What age is too young for a child to learn to use a gun?

[wiegie]

Police: Small child learning to use gun mistakenly kills father

By Jason Kessler, CNN

July 13, 2010 12:27 a.m. EDT

 

Man is struck by a bullet while giving son, 7, gun lessons

 

(CNN) -- An Allen Township, Ohio, man giving his 7-year-old son a lesson on how to fire a gun was killed Monday after the boy accidentally shot him in the head, police said.

 

The man was "apparently teaching his son how to shoot a .22 caliber rifle," a dispatcher at the Hancock County Sheriff's Department told CNN. He was struck by one bullet.

 

The dispatcher said police had no reason to believe the incident was anything but a tragic error.

 

"It appears to be an accidental shooting at this time," he said.

 

The dispatcher could not say who placed the initial 911 call or whether the man died immediately from his wound. He said he believed the boy is "with other family now."

 

The sheriff's office is withholding the man's identity until his family members are notified.

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

How sad is that.

[billay]

Awful. How do you go through life living with something like that?

[SEC=UGA]

I'm contemplating teaching my daughter to shoot trap and skeet around age 5, might have to reassess, but I think a lot of it has to do with maturity level. Oh yeah, and no semiautos...

[Perchoutofwater]

Sounds like someone needed to teach the adult to use a firearm, prior to him teaching a child. I taught my oldest when she was 7 and my youngest when she was 6. When I first started teaching them I would only load one round in the .22 and would chamber it for them handing them the gun to them on safety. I would stand directly behind them with my hand on their hand on the forestoc, and my other hand around their wrist on their trigger hand. I was behind them so I could see what they were sighting. Now they are 12 and 9, and I do not have my hand on their gun, but I still stand directly behind them (with the exception of the 12 year old in a deer blind). Both only shoot under the supervision of me, my father, or my brother. My 9 year old has her own .22 and my 12 year old has a .22 and a .30 WCF. All guns are locked away in the guns safe. I will let my 12 year old shoot a bb gun unsupervised, but still supervise my 9 year old with her bb gun, though it isn't close supervision, just making sure she isn't shooting anything she shouldn't shoot. My 12 year old can probably out shoot 95% of The Huddle with an open sight.

[DMD]

Tragic.

 

And it depends on the kid and their level of maturity and responsibility and ability to take instruction. And that is entirely to be judged and controlled by the parent which sadly was not done as well in that accidental shooting. Now that poor kid has to live the rest of his life for a mistake his father made.

[rajncajn]

Sounds like someone needed to teach the adult to use a firearm, prior to him teaching a child. I taught my oldest when she was 7 and my youngest when she was 6. When I first started teaching them I would only load one round in the .22 and would chamber it for them handing them the gun to them on safety. I would stand directly behind them with my hand on their hand on the forestoc, and my other hand around their wrist on their trigger hand. I was behind them so I could see what they were sighting. Now they are 12 and 9, and I do not have my hand on their gun, but I still stand directly behind them (with the exception of the 12 year old in a deer blind). Both only shoot under the supervision of me, my father, or my brother. My 9 year old has her own .22 and my 12 year old has a .22 and a .30 WCF. All guns are locked away in the guns safe. I will let my 12 year old shoot a bb gun unsupervised, but still supervise my 9 year old with her bb gun, though it isn't close supervision, just making sure she isn't shooting anything she shouldn't shoot. My 12 year old can probably out shoot 95% of The Huddle with an open sight.

This is very sad, but I was thinking the same thing. I learned to shoot around the same age and my dad was always very mindful of how we handled the guns.

[Jimmy Neutron]

Wow. Dad wasn't careful and now that kid has no dad and an awful legacy to live with the rest of his life.

 

I taught my boys at younger ages than 7, but it was a very supervised process - to the point that if the child started to move the gun in an unsafe direction, I was there to prevent it. You have to be that careful. After a few hours of intensive training like that, kids start to pick up that dad is afraid of bad things happening so they are pretty careful. Still, young kids should be watched like a hawk until they handle firearms as they should, even when they think you're not watching. The process starts again when you move kids from a range environment to the field where distractions are aplenty. I don't even hunt when my kids are first learning to carry a loaded weapon so I can keep a very close eye on them. Each of them have gotten pretty pissed at me for shouting "muzzle!" or "trigger finger" every time they begin to make a questionable move. Better to have a pissed kid than somebody shot or killed.

