What is a good age for a child to get his/her first gun [ pistol ]?

I wouldn’t ever buy my child a pistol.

@Hypocrisy_Central Are you planning on giving a gun to a child or is this a metaphorical question?

@atlantis Part probing, and part exploration. My fiancée wants a pistol after we marry because we are planning to be living out there not near town, etc. So I am exploring the idea that if she feels better and more protected armed it could be a family thing and our children can learn to shoot not only for sport but to protect themselves from mountain lions, hopefully never attackers, or bears and such. The sooner they learn gun safety the better off they would be IMO.

to protect themselves from mountain lions, hopefully never attackers, or bears and such

Unless they were to carry a loaded gun with them at all times, this isn’t a very logical way to plan for defense against wild animals.

In that case, depends upon the child, but to be on the safe side I would not let them in the same vicinity as the gun until they are 10 years of age. Even if your child is the best child who does as she is told, better be safe then sorry.
That being said, for training purposes you can take your kids to the shooting range, if they allow kids, and have them trained in front of you by a professional trainer. That should make them more gun-savvy than the average kid.

@FutureMemory If yo are planning on living on 40+ acres I think you can carry a piece on most of your land :-P

Imo I see very little reason for a child to fire live ammunition before the age of 10 other than a selfish parent wanting brag about it. My boys seemed quite content with bb guns they got to fire in scoys at the age 8. Then when the were 10 in Boy Scouts they were afforded the opportunity to shoot 22’s and 20 gauge shot guns but only after passing the NRA firearms instruction class.

Get the pistol anytime. Kids should not fire live ammunition until their bodies are producing live ammunition.

We got BB guns when we were 10. It used to be quite common to buy a child his/her first rifle, usually a .22, at age 12. Both my wife and i still have the guns we got when were kids. (Marlin 39 and a Mossberg 144.)
Pistols are a different question entirely. In this state, you need a permit to carry one and the minimum age for a carry permit is 21. With the background check it usually takes until you are 22.

Just because a child is capable of handling a gun doesn’t make them mature enough to own one. I think a child might be old enough at ten or twelve. But if I had children, they wouldn’t be touching a gun until they were old enough to buy it themselves.

I live outside of the USA, with no 2nd amendment. You have no idea how insane this sounds to me. It is on a par with “should I give this guy in a hockey mask some gas for his chainsaw?” or “ever hack off all your toes to see what it feels like?”.

Let the kid wait a few years. The odds of the kid using the gun one day to protect the family from intruders vs the odds of the kid accidentally blowing his brains out make it a bad idea for me.

When the child is an adult.

@poisonedantidote Would you go as far as saying it’s an illogical approach to the problem?

@FutureMemory The logic is sound, give the kid adult things so he wont go crazy with them when he is an adult. However, risk, fear, and emotion would outweigh any maturity benefit you may instil in the kid.

When I was 9 years old, my father started letting me drink very very mild shandy or wine spritsers so that I would not go mad with alcohol use once I was older. Now in my 20’s I hardly ever drink, however his teachings did not stop me from putting my self in hospital with alcohol poisoning when I was 16.

There you go sonny!
Y’all be careful now y’hear!

I don’t think it’s a matter of age/ownership. I think it’s a matter of age/education.

If you are going to have guns in your house you need to start teaching a child from a very early age just exactly what guns are and what they can do. I don’t know about giving a six year old his own pistol to do with as he wants but a six year old should know how to and how not to use it.

Besides, you’re going to be living on 40+ acres. He needs a .22 rifle. That’s what I started with when I was 10.

i wasn’t allowed to use it without adult supervision until i was 12

It’s important for children to learn gun safety. I’m 14. and my dad taught me how to shoot a gun several years ago. We still go shooting at a gun range near my house, and I’m glad that i’m more well-informed than other kids my age. I own a .22 rifle, a really nice one from my grandfather. I think that instead of giving your kid a gun, make sure to let him practice with yours and then think about getting him one of his own when he’s older.

Its best to start with a long gun or rifle. Around the age of five, I began to teach my children what daddys police gun was about. Making sure it was empty, I let them relieve their curiosity by handling it all they wanted. After about 20 minutes, they wanted toys to play with. But, before they left, they were told to never bother daddys gun. It was then placed in a locked drawer. They never asked about my service weapon, ever again.

I would never start a child with a hand gun. Too many injuries have resulted with hand guns. Yes, a long rifle will also kill you, but, there is more safety in handling a rifle, than a hand gun.

Safety education is the name of the game.

I got my first bb gun at 6. I was taught safety from that point and graduated to a 22 and a 20 gauge when I was 10. Pistols came after.

I’d say the child should not be given a gun until they turn 18.

California law on minors and guns:
A minor may not possess a handgun except with written permission or under the supervision of a parent or guardian.
A minor under 16 may not possess a handgun, unless they are accompanied by their parent or guardian while participating in a legal recreation activity involving firearms or has written permission to participate in such activities.
A minor under 16 may not possess live ammunition except with the written permission or under the supervision of a parent or guardian, or while going to or from an organized lawful recreational or competitive shooting activity or lawful hunting activity.

You could give them alternative ways of defending themselves. I remember I was young and roaming the woods and I always had a sling with me. [sometimes we went there just to hurt the birds but we were kids so we didn’t knew anything better]

And JP told it better that safety comes first. I remember I was young [I do not remember the exact age] and someone offered a free time on a shooting range. We were given some blank ammo and we were allowed to shoot freely. I toked [cannot remember exactly] a semi auto rifle. When I put it near my shoulder and began to fire I didn’t feel pain but after I was finished the pain was really high.
Better be careful ^^

Children should never own their own firearms. The best plan is to take them to a shooting range and let them rent a gun, or use yours. I am not in favor of hand guns, but teaching them to use a hunting rifle is a good idea.

