Teach your kids how to shoot

[Atticus Rex]

I took my two biggest little boys to the range with me a few months ago...only my 7 year old Sam was really wanting to shoot. And after a mag of 22lr he got bored with the 10/22 and wanted to shoot papa's black rifle. Well, I happened to record his first time shooting it..and seeing his face after that shot was priceless and a proud moment. My son Sam officially has black rifle disease.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO9tCS6tETs

But yes, as the OP states, it's a duty for any parent to get their kiddos *safely* and *properly* handling and shooting guns. Get 'em over the curiosity, the fear, and any other lost gun culture stigmas that exist. You'll not only be keeping everyone safer by teaching them but you'll add to your family's arsenal of zombie supression experts! One night for "family night" we all learned the 4 basic firearm safety rules. My 6, 8, and 10 year olds can recite them anywhere at anytime. What's more is when they see movies or shows with people holding guns (youtube videos too) they immediately recognize violations of those four rules! Very proud of my kiddos!

[Glock Star]

Great thread! It really is important to get your kids involved early if they show interest. Only a child's parent knows when the time is right. I would never presume to know a child better than his own mother or father just based on age.

I took my two biggest little boys to the range with me a few months ago...only my 7 year old Sam was really wanting to shoot. And after a mag of 22lr he got bored with the 10/22 and wanted to shoot papa's black rifle. Well, I happened to record his first time shooting it..and seeing his face after that shot was priceless and a proud moment. My son Sam officially has black rifle disease.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO9tCS6tETs

Awesome! His face really did light up after squeezing off that first round. My daughter will be 5 in September and I picked up a Crickett .22 (in pink of course) for her last year that she will probably get for her 6th birthday. She LOVES helping me do anything with my guns now so after she masters the fundamentals with the Crickett I can definitely see a .22 dedicated build coming her way. We have been talking about the 4 rules (kids version) for the last year or so and I'll start teaching her THE 4 rules very soon.

What 4 y/o girl who thinks she is a princess 99.9% of the time loves getting her hands dirty cleaning a BCG? My girl

[DasBulk]

Having no rugrats of my own, I've taken to my nephews. So far theyve all shot ARs and some .22pistol except two. Youngest was 4 when he pulled the trigger on my AR with 5.56. The oldest at 10 hasn't quite exibited the wherewithal to fire it without the .22 kit. But he's working up to it. His father already gave him his old marlin 30-30 so he has that to look forward too.
I do have two nephew, though, that are still working up from red ryders. Their father/my brother is an Marine, now TxDPS captain. But he's married to a child pscycologist. So yeah...

I fired a gun once before my 20s. Family was adamantly against firearms. So when my older brother bought an d marlin .22 the mystique was abound. I was ten or so. I wonder where I'd be if I had what my nephews have at their age. I didn't buy my own guns till my middle twenties.

[Bimmer]

Im not sure i understand what your getting at with mentioning my MSF course and then taking my kid shooting, but ill comment on what i think you mean.

... i know you prefaced your responses with "not judging" but its the same thing as saying "no offense" and then calling someone a fat tub of lard!

I'm not passive aggressive, and if I say I'm not judging, then I'm really NOT judging.

I was just pointing out that we're all averse of risk in different ways, and we all deal with our kids and our concerns in different ways.

There's no way I want to tell anybody how to raise his kids (no more than I want anybody telling me how to raise my daughter).

For example, I just got back from Rome, and I was surprised to see Italians riding their scooters with their 2-year-olds on their laps (at least the kids did have helmets on).
Obviously that's not something I would do, but they seemed perfectly comfortable with it. Fine. It's their kids...

As for the MSF course and the riding mower:
There's an inherent risk in riding a motorcycle, and you're obviously OK with that level of risk. I was, too, once, but not anymore.
And I wouldn't let my daughter anywhere a lawn mower, but you're obviously comfortable with letting your son ride with you.
And I'm still mulling over whether my 5-year-old is mature enough to go to the shooting range, and you've already taken your 3-year-old.

So, I'm guessing that you're generally a lot less risk averse than I am. Again, this doesn't mean I think there's anything "wrong" with what you're doing, it just means you're obviously comfortable doing a lot of things I'm not.

A friend and I both went to the range together... My son was less than 4 feet from me the whole time and if i was shooting, my range partner was not. he was watching me shoot while sitting next to my kid!

Yeah, this makes a lot more sense than how you explained it the first time...

I had images of you putting your 3-year-old on a chair and telling him "stay" while you shot "his" gun.

I honestly dont see anything wrong with any of the comments ive made and would be glad to submit them to Social services for review... Im not offended, just clearing up the doubt buddy!

