Nothing new here. I was taught to shoot at age 4 in 1950. My daughter won a BB gun match at age 7 shooting against up to 12 year olds male and female. Still shoot competition matches and carry as does my son.
My life mirrored yours. I got my first BB gun at age 6. I taped a flashlight to the side of it to go “slug hunting”. My Dad thought that was hilarious. Got a .22 at 11 and my Dad gave me his 30.06 at 13.
When I went into the Army I was one of 6 to shoot expert out of 220 or so in basic training.
Eventually I made it onto my state’s national guard rifle team for 3 years and earned the distinguished rifleman’s badge.
When my Dad was terminal with cancer he remarked, “I’m glad all those BB’s and .22 ammo went to good use.”