Shooting with Little Ones

[yoda4x4]

My daughter turns 6 at the end of March and it got me thinking. I'd love to continue her path to becoming a hunter and was thinking about taking her shooting. My biggest question is, how old should a child be in order to shoot a gun? At what age did you take your child(ren) shooting?

 

David

 

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[Ringtail]

With adult guidance and proper ear protection I don’t see how a child could be considered too young 

[10pt]

I had my kids shooting a pellet gun with a red dot at 4,.22 at 5 and a .410 at 6.

had to chop the stocks

[vdep217]

From my experience as a hunter ed instructor only you can answer that question..  I was shooting at 5 according to my father..  my sister was 7 and my brother did not shoot until he was 14..  depends on the child 

[Hazbro]

Both my kids boy and girl started about 5or6  22s . my son would shoot  100s of rounds at a time 

[LPJR]

All of my kids have been in the woods with me since they could walk. As far as shooting, obviously started off with toy guns, then BB guns at age 4. I always made it fun and used things like ballons for targets to hear them "pop" when hit with good backstops....When we went clay bird shooting at age 10, many times I would only load one shell in the chamber and let them know that they had to make the one shot "count".....

It was always fun taking them target shooting at a young age, which made the transition to hunting when they turned 10 to take the test, seamless in my experience....

All great memories that you will not regret, spending time in the outdoors with your kids.... Enjoy each time out together and take plenty of pics Yoda! 

[Buck154]

As all have stated above. Depends on them and you. Start with the BB gun and just keep it fun but always,always safety training from the start. Safety first then the fun starts. Good luck

[Rusty]

The younger the better.  We started them with bows and BB guns and when they were ready we worked up to .22s and eventually shotguns.  Shooting together as a family is still one of their favorite things to do.  

[hunterbob1]

Awesome photos Mr Rusty!!!

[Live to Hunt]

8 hours ago, Ringtail said:

With adult guidance and proper ear protection I don’t see how a child could be considered too young 

[mattg1500]

Got my boys a bow at 5 and took then Red Ryders. Once they were 6 the shot the 17HMR. My daughter is 5 and is asking for a bow. 

[archer36]

It's all about the Kid. Some may be ready at 5, some maybe not till 12, some never. Obviously, start out slow with a pellet gun. Observe and remember that safety is the #1 consideration, not your desire to make a hunter out of them. 

[BothBarrels]

My 3 sons are well into their 20's, so I'm not sure how young mine were. But, they were quite small …. starting with a cheap, youth sized pump BB/pellet. BB's outside, and a pellet trap indoors.

Another fun thing, when they can handle a youth .22,  was the rimfire rounds loaded with bird shot …. big fun blasting balloons drifting on the ground.

All there of my sons were pretty handy with a Remington LT-20 1100 Youth gun when they were 9 years old. (Kinda expensive gun, but a sound investment to my thinking. Real soft shooter, loaded with light skeet loads. It has introduced many nephews, nieces, kids' friends to shooting.)

Have fun with your little girl. 

[Coyoteslayer]

Definitely depends on kid. They must be able to obey safety rules first and foremost.

[yoda4x4]

Ok great info everyone. My daughter is pretty hyper so I think I'll take her to Clinton WMA in the middle of the day during a hot summer day, so there shouldn't be anyone else there. Let her shoot for a very short time, and then get out of there. Short fun sessions I think will be the key.

David

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