Guns in the House

With guns in almost half of all Minnesota households, safety experts say that all children need training in firearms safety.

By Tom Dickson. Photography by Bruce Kluckhohn

Five years ago, Kathy Pexa of Prior Lake found herself facing the frightening prospect of having firearms in her home. Her 11-year-old son was asking to hunt and shoot, and her husband was encouraging the boy's interest.

"I didn't have any experience with guns at all, and I was real scared of them," recalls the mother of four, who works for a building contractor. "I decided that if we were having guns in the house, I wanted my kids to know how to use them safely."

Pexa enrolled her son in a firearms safety course and decided to sit in herself. Over the next several months, the pair learned about various gun types, how to point the muzzle in a safe direction, and how to pick up and carry a gun safely. Eventually, Pexa actually fired a rifle several times at a shooting range.

"It was great for me to hold a gun and shoot it," Pexa says. "That took the fear away and made me more confident. And it was real exciting the first time I hit a target."

By this time, her 10-year-old daughter had also expressed an interest in shooting. "Her father said 'No,' that it was a 'boy thing,'" Pexa says. "But we explained that the program was open to both boys and girls, and I signed her up." Now 15, Pexa's daughter target shoots competitively. Says her proud mom, "I think this type of training is a great way for all kids to learn about guns and gun safety."

Pexa found herself in a situation common for parents. Kids enjoy the immediate gratification of aiming at and then hitting a target. Unfortunately, the consequences of an accidental or intentional shooting are also immediate. Tragic schoolyard shootings in recent years have added to parents' concerns about kids and their access to guns.

Though people may disagree over the age at which children should be allowed to shoot guns -- or even whether they should ever be allowed to use them -- most safety experts agree that all children should be trained in firearms safety. That's because guns are so prevalent. According to the Department of Natural Resources, nearly half of all Minnesota households contain at least one gun.

"You can't always control where your kids will go," says Valerie Malmquist of Isanti County, whose two daughters and one son have taken firearms safety training. "The odds are good that they will have friends living in houses with guns, and it only makes sense that they should know how to properly handle a gun."

How do parents -- especially those unfamiliar with guns -- learn about firearms safety and ensure that their kids do too? And what if they want to introduce kids to shooting sports and hunting? How do parents make sure their kids receive proper instruction and stay safe when shooting or hunting?

These and the following common questions are often asked by parents interested in gun safety at home and outdoors. The answers, while not absolute, provide general guidelines for helping parents decide why, when, and how to introduce their kids to firearms.

At What Age Are Children Ready to be Taught Gun Safety?

Age 3 to 6 is when to tell kids about household safety, including guns, says Lois Harrison, Minnesota Department of Health Children's Mental Health coordinator. "You need to build messages about gun safety into a general discussion about household safety," she says. "By age 3, kids are getting highly curious and everything is experiential. You want to get across the same messages for guns as for poisons and knives: Stop, don't touch, go find an adult."

At What Age are Children Old Enough to Learn to Shoot?

"If you're a parent not familiar with firearms, I'd say third grade at the youngest, preferably fourth grade," advises Lynn Mollenhauer of Jordan, an elementary school teacher, mother of two, and shooting sports instructor for the 4-H Shooting Sports/Wildlife Program of the University of Minnesota Extension Service. "That's when most kids are old enough to follow directions and to comprehend the consequences of unsafe behavior."

Adds Don Slinger, a DNR regional training officer and expert in youth firearms training: "It depends on the child. A more mature and responsible child can begin at a younger age than others."

Here are age guidelines for taking DNR and 4-H (which may include the DNR certification program) firearms safety and shooting courses.

Age 8:

Children at this age and older can benefit from the DNR's new Introduction to Guns and Gun Safety in the Home Program. Designed for baby sitters, baby-sitting instructors, kids, and adults, the course includes an opportunity to shoot an air gun.

Age 9-10:

This is when kids can begin using a BB gun in the 4-H program. Instruction, available in 37 counties, includes firearms safety, target shooting, and wildlife ecology and management.

Age 11:

Children this age and older may take the DNR Firearms Safety Program (though they can't receive a certificate until age 12). DNR-certified volunteer instructors offer about 1,000 of these 12-hour courses statewide each spring and fall. They emphasize safe gun handling in the home and afield.

Age 12-13:

At this age, kids can begin 4-H target competition with a .22 rifle or black-powder rifle or in shotgun trap shooting. "That's about when kids have the maturity, patience, and coordination to begin shooting these events, and it's usually kids who've been in our shooting program for a couple of years that progress to these events," says Lucille Bohanon, a 4-H shooting sports instructor from Isanti County.

What are the State Laws Regarding Kids, Firearms, and Hunting?

Kids age 11 and younger may hunt small game, including waterfowl, without a license, but they must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

At age 12, kids may also hunt big game (deer, bear, moose), but they must have earned a DNR firearms safety certificate and buy a big game firearms license. Also, they still must hunt with a parent or legal guardian.

Fourteen is the youngest age at which kids may hunt and use firearms without being accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. In other words, no kids 13 or younger may go shooting or hunting alone or just with their friends. Mollenhauer advises parents to have their children wait until age 16 or 17.

Another state law all parents should know, advises Jon Roesler, senior epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health Injury and Violence Prevention Unit, is that loaded guns must not be accessible to anyone under age 18. "Basically that means guns have to be locked in a cabinet or have trigger locks," he says. Conservation officers say that, despite the conflict in wording, the law was not intended to keep guns out of the hands of supervised youngsters or those who have earned a DNR firearms safety certificate.

Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1980, must have a firearms safety certificate or other evidence of successfully completing a gun safety course to get a Minnesota hunting license.

Contact the DNR Information Center for more information and a copy of the current Minnesota hunting and trapping regulations.

Are Hunting and Shooting Safe Activities?

Statistics indicate that hunting and shooting are safer than many other outdoor pursuits. According to National Safety Council statistics, people are injured (requiring at least an emergency room visit) at a far higher rate while playing baseball, soccer, or tennis than while hunting. Nationwide, roughly 100 people die each year in hunting accidents, while 1,500 die in swimming incidents. Minnesota averaged four hunting-related firearms deaths each year during the 1990s. Two reasons for hunting's safety record in Minnesota are the requirements for firearms safety training and that no youth under age 14 may hunt or shoot without adult supervision.

What's the Most Dangerous Aspect of Guns, Hunting and Shooting?

It's not hunting and shooting sports that most concern public health and firearms safety officials; it's the deaths and injuries from firearms in the home. According to state health officials, a firearms-related death occurs in Minnesota roughly once per day, mostly from suicide and homicide.

Guns accessible to kids are accidents waiting to happen, says Laurel Briske, a pediatric nurse practitioner and mother of three adult sons who hunt. Briske says that even when kids have been taught gun safety, parents are ultimately responsible for their child's safety.

"Supervision is critical," she says, noting that it's illegal to store loaded guns in the home where they are accessible to unsupervised children of any age. "Guns should be locked up in a cabinet with the ammunition locked in another location," she says (see "Store Your Guns Safely").

Will I Need to Buy a Gun if I Enroll My Child in a Firearms Safety Course?

No. The 4-H and DNR training programs supply guns for supervised practice. "Hardly any of the kids in our programs own their own BB gun," says Malmquist.

When is My Child Old Enough to Own His or Her Own Gun?

It depends on the maturity of the child, says Roesler, but the older the better. "Bear in mind that most people don't just hand their son or daughter the keys to the family car when the kid turns 16," he says. "By the same token, just because your child passes the DNR gun safety class doesn't mean he or she is ready to own a firearm."

What are Some Common Misconceptions About Guns?

According to Slinger, kids too often think of guns as toys. "They just don't realize that guns can be dangerous," he says. "Kids see guns on TV and video games where people who get shot just get up and keep going."

On the other hand, Slinger adds, many adults unfamiliar with guns paint all firearms and shooting with the same broad, dark brush. "There's a lot of fear and misunderstanding about guns," he says. "Many people think of a gun only as something bad that hurts people rather than as a tool for competitive shooting, for hunting, or for a variety of professional occupations."

Has The DNR Firearms Safety Program Worked?

Yes. Safety training was first required for young hunters in 1955, says Gary Guida, a DNR regional training officer. As an ever-increasing percentage of hunters afield have taken the course, hunting-related fatalities and accidents have declined. During the 1960s Minnesota averaged 14 fatalities and 100 accidents per year. In the 1990s the average was four fatalities and 38 accidents, despite far more hunters in the field than 30 years earlier. "There were 31 hunting fatalities in 1961, and none in 1998," says Guida. "That tells me that safety training is making a big difference."

Where and When Are Firearms Safety Courses Offered?

Each spring and fall, the DNR offers its Firearms Safety Program statewide to teach young hunters safety, ethics, first aid, wildlife management basics, and wildlife identification. DNR-certified instructors teach the program and award the certificate to hunters age 12 and older who complete the 12-hour course. For a list of requirements, courses, and registration, call your local conservation officer or toll-free in Minnesota 800-366-8917. Or visit the DNR web site: www.dnr.state.mn.us. A 24-hour automated line lists Twin Cities metro classes: 651-296-4819.

The 4-H Shooting Sports/Wildlife Program offers firearms safety training and instruction in competitive shooting year-round. Call your county extension office or the state 4-H office, 800-444-4238.

The National Rifle Association offers free materials for the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program to schoolteachers and law enforcement agencies, 800-231-0752. The DNR's Introduction to Guns and Gun Safety in the Home Program is available statewide from some of the 4,000 DNR-certified volunteer instructors. Contact your local conservation officer or DNR volunteer instructor for availability in your area.

Tom Dickson is Communications Manager for DNR Fisheries, Wildlife, and Ecological Resources. Bruce Kluckhohn, Minneapolis, is a free-lance photographer.
 

Store Your Guns Safely

• Lock firearms in a special storage safe, which you can make or purchase.
• Lock ammunition in a storage container separate from firearms.
• Remove and store bolts and clips in a safe place apart from firearms.
• Install trigger locks on firearms. They require a key or combination to open and are inexpensive.
• Secure the keys to firearms and ammunition cabinets and trigger locks in separate, secret places to help ensure that children don't have easy access.

Guns for Youth Training

• BB gun: Fires a tiny steel ball, which is propelled by a cocked spring, up to 100 yards.


• Air gun: Fires a BB or a tiny lead pellet, which is propelled by a CO₂ cartridge (or air pump), up to one-half mile.
• .22 rifle: Shoots a small lead bullet, propelled by burning powder, up to 1.5 miles.
• Shotgun: Fires a swarm of small pellets, propelled by burning powder, up to 100 yards.

Basic Safety Guidelines

1. Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
2. Always keep the muzzle pointed away from people, in a safe direction.
3. Be sure no one is near or behind your target.
4. Never load a gun until you are ready to shoot.
5. Always have adult supervision for children handling firearms.
6. Never try to shoot a gun until you understand how it works.
7. Wear safety glasses.
8. Store guns in a locked container inaccessible to children and adolescents. Store ammunition in a separate locked container.