I raised 2 girls and they are both adults now. I have taught many more of my friends' kids the same safety rules. I have seen them work . My post is about the things I believe should be added for kids on top of the basic rules of gun safety.
1 treat all guns as if loaded.
2 Don't point gun at anything you don't want to shoot at.
3 Finger off trigger until ready to shoot.
4 Wear eye and ear protection.
Those 4 rules always apply to gun safety at all ages, amen.
My additional rules for kids are as follows:
1 Never touch a gun without an adult there with you supervising.
2 Keep the recoil appropriate to their body size.
You can lock up and make safe your own home with guns, but you can't control every place your kid might go in their lifetime. So you need to gun-proof your kid. Teach them that if they see a gun anywhere, don't touch it, and go get an adult. If they are with other kids, dont let them touch the gun, try to get them to leave with them and all of ya go get an adult. If the friends don't want to leave the area, then you go get an adult. I have seen this rule work on my own kids at other peoples houses and have heard stories from friends that it worked for them also.
My 2 girls each had a 22 rifle since they were 5 years old and a 20 gauge since they were 12. The 22 was perfectly fine for their sizes at 5. Not so much with the shotgun. 12 was too young for them to hold the weight of the gun up and take the recoil. They were both ready for the shotgun by 14. I had a buddy with 2 sons that could shoot my girls' shotguns at the age of 7 and 10, they were both athletic and wanted to shoot for sure. I just know that too much recoil has turned off many a kid to shooting.
1 treat all guns as if loaded.
2 Don't point gun at anything you don't want to shoot at.
3 Finger off trigger until ready to shoot.
4 Wear eye and ear protection.
Those 4 rules always apply to gun safety at all ages, amen.
My additional rules for kids are as follows:
1 Never touch a gun without an adult there with you supervising.
2 Keep the recoil appropriate to their body size.
You can lock up and make safe your own home with guns, but you can't control every place your kid might go in their lifetime. So you need to gun-proof your kid. Teach them that if they see a gun anywhere, don't touch it, and go get an adult. If they are with other kids, dont let them touch the gun, try to get them to leave with them and all of ya go get an adult. If the friends don't want to leave the area, then you go get an adult. I have seen this rule work on my own kids at other peoples houses and have heard stories from friends that it worked for them also.
My 2 girls each had a 22 rifle since they were 5 years old and a 20 gauge since they were 12. The 22 was perfectly fine for their sizes at 5. Not so much with the shotgun. 12 was too young for them to hold the weight of the gun up and take the recoil. They were both ready for the shotgun by 14. I had a buddy with 2 sons that could shoot my girls' shotguns at the age of 7 and 10, they were both athletic and wanted to shoot for sure. I just know that too much recoil has turned off many a kid to shooting.
