teaching children to shoot guns? I went outside yesterday and shot about a half a dozen shots through an old 20g shot gun i have. My little girl wanted to watch, so i let her come outside and stand behind me and watch me. My wife brought my little boy outside as well. After shooting it my little girl said "Now i know what it does i will leave it alone" (I keep it where she cant get it anyways) and i made the comment to my wife that in a few years...several years... i'll teach our little boy how to shoot a gun. My wife said "oh no you dont, he doesn't need to know how to shoot one." Do you guys think its better to raise a child knowing how to properly use a gun, using safety and such, or not to teach them to use one at all?

I was raised knowing how to shoot a gun since i could pretty much hold one. Even got layed on my ass a few times by a 270 when i was little. Just wondering what you guys thought of this?

My wife has good reasons not to like guns, her brother was shot in the face and lost an eye because of a .410 and every since that happened about 8 years ago, she cant stand the site of a gun to well.

 

Why not teach the little girl too? It's a rather sexist view that you would teach the boy and not the girl. My wife learned how to shoot from her father, they've always had guns around. I didn't shoot anything until I was in the Marine Corps, they taught me how to shoot and shoot very well at that. I qualified as Expert with rifle and pistol.

 

Well yea i plan on teaching her as well, but i'm going to have to wait a few more years on her too. That 20g kicks a little to much for her right now, it would probably put her on her ass.....

 

I'd say if you are in an area that is big on hunting and people have guns more commonplace, yes, I would teach them how to properly use and handle one.

If you are in a more crowded area and guns are more on tv than in peoples lives, then I wouldn't worry as much about it.

In other words, if they have a high chance of actually coming in contact with guns in real life just by doing everyday things and visiting people and such, yes otherwise no.

 

I dont know how it is in other parts of the country but down here, everyone has guns at their homes. We live in a remote area, i keep one mainly for protection, in case i ever needed one. But yes guns are everywhere down here.....and hunting is HUGE down here as well....

 

That's like here...hunting is big business in Michigan, my wife's brother and dad are hunters, I'm not only because I'm not hungry enough. Her brother goes on hunting vacations to remote locations. One year he got a bear way up in northern Ontario, that was the best tasting bear meat I have eaten, tasted like the blueberries he got him in.

 

Yea deer hunting is HUGE down here, that where i learned to handle a gun. My dad taught me so i could go hunting with him every weekend. I dont really hunt anymore, i dont have the time or the patients for it anymore.....

 

depends on maturity and age of the child in question.

 

From what it sounds like, guns would be a good enough part of every day life where I would probably teach my kids.

Go 20 mins outside our main cities here and everyone has guns and hunting is pretty big. If I had kids and lived out just a bit, I'd (have to learn myself first) teach them.

 

I agree.. but it would also depend on the childs age... I dont think children really understand what dead means. They are just too inocent sometimes...