I'm dying to trick out a Ruger 10/22 for my daughter but don't want to be a weirdo and buy it for her too early. I'd take her to the range and do short range paper targets and of course I'd be in control of everything. Just need to know what's a good age to start.

There's a similar thread about shotguns on the upland forum. Good question.

5-7 depending on the kid....

I let mine shoot coke cans and bottles (plastic) filled with water.....they loved having targets that exploded....

Got my son started just messing around with a BB gun at about 3 1/2 but just for fun. This yr on his 5th birthday I got him a cricket 22 that's fits him great and I like the fact it's a bolt action so he can learn the action early on. He has shot my 10/22 as well but it's hard for most kids to shoulder the stock and still reach the trigger the cricket is shorter and a better fit. We have played around with the cricket a few times but yesterday I took him to shoot and wanted to focus on the basics especially sight picture with open sights and trigger pull. His first couple targets weren't too great but he slowly was understanding that in order to hit the target you have to keep the same sight picture. We only shot at 25 yds but he did pretty well on his last 10 shots at a clean target. He loaded, aimed and shot all 10 rds on his own I was just standing there to ensure he was safe.
I would say age is always going to be based on their interest in shooting, their attention span, and their patience. Nothing wrong with giving it a shot at any age, maybe they are interested and pick it up quick maybe they need some more time.

His last target of the day

Right handed?

Sadly, she's left handed.

Do you know which eye is dominate?

I would go bolt action for a first .22 rifle. Get them used to working a bolt and having one round to shoot. And the proper age depends on the kid. If the kid is wild, doesn't pay attention and doesn't listen, then IMO they might not be ready for a rifle yet.

Good question. Easy check for eye dominance that the kid doesn't have to think about. Stand about 10 feet away from them and ask them to point at your nose with their finger. You will be looking at their dominate eye over their finger.

My son already has his own Henry Silver Boy 22mag and he's only 2 months old! I can hardly wait.

I figure at 1 yr bday I'll build him his first AR.

Yep bolt action first....

I started on a Marlin golden boy with .22 shorts at 5ish. Some of the greatest times with my grandfather.

I second the Cricket .22. Bought one for my boy at 6yo. He turns 9 next month and will be getting a Rossi single shot .357 mag as his first deer rifle. Anything bigger than the cricket at 6 years old and he had a hard time getting it shouldered properly. At 7 I had him on the AR with the collapsible stock, but that would be too heavy for him to carry in the woods.

Cricket.

Find out her dominant eye first. She may be left handed but if she's right eye dominant have her learn to shoot right handed.

If she left eye dominant no big deal having her learn on a right handed bolt gun.

X2....

Like any tool, a child should be old enough to safely handle and operate a firearm before being given one. The Cricket seems to be a good starter gun in this regard.

I will add, that in my opinion, any parent who simply lets a kid shoot a full-size firearm without them being able to safely shoulder and handle it by themself (such as resting it out the window of a deer stand for them) is only trying to satisfy their own ego.

I have taught at least 10 nieces and nephews to shoot. My quick answer is it depends on the kid. Some kids are ready very young some could be thirty and not ready.

imo, should not start any kid with semi auto....

Shoot, I started my grandson while he was still in the oven!

7-year-old daughter shot my 10-22 for the first time last week. She can't hold it up on her own, so it was supported when she shot it at the range. She's very safe, but she thought even the Crickett was too heavy to hold up on her own for any length of time. So I think she'll be shooting my 10-22 for awhile and I'll eventually build a 10-22 with an adjustable stock and bipod for her to shoot on the 50-yard bench.

I think each of my girls must have been 13 or 14 before they first learned to shoot. They never asked me to teach them how before that, and I never asked them if they wanted to learn. If they had, I would have told them we needed to wait if they had not been old enough to carry and shoulder the firearm at that time. I would have taken the same approach had it been a power saw or any other tool that demands knowledge and respect.

Any kiddo is READY to start handling a .22 firearm AFTER they have demonstrated safe handling (safety) and marksmanship with a bb or pellet rifle (or handgun) with minimal supervision. Is she at this point?

I'm sure someone will tell me I'm doing something wrong, but I can't help posting pictures of my baby girl. She was done shooting and then gun was empty when I took this. I just told her to stand there for a second so I could take a quick picture. I stood right next to her the whole time she was shooting.

Hey Robbie my daughters left handed. When the time comes to hunt deer get a left handed Browning Micro Midas, Awesome gun.

I stared my daughter around 8 when she showed interest, she never looked back

why would being able to shoulder a firearm make a difference? Almost all rifle shots even by grown men are made using some Sort of rest while sitting, standing , or kneeling while hunting. My 5 yr old doesn't need to be able to stand up and shoulder a weapon to begin learning the basics of rifle marksmanship. Steady position, sight picture, breathing, and trigger pull none of those require strength or ability to stand and shoulder a weapon.