I think I took my kids shooting the first time about 4-5 at the range 22 and even a little center fire

I didn't have a bb gun as a kid , I had a bow.

shortly after I took my kids shooting for the first time I bought a red ryder

my advice buy a red Ryder as soon as they are old enough to understand and follow rules 4-5 depending on the kid , keep the targets close and within the limitations fo the gun and make them always treat it like a real gun , good muzzle control , finger off trigger , safety on

the purpose of the red ryder is to teach safety , responsibility and form

teach them to shoot with good form like you would a regular powder burning rifle.

around 6-7 a good quality air pellet gun practice or 22lr

a good quality air pellet gun is a great training tool , it is capable of very good one hole at 30 feet accuracy challenge them and shoot regular we set up an indoor air gun range in the basement 30 feet is good 1250 pellets is about 14-15 dollars they come in a milk carton type container. most are single shot so it gets them getting in and out of shooting position hundreds of times building muscle memory , coach them to build good muscle memory they way they need to be not the way they initially find it comfortable.

it depend on the kid and how they are doing but some 22 practice is good and allows for noise and greater range

I am a fan of teaching 3 or 4 position shooting this gets them training away from the bench

around 8-9 some air pistols if they do well with that maybe some 22 pistol

around 10-11 some shotgun he bought his first gun a shotgun at 10 he had to work for that gun , legally it is mine till he turns 18 and I "gift" it to him but it is more like it is his and I get Veto power. that is a good mind set to be in. he split a lot of wood to pay for that gun. so yes my 10 year old was running a hydraulic log splitter also.

at 9 my son was shooting 22 and some center fire pistol.
when kids try pistol for the first time always single load till you are really sure they have it all , that way if they drop the gun or it has a lot of muzzle rise it is already unloaded.

when he turned 12 he could now participate in club level action pistol shooting . a glock 17 and a mag pouch, he turned heads , he was scoring hits on every round and while his emphasis was to be on making the hit not worrying about hit time when the hits happen the times start to happen also. I made him shoot from the low ready so he wasn't not holstering a live Glock. (risk management)
at 16 his times were right on my heels and if I had a bad stage he would beat my time and score.
I am sure we both slowed down this year with no shoots.

have a why and explain the why for everything.


edited : all this is in a directly supervised setting.

can't hunt on your own in WI till 14 , when he was 14 he could pick a location tell me where he was going and walk their from the house at deer camp. or sit out in the back yard and shoot squirrels. unsupervised

this was the same when I was a kid at 14 I could go any where I could walk from the house at deer camp. just had to let my dad know where I was going.

at 16 when he could drive he could go check traps by himself , I made him lock the gun in the back of the truck in the tool box unloaded and cased just so if he got pulled over driving he would have no issues when he got to the farm he could unlock the tool box combination lock and check traps.

Are we talking supervised sessions or when the child is old enough to shoot by themselves?

Supervised: As early as they can physically safely handle the gun.

Unsupervised: Only a parent can make that call.

I would say that the more supervised shooting sessions you have, the more mental maturity towards safe handling you'll develop. You can then look for the cues to decide when they might be ready to go it alone.

I live 'in town' so we have to go to our local range or out to family property to shoot. So all shooting sessions with my little one, by default, are supervised.

I've also tried to work on explaining why I do every little thing I do when it comes to shooting... Where we shoot on family property there's a creek running through. The opposite bank of the creek is a steep bluff that slopes a good 60+ feet up... A good safe backstop. Explain all the details so they can pick up on what to look for and think about.

On a side note, the owner of my local gun shop and range has a big soft spot for kids. He always asks my little one about her grades. If she is doing well academically he gives her a box of shells for her .22 Cricket. Just another lesson in work ethic.

Mike

Dad Started me with a BB gun at age 5 and a22 at age 7. Then 4H competitions against other kids by age 10. Progressing to high power national championships in Ohio by high school age. Did not get a shotgun till I was 12

Dad of 3 boys. .8 6 and 4 yo.
My 8 yo...loves his 410 22..and it fits him well.
He has shot my mini 14, but the loud blast noise is what he doesn't like.
Ear protection and eye protection are huge.
My buddy got ear protection for all 3 of them this year.
I dint realize this, but my friends and boy said that was the hang up for shooting for them.
Make it comfortable safe and fun

I was thinking unsupervised, but it doesn't matter. The safety aspect and danger of guns is my over riding concern. If kids can get to them, and handle them, they gotta know the danger. Bad things happen fast and can do some damage.

Just remembered another incident. Kid in my grade school class......probably around 6th grade. Dad wasn't much of a hunter......they lived in town, but Dad kept a single shot .410 in the closet. Brothers found it, and lacking training or knowledge, started playing with it. Like a toy. At some point, older brother pointed it at younger brother....who said "shoot".....so he did. At close range, even a dinky little .410 single shot took off most of my classmates head. Closed casket funeral.

So looks to be more than age and maturity. Those kids were old enough, but lacking any supervision or training, they didn't know better. And classmate paid the price.

I started letting my kids shoot red ryders at 3 or 4. My hands never left the gun fully in their control, always stressing the importance of safety. Soon after that I let them see some of the animals I killed up close, examine to wounds and explaining to them that this is what guns do. They graduated up to a cricket 22 at about 5, each kid was a little different, but roughly 5. Once they learned how to hold it correctly I would let them take full control, but my hands were always close enough to grab it should it get pointed in a bad direction. After that I started letting them watch me actually kill things. Deer and coyotes and rabbits. So that they would associate guns with blood and death. Only recently I have started letting them load, shoot and reload by themselves at 9, 10, and 11. I think it’s very important to let them see the destruction guns cause firsthand.

My 11 year old will be ready to carry a gun by himself in a year or two I think. My ten year old, I think he will take a bit longer, he isn’t as careful and reserved as the older boy. The 9 year old I don’t think is going to have much interest in going out and hunting by herself, but I think she could if she wanted to by about twelve, safety wise.

My older kids have a healthy respect for guns, I have never worried about them playing with one since they got old enough to see what they do. I would have no problem leaving a gun in the room with them, I trust them not to play with it and do something foolish. My two year old is a two year old, so obviously we still keep the guns put up.