So I have got a soon to be 5 year old in the house who has asked for a gun for Christmas &/or birthday. He has always came along hunting around home and apparently enjoys it enough to ask for his own gun and vest. My question for you guys is the bb gun the place to start or a fancier nerf gun of sorts?? Well behaved kid and I have no doubt he will be quite careful with it, and obviously under supervision for quite a while yet. Or do we do the nerf gun and let him free to be the 5 year old that he is??
BB gun or Nerf gun
- Thread starter CForest
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SwaggyD
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Both - nerf for when you aren't around to supervise.
MThuntr
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I just saw a Red Ryder BB gun set...Adult and Child versions. Fun for everyone!
That being said 5 might be a touch early in my opinion but not my kid not my windows
(I definitely may be referencing an incident in younger days 
)
That being said 5 might be a touch early in my opinion but not my kid not my windows
(I definitely may be referencing an incident in younger days )Don't tell that to my, at the time, 5 month old son.That being said 5 might be a touch early in my opinion but not my kid not my windows
ha you're not the first one to share a similar dialog thus the reason I am hesitant. We do live on a farm in bfe so that does help. But that also means a surplus of windows around lolI just saw a Red Ryder BB gun set...Adult and Child versions. Fun for everyone!
That being said 5 might be a touch early in my opinion but not my kid not my windows
rjthehunter
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Another vote for both!
Schaaf
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I did the bb gun at 5, the 22 at 7, and I'll give mine his first big game rifle at 9 or maybe 10. I made sure he treated his bb gun just like I did with my rifles though and it stayed in the safe until we used it. Although, lately all he's been talking about is the bow.
I do have a long standing rule that if I find nerf bullets laying around when they're not being used, they go straight to the garbage. I find those damn things everywhere.
I do have a long standing rule that if I find nerf bullets laying around when they're not being used, they go straight to the garbage. I find those damn things everywhere.
CPAjeff
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Another vote for both!!
HSi-ESi
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If it's for running around the farm - BB gun would be great.
We did some of the Cabela's laser target stuff. Cheap little pistol with an activated target. Made lots of noise so it was fun. No nerf bullets to clean up. It was a losing battle for me when we lived in town - simply because the nerf battles on the street were constant and the nerf guns seem to breed on their own.
We did some of the Cabela's laser target stuff. Cheap little pistol with an activated target. Made lots of noise so it was fun. No nerf bullets to clean up. It was a losing battle for me when we lived in town - simply because the nerf battles on the street were constant and the nerf guns seem to breed on their own.
Wyhunter
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I am more terrified of my kid with a nerf gun. A-hole loves to shoot me with it when Im not paying attention lol.
Another vote for both!
Another vote for both!
Indianajoe
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both. you should also have a nerf gun to defend yourself. when my kids were smaller I may or may not have modified mine to shoot harder.
Addicting
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Nerf is for shooting family, cats, or/and breaking stuff inside the house.
Absolutely no way I would expect good gun safety lessons to be learned from a nerf gun.
BB has significantly more consequences and is where kids start learning safety.
Absolutely no way I would expect good gun safety lessons to be learned from a nerf gun.
BB has significantly more consequences and is where kids start learning safety.
Toy guns lead to sloppy gun safety habits.How about a bow? There are nerf ones.or you can make a safety arrow and the low poundage limits trouble.
If you really want to get him a gun, get a real one to use together. They make tiny 22s nowadays.
He'll be old enough for 5m BB competition in a few years. It's not too early to source a 499B and learn to tune it, set up the stock for adjustment, etc. Learning positional shooting against the clock makes a marksman.
If you really want to get him a gun, get a real one to use together. They make tiny 22s nowadays.
He'll be old enough for 5m BB competition in a few years. It's not too early to source a 499B and learn to tune it, set up the stock for adjustment, etc. Learning positional shooting against the clock makes a marksman.
JEL
Well-known member
My 3 boys all got Red Ryders at 5. I kept them all in the safe and supervised the use. We had a ton of fun with those little guns. Still had all three in the safe and the last time my oldest (now 30 and expecting our first grandchild) was home he said “Dad you mind if I take my old Red Ryder?). No son I don’t mind at all.
That is exactly why my wife made the argument that the bb gun should actually come first. Better to learn the safe way, than to learn the wrong way and try to revert back.
Addicting
Well-known member
She is spot on and if you go against her you will get the I told you so the rest of your life.
I chose to do BB gun first for the same reasons of learning safety and proper firearm handling. Red Ryder was my first and hated it, kicked terrible and made me flinch. I started my oldest on a pump and remade the stock so it would fit him. Less kick and with one pump it wasn't that powerful so he could grow into it with more pumps to add power.
kwyeewyk
Well-known member
We did both, bb guns at 5, and treated exactly like other guns. With nerf our rule is no shooting people or pets/animals except for when people are expecting to be shot/playing along with their own gun, and then no head/face shots. I do hate all the darts laying around, they have to pick them up but inevitably they miss some.
