For all those who think thay can not handle a .45

[James_Bond]

its great.

[Mack The Knife]

Mack, I don't think what that kid was doing (or rather being encouraged and pushed to do) has anything to do with any international shooting sport.

Don't jump to conclusions that the boy was being made to do anything he did not want to do. Next, why does it have to be an International or even a local shooting sport. WHY? What would have been so wrong if that boy was plinking at tin cans or hunting under adult supervision.

If his parents are so keen to see their child grow up to become a great shooter they should have bought him an air rifle or a BB gun.

I see....so if the boy were to start with an airgun there would be no danger of, "No matter how much parents may talk to their children about responsibility that comes with guns nobody should deny that a kid with a weapon knows very well that in his hands he holds the power to destroy and kill. What this can do to a child's brain and way of thinking as he grows up is anybody's guess." Please explain the logic behind why airguns are okay by you but firearms aren't. And by the way, what is so magical about the age eighteen?

What I wrote earlier goes a little beyond firing guns and shooting sports.

Your psychoanalysis is based on assumptions not facts. Are you saying that an eighteen year old who takes up shooting for the first time, is less liable to become a deranged killer? You want to psychoanalyse? Try this....why is rape so prevalent in sexually repressed countries?

[Mack The Knife]

Interesting discussion here on kids and guns.

FWIW, my son was shooting from the age of 7. He took to the shotgun at 8 (410) and the 12 bore at 10.

At 13 he was the National Junior Champion in skeet.

He was issued an arms licence at 14, Delhi Police.

One day, when his friends were over, I overheard him talking to them about "responsibility" and that having an arms license means being responsible.

Cannot say whether it was because of early exposure to guns or what.

Good on you and your son.

[xl_target]

Interesting discussion here on kids and guns.

FWIW, my son was shooting from the age of 7. He took to the shotgun at 8 (410) and the 12 bore at 10.

At 13 he was the National Junior Champion in skeet.

He was issued an arms licence at 14, Delhi Police.

One day, when his friends were over, I overheard him talking to them about "responsibility" and that having an arms license means being responsible.

Cannot say whether it was because of early exposure to guns or what.

Kudos to you and your son.

A lot depends on the child in question.
My daughter fired her first .22 LR pistol at the age of five but she didn't really seem very interested after that. So, I just let it lay. At a later age she expressed interest and I was happy to teach her more about shooting at the time.
I fired my first rifle at the age of twelve or thirteen. If I had been given a chance to do it earlier, I would have jumped at it. I see nothing wrong with teaching children about firearms at an early age as long as they are taught well and carefully supervised but every child is different.

[FN-Five-Seven]

You guys are advocating that children should be kept away from shooting sports? That's down right ridiculous!

I don't know about others , but I am not "Advocating" for or against any activity performed by any individual .
Why should I ? I am not getting paid for it . Parents may let their kids do anything , it's their kids after all .

I am just expressing my views over here , and just because my views won't agree with someone else , I won't term them as "down right ridiculous " , but I guess , I am speaking ( or typing as the case maybe ) for myself .

I stand by my statement , that I don't think it's appropriate from the safety point of view , that a kid as young as 6 or 7 yrs old should be handling a real firearm shooting real bullets ( not blanks ) . And in the vicinity of a firearm and live ammunition , I assign "safety " as a top priority .

And no matter , how many other parents let their kids handle a 12 gauge shotgun or .22LR handgun or any other firearm , does not convince me otherwise .

F-N-Five-Seven

[Mack The Knife]

Other than a you did not make any statement until now.

So you feel a child cannot be taught safe gun handling? Reallly? On what do you base this premise?

I, on the other hand, I can name quite a few adults, including IFG members, who haven't a clue about safe gun handling.

It isn't age but rather one's upbringing and the society and company one chooses that leads to school shootings, etc.

[to_saptarshi]

I dont see any reason why a Kid shouldn't be allowed to handle a firearms under adults supervision My Dad allowed me to shoot his rifle (A Brno .22 LR) when I was five , obviously under his supervision, I fired first bigbore at the age of 11 ( A .416 Mauser) again under my grandfathers supervision and I am sure many of us has similar experience with their childhood. With proper training and gun seafty a firearm is perfectly alright for a kid with under strict supervision. According to me the only condition should be , caliber and size of firearms should be appropriate for the childs age so that he can manage the recoil safely and should not develop a fear for handling a firearms in future because of that.

If I recall correctly Jaspal Rana fired his first pistol at the age of 4 under guidance of his father, and he won a silver medal in 31st NSC in Ahmedabad at the age of 12

[timmy]

I do not favor any age limitation whatsoever. I can accept that a minor may not be allowed to handle a firearm without parental supervision in some cases, but not in others. There are many folks who live in rural areas where young children are taught to handle firearms as a way of life, which they do from a young age.