I don't see anything wrong, either!

[Bimmer]

I've asked my wife for a 10/22 for my 30th birthday coming up, so that I can teach my daughter to shoot with that. I really just always wanted one for myself, but it sounds more noble if I include the kid.

A note about guns for little kids: size and weight is a real problem.

The typical .22 is designed for adults, and the "pull" is too long for little kids, and they can't get the butt up on their shoulders at all.

So, if you really want a 10/22, then get one, but don't expect that it'll fit your 5-year-old... At least take her along to a gun shop and see whether she can hold one.

I made the same mistake... I got an old bolt action Marlin .22 "for my daughter" and then figured out that it was too big for her.
Now it's just "mine" and the Savage Mini Youth Cub is waiting for her (this was not really a bad outcome).

[Smuckatelli]

I strongly recommend safety glasses especially when the kids are firing gas operated weapons.

[Smuckatelli]

A note about guns for little kids: size and weight is a real problem.

My young ones started shooting when they were 6 & 8. Their rifle is a CZ 452 Scout, the pull was just right for the 6 year old.

[black op]

A note about guns for little kids: size and weight is a real problem.

The typical .22 is designed for adults, and the "pull" is too long for little kids, and they can't get the butt up on their shoulders at all.

So, if you really want a 10/22, then get one, but don't expect that it'll fit your 5-year-old... At least take her along to a gun shop and see whether she can hold one.

I made the same mistake... I got an old bolt action Marlin .22 "for my daughter" and then figured out that it was too big for her.
Now it's just "mine" and the Savage Mini Youth Cub is waiting for her (this was not really a bad outcome).

Great point! My solution to this was first I change the stock on my 10/22 to the blackhawk with retractable stock second I used a bench with a sand bag. Worked very well.

[evenodds20]

I'm not passive aggressive, and if I say I'm not judging, then I'm really NOT judging.

I was just pointing out that we're all averse of risk in different ways, and we all deal with our kids and our concerns in different ways.

There's no way I want to tell anybody how to raise his kids (no more than I want anybody telling me how to raise my daughter).

For example, I just got back from Rome, and I was surprised to see Italians riding their scooters with their 2-year-olds on their laps (at least the kids did have helmets on).
Obviously that's not something I would do, but they seemed perfectly comfortable with it. Fine. It's their kids...

As for the MSF course and the riding mower:
There's an inherent risk in riding a motorcycle, and you're obviously OK with that level of risk. I was, too, once, but not anymore.
And I wouldn't let my daughter anywhere a lawn mower, but you're obviously comfortable with letting your son ride with you.
And I'm still mulling over whether my 5-year-old is mature enough to go to the shooting range, and you've already taken your 3-year-old.

So, I'm guessing that you're generally a lot less risk averse than I am. Again, this doesn't mean I think there's anything "wrong" with what you're doing, it just means you're obviously comfortable doing a lot of things I'm not.




Yeah, this makes a lot more sense than how you explained it the first time...

I had images of you putting your 3-year-old on a chair and telling him "stay" while you shot "his" gun.




I don't see anything wrong, either!

I appreciate the explanation. I understand your message isnt meant to tell us/me how to raise my kid. I just didnt want everyone to start thinking worst case scenarios and then subconsciously link them to my outing without actually reading it from my post. thats why i reiterated and explained further. the short version is....i ride my bike like a girl. to keep my insurance low, and make sure i make it home. I no what i have and i no what it can do. under very strict circumstances will i crack the throttle a bit. i still have yet to hit triple digits on the speedo and ive had it since feb.

the mower is a zero turn. not that its a big difference, but i just feel like its another one of those bonding things. like i said in my original post. I am safety conscious. I make both my kids where those blaze orange stihl hearing protection u get from ace hardware or wherever stihl is sold. I also make them wear the eye protection and a mask to keep the dry debris out of their face but they usually rip it off after a bit cuz its way too big for them. but all in all, i dont go cutting on inclines with a kid on board. ill let him get on in my yard cuz its completely flat. he stays well away when im edging, trimming, or blowing. and they usually always have their sunscreen and a hat.

i know what you mean about the safety aspect. i just wanted everyone to know im not just some redneck drinking a beer and running over the yard with a kid in diapers on my lap. both my wife and i are very protective of our kids, we just both feel like we have more than average control of our kids and with that, can participate in activities some others wouldnt dream of.

[DeathMetal]

I know what you're going through. My girlfriend has a son who's 5yo and I'd LOVE to take him to the range, but he's just not mature enough. I think that's the thing people should be looking at rather than a specific age to start the next generation of shooters.

I agree totaly! Maturity level is the biggest key here.