First gun for my 4-1/2 year old son???

[G_Stines]

I shot my first gun shortly before my 7th birthday, a .22 single shot bolt action. Grandpa took me out on the range and taught me the basics. On my eighth birthday I got a 6mm Ruger #1. The only reason grandpa got me the 6mm and not a .22 was so that I could learn to reload.

 

[busted1200]

I think I'd wait another couple of years, then get him some sort of youth .22 Maybe a Henry lever action youth model, or a single shot .

 

[ThrottleJockey]

I bought my daughter a pink cricket .22 for Christmas when she was 4.5. No regrets.

 

[Boiled Owl]

After learning to shoot in the summer, we bought my son a Black/SS cricket for Christmas when he was 6.5. Looking back at the pic...he looks pretty tiny!

He still shoots it now and then. Peep sights and young eyes, he's spot on.

 

[JBrockman]

22 cricket! I have 2 of them for my grandkids!

 

[oneshotonekill]

I have wondered these things for my little nephew..he just turned 5. I have a Crickett and my Dad has a Mossy youth for him already. We still have them, they are not "his" yet.

As far as for your boy, here is my idea...set up a table with a good rest on it, like you're sighting in a scope, even if it is an iron sight .22, let him get behind it on the bench, teach him how it works, teach him how to use the sights, but leave it on the rest and just let him plink it a lil bit.

Get him interested in the real deal, tell him about how they can be dangerous if used improperly, but how they are safe also. Then get him an airsoft to shoot with you, when you shoot. Treat it like a real gun, hell never know the difference.

 

[ZombieApocolypse]

Seems like the perfect age for super soakers imo

 

[PistolBob]

He's too young for any real guns.

 

[Fordtough25]

Yea that may be a bit young. I got my daughter a Marlin papoose earlier this year, she turned 6 in January. She does well with it but it's still a little large for her.

 

[thumper31768]

ar 22

 

[mshogren]

ar 22

If I get one of those, not sure he would get a chance to shoot it. Might have to get two... Daddy does not like to share.

Mark

 

[indyk]

yup

In my opinion, 4 1/2 is too young for any type of firearm. Even a BB gun.

My father started me out on a daisy pump at 6, a Nylon 66 at age 7 1/2 - 8.
I think 4 1/2 is also too young to start, I would start him out on an Air soft rig" that he can only shoot with you" at 5 then move up later.

 

[Mr. Habib]

I bought my daughter a pink cricket .22 for Christmas when she was 4.5. No regrets.

This is exactly what I did. My daughter got her's for Christmas before she turned five in January. She started shooting Christmas day. The Crickets are great rifles to start with. About 2 1/2 lbs, peep sights, and accurate. I think they are a great rifle the teach with.
I see a lot of posts saying that your son is too young. I believe that only you, as a parent, know if he is mature enough. My daughter was at that age. I know many adults that are not. Maturity does not always coincide with chronological age. My daughter is now eight and I'm more comfortable shooting at the range with her then I would be with many adults.

 

[Sylvain]

I think that is very young.
I would wait a couple of years to get him even an airsoft gun or any kind of gun that shoots really something.
You can starts teaching him gun safety without him having his own gun yet.Then when you see he's mature enough to understand gun safety (the four safety rules and such) get him an airsoft gun.
You can teach him marksmanship and how to use the sights with an airsoft already.
Then when you see that he can handle airsoft like a real firearm and apply the same safety rules get him a BB gun, then later a real firearm like a 22LR when he's older.
Especially if his mother is against all type of "gun toys" I would not start by getting him a real firearm.That might make things harder bewteen you and his mother, and you want to respect her wishs too ... somehow.
With airsoft gun you can have plenty of fun with your kid already.
Even myself as an adult I enjoy them, even if I also play with firearms.
And lastly, dont worry about your kid not getting into guns, you dont have to do anything for him to get into guns.
I didnt grow up around guns, I started going to the range all by myself as a young adult.I think it's in every gun DNA.

 

[Shoots4Fun]

I bought my daughter a pink cricket .22 for Christmas when she was 4.5. No regrets.

I agree, I think the Crickett is the way to go. I started my youngest off at 7 yrs old and I felt that was about right. I decided not to go the pink route, just because I felt it looked too much like a toy, but that's just my .

The Crickett is something that they can shoot for years while they're small and will develop the basic skills.

I made a big mistake by letting them shoot my 10/22 with a bipod too early, and they really weren't ready for the semi-auto responsibility.

We've just put a scope on their Crickett now that they've developed the basics and we'll see where to go from there.

Hope it helps...

 

[91FXRS]

My little guy is 6 and he has a hand me down red ryder but the stock is to long. He does enjoy it and he is learning the sights and safety from it also. I don't know where your located but bass pro and cabelas have some toy ones that shoot little rubber bullets and we got one that is a revolver rifle and it has sights just like the red ryder so that has helped him even though there is significant drop in a 20' hallway with those rubber bullets, but set up some empty water bottles and we both have a blast.

 

[Patternpimp]

My son is 4.5 and we still have negligent discharges with the Nerf gun, I think Ill wait another 5yrs or so.

 

[mshogren]

Great Input!

There has been alot of great input so far!

He has done pretty good with the nerf guns (no negligent discharges). The ones we have are not treated as toys to shoot each other with, but to shoot targets around the house. I think he is ready to step up to real targets using a gun with actual sights.

Still leaning toward the downsized Daisy Model 105 Buck BB gun. It is smaller than the Red Ryder so should fit him better and it has tru-glo fiber optic sights

Depending on how that goes, maybe a cricket or something similar would be in the future...

But I am still debating...

Mark

 

[bluewraith]

Mosin-Nagant? He could ride it like a fire belching dragon.

Really though.. My first air rifle was a worn out pump pellet gun. And by worn out, it took 50 pumps to break a CD.. I think you could modify one to way underpower it for safety.
Or maybe one of those air fired cork guns? Do they make those anymore??


Great, now i want to go out and buy a Daisy.

 

[deadeye]

I got one of those single pump daisy bb guns for my boy when he turned 4. I have had it pointed in my direction a few times while walking with him. Id definitely say your kid is too young for anything more powerful unless you are gonna keep your hands on the gun at all times.
After a bit of practice i feel he is safe with it but hes still a child therefore not ready for a bigger gun, i have let him sit in my lap and fire off a few 22 rounds at the bench.