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Age limits on firearms?

Age limits for guns?

  • Good

    Votes: 9 40.9%
  • Bad

    Votes: 13 59.1%

  • Total voters
    22

Bodi

Just waiting for my set...
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Good or bad?

I bought my daughter a rifle for her third birthday and parents at the party went ape ****... why?
 
Age limits are bad but I don't see the point of getting a 3 year old a gun. It would be like getting a 3 year old a road bike. I was six when I got my first, a single shot 410.

Personally I think a kid's first gun should have at least a little recoil as that lets them know they using a powerful and dangerous tool that much be respected.
 
Bad but I don't see the point of getting a 3 year old a gun. It would be like getting a 3 year old a road bike. I was six when I got my first, a single shot 410.

I suppose its fine if you live in a rural area. Of course in only well supervised situations.
 
Age limits are bad but I don't see the point of getting a 3 year old a gun. It would be like getting a 3 year old a road bike. I was six when I got my first, a single shot 410.

Not gonna let her tote it around firing shots or anything... controlled circumstances under supervision.
 
I suppose its fine if you live in a rural area. Of course in only well supervised situations.

Thats a given. I never lived anywhere but rural areas when I was growing up.
 
It only seems sensible to me to limit the posession of firearms to adults.
 
Good or bad?

I bought my daughter a rifle for her third birthday and parents at the party went ape ****... why?

I think kids should learn proper firearm safety and handling as early as possible. Many anti-2nd amendment nuts complain about accidental shootings.In this country well tell kids to not run with scissors so they don't stab themselves or others accidentally. We tell kids to not talk to strangers so that Chester the child molester doesn't snatch them from the street.Well tell our kids to look both ways before crossing the street so that they do not get turned into street pizza.We tell kids to not do drugs so that they do not grow up to be junkies.We have sex ed classes to warn kids about unplanned pregnancy and STDs. For adults we have don't drink and drive commercials so that they do not get drunk off their ass, drive a car and kill someone innocent people. I have even seen a commercial telling teens to not send nude picks to their boyfriend's phone because he might be a douche and show everyone the nude pic.. In this country we have at least 310 million firearms in the hands of private citizens and the constitutional right of citizens to keep and bear arms.So one would think if the anti-2nd amendment group had a genuine concern over accidental shootings then they would support instilling kids with proper firearm handling and safety and public service announcements and tv specials talking about firearm safety and handling.
 
Good or bad?

I bought my daughter a rifle for her third birthday and parents at the party went ape ****... why?

Ahhh, age limit for SHOOTING guns.

At the end of the day the gun is still your property.

I don't see why they're making such a huge deal out of a tiny .22 but perhaps there's not as much of an acceptance of guns in NZ than in the US? At the end of the day, I don't think there's anything wrong with it.
 
Not a problem in my book.

Tell the other parents to be reasonable
 
The problem in my opinion is that to a 3 year old everything is a toy. They have yet to develop the necessary synapses to understand that a device can be a deadly weapon. In fact they don't even understand what death really is yet. I would imagine that if you did a poll of gun owning parents, 9 out of 10 of them would think that 3 years old is too young to really learn anything about firearm safety or usage. Its amazing how much more kids are capable of doing and understanding at age 5 or 6 versus 3. Until a child is old enough to understand that a device could kill someone, or for that matter even understands what death is, then I don't know if they need a device that could easily kill someone if not handled responsibly.

If you look at the few primitive hunter gatherer tribes left, toddlers go with their parents everywhere and thus are exposed to hunts at an early age, but even they don't have a 3 year old wielding a knife or spear yet.

That is not to say that I think there should be legal age limits. If you want to give a gun to your 18 month old, its your business. I am just saying that as a parent myself, I think 3 is a couple of years too young.
 
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The problem in my opinion is that to a 3 year old everything is a toy.

If you want to give a gun to your 18 month old, its your business. I am just saying that as a parent myself, I think 3 is a couple of years too young.


This. :yt

3 is too young.
 
Not gonna let her tote it around firing shots or anything... controlled circumstances under supervision.


Well, best to start them early. 3 seems a little young to me but I assume you know your kid.

Did a little very limited firearm stuff with Son#1 when he was 4... mostly gun safety and demos of how dangerous guns could be, and a couple of short sessions with a 22 rifle and BB gun. Didn't really get serious with it until he was more like 6.

OTOH I have a buddy whose 6yo hunts squirrels under close supervision, and is quite a good shot for such a little kid.

OT other, other hand I've declined to teach some kids that were older but IMO not ready. Depends on the kid.
 
I think kids should learn proper firearm safety and handling as early as possible. Many anti-2nd amendment nuts complain about accidental shootings.In this country well tell kids to not run with scissors so they don't stab themselves or others accidentally. We tell kids to not talk to strangers so that Chester the child molester doesn't snatch them from the street.Well tell our kids to look both ways before crossing the street so that they do not get turned into street pizza.We tell kids to not do drugs so that they do not grow up to be junkies.We have sex ed classes to warn kids about unplanned pregnancy and STDs. For adults we have don't drink and drive commercials so that they do not get drunk off their ass, drive a car and kill someone innocent people. I have even seen a commercial telling teens to not send nude picks to their boyfriend's phone because he might be a douche and show everyone the nude pic.. In this country we have at least 310 million firearms in the hands of private citizens and the constitutional right of citizens to keep and bear arms.So one would think if the anti-2nd amendment group had a genuine concern over accidental shootings then they would support instilling kids with proper firearm handling and safety and public service announcements and tv specials talking about firearm safety and handling.

