[Paleo Conservative]

I feel sorry for the 5 year old kid. A 5 year old doesn’t have the capability of understanding the dangers oh handling a firearm. I really can’t understand why the parents would store a firearm where a child could find it and use it without adult supervision.

[Geoffrey]

I have taught as young as 6. No problems. She shot a bipod 22lr rifle from prone and was safer than many 40 years old I have taught.

[El Laton Caliente]

Incorrect.

I learned to shoot at 5. I was not allowed to touch the .22 rifle without parents present. By the third or forth lesson we went rabbit hunting. I learned then what firearms did. In 55 years, I’ve had 1 negligent discharge and that was at about 8 years old.

As for storage, it was next to each door in the house...

[JRandomFreeper]

5 year olds are old enough to understand if you take the time to train them.

When her brother is playing shooting games on the TV, even my 18 month old grand-daughter understands "GET BEHIND THE FIRING LINE" when she wanders up toward the TV..

You can't childproof the world. You can worldproof the child.

/johnny

[wku man]

My first shot with a 20-gauge was at a watermelon when I was six years old. I splattered it, and as I was rubbing my throbbing shoulder afterward, my father explained that the melon could have been his head, my brother's head, or one of my friends' heads if I was careless when handling a gun. I understood perfectly what he meant...a gun is not a toy, and it can kill someone if you treat it like one. Age six...yeah, kids can grasp firearms safety at that age.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[JimSp]

A 5 year old most certainly does have the capability of understanding the dangers of mishandling a firearm. It’s a parent thing.