The World's Youngest Practical Shooter

1. samd
   August 13th, 2009 at 11:48 am

   what the hell is his dad thinking? i don't really care how good this kid is, child + firearms just doesn't seem like something one should be proud of. where is the law? my country never fails to surprise me.

2. Dru
   August 13th, 2009 at 11:54 am

   I think that we should give more kids guns even younger than this kid. I mean you learn a lot faster at that age and really it only takes one or two mistakes before a kid will learn what to do and what not to do with a gun. Seriously how often do you hear of people, especially kids, getting killed by guns, it's a rare occurrence.

3. argon
   August 13th, 2009 at 12:37 pm

   yes dru is absolutely right, people are never killed by guns, because guns weren´t meant to kill anyone to begin with, they are only made to shoot at practice targets and nothing else.

4. Tahsi
   August 13th, 2009 at 12:41 pm

   If you teach responsibility about guns with children at an early age, it's likely to prevent accidents caused by curiosity. Would it be any different if the kids was into extreme sports, BMX, video game tourneys? His parents supervise, he's disciplined, what's the problem?

5. helimx
   August 13th, 2009 at 1:04 pm

   I have recently began to teach my 5 yr old son how to shoot. We are starting with a SMALL .22 caliber rifle. we spend more time going over safety than we do actually shooting the gun itself. And yes, he is a great "shot".
   one thing i did notice with the kid in the video is.... he is not paying attention to how many rounds he is shooting. The magazine of his pistol holds 8 rounds. He shoots the 8 rounds, then "dry fires' it, thinking there are still bullets to be fired. He did that on EVERY magazine. NOT A GOOD THING in my opinion. Not to mention, most competitive shooters are taught to holster their weapons while moving to the next shooting area. HE IS RUNNING WITH A LOADED WEAPON!!!!
   I am a firm believer in the rights to own guns. Though I do not disagree with this child shooting, I don't think he is being taught all of the safety rules that he should be taught.
   my son gets pretty excited, as do most children, so working with him to remain calm while handling a gun is on the top of our list.
   Safety Safety Safety.

6. SenorMysterioso
   August 13th, 2009 at 1:04 pm

   Doesnt bother me. Is he any good? I noticed that he doesnt seem to know how to count very well or is just really focused because he never noticed that he had used every bullet in the clip every time.

7. Briannana
   August 13th, 2009 at 1:32 pm

   True, the child does need to learn to count the rounds he is shooting. But, as a guitar instructor, I teach a lot of kids, and multitasking the action and counting parts of the brain is a very difficult task, even for adults.
   My kids will shoot guns from an early age on. Teach them safety. Teach them it isn't a toy. And then show them how fun it can be to have that kind of possibly life-saving (both hunting and self-defense) skill throughout their life. And remember, blaming a gun for the death of an individual is like blaming spell check for spelling errors.

8. Colt Seaver
   August 13th, 2009 at 1:40 pm

   I'd much rather have children who could wield weapons responsibly and safely than children who simply had irrational fears of inanimate objects.

9. Colt Seaver
   August 13th, 2009 at 1:45 pm

   But no, automatic pistols are not what my kids will be shooting. Too much potential for accidental firing.

10. Mim
    August 13th, 2009 at 1:53 pm

    Christ. It's like when someone makes a fire, and men all crowd around it.

11. K!P
    August 13th, 2009 at 1:54 pm

    he can harldy run witout falling so it MUST be ok to let him run with a loaded weapon!

    looks kinda funny, and about learning at young age, 12 is still young. this is just pushing it.

12. stumpy
    August 13th, 2009 at 2:12 pm

    http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6393527&page=1

    A police chief and a Massachusetts gun club have been indicted for involuntary manslaughter in the death of an 8-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself with a Uzi at an October gun expo in Massachusetts.
    Share
    8-year-old shoots himself in the head at a Massachusetts gun show.

    Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury owns COP Firearms & Training, which sponsored the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club, where 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj accidentally shot himself in the head in October after losing control of the 9 mm Micro Uzi submachine gun.