[i_am_the_swammi]

we have laws that limit the ages which children can be taught to drive, and how to drink responsibly. Not sure why there aren't some guidelines for teaching them to use weapons.

 

ETA: the way I worded the original sentence, it said "how to drink and drive"

Edited July 14, 2010 by i_am_the_swammi

[Seattle LawDawg]

Bad week for 7 year-olds accidentally shooting family members:

 

http://www.katu.com/news/local/98243739.html

 

TILLAMOOK, Ore. – A 9-year-old boy died Sunday outside Tillamook after police said he was accidentally shot by his 7-year-old brother.

 

The shooting took place on a Forest Service road near the coastal town.

 

When emergency crews arrived on the scene, they saidm and adult at the scene was giving CPR.

 

The boy was taken to a hospital and declared dead a short time later.

 

No identifications have been released. Police said the shooting was accidental and no charges were announced.

Edited July 14, 2010 by Seattle LawDawg

[polksalet]

Jr was shooting a 44 mag at 7, a 45-70 at 8.

 

Single shot

 

single shot

[matt770]

I own a couple of handguns for protection but I'm by no means a hunter or avid gun guy. I would think 12 or 13 would be the age you start a kid with guns, and that's assuming the kid has above average maturity and coordination. If I was teaching a 7 year old, I'd be hovering over him the whole time and would only let him aim and shoot.

 

The guilt this kid is going to endure for his entire life is tragic, but it's 100% the dad's fault.

[Perchoutofwater]

Bad week for 7 year-olds accidentally shooting family members:

 

http://www.katu.com/news/local/98243739.html

 

I bet it is a worse week for 7 year olds in automobiles and swimming pools.

[Hugh 0ne]

I bet it is a worse week for 7 year olds in automobiles and swimming pools.

 

Yeah, that's relevant.

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

I own a couple of handguns for protection but I'm by no means a hunter or avid gun guy. I would think 12 or 13 would be the age you start a kid with guns, and that's assuming the kid has above average maturity and coordination. If I was teaching a 7 year old, I'd be hovering over him the whole time and would only let him aim and shoot.

 

The guilt this kid is going to endure for his entire life is tragic, but it's 100% the dad's fault.

 

This seems about right. No way I put a gun in the hands of a kid under 9-10 years old at least.

[Jimmy Neutron]

we have laws that limit the ages which children can be taught to drive, and how to drink responsibly. Not sure why there aren't some guidelines for teaching them to use weapons.

 

ETA: the way I worded the original sentence, it said "how to drink and drive"

 

I so do not understand this mentality.

[darin3]

Yeah, that's relevant.

New here?

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

I so do not understand this mentality.

 

So we shouldn't have age limits on drinking or driving?

[Yukon Cornelius]

all mine started at 5 with BBguns now they are shooting single shot 243's 22's and 20 gauges. I have the means and the room to teach them in the back yard. many dont.

[Delicious_bass]

As others have already said, it really depends on the kid. And its up to the parent to determine if their kid is ready both physically and mentally to handle and fire a firearm safely. Sadly, there are many adults who are unwilling/incapable of being safe that are putting guns in the hands of kids who dont know any better. Also, as others have said, only load ONE shot for any novice shooter(child or otherwise). I think its very dangerous to give an inexperienced shooter more than one shot at a time. Just too many things that can go wrong. Reminds me of the story of the 8yr old kid that shot himself with an Uzi with his father and an instructor standing right there

 

My dad taught me about guns as a kid and sent me to gun safety class as soon as I was old enough. Two of the many good things he did for me that I still very much appreciate today even though he is gone.

Edited July 14, 2010 by Delicious_bass

[i_am_the_swammi]

I so do not understand this mentality.

 

The feeling is very mutual.

