Just wondering about how many people raise there kids around guns? And how Many people are againest there kids being around guns? And would you let your teen carry a gun in his or her car, without you being around. I am just wondering because I am 19 and i am around guns alot and i was just trying to see everyones different views.
How Many People Raise there kids around guns?
- Thread starter BigDawg
- Start date
I wasn't raised around guns at all, but I have an affinity towards them. My sister in law is dead set against having guns around her and my brother's kids. She says she doesn't want me carrying around them or her. I'm still a year and 3 months away from being able to carry, but this troubles me. My brother is not anti-gun. My brother and I are close, and I see this as driving us apart.
She believes it is the individual's right to carry, but she doesn't like guns. BTW they don't have kids yet.
[This message has been edited by Incursion (edited September 18, 2000).]
She believes it is the individual's right to carry, but she doesn't like guns. BTW they don't have kids yet.
[This message has been edited by Incursion (edited September 18, 2000).]
Keiller TN
New member
I was mildly anti gun when our older children were growing up, so I didn't want guns around. I carry a gun now around our youngest (10 yrs). I would be concerned about him having a gun in his car without adult supervision. These are different times than when I was a kid. Then, revenge by gun was not a consideration on your own people. It is now and the temptations are strong, so I have to be more restrictive now that my dad was with me. Sorry, but that's just the nature of things now.
TFL has helped educate me. Thanks.
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"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain that build it:
except the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." (Psalm 127:1)
"Freedom is given to the human conditionally, in the assumption of his constant religious responsibility."
(Alexander Solzhenitzyn)
[This message has been edited by Keiller TN (edited September 18, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by Keiller TN (edited September 18, 2000).]
TFL has helped educate me. Thanks.
------------------
"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain that build it:
except the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." (Psalm 127:1)
"Freedom is given to the human conditionally, in the assumption of his constant religious responsibility."
(Alexander Solzhenitzyn)
[This message has been edited by Keiller TN (edited September 18, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by Keiller TN (edited September 18, 2000).]
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
I come from a background of folks who grew up with guns. When I got up to about six years old, my mother bought a BB gun for me. My grandfather, after watching me shoot it, then showed me how to use his .22. By age eight, I was wandering off to the back pasture alone with the .22. My own .22 lived in my closet by age 12.
I raised my son on the principle that you can't kid-proof a gun, but you can gun-proof a kid.
Knowledge and understanding greatly improve safety. In everything. That holds for street traffic, driving a car, cutting lettuce for a salad--and guns. an ignorant kid is far more dangerous than a trained kid, because sooner or later he will find a gun. Somewhere. Who knows the circumstances ahead of time?
If the thrill of the illicit, the lure of the unknown is not present, you're ahead of the curve. If the kid's attitude is that a gun is a tool, it's no big deal, you're ahead of the curve. If a kid's head is in the right place, from training and education, you're far less likely to ever have a tragedy than with a kid raised to be ignorant.
Why is it good to be ignorant? Get one of your "nervous" friends to explain to me why ignorance is better than knowledge!
I've been shooting for 60 years, and July, 2000, marked the 50th anniversary of my handloading. I've yet to shoot any bystander or innocent person or myself. Or cows, pets or roadsigns.
Best regards, Art
I raised my son on the principle that you can't kid-proof a gun, but you can gun-proof a kid.
Knowledge and understanding greatly improve safety. In everything. That holds for street traffic, driving a car, cutting lettuce for a salad--and guns. an ignorant kid is far more dangerous than a trained kid, because sooner or later he will find a gun. Somewhere. Who knows the circumstances ahead of time?
If the thrill of the illicit, the lure of the unknown is not present, you're ahead of the curve. If the kid's attitude is that a gun is a tool, it's no big deal, you're ahead of the curve. If a kid's head is in the right place, from training and education, you're far less likely to ever have a tragedy than with a kid raised to be ignorant.
Why is it good to be ignorant? Get one of your "nervous" friends to explain to me why ignorance is better than knowledge!
I've been shooting for 60 years, and July, 2000, marked the 50th anniversary of my handloading. I've yet to shoot any bystander or innocent person or myself. Or cows, pets or roadsigns.
Best regards, Art
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Art Eatman:
I raised my son on the principle that you can't kid-proof a gun, but you can gun-proof a kid.
