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3 Yr old Grandson, 1st Shot Today!
tr fox
Member Posts: 13,856
Hehehe. My 24 yearold daughter and her finance took the finance's 11 yearold son and my 3 & 1/2 yearold grandson camping this weekend. They couldn't find an open space at any of the public parks, so they just went on down to one of the two gunclubs we are members of. One SW of the KC (KS side) metro area. Place SW of Ottawa called Williamsburg, KS. A tiny town with about 4 streets to it's name. Anyway, as usual, the 40 acres (with lake) gun club was empty. Oh, Sunday morning 2 fishermen showed up to fish, but nobody got in anyone's way. Not with 40 acres and only 6 people on the property. Anyway, along with my daughter's .38 special snubnose which I ordered her to keep loaded and in a fanny pack at all times while down there, she also took her Ruger .22/45 semi auto handgun. My 3 yearold grandson shot that handgun for the first time today. First time he has ever shot any kind of gun. Same for the 11 yearold. In fact, until he met my daughter, her finance had only shot a gun a little when in the boy scouts. But since meeting my daughter he has shot and learn to kinda like guns. Just like his 11 year old son.
I never let my daughter shoot until she was about 4 or 5. She started on a .22 short, Beretta semi-auto handgun. Never thought about startng her out at age 3.
3 yearold loved shooting the gun which, at his young age, is kinda surprising. But we may have 3 new dedicated shooters now.
I never let my daughter shoot until she was about 4 or 5. She started on a .22 short, Beretta semi-auto handgun. Never thought about startng her out at age 3.
3 yearold loved shooting the gun which, at his young age, is kinda surprising. But we may have 3 new dedicated shooters now.
Comments
I'm gonna apologize first, 'cause I think I'm about to pizz you off![:(]
Now, I've gotta admit to being confused, I've never tried it myself, so.....
At 3 1/2yrs, HOW and with what degree of success did you teach that child about safety, sight picture, etc?
I guess I'm kinda wondering/feeling that at that age the kid might be thinking (now) that a gun is a fun toy and not have any REAL comprehension of the very real DANGERS.
I don't mean to sound like some hand-wringing, gun-fearing idiot and I do apologize if I'm raining on yer parade.
tr,
I'm gonna apologize first, 'cause I think I'm about to pizz you off![:(]
Now, I've gotta admit to being confused, I've never tried it myself, so.....
At 3 1/2yrs, HOW and with what degree of success did you teach that child about safety, sight picture, etc?
I guess I'm kinda wondering/feeling that at that age the kid might be thinking (now) that a gun is a fun toy and not have any REAL comprehension of the very real DANGERS.
I don't mean to sound like some hand-wringing, gun-fearing idiot and I do apologize if I'm raining on yer parade.
Fair questions.
With absoutely no prompting from me, my grandson has already shown an interest in and an awareness of guns. As well as a desire to handle them. I don't know if he learned this from playing at day care or television or what. But he has learned it.
In regards to safety, all our guns are always locked up so nobody is going to get hurt if he accidently gets his hands on one. I do, frankly, lock up my bedside handgun each AM and unlock it when I hit the sack at night.
In regards to teaching him safety, the only safety he can understand at his age is to not touch guns without adult permission. In regards to safety while him shooting, my daughter basically hovered over him almost with her hands on/close to the gun.
We just wanted it to go down in our family history that our kids/grandkids/greatgrandkids start shooting at a young age. Only thing that would have been better in both my 4-5 yearold daughter and my 3 yearold grandson shooting is if we had it on video. I don't believe we are bad people for thinking like this.
.There is no way a child of 3 and one half yearsold can know the danger of a firearm.
I don't need to ask if they all had eye and ear protection, DO I?
my personal philosophy, "Teach'em young, teach'em right!' I don't know you or your family, if y'all feel the kid is old enough to benefit from these early experiences........more power to ya! Read: I'M NOT JUDGING! Very happy to hear that another generation of gun-lover is coming along! [:)]
From your other posts I never doubted the"at-home" safety aspect.
There's a bit of good and bad in all these posts.
I didn't get my hands on a gun until I was 8 - grandfather
took me duck hunting - moistened cotton in the ears is what
he had always used since before the First World War - and
that's what he gave me. I have my hearing tested every other
year and at 61, it's perfect!
We all have bottom lines - especially around here - and mine
is that well versed and knowledgeable gun owners/enthusiastiasts
decide what is best for their kids/grandkids.
