Christmas gun ads from the past

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4. Or you could look at it as boys and girls learning firearm safety...

as well as developing a healthy enjoyment of the shooting sports such as target shooting.

In the area of Florida where I live hunting is very popular and since the area is impoverished, the meat ends up on the table. Parents often teach their children how to hunt. These are the age requirements for young hunters

Young Deer Hunters Minimum Age Requirements

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Florida: http://www.floridaconservation.org/ - 16 years old and have completed a Hunter’s Safety Course to hunt alone; under 16 – no age limit for supervised hunting with a licensed adult 21 years of age or older.
http://www.the-deer-hunting-guide.com/info-guide/young-deer-hunters-minimum-age-requirements/

I started taking my daughter to the Tampa Police Pistol Range when she was nine years old. She first practiced with a single shot bolt action .22 cal rifle under my close supervision. As she grew she expressed interest in shooting handguns at the range, but her hands were far too small to handle my weapons. I bought a .22 caliber S&W Kit Gun with a 4" barrel and adjustable sights for her to use. I spent a lot of time teaching her handgun safety and how to load and unload this small revolver before I took her to the range. I also required her to learn the names of all the external parts of the revolver. Of course for a long time I supervised her shooting.

One day when she was 13 we were on the line shooting when the range master called me on the bullhorn from the range office. He asked if I would help a new shooter learn how to handle her handgun. I mentioned that my daughter was on the range alone. He just laughed. He said, "We've watched her shoot and you taught her well. She's quite safe shooting alone."

As my daughter grew she became able to handle larger firearms. Her personal favorite became my S&W Model 25-2 .45acp target revolver. This weapon is as large as Dirty Harry's .44 magnum. She loved to walk up to the line and load this handgun and start shooting. The sight of a 15 year old girl with this large handgun who was only 5 foot tall and weighed less than 90 pounds often caused the other shooters to pause and watch and she loved the attention. She also enjoyed hanging out in the range office and talking to the range master and the other shooters. She also was able to shoot my S&W Model 29 .44 magnum but the recoil of this handgun makes it far less enjoyable than the recoil of "her" Model 25-2.

She grew up to be an excellent shot with handguns and we both have fond memories of our times on the range. When she left the nest to get married I told her she could take any of my handguns she wanted and she chose the Model 25-2 and the Kit Gun. She has excellent taste in her handguns as these two were probably the most accurate weapons that I owned.

Responsible shooters teach their children firearm safety and introduce them to the shooting sports.