Can you guys give a bit of advise on starting getting kids involved with shooting firearms, I have a little one (4) and just keep everything locked away right now, but he is asking for a bb gun allready
I dont really remember my dad telling me much more than be careful and dont shoot any cows
Thanks in advance

let me know if i have this posted in the wrong place

Our son was almost 5 when he got his first Red Ryder BB Gun. Start slow and with the basics. We made it clear that he could not use it unless one of us was present/never point it at anybody and that above all, it was not a toy.

We got a good sized cardboard box and then strung aluminum cans up inside of it. Come to think of it, I had just as much fun plinkin away at those cans as he did.

Make it a fun time for both of you but also emphasize the safety factor each time the BB gun comes out.

I miss those days but I'm a darned proud Mom. Our son is now 20 and an excellent shot. More importantly. He's very respectful and safety minded around all firearms.

It's certainly an individual family decision about how and when to expose them to these sports. But primarily, they're going to model the actions they learn from us, so proper practices and attitude is of major concern. After that, there are several quality programs out there for educating youth in these activities.

I was talking to one of my coworkers today about this. She and her husband have a 4 year old boy. At the last Houston gun show, her husband bought a 12GA pump and a 357 revolver. The pump is one of the 9-round Military tactical shotguns. Her son has never even seen a real gun. I should note that she and her husband both are going to take gun safety classes before they ever fire either weapon.

We were talking about how to introduce their son to guns and I thought that she could probably look on-line and find some age-appropriate books dealing with the matter. Kind of like the cartoon dog that's a cop and teaches safety to kids. I think that if it's presented to them at a level they understand (the age-appropriate thing), they will actually comprehend the material. After they've proved that they know the rules, understand the reason for the rules, and understand the difference between "play" guns and "real" guns, you could let them see one.

Maybe I'm full of hot air and you don't need to do all that but it sounds like a reasonable approach. One of the most important things to remember is that no matter what you teach them, they are going to watch how you handle the weapon and if you don't follow the 'rules", they probably won't either.

i can tell u how i learned. Got my first BB gun on my 5th bday from my uncle (i think it is every uncles job to get presents like that) well me and my pop and uncle would go shoot it at cans and what not. I learned all the safety stuff right away, my dad made sure i knew it, within a couple weeks i was allowed to carry it out in the yard by myself, i learned all about looking past ur target and the other rules about never pointing gun at someone or urself etc...... I still remember killing my first bird with the bb gun... i would tell u what it was, but people might get mad at my 5 yr old self.. all ikonw is that after i dropped that bird out of the tree, i high fived my dad and it was one of the best feelings ive had in my life! So since then i moved to a pellet gun around age 7, and then got a 12 gauge at age 10... ii was a big ole boy lol!!! ive been hunting very safely since then... so something had to have stuck. I can tell u that ive hunted with my friends that i introduced to hunting, and sometimes i get scared when i hunt with em, they just dont have the safety burned into there brain like i do.

All of the above is good advice. My youngest got a bb gun at 4, it was a Lil buck or something like that and we have rules as to when its used and we dont talk about guns to our friends. Some people will get alarmed when a child is talking about a gun. They will learn from example, that is so true.
Make it fun and make sure they understand the rules, I have my kids repeat the rules before they use the gun, just something that works for us.
NRA has some publications, not sure if they have them where you can view online.
As far as teaching older kids about guns, I have taken all of children with me to shoot and give them a demostration as to what the gun does and the amount of damage they can do.
I think when you take the mystery out of something it kind of kills their curiosity to play with guns when they shouldnt. I know all kids are different and you just have to try different things based on the personality.

Keep it fun and talk about what could happen if they arent safe with the gun and enjoy their enthusiasm to learn about what their Mom or Dad enjoys.

I started mine on 22s when they where 3or4 shooting golf balls @50yds.

Earlier this year my son was in class and police where talking about and what they should do if they are playing and they find a gun.

My son answered go tell mom or dad.

Then he told them once the bullet leave's you cant take it back.

I'am very safe on gun handling, muzzel control and what's behind the target I fire thousand's of round's a year there's no room for miss guided round's.

Its up to each person to deside when and if there child is ready and what there ready for at that time.

one thing that worked well for me this last year was bringing a set of shooting sticks. this allowed my 6 and 4 yr old daughters to hold the bbgun or rossi .22 with the shooting sticks and just focus on the shooting part.

i tried it first without that and my 6 yr old struggled with the bb gun. after we used the sticks, not only did she hit the target repeatedly with the .22, but her confidence was sky high. she spent the rest of the weekend shooting the bbgun on her own with no sticks and had a blast.

i cant take credit for the idea though, i saw someone on the forum soing the same thing.

I got my Grandson a BB gun when he was 6. However, before he could shoot it, he had to quote the safety rules and be able to identify the various parts like barrel, stock, safety etc.

Here's my thoughts.

Our son was going to literally grow up in a gun shop and on a range. So we made some choices early. He NEVER owned a toy gun. Never. He also went shooting with us from an early age, always with ear and eye protection and properly dressed. We are gun safety Nazi's, literally. He's grown up around it, and I have heard him teaching others.

Advice, don't let the guns be a novelty or a mystery. They will get searched for and played with.

One thing I know works that is a little extreme... When the kid was old enough to speak well and think well, and know what friends were... The family had a grapefruit on the kitchen table. Painted a face on it, gave it a name, talked about it and to it for a few days.

Then they carried it to the range, sat it on a post, and shot it with a 12 ga with the kids watching.... a very dramatic point was made.

explain the safty and dangers... over and over and over... no such thing as overkill with firearms....

Thanks for the pointers
when i grew up on the farm we had rifle and shotguns around the house all the time, never thought much about it
now we live in the city, so cant go out the back door a shoot a 22,