AnnaM Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 (edited) I should read the board before posting! Sorry for the double post about bb guns!!! Edited December 11, 2011 by AnnaM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Alfred Academy Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I hesitate to vote as it is different for every kid. We started letting our kids shoot them when my youngest was 7 and my oldest was 9. We taught them all about gun safety and had rules they needed to follow. Both boys have shown tremendous maturity and responsibility when around them. AND they are HIGHLY SUPERVISED...NEVER allowed to use them without us right there. We gave our oldest his own for his 10th birthday, but again, he is never allowed to use it with us right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I plan to start teaching dd7 how to use one when she is eight. Or more likely get my mother to do so. I am not knowlegeable and practiced enough to be comfortable with guns(also I am legally blind without corrective lenses) but my mother is an excellent shot. I asked her recently how old she was when she started learning how to shoot bb guns and real guns. She said that the guns were bigger than she was and she was around guns all her life. She grew up in a very rural area with an older brother and father who hunted. I would not be surprised if she was the one to teach her younger brother how to shoot a gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Absolutely no younger than 3. They have to be walking steady and potty trained before they get a chance to shoot guns here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 my son has one. nothing fancy, just the "red rider" BB gun. he's 7 1/2. the rules are that he must be supervised, wear protective eye wear, and only shoot designated targets (nothing alive). he also has to have the safety on when it's not being used and we empty the metal BB's each time from the gun before putting it away. we all have a lot of fun with the BB gun! we live in a rural area with no one in sight, so the only safety issue we have is making sure it is handled correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Never. You'll shoot your eye out! :lol: I don't know. I think it probably is "never" at our house. Dh is too scared to own a trampoline. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I voted 8, but it would really depend on the child and the family skill level with guns. We just bought a bb gun for my 5 yo nephew, for example, and my dd has been shooting one since he was a preschooler, but dh is very comfortable with guns. If there is no one at home who knows guns, I would say 12 maybe, because he will need to be old enough to read safety materials on his (or her :D) own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 My DD is 10 and recently got a BB gun. I am pretty sure I was younger than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomandlorih Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 (edited) I think my dd was 5 the year she got a bb gun for Christmas. As with the other posters.. lots of rules and gun safety taught here and never used alone. I do agree that it depends on the child and the family. Edited December 11, 2011 by tomandlorih add last sentence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splinter Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 My kids will never have BB guns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 My boys got one 2-3 years ago, and there were strict rules on usage. All were allowed to shoot it. Something broke on it, though, so they're getting a new Red Rider for Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 We are very comfortable with guns around here, and all my boys got a BB gun when they were 8 or so. If they did anything that broke safety rules, they knew it would immediately be taken away. We only had to do that once with one of our boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 My kids will never have BB guns. :iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Ours got theirs at about 5yo. They have to be supervised, of course. My 10yo ds just got a .22, which he is allowed to keep in his room with the trigger mechanism removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 You forgot the "Other" category in the poll! ;) IMO, guns are weapons, not toys. If you or your dh want to teach your child to hunt, or to shoot on a firing range, then use a real gun, and make sure they know and abide by all safety rules and precautions. I come from a family of sportsmen - and women- and know that many find hunting to be an enjoyable activity. Learning to use a rifle safely or a handgun for target shooting teaches respect for such lethal weapons. "Playing" with bb guns makes shooting things or even animals seem "fun," and I feel that that's a dangerous precedent to set with any child! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 We live in suburbia, there's really not enough space for even BB guns to be safe (and nothing to shoot but neighborhood cats, etc.), so no point in our kids having them. If we had a lot of land, I don't think that we'd have them have their own until they're 9 or 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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