreement about teaching the youngsters as early as can be properly done. I have helped to introduce many kids to the shooting sport and hope to let many more start out with my sweet little 22 S&Ws. I even had parents who were not gun friendly let me take their kids to the range with my son for the intro. spc My theory is everyone on the planet should learn to swim, well they should also learn gun safety. Last edited by spc : 02-15-2008 at 05:42 PM. Reason: spelling what else
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02-15-2008, 09:05 PM
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[quote=sealbeach;36069]My son got his first rifle at 8 (Savage Arms Cub .22lr), and daughter also when she turned 8 (Cricket, in PINK).
OK, so we all know the PINK rifle was for you. Do you ever let her shoot it? 
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Life is good! Nik Nak A man is not old until his dreams become regrets... - John Barrymore (1935)
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02-15-2008, 09:12 PM
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I was raised by a mother that would not allow guns in the house ... something about WWII and the Nazis that I can understand. I did have toy guns that I lost possession of quite often since I tended to point them at one of my five sisters ..... I still refuse to go paintballing, airsofting and shoot at people.
I did not start regular shooting until I was 22. I had gone shooting about 5 times prior to that age. I now am like many that have to get my fix at least once per week or I go into withdrawl. As for your kids, I refer to the NRA Website. We did not allow kids to start marksmanship until they were 12, or 10(with a good head on their shoulders). As for just being around them .... they had better know the basics of safety.
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Life is good! Nik Nak A man is not old until his dreams become regrets... - John Barrymore (1935)
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02-18-2008, 10:00 AM
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I gotta say, last time I had a shooting class I showed up an hour early by accident. Got bored pretty quick and as an end result I have a picture on my cell phone of myself holding the pink cricket tactical style
 Oh also, does anyone know where I can get a free Eddie Eagle DVD? They want $10 a piece for them on the website.
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"I've read news articles of people getting shot up at bus stops, work, home, restraunts, and 5 year old's birthday parties. All places people would tell me I'd be crazy to bring a gun. And they were right, a crazy guy brought a gun." ~myself Last edited by NSP : 02-18-2008 at 10:02 AM.
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