And here am I, discussing sometimes with friends whether we are pro or anti water pistols for toys for our (future) children…

@rebbel My son and I were laughing just last week about that. His 4 year old was making guns with his construction set and Sonny said, “Mom, you wouldn’t let me have guns when I was little. I joined the Navy at age 18, and my first job after was armed security guard”.

I answered that maybe playing with guns will save him the trouble.

For me it depends on the maturity of the kid. I’ve seen kids about 9yrs old who do very well and carefully at the target and skeet ranges as well as hunting with adults.

I don’t think I’d buy my own child their own pistol but maybe a rifle or shotgun only to be accessed and used with my consent and supervision. I think I’d be most comfortable around kids of 12yrs old.

You can’t possess a pistol in most states under the age of 18, and you can’t buy one from an FFL dealer until you are 21.

If I ever breed, I intend to teach my kids how to shoot a .22 rifle from around age 7 or so, or whenever they show maturity and interest. Pistols are just too difficult to shoot well without the dexterity and strength that being older brings.

Handle a pistol? Age 18.

To quote John McEnroe “You can not be serious!”

A pistol isn’t going to help against mountain lions or bears. You need a rifle for that. Pistols are for shooting people.

@Dutchess_III large caliber pistols are commonly used to defend against bears and mountain lions. And pistols are really just for shooting people? Damn, I must have killed thousands. Either that, or me and millions of others haven’t gotten the memo.

I wouldn’t let my kid go near a pistol until they were around 16…or whenever they are mature enough. They would have to be supervised until they were 18, though.

However, I’d let my child shoot a rifle very early on if they genuinely wanted to. It’s just one of those family traditions!

@athenasgriffin Just because a child is capable of handling a gun doesn’t make them mature enough to own one. Just because a child has all the working parts for sex do not mean they are mature enough to do it; but they do. Sex will not kill then or harm them right off, it can still mess them up for the remainder of their lives. If I said I was trying to kip my kids from boinking like bunnies until they were 18 people would tell me I was unrealistic, or that it was even borderline barbaric and draconian. With a firearm their mother and I can at least teach them how to use it, how to respect it, and control when and were they use it. The chances of them to use it alone before the min. age of 12, is zero. They can’t use what they don’t know where to find and locked down like a bank vault. They would have way more chance to sneak around somewhere and get naked with little Suzie or Sparky with no instruction at all, less what they got from DVDs and cable TV.

@poisonedantidote I live outside of the USA, with no 2nd amendment. You have no idea how insane this sounds to me. Yes I do actually. I am sure things over there would seem very odd to us Yankees. I remembered about a week ago reading an answer by a Jelly about how the beaches of Spain were when his family visited. They were pretty shocked by what some of the women do there that they find perfectly normal but to many Yankees seem a bit wanton. I can believe and appreciate your feeling about it. It is all good.

@Blondesjon If you are going to have guns in your house you need to start teaching a child from a very early age just exactly what guns are and what they can do. I don’t know about giving a six year old his own pistol to do with as he wants but a six year old should know how to and how not to use it. You may have a quick and sometimes sarcastic wit, but you are speaking tons of iron there. 500 lurve to you if I had it. @john65pennington as well……

@zenvelo If anyone missed that part of the question, they are not going to be handed a pistol and sent out to experiment. Even before they actually get to touch it they will get and ear full of what not to do, how it can hurt or kill them or others, how to maintain it and then when they do touch it, it will be with their mother or I right over their shoulder. If, and only if, they show they have a healthy respect, are competent in using it, and never tried to sneak it pass us which will be near impossible, when they get around 12, to 14yr they might get to use it alone, but only on our property. They will know if it goes off the property line even by a foot with us not knowing or giving permission they won’t get to use it again.

A minor under 16 may not possess a handgun, unless they are accompanied by their parent or guardian while participating in a legal recreation activity involving firearms or has written permission to participate in such activities. Yeah…..fat chance of that. If they are going to say it is de facto legal for my 15yr old to boink whomever he/she pleases and I have little tools to legally stop them I am not going to deny my kid access to a istol on my own land.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard @Dutchess_III large caliber pistols are commonly used to defend against bears and mountain lions. Roger that!

No age, ridiculous.

@FutureMemory Unless they were to carry a loaded gun with them at all times, this isn’t a very logical way to plan for defense against wild animals. When they are small, they won’t have to carry anything, their parents will. As you say, animals are fairly unpredictable, desperate hungry animals who find their homes being taken over by a bunch of hairless beach apes who no longer want them around are maybe the most unpredictable. It may not be the best option but I can’t see having bull fighting barrels littering the property so just in case you can hop inside and wait out the attack.

@Hypocrisy_Central Just because a child has all the working parts for sex do not mean they are mature enough to do it; but they do. Sex will not kill then or harm them right off, it can still mess them up for the remainder of their lives. If I said I was trying to kip my kids from boinking like bunnies until they were 18 people would tell me I was unrealistic. The implication that gun use and sex are somehow equivalent is laughable. One, no extras are needed for sex. There is nothing to buy, nothing to hide. In my state, a minor can not buy a gun. Even if they could, I highly doubt the average twelve year old has the money necessarily.

And, I know plenty of people who managed to make it to the age of majority without having sex or shooting a gun.