[/quote]
Please re-read Art's entire post. It is excellent advice. The above quotation is absolutely true -- and it is the core of the entire issue!
[This message has been edited by RWK (edited September 18, 2000).]
I raised my son on the principle that you can't kid-proof a gun, but you can gun-proof a kid.
[/quote]
Please re-read Art's entire post. It is excellent advice. The above quotation is absolutely true -- and it is the core of the entire issue!
[This message has been edited by RWK (edited September 18, 2000).]
Oh well, I was going to cut n' paste Art's comment but I see that RWK has beat me to it. It applies to most anything dangerous (ie interesting to a normal boy) around the house. While recently building a shed I had my two helpers (ages 8 & 5) run the drill and saw (with close supervision) at times. They quickly found that it wasn't as fun as it seemed (especially with mean old slavedriver dad running things 
). And because we all got the shed done this past weekend, tomorrow afternoon the three of us are heading off to the range to test out dad's new rifle. So yes they are exposed to guns and also to anything else that I can think of, both for the fun and to take the mystery out of it.
As an aside, both my parents were/are rabid anti's. Of course I was wondering what the big deal was. After my first real exposure to firearms (.22) at Scout Camp I was hooked (and wondering what else that they were wrong about). 10 years in the Army cured the full auto bug, but I doubt if anything will ever replace the smell of Hoppes near to my heart.
Greg
). And because we all got the shed done this past weekend, tomorrow afternoon the three of us are heading off to the range to test out dad's new rifle. So yes they are exposed to guns and also to anything else that I can think of, both for the fun and to take the mystery out of it.As an aside, both my parents were/are rabid anti's. Of course I was wondering what the big deal was. After my first real exposure to firearms (.22) at Scout Camp I was hooked (and wondering what else that they were wrong about). 10 years in the Army cured the full auto bug, but I doubt if anything will ever replace the smell of Hoppes near to my heart.
Greg
I was raised around guns. While my son was still in the making, I purchased him a cricket .22 youth rifle. He just turned 1. In a couple more years, he'll be shooting the rifle I bought him.
My brother was late with his kid. He's six years old, and all summer he saved B-day money, and did small things for us to make money so he could buy his own .22 rifle. I think he got one of those Romanian bolt action .22's out of shotgun news. I have no objection to my kids keeping a gun in the car if they prove themselves responsible. Some are, some aren't. I'll be damned if a pencil pushin' beaureucrat is going to determine whether or not he's responsible. I will request that he abide by the law, and not drive his car on school property. There's plenty of places to park without going on school property.
My brother was late with his kid. He's six years old, and all summer he saved B-day money, and did small things for us to make money so he could buy his own .22 rifle. I think he got one of those Romanian bolt action .22's out of shotgun news. I have no objection to my kids keeping a gun in the car if they prove themselves responsible. Some are, some aren't. I'll be damned if a pencil pushin' beaureucrat is going to determine whether or not he's responsible. I will request that he abide by the law, and not drive his car on school property. There's plenty of places to park without going on school property.
I was raised around them, though mostly .22 rifles and shotguns. They were kind of a farm implement /game getting tool. I developed a strong hobby interest so my kids were raised around guns, mostly handguns and rifles. Both kids are now in their 30s but my only granddaughter is 4,000 miles to the north.
Since neither of the kids are into shooting as a hobby and don't have the occasion to hunt regularly I don't expect any grand kids, current or future will be raised to have an active interest in firearms.
I don't think either of my kids are in any way anti-gun, and would probably think someone who was, was a bit strange.
Still, shooting, as a sport, for recreation, for hunting, for defensive use, etc. is not something they do; although when my son visits we manage to burn two or three bricks of .22 ammo. My daughter doesn't care one way or another about shooting and would probably see shooting as a recreation on about the same scale as learning to drive nails.
The grand children will probably have minimal exposure. They'll certainly get some when they visit me, but otherwise guns will probably not be a part of their life growing up.
Unfortunately I think that is probably representative of the American public today. While you have the rabid antis, most folks aren't exposed to shooting as a sport or recreation and simply have no idea about it one way or the other except the vague concept that guns can be hazardous (which they are if not used carefully) and an exaggerated idea of how they work from the movies and TV.
