# Take that gun and shove it. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 21, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-that-gun-and-shove-it/256229 "2004-07-21T19:20:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-that-gun-and-shove-it/256229/41 "2004-07-22T16:11:01Z")
They must be. At 12 years old I was toting my very own Remington 700 deer hunting where my stand was approximately 100 yards from dadsix’s stand. I’d passed the safety course with flying colors (two questions wrong, both on legal details of trapping) and had been instructed on my own rifle’s operation. The state of PA and dadsix found this arrangement perfectly acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-that-gun-and-shove-it/256229/42 "2004-07-22T16:29:20Z")
> [@John Carter of Mars](#): > > I have a spelling checker > It came with my PC > It plainly marks for my revue > Mistakes I cannot sea > I’ve run this posting threw it > I’m sure your please to no > Its letter prefect in it’s weigh > My checker tolled me sew [Candidate for a Pullet Surprise](http://tenderbytes.net/rhymeworld/feeder/teacher/pullet.htm) ---
**Author:** ![DirkGntly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DirkGntly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirkGntly)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-that-gun-and-shove-it/256229/43 "2004-07-22T16:38:31Z")
I am a certified 4-H shotgun instructor. As such, I work with kids from ages 9 to 18 in the skill, handling, maintenance and operation of shotguns, as well as the actual shooting discipline. The first thing we teach is safety. The second thing we teach is mechanics and maintenance. The third thing we teach is — safety. You get the idea. I began teaching my children about firearms when they were 3 or so. One of the pieces of advice I received was to take all of the “mystery” out of the firearms. Whenever one of my children would ask me about a particular firearm, I would take the time to take it out, show them all of the pertinent points about it, and even possibly disassemble and clean it all at the same time. In addition, this gave me time to explain the deadly nature of the device, which they understood all too well when I would come home with dead game procured with the assistance of the particular firearm. To this day, they don’t have any desire to get in the gun cabinet without supervision, and my children are now 13, 10 and 5 (girl/boy/girl). I am also quite comfortable with leaving one firearm, a 9mm revolver (Ruger SP-101, for those curious) loaded and accessible as a defense firearm. In fairness, this firearm is my concealed carry piece and it is stored on a VERY tall shelf next to my bed at night, so the 5-yr-old cannot reach it. All of that said, the person in the OP is an idiot, or worse, for not teaching proper safety and handling and hatred. Those things simply don’t mix with deadly hardware laying around… ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-that-gun-and-shove-it/256229/44 "2004-07-23T01:56:28Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > Show me a point where someone said that this particular guy was attempting to teach gun safety? A couple of us have said that _if_ he were teaching gun safety, that wouldn’t be a problem, but that what is happening here is clearly wrong, stupid, and bound to get someone hurt or killed. > > **snip** > > Fourteen is two years too late in a lot of places. Kids can begin hunting at age 12, using firearms, as long as they are supervised in Pennsylvania. I see what you’re saying in the first section of the above quote - I tried to express myself more clearly in my second post, but perhaps I wasn’t as clear as I’d have liked. My point was, I found it interesting that almost all of the concern was focused on the fact that the guns unlocked & almost none was focused on what the child is being taught to use the guns for. That is, this seems to be a discussion about what constitutes proper handling of firearms at what age rather than a discussion of the fact that the child is being taught how to kill - possibly murder - fellow humans, & I find that odd. And for the record, I’m not trying to cast aspersions on any posters; just making an observation. As for the age of fourteen being too young in a lot of places… I don’t pretend to know a lot about firearms for either self/home defense or for hunting. I have, however, worked with kids from the 12-16 age group & I feel that perhaps the age limit should be raised. Maybe my feelings would differ if I lived in an area where hunting is more prevalent. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-that-gun-and-shove-it/256229/45 "2004-07-23T14:03:42Z")
\Cheers to **GrizzRich**! What a cute story - you should be a proud papa.\ Snicks ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-that-gun-and-shove-it/256229/46 "2004-07-23T17:41:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Shit, I nearly blew my hand off with a firecracker when I was 12. Heaven knows what I’d have done with a rifle, training or no… Hey, it’s all good… a rifle only explodes in one direction, not all directions. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-that-gun-and-shove-it/256229.md?page=2)