A rec.guns poster wrote:
So, what do you folks think is is a good age for introducing kids to guns?
As soon as they can physically work the action.
My daughter is now 4 (as of 15 minutes ago!) and was introduced at about 3 1/2 to the concepts of gun safety. She is learning to check for loaded condition and to never point at anything you don't want dead. My son is 5 1/2. He first went shooting at about 5 (and wants to go again!) and started learning gun safety and handling at about 3.5 as well.
They both get to handle my guns when the gun safe is open (and I'm supervising and ...) and must display proper protocol at all times or they are banned from touching guns for the rest of the time the gun safe is open. (i.e. zero tolerance for screwups. Point it at me once, even in passing, even after check for empty, and it goes back in the safe and the kid gets to sit in the corner and watch but not touch...) They learned Real Fast to always do it right. They must ask before picking up any firearm, and they do.
There is a temptation to 'play' with the guns. Such as walk to the front door with {safed, checked, empty gun} in hand and say 'Grab sky bad guy' {Or something like that ... It is a DarkWing Duck phrase. You will learn these when you get kids ;-)}
I'm of two minds on this point. 1) I give them re-emphasis that these are Real Guns and not for play. 2) As long as they are displaying correct protocol (i.e. gun pointed at floor/ceiling, awareness of 'civilians' in the line of fire, etc.) it is just so darned cute to see them 'clearing the house' that I sometimes let them get away with it for a couple of minutes before delivering reminder #1 above and it is the only exception to the zero tolerance rule ... It IS after all, right on the line between 'play' and 'practice'. And they DO remind ME that they use toy guns in play and that these are real guns... And it all happens with me within 5 feet of them... watching 'like a hawk'.
Their behaviour with toy guns is noticably different from their behaviour with real guns. They will play cops & robbers with toy guns and say 'bang bang' and such. They do not provide such sound effects with real guns and do not indulge in any 'play like' activities other than 'clearing the house'. (The zero tolerance rule had quick effect, I guess...)
I also emphasise the issue of mistaken identity for police and they are already aware that pointing a gun, even a toy gun, at someone could get them shot.
At the range, it takes special close monitoring of a child this young with a gun. I keep a hand on the piece or within quick grabing range (like, at the elbow...) at ALL times and crouch next to them during fire. My son likes a Smith & Wesson Kit Gun best, which is about the best testimonial for a 'small hand grip' I can think of... My daughter likes one of those belt buckle sized .22 mini revolvers best, but has yet to fire live rounds. It takes one adult per child, and constant attention. Explain all about it before you go, and practice range protocol in the back yard before you go. We have bow & arrow practice, so they have gotten quite used to 'calling cease fire' and 'calling commence fire'.
Rifles are just too big and heavy and long for them to hold.
Surprises: My son, at 5, could rack the slide on a Tokarev 9mm semi-auto. He still can't do a 1911-A1 Colt. He caught on to how to remove the magazine from the Tokarev after watching me do it ONCE. He then proceeded to pick up the gun, cock the hammer, rack the slide, eject the magazine, and pick up a 9mm round (from a box I had open for inspection) and start to try to figure out how to put it in the magazine. We talked a bit....
He showed me that he could put one in the chamber and understood that it had to go there for the gun to work. We talked a LONG bit about why you don't ever put a cartridge into a gun in the house... My daughter, at 3 1/2, could 'safe' a mini-revolver, but still can't cock the hammer, for which she gets her brother to help. My son can work the action on a single action revolver but not a double action. My daughter can work the action on a Beretta tip-up barrel semi-auto in .22, but hasn't caught onto how to put cartridges into the magazine...
They both like to reload(!) and insist on helping me when I do it (which takes tremendous concentration on my part to keep everything straight, them safe, the materials safe, the rounds loaded right, and generally drives me to a fit of nervousness that you would not believe. I let them 'help' for about 10 minutes, then they have to go 'help mommy' ;-)
Why oh why do I let my kids do all this? Don't I realize that they are just too young to be handling guns!!!
Well, It's like this. Kids will experiment with things. Kids WILL at some time or other get into everything. (I've even found that one one occasion I forgot to lock the gun safe after one late night gun cleaning session. The next morning my son admonished ME that he had found the gun safe unlocked and was locking it and that I should be more careful next time!) So, I figure it is better that they do the exploration with me at their shoulder rather than with me at work, and with me guiding them, rather than on their own.
After the first session or two, I learned that they were FAR more capable than I'd expected and that if they found a gun at age 5 they were fully capable of loading it, working the action and shooting it. I thought it would take a few years longer. If I'd left them ignorant, that would have been a few more years of risk...
My son now, quite clearly, knows what happens when a gun is loaded. He has shot tin cans with one. He has seen the holes. He has imagined those holes in himself (at my urging). He now 'safes' a gun every time it is handed to him. He will not let another child point a real gun at him. Period. He will not point a real gun at another person. Period. He knows a real from a toy gun. My daughter is close behind him, but has not had the experience of shooting a real gun. They are far safer than if I'd gone along saying "don't touch daddy's guns" and believing that they were not capable of getting one to firing condition....
They are not 'forbidden fruit', they are things that demand respect and can be handled IFF handled correctly. I sleep better at night now...
I'm sure there will be dozens of other opinions, but this is one persons experience. Each kid will be unique. Each home unique. I got a BB gun at 7 and didn't get a real gun until I was about 10 (when I got a .22 LR rifle). That worked for me, but my Dad had fewer guns than I do ;-) Watch your kids. Adjust to them, their interests and abilities. Be aware that there are far more capable of getting a gun ready to fire than you would expect. They pick up a lot from watching you and watching fire drills on TV ...