Personally I think every middle and high school ought to have at least an air gun PE course, and field an athletic team in one or more of the shooting disciplines if their enrollment is sufficient. Will that ever come to pass? Absent a radical reshaping of our political and cultural structure, not in our lifetime.
For my grandchildren, the best I can hope for is that they will develop a hobby or other personal interest in shooting. The next best (which I expect) is that they'll grow up thinking that guns are an object with certain mechanical uses - hunting, self defense, target shooting - but not be particularly inclined to make the effort to engage in those uses. The next worse case is that they won't care enough to support the rights of those who do have an interest in one or another aspects of shooting.
The absolute worst case is that they will have a need for a firearm for defense and not even know they should have had that right.
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Jim Fox
Since neither of the kids are into shooting as a hobby and don't have the occasion to hunt regularly I don't expect any grand kids, current or future will be raised to have an active interest in firearms.
I don't think either of my kids are in any way anti-gun, and would probably think someone who was, was a bit strange.
Still, shooting, as a sport, for recreation, for hunting, for defensive use, etc. is not something they do; although when my son visits we manage to burn two or three bricks of .22 ammo. My daughter doesn't care one way or another about shooting and would probably see shooting as a recreation on about the same scale as learning to drive nails.
The grand children will probably have minimal exposure. They'll certainly get some when they visit me, but otherwise guns will probably not be a part of their life growing up.
Unfortunately I think that is probably representative of the American public today. While you have the rabid antis, most folks aren't exposed to shooting as a sport or recreation and simply have no idea about it one way or the other except the vague concept that guns can be hazardous (which they are if not used carefully) and an exaggerated idea of how they work from the movies and TV.
Personally I think every middle and high school ought to have at least an air gun PE course, and field an athletic team in one or more of the shooting disciplines if their enrollment is sufficient. Will that ever come to pass? Absent a radical reshaping of our political and cultural structure, not in our lifetime.
For my grandchildren, the best I can hope for is that they will develop a hobby or other personal interest in shooting. The next best (which I expect) is that they'll grow up thinking that guns are an object with certain mechanical uses - hunting, self defense, target shooting - but not be particularly inclined to make the effort to engage in those uses. The next worse case is that they won't care enough to support the rights of those who do have an interest in one or another aspects of shooting.
The absolute worst case is that they will have a need for a firearm for defense and not even know they should have had that right.
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Jim Fox
I think I'll sneak in this thread and mention a few things.
I'm a 22yr old that was raised around guns. My father never let an opportunity go by without letting us hold one he had just cleaned, or take us shooting whenever he could. I was raised in a household where guns were plenty (but often secretly hidden), and about a common sight as the salt/pepper shaker on the table. I was raised to respect guns as a tool and not an object of schoolastic mass destruction.
I received my first handgun (X&X mdl 15) at the age of 20. Being completely independent of my parents since the age of 18, I was allowed to make my own decisions (mistakes). Upon receiving this fine piece of work, I chose to selectivly carry (without permit) on my person and in the car (which is of course, against the law). Living in Atlanta, I found a great sense of comfort while carrying and did so with great discresion and paranoia (at the time). I don't know if you would consider it a character flaw, but I routinely break laws I find unConstitutional.
The point being (I don't know if there is one in this post), is that I grew up in a family where firearms were (maybe not a way of life) "around" (for a lack of a better word). That being said, my girlfriend (soon to be fiance
) was raised in a home with one fence sitter (mom) and an anti (dad -- go figure?). She has openly come to the realization that firearms are necessary for personal protection. We have discussed this to some degree, but come to a small "bump in the road" concerning kids & guns. I have yet to hammer this one out with her, but I believe in my father's own wisdom, the answer will come in time.
Okay, so maybe this didn't amount to anything, but a small pat on my back. I think I'll retire into lurk mode for the rest of the night.
[/rant]
On a sidenote for JimFox:
Hang in there buddy.. I never really "got into it" until a few years ago.. and with each consecutive year, the feverish pace at which I must aquire a new firearm grows faster!
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God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
oberkommando sez:
"We lost the first and third and now they are after the Second!(no pun intended)"
[This message has been edited by KaMaKaZe (edited September 18, 2000).]