One suggestion, for first time future gun enthusiast kids - don't
forget the camera! Someday they'll thank you for the great lifetime
memories ... and that first photo ... no substitute for that first
one - I still have mine - framed![:D]
If its handled properly they now know what it will do to the target and are LESS likely to pick one up and experment. I hear my son tell his friends who have no knowledge of firearms to be carefull of guns, finger off the trigger, point it downrange, etc. He was introduced at a young age also with my hands on the gun with him to make sure they was no mistakes.
Close hands on instruction at a young age can be the beginning imprint of a safe shooter. But I agree it is a slippery slope and must be handled very carefully.
GOOD, they went shooting today, BUT can/did they hit the target(s)? [;)][:D][:D]
I don't need to ask if they all had eye and ear protection, DO I?
Everyone had ear AND eye protection. Only got one set of ears and eyes and nobody wants to lose them.
I've got to go with wanted man
.There is no way a child of 3 and one half yearsold can know the danger of a firearm.
Your're right. At least not a full understanding of the danger. But there is no real linkage between his holding and shooting a gun and him knowing the danger of a firearm. There is no way I or my daughter will ever let him possess a firearm (without us standing next to him practically holding onto the firearm ourselves) until he is a young adult. This is not only for safety purposes but because if we allow/provide a minor with a gun and someone gets hurt, we would face legal problems as well as our grief that we allowed it to happen. And totally without any coaching from any of us he had already learned to recogize what a gun was and what it can do. Might have learned that from playing with other kids or from television or someplace. So he already had an, if not an interest, at least some knowledge of what a gun is and on his own has shown a desire to handle one (trigger locked of course).
So I really don't see how thinking that, since a three yearold can't understand the danger of firearms that we should not have let hem shoot one. Heck, my daughter was only about 4-5 years old when we would go to a deserted parking lot and I would put her on my lap and let her steer my car while I worked the gas and brakes. She LOVED doing that and I loved seeing her having so much fun. And nobody got hurt nor was anything damaged. But she at that age did not fully understand the "danger of the vehicle". Oh sure, she knew it was bad to hit something with a car and that she didn't want to get hit herself. But my grandson already knows this about guns.
I see nothing wrong with what we did and I would do it again.
Wow, TR ... play'n to a tough audience, tonight, eh?
There's a bit of good and bad in all these posts.
I didn't get my hands on a gun until I was 8 - grandfather
took me duck hunting - moistened cotton in the ears is what
he had always used since before the First World War - and
that's what he gave me. I have my hearing tested every other
year and at 61, it's perfect!
We all have bottom lines - especially around here - and mine
is that well versed and knowledgeable gun owners/enthusiastiasts
decide what is best for their kids/grandkids.
One suggestion, for first time future gun enthusiast kids - don't
forget the camera! Someday they'll thank you for the great lifetime
memories ... and that first photo ... no substitute for that first
one - I still have mine - framed![:D]
Good for your grandfather looking out for the welfare of his grandson. Well into the 1950's and early 1960's people around the KC area didn't give much thought to protecting their hearing when shooting. Apparently they just thought it was normal to, after shooting, to have ringing in their ears and be unable to hear very well for the rest of the afternoon. That is what I was left to believe anyway.
I'm know I damaged my hearing but even at age 64 I seem to get along pretty darn good. It was good that your grandfather was smart enough to moisten the cotton because putting dry cotton balls into your ears for hearing protection is about the same as holding up a Kleenex in front of your face and thinking that it will stop someone from punching you in the face.
I've got to go with wanted man
.There is no way a child of 3 and one half yearsold can know the danger of a firearm.
I disagree. I have an excellent memory of my younger years, and I vividly remember back when I was 3 and a half years old, my parents had already taught me about guns. I got the, "if I see a gun, don't touch it, tell an adult."
Once, when I was playing with the neighborhood kids, we found a handgun. I didn't touch it, but instead stood watch over it and told two of the other kids to go get adults... and they did. Two adults came, they didn't touch it either, and the gun was eventually taken by police.
Another time, I was poking around my parents room and found my my Dad's Uncle's police revolver in my Dad's nightstand. I told my Mom that I had found it, and I didn't touch it, because I knew better.
In my opinion, it's partly about how I was taught, and partly about me being smart enough to know better.
