Right age for a BB Gun

Six is the age.

If he wants it, the curiosity is there.

Get it (with restrictions...i.e. Adult Supervision)

If he's asking then it's time to begin teaching him GUN SAFETY.

Better to come from YOU rather than the older neighbor kid who already has one and might not have the supervision and teaching that YOU can offer.

He'll shoot his eye out!!

I really do know a guy who got a BB gun for Christmas and then shot his eye out.

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If he wants it, the curiosity is there.

Get it (with restrictions...i.e. Adult Supervision)

If he's asking then it's time to begin teaching him GUN SAFETY.

Better to come from YOU rather than the older neighbor kid who already has one and might not have the supervision and teaching that YOU can offer.

You're right there.Of course,like I said there is no neigbor kid within at least a mile so thats not a worry.But I plan on locking it in my gun safe with the rest of my arsenal.

I think he should wait untill he's 10 ,MHO
I have a grown son . With both eyes still in tack .

Six is a little young without direct supervision, but a lot of it depends on the individual child.

And start them off right to begin with...make the child wear proper eye protection or the gun gets done away with. Anybody using a firearm, whether a bb gun or a 7mm magnum should wear eye protection.

We gave my son money for him to buy himself something while we were on vacation this past summer and he decided on a BB gun! I was hesitant but my husband thought he was mature enough to handle it. We have it locked in a gun safe when he isn't using it. There are two rules at our house: 1) He can not use it unless someone is right there with him (and since he doesn't know our code to the gun safe he can't get it out without a parent) and 2) he can only shoot at his target. We do it in our side yard where there is plenty of room and no animals or other children. He is 6. He has handled it very well. He practices his gun safety each and everytime he handles the gun. He walks with it pointed down and away from people and other things. I say get it for him. After all, if he still believes in Santa (mine does) this may be the last Christmas to watch his eyes light up on Christmas morning as he marvels at the magic of Santa knowing exactly what he wanted!

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We gave my son money for him to buy himself something while we were on vacation this past summer and he decided on a BB gun! I was hesitant but my husband thought he was mature enough to handle it. We have it locked in a gun safe when he isn't using it. There are two rules at our house: 1) He can not use it unless someone is right there with him (and since he doesn't know our code to the gun safe he can't get it out without a parent) and 2) he can only shoot at his target. We do it in our side yard where there is plenty of room and no animals or other children. He is 6. He has handled it very well. He practices his gun safety each and everytime he handles the gun. He walks with it pointed down and away from people and other things. I say get it for him. After all, if he still believes in Santa (mine does) this may be the last Christmas to watch his eyes light up on Christmas morning as he marvels at the magic of Santa knowing exactly what he wanted!

Thank you.I have let him shoot my pelet gun,and taught him the safety rules and he does good with it.I beleive Santa might bring him a Red Ryder.That was my Christmas present when I was six.I loved it and stayed out of trouble with it too.

It would truly be worth the trouble of constant supervision and gun safety lessons to be able to see his little eyes light up on Christmas morning. Some places also offer gun safety courses for children. They get a little certificate saying they complete the course and it gives them something to be proud of too!

Sounds to me like we have a lot of responsible gun owners here! . I bought my son his first bb gun at 7, and later his first shotgun at 10. He has been very responsible with both, but now even at 15, he only allowed to shoot with responsible adult supervision.

My son is 7 and crazy about guns!! But, until he is at an age where I dont have to worry about him getting mad at his 11 yr old sister and her coming to me with a BB on her butt...we are sticking with nerf pellet guns.

I got my first BB gun when I was 6. It was a Daisy 50-shot pump gun. I received essentially no safety instructions from my parents other then not to point the thing at anyone--ever, which is, I suppose, the single most important safety practice when using any gun (unless you are defending yourself from some snarling lethal invader). I never shot anyone or anything I shouldn't have. BUT, on reflection, if I had a son (my kids are all girls), I would spend a good deal more time with him on gun use and safety than my parents spent with me. Also, while I was--as all of you doubtless would assume--mature and sensible well beyond my young age, many 6-year-olds are simply not ready for a BB gun, irrespective of how much safety instruction one might attempt to get into their little heads.

I got my first sawed-off shotgun at 16!*



*Just kidding--don't rat me out to the ATF!!

Yeah, then let him have a rifle at 8 to shoot prairie dogs. You know what he'll shoot next...

My one serious question here is what IS the boy going to shoot at?

Hey, I'm a girl and I got a Daisy BB gun when I was 6. Of course, my two older brothers already had one. Used CO2 cartridges.
We stood up coke cans or small rocks on a log and shot them off. I also shot myself in the foot, duh!
I was 10 at that time.

bb guns? childsplay , give that kid a 30

That was my favorite Christmas present ever. I still remember the excitement as I unwrapped my Red Rider BB gun. I was 8 and not a particular fan of barbies. Yes I'm female also. My parents just gave me a safety speech and let me loose with it. Never shot my eye out, but did shoot a cute little birdie in my backyard. I cried, but then enjoyed hunting with my dad later on. My girls aren't interested in guns so we don't have to worry about what age is right. My nephew is quite interested and he got an air soft rifle first at the age of 7. Then inherited my Red Rider BB gun. I would say 6 would be fine with parental guidance and then as he shows responsibility let him shoot some on his own if he wants.

In my opinion, you have received some really excellent answers, with the exception of one (you know who you are .

