BB gun?

[picksbigwagon]

Okay, I was not allowed to have any kind of gun when I was a kid, except toy ones. My Dad used to hunt until he got married 50+ years ago. I started hunting in my mid 20's so I have no reference as to when I should start my boys with the Red Ryder BB gun. My oldest will be 7 in May, my youngest son is going to 5 in february. The oldest has no real desire to hunt or be out in the woods, my youngest has a stronger desire than I do. What ages did you get your first bb gun? I am figuring 8-9 years old is about the right age for a BB gun, but once older brother gets one, the younger brother will be going with.....Thanks for your opinions and ideas...

[GatorBait]

I started my boy at 8yrs old with a BB gun so he got semi comfortable with the way it feels and working on aiming the gun. The biggest thing I preach to everyone is before a gun of any type is handed to our little ones is to express the importance of safety, the do's and don'ts, and how the gun functions. This will start them on the right track and you will be able to progress to a pellet gun, .22, .410 and so forth. Good Luck and Enjoy the moments.

[Powerstroke]

My kids are 7 and 5. They both enjoy shooting their bows. I would say you need to be the judge of their readiness. I will be teaching my 7yr old how to shoot the BB gun this winter since its something we can practice inside.

I don't remember how old I was when I got my BB gun, somewhere in the 7-9 range. My dad still has that gun and its the one I plan on teaching my daughter with. Also, my brother is letting his 5yr old son carry and shoot that BB gun.

[SnoManX]

I got a bow when I was 5 in 1985, a Red Ryder when I was 6 and a pellet gun when I was 8 or 9. I killed a lot of pop cans when I was younger and a nice P&Y 2-liter bottle!

[heat checker]

Just got our 5 yr old a Red Ryder for christmas. Has been shooting bow for 2 yrs, and understands the rules. With continued guidance on how to handle a gun, I feel he is ready.

[fisherking01]

Both of my kids were shooting by age 4. Implement all of the safety aspects of shooting and they will respond so well it will scare you. They'll be correcting you on handling and shooting very quickly. If you are unsure of what is "safe" you can obtain a copy of the youth firearms training and go through it with your kids. There are a lot more aspects in the shooting sports than hunting. Many of the best shooters in the world do it for the sport of shooting alone and never hunt, so there are options for your oldest even if he never heads to the woods to hunt! If you would like a copy of the Firearms Safety, you can get it from any instructor. If you don't know one let me know and I'll see to it you get one. Brent

[Rost]

I was hunting black birds and sparrows alone by the time I was 6 years old. My dad would always be around the farm to check in on me though. I started duck hunting with a 410 at age 8 and by the time I was 10 I was allowed to hunt with my dad's .22 Ruger for rabbits and squirrels.

Buy them the gun and teach them how to use it safely.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Only you can know when your child is ready.

At 7 and 5 my boys were more than ready for the BB gun. These are great teaching tools for firearms safety. Even if they have no desire for hunting, and never will have a desire, they should still know safe firearm handling. Especially if you have guns in the house and I have a gut feeling you have one or 2.

If they were my boys (they arn't I realize) I'd get BB guns in their hands, now, and work your way up from there.

[Scott K]

My kids have been pretty young, I bought the bb gun for my daughter when she was 5, she passed that down to my son when he was 5, and now my youngest daughter shoots it. My oldest daughter is now 13 she shoots a .22, or a .410. My son is 10 he shoots the .22 most of the time now, and my youngest shoots the bb gun or the .22. The bb gun works great for teaching them the basics, the .22 works great for target practice. The .410 teaches them about basic shot gun and hunting techniques. I am buying a 20 ga for them next.

I had a 20ga, and it was the only gun I ever sold, and I regret it, I will never again sell a gun! With alot of practice with guns, they can be safe. I would trust my 10yr old son with a gun more then I would some of my friends that hunt!

[Powerstroke]

Quote:

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With alot of practice with guns, they can be safe. I would trust my 10yr old son with a gun more then I would some of my friends that hunt!

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AMEN to that!! Its funny how some people learn the basics and others just learn to shoot by buying a gun someday and not getting proper firearms safety training.

I think its great that so many here have a great respect for firearms safety and for passing on this tradition to the next generation.

Kingfisher has a great point about shooting sports that aren't hunting. There's another post here right now about a guy who is having a target compitition with his son.

I also like Boilerguy's comments about safe handling when guns are around. They are important rules that your son should learn even if he doesn't plan on shooting.

[fisherking01]

Another aspect to consider for every child. Can You be sure that their friends families have their guns locked up? Never! So it is very important that your kid know the do's and don'ts of firearms handling to handle such a situation. The interest of a child when it comes to firearms is better off entertained in a safe environment, not at their buddies house when mom and dad are gone.

Have a safe and happy Christmas!!! Brent

[picksbigwagon]

Thanks everyone, I think I will have cabela's claus (gifts that Mom would never buy) bring those next year, maybe I will get two for my birthday and take them out in the fall

[Big Dave2]

I also grew up in a non-hunting family. My Dad had no interest in hunting but luckily I grew up on a farm and the neighbors hunted a little. We used to take .22s out and shoot squirrels and birds and such, but I know that I was not as ready in my early teens to do that as my 7 year old son is.

I got him the red rider about 2 years ago and we go over the safety aspects EVERY TIME we take it out of the case. He still has a way to go to be dependable by himself, but with me there reminding him of all the rules as we go, he does a great job.

These Red Riders that they make now days are hard to cock the lever. I think they are made this way purposely so that little ones like my guy can't cock it themselves, basically making it a single shot no matter how many BBs are in the gun. Everytime he takes a shot he has to put the safety on and hand it to me to cock it. Makes for very good repetitive training.

[Bandit]

My son got his first at 4, 6 was a .22chipmunk, 7 was a full size .22 bolt, cut down to fit. The time spent with him teaching him and watching him improve his skills was great. He is now 13, and has a .22 semiauto and a 17hmr for plinking. A 20 and 12 guage along with a 243 and 308 for hunting. He has harvested 3 whitetails, ducks, pheasants, ect. Like 4wanderingeyes said, I trust him more than some of the men I hunt with. I guess the point is start them young and let the grow into the sport. You won't be sorry. Just make sure you are always there to mentor them. It won't take long before they may teach you a thing or 2.

[Tom7227]

Great post. I have three kids - now all adults, and the 6-7 year old BB gun was the same in our house. By 9 they all had shot a 22 at a range and had seen a demo about what kinds of damage guns can cause. Firearms safety as soon as they were old enough.

I had one other rule that hasn't been mentioned here - no toy guns. Never. None. Zero. No cap guns, no water guns, no platic guns that make noise. I told my kids why I insisted on that rule early on, and they understood early on.

I think it is important to teach kids that guns aren't toys. They are for shooting, and that means everything it means. Maybe I'm an ogre to some people, but I also know my kids know all about the safety aspects of guns.