Started teaching my daugther to shoot bows at 3, at 4 she was shooting CO2 pistols and at 5 PCP rifles
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what age to start teaching to shoot
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My grandson is almost 4 and he loves to shoot my bug-a salt gun he hunts for flys spiders and zombie's of course
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I shot my first powder burners sometime before kindergarten. My grandson has been shooting with me since he was about 4. So … as early as possible.
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My kid started way younger than that. He had his hunting license at 8 and went hunting with me since 2. Raise em right and teach them the tradition along with gun safety.
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My dad and grandpa taught me gun safety and how to properly shoot a rifle when I was about 5. I would go hunting with one of them every year for either Whitetail Deer or Squirrel. When I was about 8 my grandpa gave me his old Ithica Single Shot Lever Action .22lr rifle and taught me how to use iron sights.
I remember back when I was about 9 when my dad would hand me a handful of .22lr rounds, grab my single shot lever action Ithica Rifle out of the safe, and tell me to go out and hunt squirrels on the backside if the farm for the day while he worked on a project vehicle. This became the norm on a day that I didn't have school to attend or chores to get done. I remember thinking I was the youngest of my friends to have the opportunity to go out on my own and hunt with a firearm without supervision which was a nice bit of freedom to have!
Fast forward to present day. I am now 32 years old and have a daughter of my own that just turned 4 this fall. She is always outside with me when I am either working around our property or shooting one of my airguns. I patiently waited for her to ask when she could learn how to shoot or become interested in having her own rifle to shoot. So for her 4th Birthday I surprised her with an Artemis PP750 kitted with a Red-Dot and a DonnyFL. She was so excited to have her own rifle! We are working the importance of respecting the rifle and general safety guidelines. I learned that teaching a girl how to shoot is a lot easier than teaching a boy haha. Boys are more of a pull the trigger and listen to the instructions afterwards!
After our first few shootings lessons I have learned that the Red-Dot is a bit complicating for her to understand how to use at her age so I swapped it out with a laser so she can focus on trigger pull and keeping the rifle on target (which works better as I can see exactly where she is aiming at all times). All in all she enjoys shooting and hopefully I'll have a Squirrel hunting buddy in the near future!
(Some might think 4 years old is too young for backyard shooting. I believe it all depends on the child's maturity and willingness to learn)
Proud to have the opportunity to pass on my knowledge that I have gained over the years to my daughter. I hope all you dads out there are doing the same!
I remember back when I was about 9 when my dad would hand me a handful of .22lr rounds, grab my single shot lever action Ithica Rifle out of the safe, and tell me to go out and hunt squirrels on the backside if the farm for the day while he worked on a project vehicle. This became the norm on a day that I didn't have school to attend or chores to get done. I remember thinking I was the youngest of my friends to have the opportunity to go out on my own and hunt with a firearm without supervision which was a nice bit of freedom to have!
Fast forward to present day. I am now 32 years old and have a daughter of my own that just turned 4 this fall. She is always outside with me when I am either working around our property or shooting one of my airguns. I patiently waited for her to ask when she could learn how to shoot or become interested in having her own rifle to shoot. So for her 4th Birthday I surprised her with an Artemis PP750 kitted with a Red-Dot and a DonnyFL. She was so excited to have her own rifle! We are working the importance of respecting the rifle and general safety guidelines. I learned that teaching a girl how to shoot is a lot easier than teaching a boy haha. Boys are more of a pull the trigger and listen to the instructions afterwards!
After our first few shootings lessons I have learned that the Red-Dot is a bit complicating for her to understand how to use at her age so I swapped it out with a laser so she can focus on trigger pull and keeping the rifle on target (which works better as I can see exactly where she is aiming at all times). All in all she enjoys shooting and hopefully I'll have a Squirrel hunting buddy in the near future!
(Some might think 4 years old is too young for backyard shooting. I believe it all depends on the child's maturity and willingness to learn)
Proud to have the opportunity to pass on my knowledge that I have gained over the years to my daughter. I hope all you dads out there are doing the same!
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PRO TIP: Get yourself a SideShot Scopecam
This will allow you to educate a child (or adult) how to aim/control trigger/hold for wind/hold for elevation/and more.
I know they can be costly, but of you have the money to spare its well worth the investment.
I had my nephew hitting slim 12oz cans at 120+ yards in a 5 mph crosswind in about 15 minutes due the fact I could see everything he was seeing through the optic and being able to coach more efficiently.
Either SideShot Model will do. The Cell Phone Model is cheaper and easier to use, but if you already have the GoPro Model you can add a screen like I did.
Pictures Below of Both Setups
This will allow you to educate a child (or adult) how to aim/control trigger/hold for wind/hold for elevation/and more.
I know they can be costly, but of you have the money to spare its well worth the investment.
I had my nephew hitting slim 12oz cans at 120+ yards in a 5 mph crosswind in about 15 minutes due the fact I could see everything he was seeing through the optic and being able to coach more efficiently.
Either SideShot Model will do. The Cell Phone Model is cheaper and easier to use, but if you already have the GoPro Model you can add a screen like I did.
Pictures Below of Both Setups
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Ozark, that's an awesome story about your childhood and now you with your own daughter 
thanks for sharing. And btw if you haven't watched autumns armory on Youtube you should check it out. You and the daughter will enjoy her! She handles a firearm better than most adults and she's started when she was very young.
thanks for sharing. And btw if you haven't watched autumns armory on Youtube you should check it out. You and the daughter will enjoy her! She handles a firearm better than most adults and she's started when she was very young.Upvote 0
I was about 2. Started off with spring dart guns.
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When YOU as teacher can keep a cool head ..
When a student is old enough to pay attention while reacting to input given in a positive manor.
Not that is an absolute ... freedom to just shoot in a safe manor has its place. Structure can happen later so long as bad habits have not gone un-checked or supervised.
Yea a lot of us grew up unsupervised with guns ... sadly then is not now
When a student is old enough to pay attention while reacting to input given in a positive manor.
Not that is an absolute ... freedom to just shoot in a safe manor has its place. Structure can happen later so long as bad habits have not gone un-checked or supervised.
Yea a lot of us grew up unsupervised with guns ... sadly then is not now
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Owned my first bb gun at 7, should have been a pellet shooter, would have saved a couple windows from ricochets.
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Start them as as soon as they want to try. AND KEEP IT FUN AND PAINLESS.
Some kids never take to it. All too often it was because they were pushed into it by the parent.
Some kids never take to it. All too often it was because they were pushed into it by the parent.
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I am very grateful for my gun training by my uncle who started me with my own red ryder about 6. I had to learn all the safety protocalls you would use on a powerful gun like where it's pointed, back drops, keeping my finger off the trigger untill ready to shoot etc.
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This past Christmas, she was 4, just turned 5 a couple weeks ago. Still haven't made it to the range though, she's not ready. She's a tiny one, about the same size as most 3 y/o kids and still can't quite reach the trigger properly.
.22 Cricket
.22 Cricket
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Bought my youngest son his 1st .22 at 8 years old — cz452 scout. He was ready and willing to learn.
My older son never had any real interest, even to this day at 26
My older son never had any real interest, even to this day at 26
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