We just started cub scouts with my son and he is loving every minute of it.

They had their fist campout the weekend before last, which was a mom and me weekend and we had a blast, even the other moms were very cool...which made me happy!!

I also discovered he has a lurking talent..the kid can shoot! They had archery and BB ranges for the boys to learn with and while he was horrid at archery he excelled at shooting those air powered BB guns.

Having never picked up a real gun before he was able to hit the target paper every single time and by his third turn through the line he was hitting the target circle each time and many of them were within the inner 3 or 4 rings with 2 bullseyes!!

I have also rarely seen that kind of calm concentration and determination from him, and with 7 yr old boys that is something to celebrate!

I was apprehensive at first about him shooting... even in that controlled environment.

But by the end of the weekend I was showing off his targets and totally at ease with him practicing at one of the two ranges....

the one we kept going back to was a building with little windows for each boy to shoot out of..the other one was totally outdoors and less controlled and the boys tended to be waving the darn things all over the place

The BB guns won't seriously injure you but it would still sting like the dickens.

So we are considering getting him a BB gun for christmas, to use only under strict supervision of course!!

But we live in the city so I'm not sure how much he would be able to use it. I need to do some research about possibilities for him to practice and learn.

My dad said he would just set up a cardboard box in the backyard with the target taped to the front of it but that idea makes me highly nervous!!!

We plink in the backyard with air guns all the time.

It's great fun for everyone, pretty darn safe and terrific marksmanship practice.


If he has a natural aptitude for shooting, and enjoys it, I would consider taking him to some youth NRA events. There are much worse things a young man can do to occupy his time.
A healthy hobby will keep him out of trouble when he hits those wonderful teen years.

You are so right about the teenage years, that is also part of the reason I am keeping my fingers crossed his love of scouting sticks with him.

I was in campfire as a kid and on top of learning so many useful outdoor skills...I can light a fire in the pouring rain with no "cheater" substances or fuel...
It also gave me something entirely positive to fall back on in those difficult years.


It is so funny that I am even considering getting him a gun right now.

I am the mom who refused to buy toy guns, other than nerf or water guns. I know he is a boy and will shoot but fingers and sticks work just fine for that, or the lego gun creations he builds so well.

I just never wanted to encourage the whole guns are toys idea.

My dad was a champion marksman and marine sharpshooter, (is that the right word?)
So I think he would be a perfect go to guy to help me encourage him to develop his ability! Maybe my dad and I will take a trip to wallyworld to look at the air rifles this next weekend.

Even though it seems logical on the surface, you can't teach kids that guns aren't toys by keeping them away.

You only teach them that they are "forbidden fruit", make them strange and mysterious. They end up forming their perception of guns from what they see on TV and in the movies: people who get shot, but don't die. They're in another show the next day.

Responsible marksmanship teaches kids the power of weapons. They learn to respect what a weapon can do, and view it as a useful but lethal tool.

You really can't beat a Red Ryder BB Gun.
We've got one at the house that is old as dirt. The spring has been replaced a few times, but it's still quite the target gun.
Simple design, pretty damned hard to break.

Besides, if you're getting a BB Gun for Christmas, it HAS to be a Red Ryder.

here are some links to pics of that weekend, we had so much fun!

This is the first shooting range that made me cringe and I had a very hard time not having a fit of overprotective mommyness.
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa265/chadescott/Tyler/IMG_1789.jpg
my little Indiana Jones
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa265/chadescott/Tyler/IMG_1777.jpg

Zip line, this thing was high for a little kid, he was brave!
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa265/chadescott/Tyler/IMG_1782.jpg

and here is the second shooting range that was set-up much better both for safety and the success of the kids shooting.
this is my favorite recent picture of him as well
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa265/chadescott/Tyler/IMG_1811.jpg
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa265/chadescott/Tyler/IMG_1808.jpg
and a bad one of the two of us, I look ragged! But we were on day two of a campout with about 5 hundred boys aged 7-10..thats enough to make anyone look ragged!
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa265/chadescott/Tyler/IMG_1798.jpg

I totally agree about keeping guns away only making them seem more mysterious and less likely to actually kill, but giving them a plastic machine gun doesn't teach the safety and responsibility either, and it bothers me lol.

I'd much rather see him learn to shoot responsibly and well with a real gun then run around shooting up everything with a realistic toy gun.

And looking at your pics, the BB Gun he already knows how to shoot, was a Red Ryder.

good to know, Thanks for the input!

Bass pro shop would have those I'm sure, I'll go look this weekend.

Is your son left handed and left eyed?
I personaly love to shoot.
Your son is at a great age to start the reason I asked about his hand and eyes is the way he was holding the rifle. Also, when I started shooting my father over looked this fact and my first couple of year of shooting were so so.

You should shoot by eye domance not hand and eye domance is not dependent on wether you are right handed or left handed.

Learning to shoot and hunt were great for me as a young man. Even though I grew up in colorado my parents were from a dangerous city in the northeast and they hated the idea of me having a gun in my hand. They were open minded enough to let me try my hand at hunting when I was old enough at 14. My first year I killed an antelope, a deer, and an elk. Next christmas they gave me .270. I guess all that meat in the freezer helped them feel at ease with the whole thing. You father sounds like the perfect guy to teach him a healthy respect for firearms. Good luck!

I learned to shoot with an old Daisy BB rifle before progressing to the air rifle and onto the S&W .357 Magnum :-) All this talk about Red Ryder makes me think of the The Christmas Story and "You'll shoot your eye out" :-p