My son was ready at seven - spent a few training sessions ahead of time going over the firearms, how to clear a malfunction, place the weapon on safe etc etc. Muzzle sweep is a constant reminder along with keep the barrel up and down range and I think for children - it needs to be drilled into their head constantly. He progressed from BB gun to .22. I am keeping him on the .22 for a while until he can breakdown and clean the larger cals and the handguns he doesn't get to shoot them - thats our deal.