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crappyice

By crappyice,
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Guns&ReligionCop Newbie

Guns&ReligionCop

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Born with a gun and my hand. First Red Ryder BB GUN when I was 3 walking up and down the road with my gramps shooting beer cans, Moved up to a 22 by the time I was 4, supervised of course.  Shooting skeet by the time I was 8. My son was almost 2 when I woke up to shooting and my father was showing him how to aim the 10-22 and pull the trigger. His 3rd birthday I bought him a airsoft to practice with and I got him a little crossbow when he turned 4. Education never begins to early!

 

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NFA-ADK Rookie

NFA-ADK

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I started with a BB gun around 13 or so, first paper route money...  766 American Classic  No bird or squirrel was safe...

 

Check your local regulations, my buddy has both his son's shooting.  They can start off with a BB gun or 22 both are powerful yet easy enough for anyone to shoot comfortably.  Those guns are powerful enough to start with and good for testing the waters...  This way safety and respect can be taught for the weapon and its use.   Local rifle range will tell you their age limit...

http://ocshooters.com/Gen/kidshooting/kids-and-guns.htm

Some general info...

 

Generally, it is unlawful for anyone under the age of 16 to possess any firearm; however, a rifle or shotgun may be possessed by a person between 12 and 16 who is engaged in target shooting on a range supervised by a military officer, certified instructor, or a parent, guardian or a person over the age of eighteen designated in writing by such parent or guardian provided the adult has a hunter safety certificate. 

 

Here are some of the DEC Regulations...

http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/2442.html

 

Good Luck!!! 

PS: Bow and arrow are fun.  I enjoy that more than the rifle, just another option, with no age limits...

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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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I got my first Daisy BB gun when I was around 8...

Lots of targets around the farm..My first victim was a sparrow that I shot out of the maple tree in front of the house..

Chipmunks were big game..They were about the biggest thing that could be killed with a spring powered Daisy, and it took a solid head shot to anchor one..

When I was 10, my dad started letting me prowl around our 187 acres with his Stevens single shot .22 . It wasn't legal, but nobody much gave a damn about a farm kid hunting woodchucks and squirrels on family property at that time..I shot my first woodchucks, rabbits, grey squirrels, raccoons and crows with that rifle..I still have it and hopefully it will be the first firearm that my grandson shoots.

At age 12, I got my first shotgun...It was an Eastern Arms single barrel in 16 gauge, that had been passed down through the family and was also the first shotgun of several of my uncles..I shot my first grouse and pheasants with it, and passed it along to one of my younger cousins a couple of years later when I raised a steer and sold it for $123, and then used $85 of the proceeds to buy my first repeater, a used 16 gauge Remington 11-48...

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crappyice Grand Master

crappyice

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The fact that I live in the 'burbs is part of my biggest issue in dealing with the introduction of my kids to firearms. I just can't set up a range on my property wth neighbors All around. No legal woods to allow them to walk around and have some fun.

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fishuntrapper Newbie

fishuntrapper

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lived in Va till i was 11. dont remember when i started shooting a 22. very early. got a new Sears mod 20 12ga when i turned 9. still have that gun. my dad would not let my brother and i have the BB guns my uncle bought for us for our birthdays one year. when asked later on in life why? he said he was afraid we would think they were "toys" and not have the respect due them. started my children as soon as they could understand sight picture. 2 - 3 years old. never too early to teach proper gun handling and respect. respect for not only guns but life in general, and especially human life.

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Doc Experienced

Doc

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I never had a BB-gun or anything like that to get me started. However, at a very early age (can't remember exactly when .... somewhere around 10 yrs old), I was rooting around in the shop over the garage and I found an old draw-shave. I went up on the hill and cut a hickory stave with my hatchet, and whittled the general shape of a bow out of it and used the draw-shave to tiller the limbs. I then spent days finishing a pretty darn good version of a bow. The accessories weren't quite as sophisticated .... lol. Bailing twine for a string, un-tipped and un-fletched willow arrows, and I was ready to go. My first hunting expedition was up in the top of the barn where I managed to harvest two pidgeons. They just kept flying from one beam to another and back again, so I got plenty of shots. So not only was that my first hunt, but it was also my first butchering job. When I got done they looked like two miniature chickens ... lol. My mother cooked them up and I got the first experience of hunting for my food. I was hooked for life. After that, my trapline and an old .22 that my dad gave me started me off on a life-long quest for utilizing wild natural resources for food and money.

