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It would depend on where I lived - in a rural area I would teach them earlier (may have to shoot critters, etc...)
In general though - around the time they start learning how to drive a car - both require a sense of responsibility and both can be deadly if used improperly. So not before 16 and probably closer to 18.
So what are your thoughts and ages you let your child use guns if you have?
I got rid of all my guns just before we had kids. Despite all the training, supervision, safety lessons, trigger locks, gun safes, and responsible parenting in the world, having a firearm in the house exponentially increases a child's chances of being injured or killed by a gun.
All my current armaments are less-lethal, and pretty much nonlethal in the hands of children. I recently found (last Tuesday night) that they are more effective deterrents for personal protection, as I can carry them to places where I could not carry my firearms, and I can deploy them in cases where I could not threaten a potential adversary with a firearm without potentially committing a crime.
I was a responsible kid. I learned to shoot, learned and practiced gun safety, but I should not have had access to firearms like I did. I did things with guns, when my parents weren't around, that I shouldn't have. I was/my parents were lucky. I don't want to rely on luck with my kids.
They can learn to shoot when they express a serious interest in hunting or sport. There will be no guns in our house beyond water pistols, and possibly paintball or bb guns.
A BB gun/air rifle I guess about 10 or so if she's interested. I won't buy any real guns to keep at home (don't think I even legally could because of my medical history) but if she wants to shoot then she can join a gun club or hunting group when she's old enough (I think 15 is when someone can buy their own gun here)
(Knives are more the thing here anyway, that'll be my rite of passage for her which I think would be similar to a first gun being a rite of passage in hunting communities)
One of my best friend's family had one when we were younger. Its not the norm for people in this state to own them but they had one since he was a kid.
He never showed any interest in guns until one day after breakfast. He unlocked the cabinet, unlocked the box, and then went in the backyard and shot his brains out of his head.
His sister tried to put them back in his skull, but she couldn't piece them to go back together so it would work again. In her defense, it was very difficult since both bits of brain AND head bones were all over their lawn. And of course all the blood got in the way.
He was a 21 yo honors student who was trilingual and had 1 semester of college left. Just home for the summer. (I don't think they had any guns at his school.) He never told anyone he felt suicidal or depressed and he didn't do drugs. (As the autopsy confirmed.)
He had excellent parents. One was a school social worker. I wonder what age he would recommend now? He's probably the most qualified to respond.
Last edited by Utopian Slums; 07-11-2015 at 03:59 AM..
It would depend on where I lived - in a rural area I would teach them earlier (may have to shoot critters, etc...)
When I see all the negative and PC replies on here, I need to remember that most CD-ers are urbanites.
In the 1950s, my brother and I were brought up to Maine to spend time with our uncle (our dad died at age 32). My uncle had us both in camo with a .22 in our hands by the time we were 10 to 12. I grew up and had 2 daughters; neither one was overly interested in guns or hunting, but they weren't against it, either.
Fast-forward to today: I am blessed with 6 grandchildren, ages 5 to 18. Four of them are boys, and they are all interested in the outdoor life. They all fish, hike and camp. The 4 oldest (ages 11, 14, 15 and 18) are all target shooters...and this includes a girl. The girl is the best shot!!! Our property in Maine has a nice area for shooting, and 2 of our grandkids are spending the summer up here with us. Their parents feel that outdoor activities - very much including learning to handle firearms - are essential to balanced personalities.
I'll be spending the weekend out boating and fishing on the lake, with 2 young and enthusiastic fisher men/women! I just have to wait for them to wake up. I've been up since 4:30 am. We have about 325 geese, turkeys, chickens and ducks that I tend to early in the morning. The grandkids love the birds, too!
Teaching them to kill squirrels....humm.... I guess you eat them as well?
Interesting fact:
Squirrels are responsible for nearly 20% of power/data outages, they have even taken down the New York Stock Exchange...twice. They like to gnaw cables, and transformers are attractive as nesting sites.
