Too young for BB gun?

[RiverRat]

I got my Red Ryder at 5. I gave my boys each one at age 6 and 7 ( the same Christmas-they were a year apart). Safety instruction, controlled access, and supervision being the important part of the process.

[mctowalot]

As we get close to the big day, I want to thank each and every one of you for chiming in on this subject. I'm not sure which one of us (me or my son) will be the most excited when he opens this present!

In addition to the regular safety "drills",
today we spent some time on You Tube watching super slow motion videos of bullets (and shot) being fired and hitting targets -mostly fruit- amazing what a high speed camera can show under proper conditions.

Rest assured all safety rules will be followed, his BB gun now has it's own trigger lock and a special slot in the safe.

Thanks again and stay tuned for the "range reports"!

[MadMonkey]

That makes me excited to have my own son... as it is I'm just waiting impatiently for my nephew to grow up so I can introduce him to cars, guns, and airplanes

[chabouk]

My youngest just turned 7. His first Christmas, when he was 6 weeks old, he wasn't much into presents.

The next Christmas, which we counted as his real "first", we debated whether he would get his first baseball glove, or first guitar. He got both.

I'd joked about getting him his first .22 in utero, but we actually held out until he was 4, and bought him a Crickett. He already knew The Rules, and was prone to telling them to strangers in Wal-Mart.

I started shooting at 3 (and I still have that rifle). There's no reason why a kid who listens, follows instructions, and is generally calm, can't start that young. I actually prefer the .22 over BB guns, because it's easier for them to operate the action and controls. BB guns are notoriously hard to cock for young ones. While they shouldn't be using either without direct supervision, it takes a lot of the fun out of it if they don't do anything except pull the trigger.

[Oldgringo]

chabouk wrote:

I started shooting at 3 (and I still have that rifle). There's no reason why a kid who listens, follows instructions, and is generally calm, can't start that young.

That does not describe my grandsons - alas.

[mctowalot]

WARNING, LONG POST!

I'd joked about getting him his first .22 in utero, but we actually held out until he was 4, and bought him a Crickett. He already knew The Rules, and was prone to telling them to strangers in Wal-Mart.

I started shooting at 3 (and I still have that rifle). There's no reason why a kid who listens, follows instructions, and is generally calm, can't start that young. I actually prefer the .22 over BB guns, because it's easier for them to operate the action and controls. BB guns are notoriously hard to cock for young ones. While they shouldn't be using either without direct supervision, it takes a lot of the fun out of it if they don't do anything except pull the trigger.

"Prone to telling strangers the rules at Walmart" I think that's awesome.

Well, there is a 10-22 in the safe for him (pre-election purchase, just in case). However we live in the city (for now) and I'd hate to tease him with a gun he couldn't shoot in the backyard everyday. I imagine his first "real" gun will be single shot .22 of some sort. What was yours by the way?

My "plan" is to give him both the Red Ryder and a Nerf gun together.

We'll train with the Nerf, and the Red Ryder can be for motivational purposes at first.

Incidently, the Nerf gun will be the most basic model, one that he can load and shoot "by himself" - as opposed to say the scaled down General Electric minigun that fires 600rpm. Thats for his birthday .

He's big for his age and I think he'll be able to handle the Red Ryder on his own, but if he can't we'll find him something suitable. I agree that it wouldn't be much fun (or a training/learning experience for that matter) if all he could do was pull the trigger.

Hey Old Gringo! Don't feel bad, not your fault and there's hope for those kids yet.

When I was about 7, I had a negligent discharge (yup, I pulled the trigger with the safety off) with a Crossman pellet pistol pumped up to the max.
I shot the back window out of my mom's Chevy.
From INSIDE the car, while she was driving it!

Thanks again to everybody for their insight, and we wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas!

[chabouk]

Well, there is a 10-22 in the safe for him (pre-election purchase, just in case). However we live in the city (for now) and I'd hate to tease him with a gun he couldn't shoot in the backyard everyday. I imagine his first "real" gun will be single shot .22 of some sort. What was yours by the way?