 

The original question was "What age is too young for a child to learn to use a gun?" For kids with responsible parents who live in houses where guns are under lock and key, perhaps 7-years old is OK. I still think its young, but I will agree there are perfect-world situations where a 7-year old can be trained properly, and the guns they'd have access to would be no where in sight.

 

But to make a general statement that "you do not understand the mentality" of those of us who think its too young because there are plenty of instances where the parents are not responsible, and its a child that bears the consequences? Kinda harsh.

 

Barring a break-in where I would need to depend on my 1st grader to shoot an instruder, I can't imagine a real-life scenario where my 7 year-old would need to know how to fire a weapon.

[billay]

The feeling is very mutual.

 

The original question was "What age is too young for a child to learn to use a gun?" For kids with responsible parents who live in houses where guns are under lock and key, perhaps 7-years old is OK. I still think its young, but I will agree there are perfect-world situations where a 7-year old can be trained properly, and the guns they'd have access to would be no where in sight.

 

But to make a general statement that "you do not understand the mentality" of those of us who think its too young because there are plenty of instances where the parents are not responsible, and its a child that bears the consequences? Kinda harsh.

 

Barring a break-in where I would need to depend on my 1st grader to shoot an instruder, I can't imagine a real-life scenario where my 7 year-old would need to know how to fire a weapon.

My son is 7 and I think he's capable of understanding the importance of knowing how to properly handle a firearm. I am not a fan of guns, and do not keep one in the house, but if I did, you can be sure that I would teach him how it is to be handled. Its part of a larger parenting philosophy for me though, if there is anything that you don;t want your child fooling with, educate them about it. I think it holds a lot more meaning for a child when they are given an opportunity to understand, even though they are told never to do "x" without mom or dad present.

[i_am_the_swammi]

My son is 7 and I think he's capable of understanding the importance of knowing how to properly handle a firearm. I am not a fan of guns, and do not keep one in the house, but if I did, you can be sure that I would teach him how it is to be handled. Its part of a larger parenting philosophy for me though, if there is anything that you don;t want your child fooling with, educate them about it. I think it holds a lot more meaning for a child when they are given an opportunity to understand, even though they are told never to do "x" without mom or dad present.

 

I agree 100% with this. The problem lies in that there is an unknown percent of the population that may not agree with this, and won't be forced to adhere to this type of parenting philosophy.

[polksalet]

The feeling is very mutual.

 

The original question was "What age is too young for a child to learn to use a gun?" For kids with responsible parents who live in houses where guns are under lock and key, perhaps 7-years old is OK. I still think its young, but I will agree there are perfect-world situations where a 7-year old can be trained properly, and the guns they'd have access to would be no where in sight.

 

But to make a general statement that "you do not understand the mentality" of those of us who think its too young because there are plenty of instances where the parents are not responsible, and its a child that bears the consequences? Kinda harsh.

 

Barring a break-in where I would need to depend on my 1st grader to shoot an instruder, I can't imagine a real-life scenario where my 7 year-old would need to know how to fire a weapon.

 

If someone comes into my house Jr. can half them with the 45-70. He also shoots the ak but only under EXTREMELY controlled situations.

[gbpfan1231]

The feeling is very mutual.

 

The original question was "What age is too young for a child to learn to use a gun?" For kids with responsible parents who live in houses where guns are under lock and key, perhaps 7-years old is OK. I still think its young, but I will agree there are perfect-world situations where a 7-year old can be trained properly, and the guns they'd have access to would be no where in sight.

 

But to make a general statement that "you do not understand the mentality" of those of us who think its too young because there are plenty of instances where the parents are not responsible, and its a child that bears the consequences? Kinda harsh.

 

Barring a break-in where I would need to depend on my 1st grader to shoot an instruder, I can't imagine a real-life scenario where my 7 year-old would need to know how to fire a weapon.

Have to agree with Swammi here and I know I am not supposed to be posting in this thread because I don't have kids but what the heck....

 

Why do kids need to use guns so early? 7 years old there are 1000's of things that kids can have fun with and enjoy that don't/can't kill you. Why put yourself/child in a situation when you really don't need it - I have made the same case for Pit Bulls - if you have kids why own a Pit Bull when you could own a different dog that does not like to eat faces???