Pictures of a young S&W addict at the range

Great pictures! Here's another new SW addict - and overall shooting addict. My soon to be 9 year old granddaughter with her dad.
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Your son is lucky to have you as a Dad.
Just curious, if he is shooting 38 Specials in the 27 or real 357 Magnum loads?
 
That was a box of .38s. He wanted to shoot .357s thru it, but if I remember right I took a 3914, 27-2, Ruger Charger, and Ruger Mark II that day. When we do go the range, I have to get four sets of safety glasses and hearing protection for everybody. I just forgot to take .357 ammo that day. I have a 629-1 that I took to the range the time before that one. My 8 year old (who probably only weighs about 50 pounds) was furious with me because I wouldn't let him shoot 240 grain Winchesters thru the .44 mag. My wife will occasionally go to the range with us sometimes.

Regardless of whether they grow up and decide that shooting/hunting is one of their hobbies, I feel better knowing that they have learned to treat every gun like it was loaded and actually be able to check whether a revolver or a semi-auto is loaded. In my opinion, hunting also teaches them that once you pull the trigger, you have potentially taken a life that will never be again. I mess up being a Dad probably more than I don't, but I feel pretty confident about them being safe around any gun. Whenever we go pawn shopping or looking at a gun store, I make it a point to them that even if the person working at the store checks to see if it is loaded or not, I still want to open the chamber in a safe direction once I get the gun in my hands.
 
Like sex, I have mixed feelings about exposing kids at such as young age to firearms. Is the average child mature enough at this age to respect firearms?
 
Respect them - yes, absolutely. That's the whole point of the exercise. FULLY understand the great tragedy that could result from just the tiniest mistake - maybe not. That is precisely why Dad should always be close at hand.

I let my kids start shooting when they were hardly old enough to hold a small .22 rifle. Now more than ten years later, I still am watching their every move - and they know it. We're always going over basic safety and range etiquette.

There is just no way you can fully explain the effects of a gun accident. But I think it far and away better to start a youngster out like this lad, with full supervision in a controlled setting, than to let kids grow up watching the perversion of the role of firearms in our society, as it is shown on television.
 
Respect them - yes, absolutely. That's the whole point of the exercise. FULLY understand the great tragedy that could result from just the tiniest mistake - maybe not. That is precisely why Dad should always be close at hand.

I let my kids start shooting when they were hardly old enough to hold a small .22 rifle. Now more than ten years later, I still am watching their every move - and they know it. We're always going over basic safety and range etiquette.

There is just no way you can fully explain the effects of a gun accident. But I think it far and away better to start a youngster out like this lad, with full supervision in a controlled setting, than to let kids grow up watching the perversion of the role of firearms in our society, as it is shown on television.

Spot on couldnt be said better
 
I'm almost 60, my only son almost 37, we've been shooting since he was knee high to a grasshopper. Hunting with me before he could hunt himself. Start them off right and they will understand the ramifications of shooting safely and killing something unintentionally. I could not agree more with M29since14. Start your kids off early.
 
Yup, I started my boys off early. Had them shooting a chipmunk 22 as soon as they were big enough.
As soon as I thought they were competent I took them to the woods as they were burning to shoot a squirrel. I said eye ball shot only and they had to clean and skin them and then we cooked it and they ate it.

I wanted them to know the cycle of life first hand. It is the best thing I ever did.

John
 
Yes, it's the hammer rebounding. Great pics. It's hard to time them and impossible to photoshop them to look like that.

Great to see your sons enjoy your hobbie.
 
Start 'em out young!

Bill,
I agree, completely, only more so! I'm almost 75, and have a grandson who is 6'2" and well over 200 lbs. who started shooting a .22 revolver when he was 7 years old. He's now 29, married and into shooting a .44 Mag with 275 gr. heavy handloads! And, everything in between, plus shotgun and rifle. He was stiff competion on target by the time he was 15. I don't think he'll forget it! I'm proud of him!
Dick

I'm almost 60, my only son almost 37, we've been shooting since he was knee high to a grasshopper. Hunting with me before he could hunt himself. Start them off right and they will understand the ramifications of shooting safely and killing something unintentionally. I could not agree more with M29since14. Start your kids off early.
 
I am sure that there is no definitive right answer to when kids should be exposed to firearms. My kids do have to wear eye protection when shooting even a BB gun. They know if I catch them without the eye protection, after I tan a rear-end, they will not touch a BB gun for a long time. Its not negotiable. All three boys also ride four wheelers and dirt bikes. Same thing applies there. If you get on a four wheeler/dirt bike, you better have on a buckled up helmet and a chest protector.

I had much rather have my kids out in the field hunting or shooting with me than playing a video game. I wish I could find a bumper sticker that I saw in Stuttgart, AR several years ago that said "Hunt with your kids, not for them". I look at time afield with them as an investment. In my opinion, you have to tailor the hunt to the child. Expecting them to sit still for hours on end is just not realistic. I also think that teaching them to respect the game that we are hunting and to respect the laws and bag limits is crucial. When we duck hunt, if we knock a duck down, we make every effort to retrieve it. If we are unable to retrieve it, we count that lost duck against our bag limit. It is important for kids to see that everything we hunt doesn't die instantly when we shoot it.
 
I love the concentration and follow thru in the second pic. Got a young bullseye shooter there.:)
DW
 
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