I first held a gun (a .38 revolver) and was taught gun safety before I could read. It is one of my earliest childhood memories. My father was a cop and he felt that if there was a gun in the house we should know what it was and how to act safely with it. I feel that this is the most responsible thing to do, regardless of whether the gun is stored in a lockbox or a sock drawer.
In fact, I think that ALL children should be taught gun safety, at an early age (just like looking both ways before crossing the street) regardless of whether the parents keep guns in the house or not. Eliminate the mystery. It is not unheard of for a criminal to just toss a gun after using it (especially if being chased by the cops), and not at all implausible that a [curious] child might find such a discarded weapon. A curious child who finds a weapon, whether in a house or on the street, who has no knowledge of them is much more likely to hurt him/herself or someone else than a child who knows what it is, how dangerous it can be, and how to handle it (or NOT handle it). Ignorance [of weapons (and other harmful items/actions)] is much more dangerous than knowledge.
There is no escaping a child being exposed to violence and the use of weapons- TV, movies, news (papers and TV), video games, real life, etc. Most children know what guns are, and how to pull the trigger to make it work. Which of those children are in a better position to know enough not to get hurt (or hurt someone else)- the one who knows what it is, how it works and how dangerous it can be...or the ignorant one who points it at a friend and says "Bang, bang, you're dead" and pulls the trigger?
I was probably about 8 when I got my first BB gun. I was 12 when I got my first .22 and began participating in the Junior NRA/DCM program, and began shooting competetively (and eventually taking blue ribbons at regional meets with my cheap little Marlin-Glenfield against others with custom target rifles). At 17 I was only two steps from the top level in the DCM program...the only reason I didn't reach the top was because I elected to join the Army. The DIs didn't have to waste any time teaching *me* how to shoot, and I quickly became an expert with every weapon that was put in my hands.
(And, not only do I believe that all children should be taught about guns and gun safety at an early age, I think there should be a mandatory military training and service period beginning not later than age 18, perhaps modeled much like the Swiss program.)
I found the question a little startling because it assumes that it's a given that one will eventually allow a child to use firearms.
I know this comes as a giant shock to some, but there are people out there who have never fired a weapon in their lives.
I was in my 40s before I ever touched a gun. It was a shotgun, and I was visiting my sister and her husband, both of whom hunt. They had a makeshift firing range set up out in the woods near where they live, and they offered to show my other sister and I and our kids how to shoot at clay pigeons using the shotguns.
I relayed this story to some people I "talk" with on another Internet forum, and one of them, a man who lives in Washington State, said he found it impossible to believe that I had reached my 40s without ever firing a gun. That threw me a little--that someone actually thinks that way and would think it was something I was lying about. He's not a kid. He's my age--yet he doesn't know that NOT EVERYONE uses guns? It was just weird.
Anyway, that day was the first time for both my daughter and I. My brother-in-law made us all watch an NRA gun safety video before we went out into the woods.
Since then, I think the only time my daughter fired a weapon was last year when she (now an adult) took her father to a firing range here in the NJ suburbs for his birthday.
when my son was about 5 he got his first bb gun. had to cut the stock so he could handle it. Once he turned 8 I got him a 410 single shot, shot gun and a single shot cricket 22 rifle so we could hunt squirrels.
I have taught him gun safety ever since he was able to comprehend. now at age 11 he knows fully what to do when ever he handles a gun to make sure its safe and unloaded. he automatically checks any firearm he is handed and knows not to touch unattended guns like he may find at another persons house. I think a trained and informed child is much safer than one that has been sheltered from guns n things.
For my sons 11th birthday he wanted a browning 22cal 1911 so I cover $500 and he paid the remaining $160. I do believe you have to judge how responsible a child is but most children can learn gun safty. just the other weekend we wennt through about 1000 rounds to break in his new 22 hand gun.
So what are your thoughts and ages you let your child use guns if you have?
Could this be a clue that he was too young?!