I agree. I've always thought it was a bit dishonest of the lefty hypocrites when they want to teach sex ed in schools because kids are going to have sex anyway and then laugh at teaching abstinence, then think that 300,000,000 guns are going to somehow disappear. It makes more sense to teach about guns in school since chances are kids are going to encounter guns at some point.
 
The problem in my opinion is that to a 3 year old everything is a toy. They have yet to develop the necessary synapses to understand that a device can be a deadly weapon. In fact they don't even understand what death really is yet. I would imagine that if you did a poll of gun owning parents, 9 out of 10 of them would think that 3 years old is too young to really learn anything about firearm safety or usage. Its amazing how much more kids are capable of doing and understanding at age 5 or 6 versus 3. Until a child is old enough to understand that a device could kill someone, or for that matter even understands what death is, then I don't know if they need a device that could easily kill someone if not handled responsibly.

If you look at the few primitive hunter gatherer tribes left, toddlers go with their parents everywhere and thus are exposed to hunts at an early age, but even they don't have a 3 year old wielding a knife or spear yet.

That is not to say that I think there should be legal age limits. If you want to give a gun to your 18 month old, its your business. I am just saying that as a parent myself, I think 3 is a couple of years too young.


At 3 about the only thing I did with Son#1 was show him the results of shooting a jug of water with a 12 gauge shotgun, and explaining that I'd beat his ass if he touched a gun without permission. I let him shoot a little under CLOSE supervision (as in my hands on top of his hands) at 4, and let him observe me hunting and cleaning my kills, so he'd understand what happens when you shoot a living creature.

Didn't really get serious with it until he was more like 6.
 
At 3 about the only thing I did with Son#1 was show him the results of shooting a jug of water with a 12 gauge shotgun, and explaining that I'd beat his ass if he touched a gun without permission. I let him shoot a little under CLOSE supervision (as in my hands on top of his hands) at 4, and let him observe me hunting and cleaning my kills, so he'd understand what happens when you shoot a living creature.

Didn't really get serious with it until he was more like 6.

That is the way it was when I was a kid too. My son was 8 before he shot a gun the first time, but then again it was a .270.
 
That is the way it was when I was a kid too. My son was 8 before he shot a gun the first time, but then again it was a .270.


Yeah, it is well to be cautious. 6-8 is plenty young enough IMO, and even then only if they're ready. By 'ready' I mean they take it with appropriate seriousness, obey instructions well, and don't screw around while shooting.

And drill those Three Rules until they mumble them in their sleep!
 
Because it can kill her, or somebody else. Really quite simple. :roll:

How would it kill people? You don't seriously think that he's going to let her keep it in her room do you? He bought it for her birthday but hes most likely only going to allow her to use it when he's around and supervising.
 
Yeah, it is well to be cautious. 6-8 is plenty young enough IMO, and even then only if they're ready. By 'ready' I mean they take it with appropriate seriousness, obey instructions well, and don't screw around while shooting.

And drill those Three Rules until they mumble them in their sleep!

I took my first shots a little over half a decade ago (16 right now) but that was only because my parents don't own a gun and I was shooting with my uncle. Speaking of uncle, I'm visiting him real soon. Time to get ready for some plinking :mrgreen:
 
I never fired a gun until I was in my 20's, and that was after my dad got an old .38 auto. He took me out to the old borrow pit around the man-made lake and told me to shoot at the beer can at the bottom of the ditch. I took aim, holding the gun with my right hand, and hit it dead center. I never fired a gun, before, and my ears were ringing from the sound of the gun shot and my right hand was stinging from the recoil. It was merely a point and shoot shot because the sights were the old tongue and groove kind. He then told me to hit that can again. I fired once more but couldn't hit it. I fired again, and another miss. To save my life, I couldn't hit it because I was flinching before I even fired. Fortunately, I got over that initial fear and today, I am a pretty good shot. Later, my dad would buy me a .22 semi auto rifle that allowed me to plink at will. Of course the .22 has very little recoil.

A friend of mine was an avid shooter and had 3 daughters. His oldest, then a six-year old wanted to shoot the gun, so he took her out at night on the family farm. He put the gun in her hand and told her to pull the trigger. The flash, the sound, and the recoil were enough for her. She started crying and no longer wanted anything to do with the thunder stick, as she called it. He did that with each of the girls, and he could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing they wouldn't touch his guns. He still locked the guns away, just to make sure, but it was that added insurance that he cemented with them at an early age. Now all 3 are sharpshooters and compete in competition.
 
How would it kill people? You don't seriously think that he's going to let her keep it in her room do you? He bought it for her birthday but hes most likely only going to allow her to use it when he's around and supervising.

You're still a kid, so how about you have a couple of kids of your own one day, then come back and tell us how easy it is to control everything, all the time, when it comes to kids.

They're called "accidents" for a reason. Some are far more permanent than others.

Some 3 year olds are still in diapers. Many are still using pull-ups. Tons still suck on binkies.

Falls right into the category of "just because you can, doesn't mean you should".
 
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