I'm a 22yr old that was raised around guns. My father never let an opportunity go by without letting us hold one he had just cleaned, or take us shooting whenever he could. I was raised in a household where guns were plenty (but often secretly hidden), and about a common sight as the salt/pepper shaker on the table. I was raised to respect guns as a tool and not an object of schoolastic mass destruction.
I received my first handgun (X&X mdl 15) at the age of 20. Being completely independent of my parents since the age of 18, I was allowed to make my own decisions (mistakes). Upon receiving this fine piece of work, I chose to selectivly carry (without permit) on my person and in the car (which is of course, against the law). Living in Atlanta, I found a great sense of comfort while carrying and did so with great discresion and paranoia (at the time). I don't know if you would consider it a character flaw, but I routinely break laws I find unConstitutional.
The point being (I don't know if there is one in this post), is that I grew up in a family where firearms were (maybe not a way of life) "around" (for a lack of a better word). That being said, my girlfriend (soon to be fiance
) was raised in a home with one fence sitter (mom) and an anti (dad -- go figure?). She has openly come to the realization that firearms are necessary for personal protection. We have discussed this to some degree, but come to a small "bump in the road" concerning kids & guns. I have yet to hammer this one out with her, but I believe in my father's own wisdom, the answer will come in time.Okay, so maybe this didn't amount to anything, but a small pat on my back. I think I'll retire into lurk mode for the rest of the night.
[/rant]On a sidenote for JimFox:
Hang in there buddy.. I never really "got into it" until a few years ago.. and with each consecutive year, the feverish pace at which I must aquire a new firearm grows faster!
------------------
God, Guns and Guts made this country a great country!
oberkommando sez:
"We lost the first and third and now they are after the Second!(no pun intended)"
[This message has been edited by KaMaKaZe (edited September 18, 2000).]
I was raised with readily accessible guns treated as tools and my kids (5) have all been taught safety and shoot. My latest have grown up through 4-H shooting Sports and won several medals.
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"In my opinion, anyone pushing through anti-gun legislation is a bloody traitor and should be sent up for treason" N.H. Stuart
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"In my opinion, anyone pushing through anti-gun legislation is a bloody traitor and should be sent up for treason" N.H. Stuart
I have a gun on me or around me everywhere it is legal. My 6 yo knows the safety aspects as do my older kids.
I didn't have a firearm around the house till I was about 35. I was concerned about the kid's safety.
I learned, and used common sense, bought a safe, and taught the kids.
I am comfortable now.
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"Any world that I'm welcome to.....Is better than the one I come from"
I didn't have a firearm around the house till I was about 35. I was concerned about the kid's safety.
I learned, and used common sense, bought a safe, and taught the kids.
I am comfortable now.
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"Any world that I'm welcome to.....Is better than the one I come from"
David Scott
New member
There have been guns in our house since before my son was born. We taught him properly and never had a problem with him and guns. He's now 24 and really wants a Glock 19, but since he lives in St. Louis in the State of Misery he can't get a CCW. 
I was raised around firearms (my closet was the storage place for most of them), I began shooting at the tender age of 4, and owned my first rifle at about 12. 13 of my cousins were raised around firearms and most began hunting at the minimum age for juvenile hunts. My nephew has been raised around firearms his entire life.
Total problems involving a firearm: 0
Total problems involving a firearm: 0
I am raising my 4 yr. old son and 1 yr. old daughter around firearms. He receives the standard line: if you see a gun, don't touch, leave the area and tell an adult, and this goes for where ever you happen to be. Plus he knows he will get he butt busted if I find him touching one without my permission. He is very curious especially when I am cleaning them and then I let him touch the guns. I was raised around loaded firearms and my wife actually had loaded guns stored in her bedroom growing up. My wife and I only keep our carry guns loaded and when they are not on us, they are stored securely.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
Sarge 83, that's the whole reason for cap pistols and Daisy Red Ryders. That way the kid has his "MY gun!" and has less interest in yours. I told my kid, "When you are big enough (physically), you can shoot any of my guns you want to--with me. Just tell me when you want to."
Shooting water pistols at other running kids is a great way to teach shotgunning. Think about it: Lead; the more distance, the more lead in order to hit.
Art
Shooting water pistols at other running kids is a great way to teach shotgunning. Think about it: Lead; the more distance, the more lead in order to hit.
Art