How old was your kid when...

[A1Uni]

Many shooters start their kids in the sport early on. I've seen kids who can't ride a bike yet putting .22 rounds in the 10 ring all day long, but when do you move your kids up to the big guns, and how did you know they were ready?

For me it was when my son had clearly mastered firearms safety and proficiency with his 10-22, and started asking to be trusted to shoot bigger bore weapons. That was at age 10. He is, for lack of a better term, a “recoil junky.”

It is especially rewarding when the range is crowded and he puts the older folks to shame dusting targets with the M1.

 

[jkray]

Don't have kids but I was 13 when my dad decided to take me to the range to shoot more than just a pellet pistol. I went from the pellet gun to a bolt 30.06 and never looked back

 

[teratos]

My daughter started shooting my Beretta 950 .22 short (with CB caps) when she was about 5. My son was about 7. Got them both shooting at the same time.

 

[august1410]

My daughter was almost 8. Her first was a Rossi .22 rifle....then a Walther P22....then a .38 Special.....then a 9mm....then a .45....now she likes my .357 with hot Magnum loads.

She just turned 12 earlier this month.

 

[GRAY GHOST]

started my girlz out last last year with a bb gun. age 7 n 5. they now are shooting my rem speedmaster .22 they are now 8 n 6. oldest shoots great buying her a sig 522 sbr next month. they love it and so do i they make their daddy proud.

 

[A1Uni]

Interesting fact -well it was to me- if you look at the pic on the first post on the thread, you will see my son’s head is hung way over the stock of the rifle. It was about that time I noticed that he was shooting righty, but using his left eye, thus his position over the gun.

Turns out that though he is right handed, he is left eye dominant. I switched him to the other side if the bench a short time later and man what a difference. He still shoots handguns righty, but he shoots long guns exclusively left handed now, and is much more comfortable and consistent.

 

[GRAY GHOST]

my shooting partner is the same way. im trying to tech my girls to shoot with both eyes open. not working to well with the little one.

 

[ADR]

I think it's a combination of age, size, preference and platform.

My girls are 13 and 7. Both will shoot a .22 rifle all day long. The youngest prefers her bolt action and the oldest likes her Henry lever.

My youngest isn't bothered by noise so she will shoot anything that she can handle that doesn't kick much. (She likes to shoot the Sub 2000 for example and will shoot a .223 bolt action.)

The oldest really likes shooting the SKS when she gets the chance (as well as say the .223 or Sub 2000) but won't touch anything heavier like a Mosin. (I wouldn't let her anyway because she's small for her age.)

I don't push them but if they want to try something that isn't going to traumatize them for the next 10 years, I'll let them give it a go. My philosophy has been small steps and let them tell you when they're ready to move up.

 

[Mark75H]

I agree. My daughter told me when she was ready to move up from her .22 to my SKS. Now she seems to think I should be buying her her own SKS.

 

[engineerbrian]

My kids started plinking at 4, and really started understanding shooting at 6. My oldest was 9 (10 today!) when he started shooting my HBAR and M1 carbine.

[/IMG]

 

[Bolts Rock]

Gave my stepdaughter a Cricket for her 10th birthday and started her then, stepson at the time was 6 and he got to shoot it too. Funny thing is I hadn't seen either of them for 16 years until Friday night at a "clean all the game from last year out of the freezer party" a buddy had and the now 32 year old stepdaughter still has her Cricket. Told me it was the best present she ever got.

 

[Russ D]

Took my daughter a few months ago after her 8th birthday. Started her on the 10/22 and by the end of the day she was hitting the x ring with my 3 gun AR. Now she's asking if she can go deer hunting.

 

[mbz300sdl]

No kids but when i was 6 i was handed at full auto UZI and did a mag dump

 

[lseries]

Now she's asking if she can go deer hunting.

With patterns like that, why not? She'd be a completely ethical hunter. Get her enrolled in a hunter safety class, buy her a license, and get her into the woods!

And don't get upset when she, not dad, puts the meat on the table.

 

[lseries]

My daughter was almost 8. Her first was a Rossi .22 rifle....then a Walther P22....then a .38 Special.....then a 9mm....then a .45....now she likes my .357 with hot Magnum loads.

She just turned 12 earlier this month.

She's got great taste in guns! When I was her age I loved shooting those classic S&W's, too. When she gets a little older and dad has to deal with the two most dreaded D's for any parent (dating and driving ) I hope the boys down in New Bern have the sense to appreciate her!

 

[Chris L]

Started my 6yo off with her Crickett earlier this spring. After a couple range trips she wanted to try my AR. Here's a vid of her shooting it on one of our last range trips.

 

[bkuether]

Interesting fact -well it was to me- if you look at the pic on the first post on the thread, you will see my son’s head is hung way over the stock of the rifle. It was about that time I noticed that he was shooting righty, but using his left eye, thus his position over the gun.

Turns out that though he is right handed, he is left eye dominant. I switched him to the other side if the bench a short time later and man what a difference. He still shoots handguns righty, but he shoots long guns exclusively left handed now, and is much more comfortable and consistent.

We need more left handed shooters, the industry is not meeting our needs. My left handed Stag is a godsend. And while I love my Kel Tec Sub 2K, it burns the crap out of me every time I shoot it. Oh wait kids thread, sorry. I have two kids (10 and 8) and will be started them shooting this fall with a Savage bolt .22 Mark II GY I think.... All of my rifles are right handed except my AR so they can "move on up".

 

[honda53s]

No kids here but I got a daisy red rider when I was 4. Started shooting .22's when I was 6. I shot my grand fathers ww2 1911 when I was 9 and kept going up from there

 

[ea689c]

My son started at 8 with a 10-22 and just recently started shooting my Buck Mark 22 pistol. He had a growth spurt between 8 and 9 that helped him to handle the pistol as its not the lightest thing around with a 6" target barrel. As far as moving up to larger bores, in the case of my son I don't think he is ready. My biggest trouble with him at the moment is that he shoots his 10-22 like its a video game almost on rapid fire. He is on target but I really want him to learn how to slow down a bit. He did slow down with the pistol a little. I think it might be different when he hits 10 years old.

 

[BradMacc82]

No kids here..., that I know of...

Got started at 9 with a Marlin 60 .22, not long after that a S&W Police .38, from there everything's been almost a blur, I'll shoot just about anything whenever it's offered.

When my nephew's old enough (currently 4), me and my brother plan on getting him onto the range, he already understands the concept of firearms and can identify the pieces of my AR. He learned quick.