Right age for a boys first BB gun?

[ericinok]

I'm considering the possibility of getting my 6 year old boy a BB gun for Christmas. But then again, that seems young to me. I can't recall how old I was when I got my first BB gun, but I do remember it was so weak you could sometimes follow the BB as it left the barrell. This is the type I'd get him as a starter.

I have friends that have gotten their kids BB guns at this age, and one who is getting his 10 year old a .22

I just wanted to get an idea from you experts. When did you get your first BB gun and/or how old was your boy (girl) when you got them theirs?

[Pat]

I got my first BB gun, a Red Ryder carbine by Daisy when I was about to turn 6. I got my first .22 (tube feed autoloader that handled short, long, and long rifle) a few months later. I could take my BB gun out unsupervised. My dad kept "MY" .22 for me between uses and accompanied me when I got to take it out and shoot it.

I have a new Daisy Red Ryder BB gun and it doesn't hold a candle to the original. Lower velocity (liability sensitivity) Seeing the BB on its way to the target is easy but it was also easy with the first one. With proper lighting (sun behind you) I can see rifle rounds going out to the target too.

I was taught to be safe, never point a gun of any type at anything you don't intend to shoot. I didn't get to roam at will with a .22 or a shotgun till I was 12 (nearly 13) and didn't really do wild and crazy things with either. I did lots of wild and crazy things but not with guns.

For some boys there may never be a right age to have a gun of any type. For others, well, maturation is not the same with all individuals. You have to form your own judgement for your own son. I do encourage you to train him well about muzzle control and how you don't cary a ready to fire weapon with your finger on the trigger. You place your finger on the trigger after you aquire a target.

Be careful with that thing, you'll put an eye out type comment doesn't help. You have to be trained in what is being careful not just told to adhere to some abstract concept. Make it concrete for him. Take him out and show him what you expect of him.

Good luck, dad.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[GAFarmer]

I think it is all depends on how a person acts. I know some 30 year olds I wouldn't give a cap gun to. But I got mine at 6, a .22 about 2 months later, and the next deer season a .243.

[Bird]

I'm getting old enough my memory might be a little fuzzy back that far, but I think I was 8 years old when I got my BB gun. Then I was 10 when I got my brand spanking new single shot, bolt action Remington .22 rifle and immediately started hunting squirrels and rabbits alone. Then I got my great grandfather's double barreled .12 gauge shotgun before I was 12. I didn't get my first pistol (a 9 shot Hi Standard .22 revolver) until I was 18.

[MDSteve]

At our house it was 5. They use it supervised for a year and then get a .22. Redrider is great for them and I love using it too. The .22 is a cricket. Very small single shot bolt action. My first son has taken shooting up very quickly. My second is just getting his BB gun this year. With him being a lefty it has been hard for me to teach him so I hope he won't get discuraged with me.

I think it's how well your kids are taught. Everytime the BB gun or any other gun comes out we talk saftey and what we can and can't do with guns.

Steve

[Handyman]

I don't remember how old I was, maybe 6-8 yrs of age, but the gun was kept under lock and key until I think I was 12.

You know boys will be boys and they are always curious... IE, looking down the end of the barrel... LOL

I would think that 6 would be a good age to start, but I would stress saftey and never allow him to shoot alone.
I supposed this would/coud be a great relations tool between you and your boy.
It's what childhood memories are made of.

[itsmeCindi]

Now, this is just my opinion, and it comes free and is probably worth about what you're paying for it, so bear that in mind. (smile)

I don't believe in BB guns. If you watch a kid with a BB gun, they tend to drop it where they are when they're done with it. They swing it around, and carry it like a stick. They are not treated like real guns, even though they can inflict serious damage. They get handed around from kid to kid ... "let me try it," that kind of thing.

It is my firm belief that if you want to start a kid on shooting, you should buy him a real gun after he has had gun safety training. People start out with good intentions of locking up BB guns but that rule tends to get relaxed.

If it were my kid, I would buy him a .22 and teach him that all guns, any guns, any projectile firing instrument, including bows and arrows, pellet guns, even paint ball guns, are potentially dangerous, and there is no quicker way to drive the point home than to start out with gun safety training and a real gun.

The first time a child - boy or girl - pulls the trigger on a gun there should be an awesome response. My kids shot a shotgun at very early ages to show them the damage that guns can do. They each blew apart a milk jug and witnessed the destruction firsthand. They all had gun safety training. None of them ever owned a BB gun. There are few "toys" that I steered clear of when my kids were growing up and despite Ralphie's enthusiasm for them on "A Christmas Story," I just think they're a bad idea. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Pat]

MD Steve, I am not a lefty but tend to prefer shooting left handed. Although in the service I shot expert at the range every time and would alternate from one time to the next shooting first left handed and then next time right handed. I am not left handed or even ambidextrous.

When I got my first .22 at age 6 (not allowed to access it on my own till I was 11 or 12) my dad not knowing any better tried to teach me to wink one eye when alligning the sights on the target (someone elses discarded beer can.) I could not wink my left eye closed and leave the right one open to look down the sights.

My dad let me hold the gun left handed as a temporary measure till I could learn to wink the left eye. After a while it just felt natural and later I learned it is better to leave both eyes open most of the time. When I got my .410 shotgun for my 13th birth day and was given my grand dads 12 ga then too, I just felt more comfortable wing shooting left handed.

Shooting at still targets I could shoot just fine either way but due to more left handed practice and the early experiences I prefer to shoot at moving targets left handed EXCEPT I have very little left handed pistol experience and prefer right handed hand gun use (often with a two handed grip.)

Did you see the movie "Saving Private Ryan?" In it the group's sniper/marksman was using a scoped bolt action rifle but he was shooting it left handed. He would hold the forepiece with his right hand and keep the rifle firm against his left shoulder and reach across over the top with his left hand to work the bolt. If I recall, this was done that way in the movie because it was the way it was in real life.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[schmism]

id say i was 6-8... but my i did not have access to it at my will.

(now) i feel it was a good way to teach the me (er kids) repsonable firearm handling and reduce the chance of acidents. By the time i was a good shot with it, (by 8 or so) i had (again limited access) to a .22 rifle.

[ericinok]

Well, I bought the Daisy Buck for my boy (6). It's a little smaller than the Red Ryder. I bought the Red Ryder also, for my 11 year old girl. Hopefully, they can both learn about guns at the same time (but only when a parent is around).
The Buck and Red Ryder both shoot at 280 FPS. Both were under $20 at Academy. I was shocked they weren't $50 or more by now. Should be great Christmas presents, since neither one have any idea that this is even a consideration.