I recently got a BB gun for Son#1(and me). He’ll be eight in October. I wrestled with the age old dilemma of “how young is too young to handle a gun”. I sat down with him and taught him the reasons why guns are treated like they’re always loaded, where to point them when not in use, and what NOT to point them at.

I owned a BB gun at a young age. I don’t recall having the in-depth safety conversation with my father that I did with my son. That’s probably why my brother and I shot each other with it in anger more times than I can remember. I don’t think we were responsible enough, if at all. I’m lucky to still have my vision, or the ability to reproduce. 

I got my son a multiple pump BB gun so it would grow with his abilities. He is only allowed 1-2 pumps, depending on the distance of his target. He wants to go hunting when he gets older, but I don’t hunt so he might have to go with my brother to fulfil that need. He’s tender hearted, however, so I don’t know what kind of conflict that will produce. 

I guess when it boils down to it, each child becomes responsible for certain things at different levels and ages. My son isn’t responsible enough to dress himself for school while in close proximity to his Legos; I constantly find him half dressed and playing with his toys. The gun, however, is a different issue. He is careful, safety conscious, and to top it all off he rivals his old man in accuracy (I consistently got sharpshooter ribbons and clusters while in the military). Brings a tear to my eye – wait….. maybe that’s BB pellet trauma from childhood.