Great Thread! I have an 8 y/o and a 1.5 y/o. I started the 8 year old at about 4 years of age. Started with a 10/22 then progressed to the AR after a year or so. He loves to shoot both. This year we started with a Ruger .22 pistol. He does well with both the pistol and the rifles. I have mixed feelings on the toy gun issue. I have used air soft guns to teach my oldest "gun safety". It has worked very well. I do agree we need or it is our "DUTY" to teach them at a young age. I have great confidence that if my oldest were to ever come across a firearm at one of his friends house that he would know exactly what to do. I can only say this because I started him very young teaching him about safety and firearms.