Received my first .22 rifle when I was 7, started shooting competitively when I was 9. My firearms have still killed fewer people than Ted Kennedy’s car. Even after 28 years as a Weapons Specialist in the military.
Gunner
Yep, had a .22 Bolt Action Rifle and a Single Shot .410 Shotgun when I was 8 Years Old.
Kept them in my Bedroom Closet.
One Thanksgiving - years ago, I was a schoolgirl - the family
was gathered together for the feast at my Aunt’s house. While the Moms worked, my Dad took us children - high school age and down - just up to the woods at the end of the road and set up a target about 15 feet out. After his long, serious and detailed discussion on gun safety, we all (but one) took turns at putting holes in the target with the .22.
I still shoot with my husband. He is the marksman.
Father taught me to shoot a .22 rifle at 7 using a sawdust pile as a backstop. Later shot .22’s at day camp, overnight camp, and in a church basement in the Boy Scouts using a 1” steel plate and sandbox as a backstop. Larger calipers followed in my teens, military service, and as a private shooter. I taught all of my daughters to shoot a .22 pistol in their teens. To the best of my knowledge, none of my shooting companions has injured anyone outside of military service and none of us has suffered from lead poison.
In my opinion, if we stop teaching our youth we further weaken our ability to defend ourselves and our nation if called upon to do so. Teaching young people is important as habits and training are best ingested while young. Without a young person being taught to shoot, they will easily buy into the “guns are evil and the cause of violence” as preached by our inner city newspapers where most reporters have no idea of what they write.