I'm not even gonna say anything else because it is clear you're bragging on your son (actually YOU) to see if anyone can BEST you. Let's see if anyone gave their kid a firearm at the age of 4, shall we?
Squirrels are responsible for nearly 20% of power/data outages, they have even taken down the New York Stock Exchange...twice. They like to gnaw cables, and transformers are attractive as nesting sites.
I first held a gun (a .38 revolver) and was taught gun safety before I could read. It is one of my earliest childhood memories. My father was a cop and he felt that if there was a gun in the house we should know what it was and how to act safely with it. I feel that this is the most responsible thing to do, regardless of whether the gun is stored in a lockbox or a sock drawer.
In fact, I think that ALL children should be taught gun safety, at an early age (just like looking both ways before crossing the street) regardless of whether the parents keep guns in the house or not. Eliminate the mystery. It is not unheard of for a criminal to just toss a gun after using it (especially if being chased by the cops), and not at all implausible that a [curious] child might find such a discarded weapon. A curious child who finds a weapon, whether in a house or on the street, who has no knowledge of them is much more likely to hurt him/herself or someone else than a child who knows what it is, how dangerous it can be, and how to handle it (or NOT handle it). Ignorance [of weapons (and other harmful items/actions)] is much more dangerous than knowledge.
There is no escaping a child being exposed to violence and the use of weapons- TV, movies, news (papers and TV), video games, real life, etc. Most children know what guns are, and how to pull the trigger to make it work. Which of those children are in a better position to know enough not to get hurt (or hurt someone else)- the one who knows what it is, how it works and how dangerous it can be...or the ignorant one who points it at a friend and says "Bang, bang, you're dead" and pulls the trigger?
I was probably about 8 when I got my first BB gun. I was 12 when I got my first .22 and began participating in the Junior NRA/DCM program, and began shooting competetively (and eventually taking blue ribbons at regional meets with my cheap little Marlin-Glenfield against others with custom target rifles). At 17 I was only two steps from the top level in the DCM program...the only reason I didn't reach the top was because I elected to join the Army. The DIs didn't have to waste any time teaching *me* how to shoot, and I quickly became an expert with every weapon that was put in my hands.
(And, not only do I believe that all children should be taught about guns and gun safety at an early age, I think there should be a mandatory military training and service period beginning not later than age 18, perhaps modeled much like the Swiss program.)
You've been watching too many crime dramas if you think finding a gun in a trash can is a common thing...and I guess I'd not let my kid look through a public trash can to find a gun either...so yeah, kind of reaching on this one.
OTOH - with so many gun nuts / afficionados (you and present company excluded of course) around it is far more likely they'd be at a friend's house and find a gun. That said, knowing not to even TOUCH a gun is all you need to teach them - NOT necessary to give them a gun, take them to a firing range, etc.
when my son was about 5 he got his first bb gun. had to cut the stock so he could handle it. Once he turned 8 I got him a 410 single shot, shot gun and a single shot cricket 22 rifle so we could hunt squirrels.
I have taught him gun safety ever since he was able to comprehend. now at age 11 he knows fully what to do when ever he handles a gun to make sure its safe and unloaded. he automatically checks any firearm he is handed and knows not to touch unattended guns like he may find at another persons house. I think a trained and informed child is much safer than one that has been sheltered from guns n things.
For my sons 11th birthday he wanted a browning 22cal 1911 so I cover $500 and he paid the remaining $160. I do believe you have to judge how responsible a child is but most children can learn gun safty. just the other weekend we wennt through about 1000 rounds to break in his new 22 hand gun.
So what are your thoughts and ages you let your child use guns if you have?
At FIVE? If you had to cut the stock, perhaps that was a suggestion that FIVE was too young to handle a fire arm - even a BB gun.
He could out his eye out - or the eye of someone else.
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Our property in Maine has a nice area for shooting, and 2 of our grandkids are spending the summer up here with us. 
Their parents feel that outdoor activities - very much including learning to handle firearms - are essential to balanced personalities.
