How young is too young?

[Wildscar]

To all of yall out there with kids. What age did yall start taking them to the range? I have tried to talk to my son about them and I got him a nerf gun to kind of go over the fundamentals about shooting. I know its not the same as the real thing but I figured it was a start. He know to keep his finger off the trigger and not to point it at anything he dose not intend to shoot. People are never to be a target of his nerf guns. He does ok but there are still douts about when would be a good age to take them to the range. I know everone is diffrent and some learn faster than others but Im just looking for some general advice.

Thanks.

[WildBill]

FWIW, here is my story. When I was around eight years old I asked my dad if I could shoot with him. He told me that he would have to think about it. This cycle repeated a few times. Then one day he asked me if I really wanted to learn to shoot. Of course I answered "yes." He told me that I had a choice, whether to keep playing with toy guns or get rid of them and learn to shoot real guns. He told me that real guns were not toys and that if acted like they were that would be the last time I would be allowed around real guns. I chose the real guns and gave up playing.

[LarryH]

Bill, your father was a wise man.

[Kalrog]

My son is almost 6 and I will be taking him to the range when I have a free weekend - probably after the May election. Maybe as a 6th birthday present to him (he turns 6 in May).

[ProudNativeTexican]

The first time I ever went to the range regularly but it was probably about 7 or 8. But that was only because that was the first time my dad had access to a range. Before that we lived in country where we would just shoot in the pasture behind the house. I can never remember not shooting.

1) I suggest that when you do take a child to the range the first few times when there are not as many people.
2) When you take a kid it is about them and not to take your gun cause it is about them.
3) If they start getting bored it is time to leave. Even if you have only been there a 1/2 hour.

ML

[WildBill]

Bill, your father was a wise man.

Yes, he was. Thank you Larry.
+1 for Texican's comments: Remember it's about your son/daughter, not you. Teach your children on their schedule, not yours.

[Wildscar]

Thanks for all the great advice. Keep it comming.

[shootthesheet]

It depends on the kid. It also depends on you. If the child is ready then make sure you are prepared to take the time and have the patience to properly teach the child. No matter what you or I do a child is not going to remember everything and are not responsible enough to do but a few things without you showing the proper procedure. Loading, cocking the gun, and how to handle it in these sorts of activities. It is all new to them and to us as the teachers. How we do it on our own may not be how we can with a child.

When my son started rolling his eyes and correcting my intentional mistakes when telling him the rules is when I knew he was ready for a .22 rifle. He shot the .22 the first time on his 6th birthday, after two years of instruction with air soft and then BB guns. He shot well on his first time out and has done better since. That hasn’t been my main goal though. My main goal is to teach him how to apply the lessons he has learned. We have plenty of time for the precision shooting stuff once I know he isn’t going to do something dumb like kids do. I take the time to be there and pay close attention to what he is doing. I do nothing else while doing this. When you are ready then you can clearly judge when he is ready. Have fun but remember that you are there to teach him safety and not entirely there to teach him how to shoot well. That is my opinion.

By the way, My son is now 7 and I have a 15 month old son that I look forward to teaching.

[tboesche]

My father started me around 5 or 6. .22 and then moved up to a 20GA. I did not actually shoot a pistol until I was in Boot Camp in 1980.

Due to the military pretty much keeping me overseas for much of my daughters formative years, I completely missed the opportunity to teach my oldest to shoot. However, nest time she is home to visit, I will be taking her to the range. My youngest is 16 and I have finally started teaching her on the same .22 rifle that I learned on. She is doing well and I think next time we go, I will let her try the 9mm pistols.

[thejtrain]

Great stuff, all - keep the stories coming! I've got a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old so I'm looking forward to bringing them up right.

FWIW, here is my story. When I was around eight years old I asked my dad if I could shoot with him. He told me that he would have to think about it. This cycle repeated a few times. Then one day he asked me if I really wanted to learn to shoot. Of course I answered "yes." He told me that I had a choice, whether to keep playing with toy guns or get rid of them and learn to shoot real guns. He told me that real guns were not toys and that if acted like they were that would be the last time I would be allowed around real guns. I chose the real guns and gave up playing.

Fantastic idea. Boys tend to (as mine did) pick up the whole toy gun thing without anyone even trying. His don't shoot anything (other than water) but I still try to instill upon him that we don't "shoot" people, only pretend targets like cups on the coffee table, the light switch on the wall, other toys, etc. When the time comes to start teaching for real, Bill's dad's idea sounds like it's right on the money. Eliminating confusion is a wonderful thing.

JT

[Venus Pax]

My dad got me a Daisy BB gun at age 8.

[Sport Coach]

I've taken my kids shooting at the in-laws "back 40" with a .22 rifle or at home in town, with airsoft / BB guns. They started at age 4-5 give or take. We have a small back yard so I made a backstop of a wooden frame and stapled a t-shirt or two to the back of it. They draw their own targets on heavy paper and staple them to the front of the frame. We then set up the picnic bench as our firing line and I teach gun basics and communication. They'll shoot for days sometimes then not at all for weeks.

[TDDude]

Take them when they are mature enough to know what they are doing and what happens if they screw up.

[RPBrown]

My son was 5 when he got a Daisy bb gun and at age 6 Santa brought him a single shot 22 that was my dad's then mine. Now my oldest grand daughter is 6 (or 6-1/2 as she says) and guess what she is getting for the 7th bday. Yep, that handed down 22. She has been shooting it about 5 months now.

[The Annoyed Man]

I took my son for his first range trip at age 7. I bought him a little used youth sized .22 single shot and a brick of cartridges, and we had a ball. He is now my regular shooting partner. He's 18, and he's got a Ruger M77 in .308, a Savage heavy barreled tactical rifle in .308, and a Taurus 1911.

He wants to be a cop.