Here I go with another gun forum related post, second in a row.This is my reply to a parent thinking of getting either an Air Soft gun, a manually cocking B gun or a CO2 powered BB gun for his/her child. A few to several other forum members chimed in that a manually cocking BB gun is too difficult for a young child to cock (the child will be around 5 1/2 years old at Christmas).
This was my reply, advice I lived by when teaching my kids almost anything:
"Whether to tough for him or not, I strongly
recommend a manual cocking BB rifle. They are inherently safer than a
CO2 powered BB gun. Think about long and hard because w"hat is the most
important issue here - I think safety. You can cock the gun for him and
you can teach him to do it with your assistance and he will become ever
so happy & proud when he finally can do it himself. Think of that
and the bonding while you help him do it - hands on father (or mother) to son (or daughter)
teaching. That is how you get the right way going in kids and not by
handing him something so easy to do he can do it right away and thus
have more of a chance of not learning to do it the best and safest way
over a longer and surer to set in set of instructions from dad (or mom).
You will notice I left out the whole idea of an Airsoft. Airsoft it too
much like a toy to me; so, I would use a metal BB gun that is closer to a
real firearm if I was ultimately intent on teaching my child to shoot
real guns. Toys do not translate to danger for most kids; explain and make sure it sinks in that a BB gun is not a toy.
As far as I am/was concerned, the same goes/went for first firearms. I
started my daughter and son off with a bolt action rifle. Then only
after that was seen to be handled appropriately and well, did they move
onto semi-auto rifles and that took quite awhile 9(not a day nor a week
nor a month - maybe half a year or more). I made it fun and they each
had fun. Lots of folks say their kids would be bored with a bolt action
rifle and probably think the same about a mechanical cocking BB gun.
That is balderdash, at least it is balderdash if you teach them the
right way by doing it the right way yourself and showing them your
enthusiasm about teaching them the basics with the basics. In other
words keep ot safe & serious but make it fun not only for the child
but for you. Moving on to bigger and better things should be a reward
for them doing it right with the first tools - it should not be a
participation trophy kind of a thing but something earned.
I also look at it this way, any parent who says something like 'a
mechanically cocking BB gun is to difficult fore their child to handle'
and therefore is going to get the kid a CO2 powered gun, quite possibly
is either getting one too soon or is just too plumb lazy to take the
time to teach the child how to do it right until the child gets it right
himself or herself. You will be missing out on a much better bonding
experience doing it the easy way instead of the the better way that takes more
time and effort on both your parts.
Good luck with it all."
All the best,
Glenn B
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