Young Guns

What Age Should You Start Teaching Kids About Guns? Here’s Our Story…

by Richard Baimbridge

Few subjects are as contentious as that of kids and guns. Florida’s Autumn Fry started her YouTube gun channel, Autumn’s Armory at age 7. She now has over 265,000 subscribers viewing her impressive marksmanship skills, as well as her knowledge and love of guns. But for every fan she has, there’s probably ten times as many critics who think kids should be nowhere near a gun.

In a now-infamous Vice News documentary about her channel, Autumn says she thinks guns are appropriate for “anyone 2 years-old and above.” Given the overwhelmingly urban and anti-gun audience of Vice, you can almost hear the gasps. But surprisingly, the comments section is filled with almost nothing but praise for Autumn and her parents.  

As a kid, growing up in South Texas, my father gave me my first gun at age 5. By age 7, I had my own .22. And by age 8, I was shooting serious rifles and 20-guage shotguns. This was pretty much standard for the other kids in my neighborhood, as well. No one even gave it a second thought. Most of my friends had shot a buck before the age of 13, and many either went hunting or fishing almost every weekend

It wasn’t until the the 1990s, with the steady rise in school shootings, that societal attitudes began to noticeably shift — even in places like Texas.

As a father of two small children, however, there was never any doubt in my mind that I would teach my kids how to hunt and properly handle guns, starting at a very early age. And thankfully, my wife was very much on board with that.

Our son began archery at age 2, while still in diapers. I bought him a small plastic bow from the toy store that fit the size of his body. Within just a few months, though, he was using it to shoot the same field tip arrows that I use with my own recurve – and, to my amazement, hitting bull’s eyes on my archery block.

At age 5, our daughter was the first one to get a gun for Christmas, as her brother looked on with envy. But by his third birthday, he had one, too.

Living in a rural area, we were blessed to have a big backyard and the woods right at our doorstep, giving us plenty of space for practice. A year later, the kids were joining me on hunts and bagging deer. They were involved in everything from field dressing to helping drag deer through the woods. Come dinner time, they knew where the food on the table came from, and they understood a wild animal was sacrificed to provide it.

Now aged 7 and 9, our children have excellent trigger discipline and respect for guns. But unlike my dad, who left me to figure most things out on my own, I spend a lot of time with the kids practicing marksmanship and gun safety, and training them how to hunt properly. They can spot deer tracks, fresh scrapes, scat and other signs of game in the woods. They see guns and hunting as a normal, everyday part of life. My son excels at archery, whereas my daughter prefers handguns and rifles. I post their photos occasionally on social media, and sometimes get “unfriended” or receive negative comments. But I don’t pay it much mind.   

Recently, during one of our Friday night family movie nights, a woman in the Action film we were watching was suddenly tossed a gun. She trembled and fumbled around with the weapon, trying to point it in the right direction. My daughter found this extremely amusing. “Look daddy!” she said, roaring with laughter. “That lady doesn’t know how to use a gun!”

Her comment caught me a bit off-guard. But I looked at her proudly and said, “Yeah, that’s pretty funny isn’t it?” She smiled back and said, “That’s just so silly.”

I sleep better at night knowing that she can safely handle a weapon. Just like our son, we raised her to be unapologetically strong, brave and independent. That might be considered controversial these days, but I think the world needs more kids like ours — not less.    

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