Now, here's how it worked for me...I got my first and only BB gun when I was six. My dad was a hunter and very safety conscious. One excellent control of a six year old with a BB gun, beyond attentive adult supervision, is to hand out BBs only five at a time. Five are fired, the gun is cleared, then it is cleaned and stored. As the child matures and advances in skills and safety consciousness, additional freedoms can be earned. By the time I was ten, my Daisy Red Ryder went every where with me. We were allowed to shoot birds but not song birds. Starlins were a favorite target and eventually, Bluejays were on the list also...

There are several documented incidents where BB gun accidents have killed adult bystanders, so SAFETY and ADULT SUPERVISION are the standards to live by.

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Originally posted by Eye-gor:
He'll shoot his eye out!!

I really do know a guy who got a BB gun for Christmas and then shot his eye out.

How did he shoot his eye OUT?
Stick the barrel up his nose?

Sure he didn't shoot it IN?

I REALLY do know someone who got their eye shot out by a BB gun. My daddy when he was a little boy was shooting his BB gun and his brother was hiding in the bushes and the wind caught the BB and blew it in the direction that my father wasn't shooting and it went in his brother's eye. Moral of the story-nobody should anywhere near or around when you are shooting or Don't go shooting your BB gun on a windy day. My uncle was blind in that eye the rest of his life and then the poor fellow lost the sight in the other eye to diabetes before he passed away.

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Originally posted by RoadHawg:

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Originally posted by Eye-gor:
He'll shoot his eye out!!

I really do know a guy who got a BB gun for Christmas and then shot his eye out.

How did he shoot his eye OUT?
Stick the barrel up his nose?

Sure he didn't shoot it IN?

Picture this. 1940. Two kids are playing with their Christmas BB guns. One pops up from behind a log. The other fires and shoots the other kid right through the retina. Shot his eye out. Now he has a glass eye.

I guess I should rephrase that as, he'll shoot someone else's kid's eye out and then you'll get your pants sued off.

One of my sisters shot my other sister in the back of the neck with a BB gun, totally by accident. They were old enough to know better. I got in trouble for laughing at them. Go figure!

Nonpowder guns kill an
average of four Americans
yearly, and from 1990 to
2000, there were 39 such
deaths — 32 of children
younger than 15,Most states have laws or
regulations governing nonpowder
guns. New York’s is
one of the strictest, prohibiting
the purchase or unsupervised
use by someone
younger than 16 years,

Wow times sure have changed. I got my first BB gun at 8, but had been shooting my older brother's for awhile. I grew up in a hunting family so it was no big deal for me to go off in the woods w/ my dogs and try to hunt squirrels w/ it. Of course, you're not going to kill one w/ a Red Ryder, but I learned valuable stalking skills. When I was in 6th grade I was allowed to sit in my own stand w/ my father's Remington 1100 for dove hunting and deer hunting. By the time I was in 8th or 9th grade I was carrying his .22 to go squirrel hunting by myself. Dad bought me my first real gun for Christmas when I was 21...it was a Marlin 336CS lever-action 30-30. Prior to that I'd been carrying said shotgun or his '03 Springfield 30-06 to hunt with.

Now my girls, 5 & 7, shoot a Red Ryder too, but never w/ out me around. They don't have quite as keen an interest in going out in the woods and hunting by themselves as I had. They're both learning gun handling skills right now, so there's no rush to get them a .410 or .243.

It all depends on the kid and the environment of the family.

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My one serious question here is what IS the boy going to shoot at?

While learning,We'll stick to coke cans and paper targets.Then I'm gonna take him FOX hunting.

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Originally posted by Backwoods:

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My one serious question here is what IS the boy going to shoot at?

While learning,We'll stick to coke cans and paper targets.Then I'm gonna take him FOX
hunting.

Now now, children...

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Originally posted by Backwoods:

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My one serious question here is what IS the boy going to shoot at?

While learning,We'll stick to coke cans and paper targets.Then I'm gonna take him FOX hunting.

Just Joking.Seriosly,we have plenty of room for target practice.I beleive in teaching gun safety young.You don't hear of many gun crimes geing committed by avid hunters or kids brought up to respect the danger but also the responsibility and priviledge of gun ownership.
Remember,"Guns don't kill people;husbands that come home early kill people."

My daughter was 4 when Santa brought her BB gun!!! She was supervised untill the age of about 8! She is now a perfect shot. My hubby has a 400 weatherby, and she loves the thrill of beating the old man at target practice!! Myself on the other hand, I'm scared to death of guns. Maybe because I was never allowed to be around them when I was younger! I think if the child has an interest a BB gun is a great start...but with supervision of course!

My brother got a BB gun when I was about 5, so I had unlimited use when he got tired of it. Got my pellet rifle when I was in 3rd grade. My grandfather was an NRA instructor (kept a loaded gun in every room of his house), and gave me a 16 gauge when I was about 15, though he and I had been shooting for years.

Other than training sessions with my older brother, I was pretty much unsupervised with the BB gun and pellet rifle. I'm probably lucky to be alive.

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Originally posted by mississippi_moonshine:
Nonpowder guns kill an
average of four Americans
yearly, and from 1990 to
2000, there were 39 such
deaths — 32 of children
younger than 15,Most states have laws or
regulations governing nonpowder
guns. New York’s is
one of the strictest, prohibiting
the purchase or unsupervised
use by someone
younger than 16 years,

I say amen.