Starting out the little guy...

I know I may be jumping the gun a little (pun intended)...I have a little guy that just turned 3 and it has me thinking (again) as to what would be a good stater for him - 410, 22S\L\LR, 223 Rem. I almost bought him a single shot 22 when he was about a year old, but I didn't know if he was right or left handed at the time - I am now 90% sure that he is right handed. I started with a 12 gauge, but I was quite a bit older than he will be when he starts. I am curious what others have started their boys and girls with and how you may have introduced them to the fun/dangers associated a firearm. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Red rider bb gun..and a pop gun .

All of my kids started out shooting a crack barrel air rifle, but their first rifle was a savage rascal in 22lr. I put a cheap scope and a Harris knockoff on it so they could actually hit stuff pretty easily.

when my youngest was 6 or 7 I bought him the cheapest ruger 10/22, but it was stil too long for him so I had to put a tacticool stock on it with a red dot I had kicking around on my bench. He can burn through a few hundred rounds pretty quick with that thing in a short time. Zombie paper and reactive targets seemed to draw a lot of attention.

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Originally Posted by walks with deer

Red rider bb gun..and a pop gun .

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break action pellet gun, then a 22, and from there it depends on the kid and if it's for hunting or just punching paper. A 410 is great for kids and shooting chickens [less misses, more confidence], any of the smaller calibers are good for deer/bears/coyotes/gophers 243,6.5prc,25-06, 6.5cm for lower recoil, or even step up to the 308/270 with a muzzle break. But if your son is game go big, right up to your favorite gun, give it to him.

Break action pellet gun, at 10 he and his older sister (12) went through the Rascals .22 program at the NFGC to learn the safety and handling aspect from someone other than myself, at that time one of the range guys discovered that my son was actually left eye dominant and he now shoots successfully as a lefty, .22 and a .410 after that, and at 12 he got his Core and bought a .243, at 13 he moved up to a .308 and he now has a 16 gauge for birds. He of course tried my 300 win mag when he was smaller and it didn't interest him, nor does my 12 gauge, but he continually tries them when we are at the range. Let him try everything, he will tell you what he likes and you will see what he is comfortable with when out plinking and target shooting.

Thanks for the advice guys! I have recently picked up a single shot CBC 410 and an older Henry Golden Boy 22 that has seen better days but still shoots straight. I think after a good cleaning they will go away for him to use in a few years. I like the idea of a break action air rifle (maybe single shot.177) as a starting point.

My 2 year old got a .243 for Christmas :smile: but she will start on .22 around 5 or 6 before she moves to the big gun.

Just a side note. It's not whether he is right handed or left handed, but more importantly whether he is right eye or left eye dominant. A simple hand eye test will determine that. I wish someone had told me about that way back when, so I could have started out with the correct firearms allowing both eyes open when about to shoot, without loosing focus thru the scope. For example, I am right handed, but left eye dominant. For me, I can't change now so easily. Guns all bought and old habits die hard.

Don't be a idiot, 3 years old air soft then a bb gun pellet gun the .22

Pellet then .22 then 410/22 combo then 7mm08. Grouse, rabbits, deer & maybe a moose if we ever get a LEH!

Like others have mentioned, start very small. A 410 is more suited for, a lot older. Most of the family has started around 3-4 years old on bb or pellet, then into a custom single shot youth .22 at age 4-5 years old.

My 10 y/o has tried a .243 and 6.5 Grendel with reduced loads, both still give to much oomph for her to handle. Work up slowly!!

Rocks, Slingshot, Pellet gun then a small bow and arrow. Shot a 22 arround 13

I did not get my first gun till I was 58. Maybe not wait that long.

Maybe they won't like guns?

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Originally Posted by FishandSticks

Rocks, Slingshot, Pellet gun then a small bow and arrow. Shot a 22 arround 13

I did not get my first gun till I was 58. Maybe not wait that long.

Maybe they won't like guns?

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Ha Ha...He already likes guns...and trucks...and tools... I like the pellet gun idea - I think I will get him one this spring.

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Originally Posted by hunterdon

Just a side note. It's not whether he is right handed or left handed, but more importantly whether he is right eye or left eye dominant. A simple hand eye test will determine that. I wish someone had told me about that way back when, so I could have started out with the correct firearms allowing both eyes open when about to shoot, without loosing focus thru the scope. For example, I am right handed, but left eye dominant. For me, I can't change now so easily. Guns all bought and old habits die hard.

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^^ This for sure

Starting to shoot guns in my 30's I am very grateful that I realized I was cross eye dominant (right handed, left eye dominant) very early in my shooting process and started to use rifles as a lefty. (Already bought a right ended 308 though which is fairly akward)

It's interesting to me that I am right handed. I am a bit young to have the left handedness beaten out of me, grew up in the 90's. I wonder if I looked around at all the other kids and just imitated right handed-ness when all those muscle memory grooves in my brain were developing.

This is a very mild handicap in life but one nonetheless - I would try to avoid instilling it in a youngster if I ever had one of my own

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Originally Posted by Woodchuck Dan

^^ This for sure

Starting to shoot guns in my 30's I am very grateful that I realized I was cross eye dominant (right handed, left eye dominant) very early in my shooting process and started to use rifles as a lefty. (Already bought a right ended 308 though which is fairly akward)

It's interesting to me that I am right handed. I am a bit young to have the left handedness beaten out of me, grew up in the 90's. I wonder if I looked around at all the other kids and just imitated right handed-ness when all those muscle memory grooves in my brain were developing.

This is a very mild handicap in life but one nonetheless - I would try to avoid instilling it in a youngster if I ever had one of my own

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Yeah, this is great advice. It never really crossed my mind because it's never been an issue for me. I'll start him with the cheapo pellet gun and if he happens to shoot left, then I guess I'll keep any other rifles I buy for him for myself - Oh darn...;)

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Originally Posted by Kill-da-wabbit

Yeah, this is great advice. It never really crossed my mind because it's never been an issue for me. I'll start him with the cheapo pellet gun and if he happens to shoot left, then I guess I'll keep any other rifles I buy for him for myself - Oh darn...;)

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So selfless of you :-P - Yeah it's more common than people think, I believe about 30% of the population is cross-dominant. It's more important for iron sights or shotguns, or if you want to be able to keep both eyes open while operating a scope.

Just because they are shooting right doesn't mean that they shouldn't be learning left -

I believe the simplest way to test a younger person for eye dominance would be to give them something like a camera, where they would unconsciously use the dominant eye to look through the view finder. - I'm not entirely sure how accurate this is. Might be worth a trip to the optometrist.

I have a good friend who came from a hunting family whose parents had a hell of a time figuring out what direction she should shoot. She is ambidextrous and can skin proficiently left handed, but I believe also shoots right, but is in general ambidextrous. I'm unsure of her eye dominance.

Pop Gun then graduating to BB Gun shooting Balloons and while having Fun with Dad he/she learns safe Gun handling before any next step.

Hell a BB Gun can easily take out an Eye but a .22 Shell can easily kill or maim a grown Man.

Cheers

One more vote for a .177 single shot break action BB/pellet gun.
Then up it to a single shot .22 when they're older.
Hold off buying a repeater .22 until they are proficient shooters.
And like others have said, check eye dominance.

I got my daughter a cricket.22 and put a red dot on it to make hitting the target easier.
She got her 1st grouse with it last year. For hunting she uses the sub sonic hollow points so she can shoot without ear protection if need be.