When did you first start shooting?

[Woo]

I just bought my son (4yr old) a crickett .22LR. I didnt start shooting unitl I joined the army guard when I was 17. I have taught my son alot about safety (always point away from people, make sure its clear before handling, making sure a second time, keep your finger off the trigger until told to fire, etc. etc.) and I am always in arms reach when he's handling a firearm (always sits right next me or in my lap).

So how did you begin and/or how are you teaching your children?

[Mike Russell]

I shot my first rifle at 4. (.22LR)
I shot my first shotgun at 6. (nasty joke with a 12ga double barrel)
I shot my first handgun at 15. (Dad's S&W .38special)

When I was 9, I already had 2 BB/Pellet rifles and 3 BB/pellet pistols. I started hunting on my own at 10 (rabbit, squirrel, and birds).

My kids, however, aren't getting as early a start as I did. Times have changed, you pretty much have to have a lease (very expensive) to hunt anywhere anymore, their mother was brought up in a "guns are bad" home (but she's changed her mind and has 2 .40smiths right now), and we've got more money than when I was a kid (IOW, we don't have to hunt to put food on the table). They (at 11 & 13) have a BB pistol and pellet rifle to shoot in the yard (we live in the boonies). Marksmanship with the rifle comes first, then they can transition to the pistol as skill levels increase. Safety was (and always is) the first thing taught with any firearm and for firearms in general, whether one we've had or any new one (both kids know how to check clear on every firearm in the house). Once they've gotten as good as they can with the air guns, I'll get them a .22LR rifle and pistol to shoot and they'll start going to the range with me for further instruction on marksmanship (their handling and safety skills are very good). After that, we'll see if they are still interested and maybe they can start trying out a few of mine.

[Krackels]

I have a very foggy memory of going with my dad to the local state gamelands range and shooting his .357 when I was probably 6-8 years old. But I have very clear and fond memories of when I was 10-12 years old shooting empty pop cans until they were just a shredded mess with my cousin up in the mountains during the summertime.

I don't have any kids, so I think it's up to you when you should first expose your son to shooting. Younger isn't always better.

[aiformula]

I started w/ shotguns. My mom has a 22/410 O/U that she used to shoot w/ my dad and uncle, and when I was around 5, we were at my grandparents farm in southern ohio and they were all trap shooting. Mom is not a great wing shooter so dad would drive stakes in the ground and hang clays from them and mom would pop them. I used her shotgun w/ dad holding the forearm up for me and took aim at one of the staked clays. Boom! Powder... and I was hooked.

[cougar_guy04]

Went to the range once with my science teacher when I was in 7th grade. Went shooting with my aunt's friend once in GA around the summer of my 8th or 9th grade year. Didn't touch a gun again until I came to my school and got involved with the gun club here.

Highlight was that at homecoming this year, I got to take my dad to the range for the first time (always thought it would be the other way around though).

[jimmyjam101]

I didn't really start shootiung until I was 18 or so. My daughter started shooting @ 8y/o her first range trip She shot my Hi-Point 9mm around 50 rounds. Since then I have purchased her a walther p22 and she even shot my xd 45 acp service. She seems to have taken to shooting like a duck to water, even though the right to shoot at the range requires that she be quizzed on a regular basis on gun safety. I am hoping that she will be ready to shoot rifle by 10 or 11.

She wants the slide on her walther duracoated in pink. She will get that as soon as she can keep two mags of ammo in the red consistantly.

[vafish]

I started shooting BB guns in the basement about the time I turned 5, after showing safety with them I was moved up to a single shot bolt action .22.

Didn't have any handguns in our house, first handgun I fired belonged to a hunting partner, I was probably 13 or 14, it was a hi-standard .22. Didn't shoot any centerfire handguns until I was 19.

My kids (4 of them) all started shooting around 5 or a little before. My oldest holds 3 National Records in outdoor smallbore shooting. Next one down, 13 year old boy, shoots USPSA with me, he also hunts and shot his first deer this year.

[DM-SC]

The first gun I ever fired was a H&R SA revolver in .22 magnum. I was 7 at the time. There used to be a public range on the side of the road that was cut out of a large embankment. Everyone would just park on the side of the road and pick a spot to shoot.

Man, have times changed!

[livinloud5]

Ummm probably 5 years old and it was a .22 rifle then about a year or 2 later it was a single shot .12 guage.

Blake.

[jdavionic]

Not sure when I started exactly. My Dad taught me on the Ruger 10/22, which I still own. My Dad was in the army when I was young and I was always around guns. But he was very strict about their handling, cleaning, etc.

My daughters both know how to shoot using the same 10/22 that I learned to use. They are now 11 and the second is almost 13. I think my younger first shot when she just turned 10.

No real magic age threshold in my mind. IMO, they need to be mature enough to know that it's not a toy and that they need to be very responsible handling it, and that violating any of the rules can cause someone (including themself) to die. I think the actual age that kids reach that level of maturity varies from child to child.