When do you introduce kids to guns?

[1slow01Z71]

My 3 year old has a pop gun from cabelas and is learning gun safety now. The pop gun has taught him not to point a gun at people and animals. He helps me reload all the time . He loves loading mags for me and hes a decaping machine since he can get his weight behind pulling the arm down on the rock chucker. I consider him a bit advanced for his age sometimes a little too much for his own good.

He went to the deer lease with me last season at 2 years old as well

He also helps me build my ARs(holding an NSR nut)

Start em young so theres no taboo issues with it and theyre more comfortable with guns. Plus its great bonding time, I'll probably start him out on my chipmunk 22 that I learned to shoot on next year. I started shooting when I was 5, killed my first doe at 7 and was deer hunting on my own by 8 with an old 243 and got a pretty nice 8 point atleast for east Texas anyway.

 

[jordanmills]

My 3 year old has a pop gun from cabelas and is learning gun safety now. The pop gun has taught him not to point a gun at people and animals. He helps me reload all the time . He loves loading mags for me and hes a decaping machine since he can get his weight behind pulling the arm down on the rock chucker.

AWESOME. Hard to beat some good father/son time.

 

[mitchntx]

LOL at holding the deer head ...

My daughters are 33 and 31.

At 6 and 8 I got them together and took out a 357 revolver.
Showed them it was unloaded and that they should always make sure themselves.
Never take for granted some one else has.
I let them hold it, look at it, inspect it, fondle it, ask about it all in the confines of my home.

Then we loaded up and went to a local range.
They experienced the loud bang, the fire flash, the recoil ...

All this was to eliminate curiosity.

Ever since, they both have a healthy respect for guns. While they may not have retained exact gun range etiquette after 30 years, they do know that a gun is deadly and that pulling that trigger is what makes it all happen.

 

[FiremanLyman]

Quick story, sort of related. 4 year old daughter corrected mommy on trigger discipline last week. Made me so proud.

 

[HitMarks1]

I think a lot has to do with the person! I was introduced to firearms at age 10 and was immediately enrolled in a firearm safety course. I think once the fundamentals of firearms safety have been retained is when someone should be allowed to handle firearms. Until that point, firearms handling should be limited to watching proper firearm handling and very limited handling(instruction). I have some adult fiends (I'm sure you all do too...lol) that I have taken to the range to go shooting but are complete jackasses in regards to firearm safety. Even though they have been shooting all of their lives. Why is that? Let's just say ignorance knows no age

 

[A.Texas.Yankee]

On the way out of their mom! It's never too young to introduce kids, but the responsibility of the parents dictates that. If they grow up with them, they're better off. I'm not talking about firing em, but to see my them and such.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

[Bagpiper]

My daughter, just thirteen, only recently expressed an interest in shooting, so we started out with a pellet rifle and pistol. She now enjoys shooting my Ruger MkII and Single-Six. I, on the other hand, received my first rifle, a Remington 511, when I was seven; I'd been carrying my Dad's Mossberg when we went hunting. Man was that thing heavy. That was a long time ago. To answer the OP's question, though, I think the child's maturity and interest should play a role in the introduction to guns.