I saw a TV show where police hid guns (without the firing pins) and hidden cameras in a room in a school shortly after the students had received gun safety training and were all informed to tell an adult if they found a gun. The parents had given permission for the cops to do this, and the parents were watching the hidden camera footage live. In one instance, one of the kids took one of the guns and stuffed it in his waistband, and then informed his coach about the other one. In another instance, one kid put both in his bag. Only one of the 10 kids actually did what he was taught and told the coach about the guns. You can't say they weren't trained, as they had just received training about what they were supposed to do. It's just that most of the kids didn't care. No amount of training can predict what a kid will do in that situation. As one of those redneck comedy guys says, "you can't fix stupid." I'm done rambling now. [:D]
I have to laugh though when my youngest girl was about 4 she was thinking about touching a gun that was standing by the door, and her mother was talking on the phone and said "leave the gun alone and play with your knife". Abby had a rubber knife at the time, but I can only imagine what the people on the phone thought.[:D]
Have raised two boys and two girls and always had guns laying around the house, but they always knew better than to touch them. The boys, as most of us, started off with bb guns, and graduated to .22's, etc.
I have to laugh though when my youngest girl was about 4 she was thinking about touching a gun that was standing by the door, and her mother was talking on the phone and said "leave the gun alone and play with your knife". Abby had a rubber knife at the time, but I can only imagine what the people on the phone thought.[:D]
That's funny. I would pay money to have a video of the look on the face of the person on the other end of the telephone line at that exact moment.
I've got to go with wanted man
.There is no way a child of 3 and one half yearsold can know the danger of a firearm.
Most people have "blinders" on when it comes to their own kids. They look at them through rose-colored glasses. They think that their children will obey every rule they set, listen to every command, and never disobey. This simply isn't true. All kids make mistakes, in fact, they make LOTS of mistakes and bad decisions. I read a news article about some 13-year old out in Iowa who accidentally shot and killed himself. This was a rural farm family, their kids grew up around guns and were taught to respect them and safely handle them, and yet their 13-year old still died. I'm not saying that people shouldn't be allowed to teach their kids about guns or allow their kids to shoot guns under CLOSE adult supervision, but don't think for one second that your kids won't foolishly play with a gun while unattended if given the opportunity. Maybe they won't, but then again, I'm sure the parents of every kid who accidentally shoots themself or someone else said the exact same thing.
But you seemed to skip right over whether or not they could hit the target. Hmmmmm....
How about this one.........did they use a tarp? Pick up the brass?
Hope ya know, just razzin ya. [;)][:D][:D][:D]
I had just finished one up that was scarey sharp and had it laying beside me on a lamp table. She walked up, looked at it, then at me, and I returned a cautioning look. She just haaaad to do it and slowly reached up and just lightly touched the edge, and was about to give me a smug look, when she saw blood on her finger. Now she knows better than to touch guns or knives unless she has permission and using the utmost caution.
OK, you answered my question about the eyes and ears. NO surprise there.
But you seemed to skip right over whether or not they could hit the target. Hmmmmm....
How about this one.........did they use a tarp? Pick up the brass?
Hope ya know, just razzin ya. [;)][:D][:D][:D]
I didn't even inquire about hitting the target part. I gave them some paper plates with a black circle I had put there with a magic marker. Plus I gave them some staples and a staple gun. But I had forgotten there is nothing at that particular gun range to tack paper to (plywood, etc) so they had a hard time using the paper plates. I guess they just shot at sticks or some such. I didn't ask about picking up their brass. I'll just hope for the best and next time I go I will pickup my brass (as always since a conversation with "some people".) in addition to other brass that I find. That should make up for it if they didn't pickup their brass. Daughter is pretty conscious of the envirnoment so I am hoping she did the right thing.
I can usually tell when you are just messing with me. That is why I didn't call in an air-strike on you [:o)]
Anyhoo, thumbs up on the kids, tr.
I have my 5 YO out shooting clay pigeons with a .410 single shot. I sit behind him, and he holds the gun under his arm. double ear protection and eyes. He has managed to hit a few targets. He is BECOMING aware of the awsome responsibility of a firearm. He has seen the destruction that ths gun can do (we too shot a melon) and he is l;earning the safety routine as he is getting to shoot.
I eny you tr fox I have only one grandson and his mom( my daughter) somehow turned into an anti gun freak he is now learning about guns in cub scouts with bb guns and she recruited her moms husband to help with it because "I just got freaked out" asI live nearly 700 miles away i cant do much but talk to her but I hope next yr to get him down here to show him how much funshooting can be and reinforce the safety training. the melon is a good way of impressing them with the power of a gun my dad used sealed soda cans.again tr I envy you
Thank you. Hopefully things will improve for you and yours.