Sir:
I’m coming up to speed by working my way through your blog archives (which are amazing, BTW), and have come to realize that while I know how to shoot, my skills are marginal. I’ve concluded that I’m what the firearms trainers call “consciously incompetent.” My wife and I plan to go do the Appleseed training, and then once that is under my belt, I plan to go to Front Sight. (I’ve read that you can buy “gray” Front Sight “first-timer” course certificates for cheap, on eBay.) After that, my wife and I can train our kids.
Here is my question: At what age should I start to teach my kids how to shoot? As background, they are mature for their age (they go to a parochial school and they both have good dexterity. They excel at Wii and foosball.) Our son is just 11, and our daughter is 13. Is that too young? Thanks, – Rob and Linda
JWR Replies: In my experience, children as young as eight years old can be taught to shoot safely and accurately. By the time they each reached 12 years of age, my kids had put thousands of rounds through a Chipmunk single-shot .22 rifle. Chipmunks are dimensioned specifically for young shooters. Our Chipmunk is an early production one, circa 1990. They are now made by Rogue Rifle Company. My kids have now mostly transitioned to a Ruger 10/22 with a shortened stock. (I bought a spare birch stock at a gun show for just this purpose, for less than $10.) Shortening it took just five minutes with a crosscut saw, some sand paper, and a coat of linseed oil on the butt–and it was good to go.
To illustrate what a a pre-teenager can accomplish, watch this YouTube video of an 11 year-old girl named McKenzie shooting an autopistol in an intermediate class originally intended for adults. And here is the same young lady showing her expertise at field stripping and re-assembling an AR carbine. Do not underestimate what your children can learn and accomplish!