How old is old enough for a youngster to get their first gun?

When my dad brought the oblong package, wrapped with Frosty the Snowman Christmas paper, into the living room, my heart skipped a beat. The year was 1966 and the package could only be one thing. When dad walked across the living room and handed it to my brother, I wasn't surprised.

Having an older brother, I was used to him having and doing things a year before me. I even remember being excited waiting for the third grade when I would finally have homework; perhaps I was a strange little kid.

My brother isn't a "tear-it-open-as-fast-as-you-can guy."  He took his time carefully removing the wrapping paper while I stared with rapt fascination, forgetting about my presents. The painstaking unveiling confirmed my suspicions when the word "Remington" appeared across the top of the package.

The bolt action .22 rifle nestled in the box announced to my 8-year-old brain that so long as I behaved myself and did my chores during the upcoming year, it would be my turn next Christmas.

Big time commitment

People often ask what is the correct age to get their young boy or girl a gun? There is no pat answer. Every kid is different as are the circumstances revolving around presenting a firearm to a youngster. During a lifetime of instructing youth and adult shooters, I've had 9-year-olds that were ready and adults who should never own a gun.

For parents who live a hunting-shooting lifestyle and include their children in these activities from an early age, they know.  Parents who aren't shooters but have children who are interested, it's a tougher process if done, as it should be, with the aim of creating a responsible gun owner.

The act of getting the kid his or her first firearm should be the culmination of a lot of time spent preparing them for that day. That's a significant commitment of time and attention to detail.  For parents who aren't hunters or shooters, that may seem impossible.

But for those parents, there are options to get youngsters involved while also learning the things you need to know as a parent.  The Alaska Department of Fish and Game offers hunter education via the Hunter Information and Training program.  Most would recognize this as a hunter-safety class that has rapidly become a prerequisite for hunters of all ages to hunt in most states.  The program is an introduction to hunting, conservation and responsible gun handling. It is a good starting point. Sending an inexperienced youngster through this program does not imply that kid is ready to go forth on their own with a gun. It is more about demonstrating the correct way to do things and is best followed with a generous amount of supervised range time and field experience.

The Anchorage Fish and Game office also offers youth shotgun and rim-fire league shooting programs at the Rabbit Creek shooting range (907-345-7831).  Check out the website, or contact program director Ginamarie Smith for details.

There are 4-H chapters around the state that offer youth shooting programs too. These are very good programs that go beyond the basics and provide a solid foundation in firearms safety as well as wildlife conservation/ethics.

Some of these programs incorporate air rifles for training and shooting.  This allows much more flexibility in the learning process with the option of using them indoors and almost anywhere a safe backstop can be set up.  Air rifles may be an option for your youngster's first gun.

If you select an air rifle as a beginner's gun, it must be treated and taught with the same safety considerations as an actual firearm. Choosing an air rifle (or pistol) is a means of shortcutting the firearms training process.

Some modern air rifles are very powerful. Many are used to hunt small game and predators. Misuse of an air gun can result in serious injury or death just as with a regular firearm. Even the least powerful air gun is capable of penetrating a person's eye. Safety practices, gun handling skills and storage issues should be the same as with a regular firearm.

Competitive shoots are an excellent place for beginning parents and youngsters to learn firearms safety/gun handling and general firearms information. These are carefully controlled venues that insist on following strict firearms safety procedures. I don't know of a more helpful group of people than those you find at these events. They are willing to answer any question, show others the ropes and will even offer beginners the opportunity to try their personal firearms. This seems to come as a pleasant surprise to folks whose only experience with shooting or hunting is the bad stuff one hears on TV or in newspapers. A better class of folks you'll not find anywhere.

Prepare for a different reality in any of these venues. The folks involved are helpful and courteous to a fault but they will call out the mishandling of firearms.  If an activity needs immediate attention due to safety, range personnel address it immediately and with seriousness. This may include yelling if necessary. It isn't personal; it has to be that way for the sake of everyone's safety.

Secure storage spot comes first

Another note of caution: Don't send your young shooter off with the friendly neighbor who's a shooter/hunter unless you have seen how he or she conducts themselves. Kids will assimilate behaviors they see. Some people were brought up believing that hunting/shooting includes things like shooting road signs or hauling the worn out washing machine or television to the nearest gravel pit or back road and using them for target practice and letting the carnage lay.  We don't need more of those people.

It rarely works out well to put the cart before the horse. Before you introduce a firearm into the home, have a secure place to store it. That doesn't mean on a high shelf in the closet.  It would be best to have a gun safe or other secure lockable area that only the responsible adult can access. You may have absolute faith in your new shooter but there may be other kids visiting or they may have younger siblings who are not versed in firearms. Most of the tragedies involving youth and guns seem to include unsupervised access by more than one kid.

It turned out; the Christmas of 1967 was not particularly memorable for me.  My dad took pity on me and presented my first rifle, a bolt-action Winchester .22, at the start of the fall 1967 hunting season.  I couldn't tell you what I got for Christmas that year but I'll never forget that fall day. The rest is history.

Steve Meyer of Soldotna is a lifelong Alaskan and an avid shooter. He writes every other week about guns and Alaska hunting. Contact Steve at oldduckhunter@outlook.com