I reject the idea that I could not teach my grandchildren to shoot at an early age, which I have done, boy and girl alike. (I am very equal-minded when it comes to firearms!)

I will say that there are some young individuals who have not exhibited the proper demeanor for shooting, and I have passed them over, at least, for now. But I am firmly against any age-setting. It simply does not square with the many young people I know of who have responsibly enjoyed firearms.

[Skyman]

In the west, kids start racing at 5 or so.They drive karts, and even motorcycles at race speeds.Spain produces so many Moto GP champions because they start young and keep racing competitively.In Finland, kids start rallying as soon as they can see over the wheel.That's why there are so many Finnish rally champions.

I myself started riding bikes when i was 10.Never crashed or even came close, because i know how it works.Same with guns.The Russians produce shooting champions because they start at 4.Handling a gun at that age is no more dangerous than riding a bicycle is.

There is nothing magical about 18 either.We all know, nobody suddenly wises up or gets responsible at that age.

[ckkalyan]

Thanks very much gents...interesting topic and varying thoughts...great! Enjoying the debate

My contribution, is a quote from the Western SACKETT by Louis L'amour, which I much admire:

And me, William Tell Sackett, who came to Uvalde a stranger and alone, I found myself a talked-about man.

We Sacketts had begun carrying rifles as soon as we stood tall enough to keep both ends off the ground. When I was shy of nine I fetched my first cougar . . . caught him getting at our pigs. At thirteen I nicked the scalp of a Higgins who was drawing a bead on Pa . . . we had us a fighting feud going with the Higginses.

Pa used to say a gun was a responsibility, not a toy, and if he ever caught any of us playing fancy with a gun he’d have our hide off with a bullwhip. None of us ever lost any hide.

A gun was to be used for hunting, or when a man had a difficulty, but only a tenderfoot fired a gun unless there was need. At hunting time Pa doled out the ca’tridges and of an evening he would check our game, and for every ca’tridge he’d given us we had to show game or a mighty good reason for missing. Pa wasn’t one to waste a bullet. He had trapped the western land with Kit Carson and Old Bill Williams, and knew the value of ammunition. So do we in India - don't we?

Need I say more?

[supershaji]

Great going!

Its never too early to start a good thing.

My 5 year old daughter already shoots airgun a bit, but never unsupervised!

To start while they are still young is to engrave in their minds the rules of safety and precaution, which will become a second nature for them when they are old enough to handle arms on their own without being too overwhelmed.

Kudos to the kid in the video and to his old man!

[Sujay]

http://life.time.com/history/gun-contro ... e-weekly#1

http://life.time.com/history/gun-contro ... e-weekly#6

This was the scenario before unreasonable restrictions on gun ownership led to lack of guns. Lack of guns resulted in people remaining in dark about
it. Lack of knowledge of course leads to FEAR.

That fear, sometime, is transmitted to genuine gun enthusiasts also.

[hvj1]

Ah! What an interesting debate! Here's my tupence worth-

1. First and foremost, That pistol is NOT a .45, On what premise do I base my assumption? Recoil and rate of fire. For those hombres who wish to cross check, please go on the internet and check out adults firing a .45 on a similar format (IPSC) and compare the same.

2. Secondly, whatever be the damned calibre of the pistol, I really really ADMIRE that kids aplomb. Simply fantastic, and I mean, all the skills involved in drawing, firing, grips reloading and at all times sure about the ground rules and safety rules. Even though the clip is for a few minutes, the skill displayed a certain level of training which I can only label as SUPERB. And this does not come about instantly, but takes at least 2-3 years.

3. Kids display precociousness to varied activities. A la Yehudi Menhuin, who took to a violin ( a most diffcult musical instrument to play) very early and was a maestro at an early age. BUT, but, but, when we come to kids taking up guns, a whole gamut of negatives crop up. The problem is in PERCEPTION.

4. And Finally, It is extremely exciting to see a kid displaying prowess of an adult in any positive activity. In shooting however, correct supervison is critical.

[ckkalyan]

Secondly, whatever be the damned calibre of the pistol, I really really ADMIRE that kids aplomb. Simply fantastic, and I mean, all the skills involved in drawing, firing, grips reloading and at all times sure about the ground rules and safety rules. Even though the clip is for a few minutes, the skill displayed a certain level of training which I can only label as SUPERB. And this does not come about instantly, but takes at least 2-3 years.

[winnie_the_pooh]

1. First and foremost, That pistol is NOT a .45, On what premise do I base my assumption? Recoil and rate of fire. For those hombres who wish to cross check, please go on the internet and check out adults firing a .45 on a similar format (IPSC) and compare the same.

..you can deduce this from the video! Are you Sherlock Holmes?

TC,

Do you use your handguns only in 'international shooting sports' or in an event along those lines?