Kids these days…….

BB Gun Accident. What are kids thinking these days? Obviously we don’t have enough background to comment on the parenting or guidance in this particular case. I’m sure there was a little peer pressure involved as well and a person can not help but feel horrible for the little guy involved but it got me to thinking.

By age nine I had traded up from the single pump red rider to .177 caliber 10 pump air rifle. Aluminum cans were a sought after commodity for target practice. Grandpa’s dairy farm was all but void of sparrows & starlings. Gophers & chipmunks amongst any other rodent in pasture/wooded neighboring lands were on full alert. Respect guns ~ no matter the caliber was an early life lesson for the Bos. (Still learned how to cast a fishing pole before shooting rifles…sorry Lip.)

At what age did Santa Claus declare you old & responsible enough to leave a red rider or air gun leaning in the corner behind the x-mas tree with your name on it?

i’d say 8-9 is a good age as long as you the parent guides the child in the right way.. But you make a good point. Peer pressure can do things to kids like nothing else. tough call.

I would say around 6 or 7 when I got my first Daisey The only time they were permitted, out of the locked gun cabinet, was when Dad would take me and my brothers, across the road, to shoot cans, bottles etc.

This was a response to the article at the bottom of the page!

” Just goes to show that the PUBLIC school system should introduce firearms safety courses sooner rather than later.

I would bet money, this would not have happened had all those involved been through proper age appropriate firearms training. “

Very sad to hear that a young boy lost his eye. An accident that will haunt him for the rest of his life.

I got my first red rider when I was 5. I lived on a farm and couldn’t harm anyone besides myself (which I did a few times on ricochets ). This is way too young especially with today’s BB Guns and Air Rifles being so powerful. My son is 9 and he has a red rider as well. However, he can only use it in my presence.

I also got lucky when I was young. A “friend” was horsing around lobbing BBs at me from a far distance and he hit me about 1 inch below my eye. I ended up with a small welt but it could have been much worse.

I was eight or nine when i got my daisy. Papa laid down the rules real hard. I learned all about gun saftey better than i knew my abcs by then.

to be completely honest i had a red rider at the age of seven. then when i shot the for six months without hurting myself or anyone else and i proved to my grandma and grandpa that i could carry it safety and i know the rules of hunter safety. at the age of 8 1/2 i could get a ten pump. so i learned them got really good at knowing them and told my grandparents that i was ready. and they put me to the test. but i had to know everything before it got one. if i got it wrong i was told no and went and studied more. lets just say i was in my room for a hour or 2 every night studding tell i would see my grandparents the following week.