survey on age for first firearm

MikeD74T · Mar 12, 2006

Started shooting under supervision at age 10. Many friends had BB guns, in fact I got shot on the bridge of my nose within 1/2" of my right eye by one. Still have the scar & can still remember seeing the BB leave the barrel & the tragectory. Got H&R 20 gauge for Christmas at 14, as did both my brothers. One brother has only his shotgun & doesn't hunt. I have 2 shotguns, 3 centerfire rifles, 2 rimfire, & 2 handguns. My son & daughter both shoot, neither hunts. My other brother shoots, hunts rigoriously plus 3-4 guided hunts per year. All my grandfathers, uncles, nephews, & cousins have/had firearms in their youth. Just got a NRA Gamo pellet gun to teach my 9 year old grandson. NRA endowment member, life member since 1967.

dmccarty · Mar 13, 2006

Hudr,

I had the BB gun at 5 I think. I got a 22 for my 7th Birthday.

My daughter has started shooting my 22 and she is 5 and three quarters as she likes to say. She is a bit young and can't quite get the site picture idea but she is working on good trigger control. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Later,
Dan

3RRL · Mar 13, 2006

My Dad bought me a .22lr single shot Mossberg when I was 8. When I was 10, I used to mow lawns around the neighborhood with a push mower. Saved up $55 that Summer. Went down to Urich's, a gas station/ sporting goods/ auto parts store where I'd been eyeballing a Remington Nylon 66 that had just come out in 1959. I was with my 16 yr old brother and they sold it to me. I walked down Greenleaf Ave, the main drag in Whittier, CA. to my home with it still in the carton....this was in 1960.

I still have that gun although I think the barrell has to be worn out now. My youngest son just turned 10 earlier this month and I handed it down to him. He's already a good shot and has 2 pellet guns that he hunts with on our property. You may have seen a picture of that 66" diamondback rattler he killed when he was 7.

Docsknotinn · Mar 13, 2006

I got a Ruger 10/22 for my tenth birthday. That gun is 34 years old and I sent it in to Ruger last year and had it completely redone. I explained in a letter what I was doing and they put a real peach of a tiger stripe stock on it. Hope to have it another 30 years. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Highbeam · Mar 13, 2006

Had it worn out?

Dk45_Jeff · Mar 14, 2006

Dad taught me to shoot a 22 lr when I was 6 and taught my 4 brothers and 2 sister when he thought they were responsible enough to learn. I think our ages ranged from 5 to 9, as he said we are were different. By 8 years old I was allowed to hunt with Dad's guns, but wasn't allowed to buy my own until I was 12. I think my siblings were also allowed to start buying their own at that age too. Dad also taught us to use other dangerous tools (i.e. axe, knife, chainsaw, lawn mower, circular saw, table saw, driving car, motorcycle, fire starting) when he judged we were ready to handle them safely, not at specific ages. I guess it worked since no one in my family has had a serious accident with any of the things he taught us to use. Our hospital visits were caused by things he didn't teach us: skate boarding, bridge diving, bicycle stunts, ect. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Piedmont3 · Mar 14, 2006

My Mom HATED Guns and sports.
I played baseball from the 3rd grade though 2 years of college(I wasn't good enough to get a scholarship, and I ran out of money).
I went hunting with a friend and his dad. His dad bought me a Stevens savage double barrel breakover 12G shotgun for my 11th birthday. I got to take it home with me when I turned 12. It took him that whole year to talk my mom into letting me keep it. I still have it. It has a very short stock on it, for smaller people. I was tiny until I got to be 18 or 19.

wushaw · Mar 14, 2006

I got my first . 22 at age 7, it is a Glenfield mod 10 single shot and I still have it, .410 bolt action at about 9. I purchased my first gun/pettet gun... Sheridan .20 at 13 from wards for 68.00 in 1978 and it still works and never has had a seal job done to it, oh yea Sheridan and Benjamin were seperate companies then.

FamilyFarm · Mar 19, 2006

I received a Remington 552 for my 9th birthday. I had shot many guns and hunted squirrel and rabbit for many years with my granddad's Remington Improved Model 6 single shot .22 (made in 1910). I now have that same gun as he gave it to me before he died.
With my children, the first gun and how much shooting each one does just depends on the child. Safety is always first and even the ones that aren't shooting yet know about safety to some degree from hearing us talk about it all the time. My dad was big on safety, but never taught us to keep our trigger finger straight until ready to use the trigger. I learned that in ROTC and it has been one of the best safety pionts ever. I notice my little ones doing it even with cap guns playing!
One of my boys received a Cricket .22 for his sixth birthday - actually he paid for about 3/4 of it with is money. Some of their first guns have been from my cache of weapons - I gave the Marlin 30-30 that I killed my first deer with to my oldest son a few years ago. He killed an 8-point with his first shot at a deer! Ironically, that is what I did with it 30 something years ago. I generally make the first purchase for a young one a single shot - often a NEF youth model shotgun or .243 deer rifle. We shoot for fun as much as hunt, but enjoy it all!! I let each shoot almost anything with my close supervision. I don't think any of them have shot my .50 cal muzzleloader or my S&W .44 cal revolver.
Best to each of you!
Terry

cp1969 · Mar 20, 2006

Twelve seems about right to me. Start shooting at about 10 or whenever they show an interest, then get their own .22 at 12. I have no kids (all girls) that have shown any interest in shooting whatsoever so I never got to try my theory out.

On the wife's side of the family, though, they started young. I can remember her cousins, ages ~6,7, & 8 coming in from a hunt with a .410 during one Thanksgiving visit to their Grandma's house.