7 pro tips for getting kids excited about hunting and shooting

#2 SAFETY FIRST

My wife and I have always been strict about safety, but we also believe that—as a precursor to hunting—shooting should be fun. Still, you should always begin by teaching new, soon-to-be-hunters the extreme importance of firearms safety. Young kids don’t have the life experience to understand consequences, and for that reason, they can be unpredictable.

Along with having your young shooters always wear eye and ear protection, they must also learn to keep control of the muzzle direction and treat every firearm as though it were loaded. As well, they must always keep their finger away from the trigger until they’re ready to shoot, use the safety (but not rely on it) and be certain of their target. There are no do-overs with firearms, we routinely tell our daughters, so mistakes simply cannot happen.