To teach your son/daughter to shoot?

kids all mature at different ages.. and handle responsibility differently... there is IMO no "set age"...

Going to agree with Vlad here, the kids maturity level is more important then age. But IMO a mature 7 or 8 year old with proper supervision can handle a Cricket.

Personally, I was thinking closer to 10. I asked because where I came from, the weren't overreaching, intrusive and unnecessary entities such as child protective services. And I've never heard of someone from my general area going berserk with weapons in the US.

I had my first BB gun at age 6, only allowed to use it under close supervision.  Bought a pellet gun at age 10 but started getting a little freedom on walks in the woods, etc.  By 12 I was reloading my own shotgun ammo completely unsupervised and shooting skeet 3-4 days per week.  By 13 or 14 I was hunting and shooting completely unsupervised, as were many of my friends.  I can honestly say we never had even an unsafe incident or near miss.  We respected firearms and knew the rules.

 

That was a long time ago and would never fly today, but not uncommon where I lived (Sussex County). 

 

I have 3 children, the youngest is a son who is 9 and at times acts like he is 6, the oldest is a 13 year old daughter who acts more like she is 16 or 17.  I have taken all of them shooting and they all have shown nothing but the utmost respect for guns and have taken gun safety very seriously. 

 

So, to your point, I think it may very by individual, but 8 years old is definitely not too young as long as they understand gun safety, respect firearms and listen to basic directions.  All of my children know the basics such as never touch a firearm unless a capable & competent  adult is present (note capable & competent), never point a gun at anyone, always check to see if a gun is loaded (they all know how), etc.

Good question.  My daughter is 5 and i know she isnt ready yet, but is close...  She does follow directions pretty well, esp when there is something potentially dangerous involved.  But she is still just 5 and forgets things sometimes...  I do want to get some airsoft for her to learn on though.  I have showed her all the basics and she knows not to touch unless I am around, to always keep them pointed in a safe direction, no finger on trigger and check to make sure it is unloaded.  At this point though she can barely pick up most of the guns as they are too heavy lol

 

She really wants to go to the range with me, but i think R14 you have to be 10 anyway so its a no go for now anyway..

Dad started me out when I was 7.   I started my son at 7, under close supervision in both cases, but by the time I was 12 I was cleared to take the .22 or shotguns out on my own--though this was on a farm out west.    

 

I really wanted a BB gun when I was young, but Dad saw that my peers were getting into trouble with BB guns--they weren't taking them seriously.  So when I was 12, I was given the .22 that my Grandpa had given my dad at that age.   After I'd shown I could be responsible with the .22 for a year, Dad gave me a BB gun when I was 13.   At the time, I thought that was completely backwards.  Years later, I realized the genius of his plan.   I was an extremely responsible/safe BB gun owner!

I taught my nephew gun safety on a BB gun at age 9 then at age 10 I took him to the range and he was fantastic there