 

My own kids had a much more traditional introduction to hunting and trapping with me taking the lead in their outdoor education. My wife and I were still operating a trapline when the kids were small and they got to help out. Also, I often took the kids out squirrel hunting and let them do the shooting. We spent a lot of time shooting the .22 during practice sessions, and I bought each of them fiberglass recurves and arrows so that they could learn the basics of archery. When they got old enough, we all joined Avon Bowmen (wife included)and dabbled in a bit of archery competition. At that point, we were all confirmed, dyed-in-the-wool hunters.

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phade Mentor

phade

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I got a small handgun crosman bb gun pretty young and then shot a .22 early on. Living in Virginia Beach, shooting rifles wasn't all that easy, but my Dad took me any chance we could and when we came up to visit here - I literally would burn through 500 blocks of .22 in a day.

 

Still remember my first real gun at 12 years old - a 12 gauge 500...still remember going to buy it with my pops. Me and my pops didn't have a good relationship for many years after that due to family issues, but that trip to the store and that first day of deer season with it is burned into my memory.

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Doc Experienced

Doc

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I don't know whether there is any age that is too young. My feeling is that the sooner kids learn about guns (the safe handling and use) the better as long as when not actively supervised, the guns are safely stored and locked up, which should be the rule at any age.

 

I am not as convinced when it comes to pistols. The amount of time that it takes to turn a pistol in to a hazardous direction is so short that even when in close contact, the parent's reaction time may not be sufficient to avoid a mishap. Rifles are a different situation. When properly controlled and guided, rifles should be safe.

 

On the other hand if you judge that the sound or whatever of a firearm going off may cause some level of trauma such that a young child might become afraid of them, then that becomes an individual one-on-one assessment.

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Geno C Newbie

Geno C

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i dont have any kids to teach but my dad started teaching me gun safety at about 7 and i started shooting guns with him at age 8 with his assistance and not to long after that i was shooting on my own with him. i am very appreciative that hes started teaching me at a young age... i had a BB gun at around 9 and my own 12 gauge at about 10.  

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BizCT Grand Master

BizCT

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I had a crossman co2 pellet gun since I was really young. I used to shoot my grandpa's .22 carbine at a young age too. Then one day my Dad and Grandpa let me shoot a real gun, a weatherby 22-250. I was definitely too small, I crept up on the scope and got some of my baby teeth knocked out, blood everywhere.

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jesse.james Newbie

jesse.james

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Got my first BB gun at age 8 father broke it in half by the time I was 9 because I got shot by it twice from letting others use it with me. Got another at 10. Got my first 22 at 12 and also a single shot 12gauge. First bow at 14. I'll be starting my daughter out with a bow early. I'm hoping around 5.

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PWGUNNY Newbie

PWGUNNY

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At age 6, I had an indoor rifle range to shoot my .22.  My weekly allowance were boxes of ammo instead of cash.  I begged for a BB gun all year long, but my mother wouldn't allow it.  At age 13, I got a Mossberg 12ga. pump for Christmas.  I still wasn't allowed a BB gun.  I finally got my BB gun at age 14.  I shot it everyday, before school, after school, all the time.  I still have it, a Daisy 880 pump.  I still have my Hy Score pellet pistol from over 35 yrs ago.  I now shoot a Gamo .177 cal rifle that is pretty sweet.

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G-Man Veteran

G-Man

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I taught my nephews how to check to see if a pistol was loaded or not by age of 3 they couldn't even lift the barrel tip off the floor but knew how to open and check  the mag, chamber , and cylinder in revolvers. they were taught to always ask to see them and first thing was to make sure they are unloaded. they are now 12 and 9 and the oldest has his 1st shotgun and the 9 year old a bb gun. they both shoot .22 rifle and pistol with supervision. every child is differnt but the quicker they learn properly the less time they have to pick up bad habits. its great to see them with a friend over teaching them how to shoot and instructing them in safety first at 9 and 12.

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