We got him a Crickett. They're generally available at Gander Mtn and sometimes Wal-Mart in the $149 range. They have fancier models with bull barrells, weaver rails, and laminated stocks, but ours is the basic blue/black synthetic model.

Just a hint: Aguila Super Colibri primer-powered ammo (no powder) is no louder than an air rifle. I live in the city limits too. I'm just sayin'...

[TLE2]

One of the favorite things we do together is shoot the RR BB gun.

My grandson is 4 and I don't let him have full control of the weapon yet, but even if I shoot it, he get's a kick out of it.

We do the safety drills, I require him to wear safety goggles as well.

He's looking forward to next summer when I hope he'll fit a Cricket or similar small 22.

[mctowalot]

WARNING: Boring and anti-climatic post"

Well, I said I would post an update so...

Decided to hold off on giving him the BB gun.
Too many Christmas presents distractions.
He is blessed to have a large extended family who all are kind and giving.
The boy is buried in new stuff at this time and I want his safety lessons to sink in, so we'll wait for the newness to wear off the other stuff so I can have his "undivided" attention. He has not asked about it so I don't feel bad about waiting a while longer. Thanks again to all who responded, I learned from your posts and will pass it on. Happy New Year to all!

[Jonathanaf]

Well, there is a 10-22 in the safe for him (pre-election purchase, just in case). However we live in the city (for now) and I'd hate to tease him with a gun he couldn't shoot in the backyard everyday. I imagine his first "real" gun will be single shot .22 of some sort. What was yours by the way?

We got him a Crickett. They're generally available at Gander Mtn and sometimes Wal-Mart in the $149 range. They have fancier models with bull barrells, weaver rails, and laminated stocks, but ours is the basic blue/black synthetic model.

Just a hint: Aguila Super Colibri primer-powered ammo (no powder) is no louder than an air rifle. I live in the city limits too. I'm just sayin'...

When I saw "Crickett", I thought of that tiny gun with huge firepower from Men in Black!

[asahi1234]

Never to young. Just train him right and to respect guns

[Oldgringo]

I got my Red Ryder at 5. I gave my boys each one at age 6 and 7 ( the same Christmas-they were a year apart). Safety instruction, controlled access, and supervision being the important part of the process.

Which year will they not be a year apart?

[iflyabeech]

I bought a Red Ryder and took it over to BHM last month for the grandkids, their Dad and us to enjoy in their other Granny's backyard. The oldest boy (10) has earned a BB marksmanship badge in Webelos and the youngest is in Cub Scouts. After a review of gun safety rules, gun operation, etc., we proceeded to take turns shooting a paper target.

After a couple of shots each, it turned into a total disaster, the boys wouldn't mind either their Dad or us and flagrantly waved the gun in all directions and fought over it, etc., etc. I took the gun away and put it back in our car and said NEVERMORE.

I hope you exercise a lot more discipline over your offspring and y'all have a better experience with the BB gun than these grandparents did.

BTW, these ill-mannered kids are not welcome in our house this Christmas and we're not going back to BHM! We'll send them a check.

Merry Christmas to all!

ok..so I can't fiugre out what BHM is! I googled it and I assume you don't mean "big handsome men" lol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BHM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Can you fill us in?

I bought my 5 year old daughter a pretty realistic toy shotgun to take dove hunting with me last fall. We learned gun safety rules and this toy gun in particular is to be treated just like a real gun.. And she does a great job! :) Can't wait to get her the real thing!

[LarryH]

ok..so I can't fiugre out what BHM is! I googled it and I assume you don't mean "big handsome men" lol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BHM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Can you fill us in?

I assumed Birmingham.

[Oldgringo]

ok..so I can't fiugre out what BHM is! I googled it and I assume you don't mean "big handsome men" lol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BHM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Can you fill us in?

I assumed Birmingham.

I apologize for my lack of clarity. BHM is like DFW or DIA or STL, etc.; except, it's somewhere else. Got it now?