Family day at the gun range: 'She loves them'
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ore. - Michael Myhre says shooting firearms is a tradition in his family.
He went shooting with his dad, and now his 3-year-old daughter Easton loves to shoot guns with him.
"She loves them," he said. "She always wants to go bear hunting with me. We go hunting, we go shooting all the time as a family."
Officials with the Roseburg Police Department said teaching your kids how to be safe around firearms can be a good thing.
"Then it's not a mystery to the child," said Sgt. Jeff Eichenbusch of the Roseburg Police Department. "When they have someone that does have experience or knowledge that can help them be safer, so they actually know what to do and know how to handle them."
Sgt. Eichenbusch cautioned that people still need to take precautions when you have kids and guns in the home, especially if that child is too young to make proper decisions.
Myhre said his family enjoys shooting together, and he wants his daughter to respect firearms. "I'd rather have them know how to use it properly than to be scared of it," he said.
Myhre said he has taught his daughter to never point a gun at a person and to only point a gun at the intended target.
If you are interested in teaching your child gun safety and shooting, there are local programs that can help, like the Eddie Eagle program through the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
Trying to make news where there isn't any??
I came outta the womb shooting I'm pretty sure....I actually think right around 3 started to shoot dads guns.
I was about her age.. 3ish
I could shoot before i was five. I also was taught safety. It should be a parents decision!
They are wearing hearing protection.
Thank you; I see that now.
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Cant remember not knowing. Was manditory to take hunters safety course also.
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Good job Micheal! You are a great dad for teaching your daughter gun safety! Major kudos! :)
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I was very young. Probably 5 or 6. But my three sisters and I were taught gun safety and appreciation much earlier. Just like crossing the street and looking both ways, we were taught safety first. It was a second nature to us and we knew not to touch or go close to one without help or permission. When hunting with our parents, we never crossed in front of anyone walking with a gun. We stayed behind them always. Safety was never a question or an issue; it was just a fact like anything else.
Both my parents were cops, so I learned very young. I think I was arround six when i was introduced to guns.
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At the age of 1. We where brought around guns and hunting so I and my kids were even younger. They knew that they were no no at the very young age.
I was about 5. At 11 I was the only girl in my hunters safety course and I was the only one to received a 100% on the test.
4 or 5 with extreme supervision. Gun safety was taught always and I learned with a .22 handgun and rifle.
i had a bb gun at 5 and a .22 at 10. We grow up shooting guns
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6 or 7 yo... :-)
Got my first 22 rifle at 5. I was taught how to shoot until I didn't mess up on any safety issues and could hit the target consistently. After that I was still monitored for a long time before I was able to leave the house with the gun on my own. We lived in the country so I had the gun on my own sometime during the year when I was 7.
I was 6. We learned gun safety first. My son started at 8 with a BB gun now he is ten and shoots our glock and 22. We have stressed gun safety with him.. I feel that it's up to the parent to decide the right age to introduce guns... My 6 year old wants nothing to do with them.
I've never shot a gun.
Thank You KPIC for reporting on this :)
i learned with a BB gun from age 7 then at about 9 with my dad close by.... He always taught me great respect for guns. Took hunters safety at 12....
Any gun safety should also include hearing and eye protection. He might want to check into that for this little one.
My dad wouldn't let me move out of the house until I learned to shoot... then he bought me a gun as a house warming present :)
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I was 13 years old. I understand this guys point of view and every parent is entitled to making their own choices for their children but for myself and my children I think 3 years old is way too young to start! I think in order to handle a weapon and use it they should be able to understand more why we use guns and how powerful they are. I dont think that understanding is possible at 3 years old.
Gun safety was ingrained in our heads as kids.. I have NO idea what age it started at. I still haven't really taken too much of an interest in shooting for fun but I have my own personal protection gun and I practice with it when I can :)
Now this is a story the city can appreciate :)
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12ish but I had gun safety at 3 & up
I was taught to shoot when I was 5 :)