What age were your children when you taught them to shoot?

I don't have children but my dad taught me to shoot a co2 pellet gun when i was 5 and was squirrel hunting with a break action .410 at 6. I grew up spending a lot of time on the family land in the north woods. Everyone started young and it was an exciting and memorable time all kids looked forward to but also understood safety and responsibility first with a lot of demonstration and patience, attitude is everything.
 
I taught my daughters at 5 and 6 yrs old. They were mature enough to understand the safety rules and follow clear instructions. Nowadays with their own kids they don't get out to shoot much but they are enthusiastic gun rights and shooting sport supporters and plan to get their CHL this year.
 
I am currently teaching my 10 year old daughter and 15 year old son how to shoot. They both really enjoy it and are learning how to properly handle a firearm. They've both seen what guns can do and are developing a healthy respect for guns.

Mac
 
I had a daisy bb gun at about 6 or 7a but i was about 8 when i shot my first real gun and got one for christmas later that year a .22 armscor rifle which i loved and had until i was about 16 when it was stolen out of our moving truck while moving..i now have a daughter who will be 2 in a few months and have wondered that myself..i think 10 is a good median age but as said earlier it really is more about maturity than age..i currently have a remington 597semi thats a project gun for me but i assume this will eventually be her first gun passed down.That is of course only if she is ready for it i think a bb gun is always a good first for a kid so they can prove they can be safe with it before moving onto the real thing.
 
My dad handed me a bb gun when I was around 5 years old. After the proper training he let me wander the 40 acres he had at the time unsupervised. At 8 years old I graduated to a .177 pellet gun and was told "if you kill it, you eat it". I was 14 when I got my very own .22 although I had been allowed to use my dads single shot Remington unsupervised by about age 10. I would like to follow a similar pattern. My oldest daughter is only two but I cant wait to take her out shooting! We'll go out with the bb gun as soon as she can relay instructions back to me and understand the rules of shooting. When will she be allowed to shoot unsupervised? I'm not sure, time will tell and I think each kid is different.
 
All 3 of my kids started shooting when they were about 6 (youngest is 24 now). They were helping me reload when they were 4 or 5. In high school my daughter used to instruct the boys in reloading and cleaning AR15's, then bring them to the range and clean their clocks on the steel plates.

Same with my granddaughter. She turned 9 in February, has been shooting for 3 or 4 years. She doesn't miss a ballon or clay target out to 100 yards. Biggest thing she shoots is .223 in an AR15, she has no problems at all with that.

Yesterday at the range:

Her 10/22:
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Target 10/22 with a much nicer scope than hers - she wanted to trade me hers for this one. She easily keeps 10 shots within a 1" square (shooting fast - still trying to get her to slow down) with this one at 25 yards.
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She prefers the AR15 because it is much more impressive blowing up water jugs and aluminum cans in ditches - she loves blasting them 20 or 30 yards into the air. However, she isn't paying for her own ammo yet - and it's hard to load fast enough to keep up with her shooting!
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At 5 they started on BB gun in the basement, at 6 they moved up to a shortened 22 rifle and I saved the stock end so I could put it back together when they grew into it. By 12 boy was shooting expert with my 45 and his 11 year old sister wasn't far behind. They knew guns were serious and could only shoot with me but all they had to do was ask and most of the time I was able to spare the time or make the time.
 
IIRC:

We learned everything we needed to know with the BB guns at six.
Once everything was learned they moved on to .22s at eight.
Shotguns and ARs at ten.
Large bore rifles at twelve.

They have shot handguns before but I am waiting until they are 18 to get serious about it.

By learning I mean they keep their weapons in their room now on their own, securely. I don't recommend this for everyone, even where legal. All kids are different and everyone learns at a different pace. Some are more irresponsible have less control of their emotions and some have weird friends.

Whenever other kids stay overnight (a rarity these days) the guns go back in the safe until they leave.
 
My oldest (8 years) shoots my 22 quite well out 200 yards with a Mill Dot scope. We spend quite a bit of time with it. Also, he shoots the muzzleloader on minimum charge! Quite interested in it!
 
good bonding experience!

Have two kids, a daughter who's nine and a son who is three. My daughter learned to cast (fishing) when she was three and is a great fisher-girl six years later. Likewise, bought her a BB gun when she was six, set up BB trap in basement, and taught her to shoot. We've been shooting several years. She has gotten good and loves it. I took her to the indoor range this Sunday for the first time, and she shot a .22 pistol quite well and a Savage .22 Rascal youth rifle I rented. I have, of course, spent time with her leading up to this drilling rules of gun safety into her for years. She loved it. This was funny: she's been talking about buying that (4th? 5th?) American girl doll with money she's earned and saved up, but after shooting the Rascal she said, basically: "forget the doll, may I use my money to get a Rascal instead?" :) Plan to follow same timeline with my son. She also has fired, from a rest, my 10/22 with scope and likes that too. Pretty weird but cool having 2nd amendment discussions on the way to school with her.
 
I don't have any children but I was shooting a .22 and a .410 by the age of 9 with my dad there. I had shown I was competent (and responsible enough) to take my BB gun out with me anytime.
 
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