13. Vonskippy
    August 13th, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    Maybe next year they'll teach him how to juggle running chainsaws.

14. Geekazoid
    August 13th, 2009 at 2:35 pm

    Please, no politics on Neatorama

15. Norris Lurker
    August 13th, 2009 at 3:07 pm

    He's doing a very good job of weapon handling. I've seen many adults who inspire less confidence. helimx, you'll almost never see an IPSC shooter reholster during a stage except to climb or vault an obstacle.

    It looks like his hands are so small that he's holding the gun with his right hand and pulling the trigger with the left.

16. p
    August 13th, 2009 at 3:56 pm

    Tragic accidents happen doing anything worthwhile.

    Before we all go apeshit, do you know how many kids under 12 die every year in accidental shootings? About 40, compared to about 1200 per year in cars and 600 by murder.

    I'd venture a guess that almost all children who grow up in rural areas have learned how to handle firearms by age 10. IMO, they're safer for it, simply because they'll know enough to stay out of trouble WHEN (not if) they come across a loaded firearm in a friend's house.

    Would your kid be able to unload a semi-automatic handgun if a friend put it in his hands?

17. ted
    August 13th, 2009 at 8:17 pm

    Bad idea.

18. JoeM
    August 13th, 2009 at 9:22 pm

    I'm still trying to figure out the "spell check" analogy.

19. Foreigner1
    August 14th, 2009 at 2:59 am

    In Ye Olden Days when people still carried bludgeons and daggers and swords to defend against raiders and Vikings, it was perfectly normal for children to carry and use them from the moment they could walk on their own two feet. You still see that with small Amazonian tribes and in other parts of the world where people live in small communities that need to fight daily against nature and dangerous outsiders. I've seen boys of 4 years old handle AK47's in Afghanistan and Congo like my own kids at that age here in the "civilised" world do with their toys. But over there it still is killingly important to be able to use weapons as soon as possible. Not being able to use weapons as a means to defend oneself and ones family means inevitable death.
    And there is the difference: Somewhere in our society's past development, weaponry went out and was replaced by stricter social control because over all we became more peacefull- First no carrying of weapons allowed within city-walls, after that, no weapons allowed everywhere. And with reason- It takes a strong policeforce and unarmed citizens to keep a more or less peacefull society.

    In such an environment it seems ludicrous to teach any person old or young to carry and use arms.

    And then there is this sport of the use of arms for target-sports. There the weapon is taken out of its context of harmful instrument of death and destruction and it is used solely as an instrument of accuracy.
    Only it still is an instrument that if not used properly can kill and destruct.
    But so can gocarts, horses, small and bigger motorbikes or even bicycles- Those all can cause death and wreak havoc if used wrongly. But there we hardly see any problem if four-year old children use them.

    So no I see no problem whatsoever if this kid gets a gun to do this sport and if he turns out to be a champion at shooting at his age. As long as he keeps doing it only while practising that sport and not outside that domain.

20. D.D.
    August 14th, 2009 at 5:35 am

    More kids die from TV sets falling on them than any kind of gun deaths, that is, unless, like the anti-gun crowd, you count 19 year old young men who die in shoot outs over drugs, as "kids dieing from guns".

    More kids die from being fat, TV watching, big mac eating slugs than from any kind of gun accidents.

21. me
    August 14th, 2009 at 5:42 am

    You guys are really great at using logical thinking.

    Let me try to make my own statement:

    Very few children die petting lions -> allowing children to pet lions is a good idea.

22. Zanuha
    August 14th, 2009 at 5:44 am

    I have no problem with that, but just look at that gun and the recoil! Its a damn deagle! Those things have more kick than a bull on steroids.

23. Foreigner1
    August 14th, 2009 at 6:40 am

    Me- Let me try to answer your statement:
    Do you have any idea how many children get into hospital from bicycle-related accidents....?

24. Foreigner1
    August 14th, 2009 at 7:16 am

    at ananova dot com slash News slash story slash sm_3440125 dot html (3 year old boy gets motorbike license) you can find a story in addition to my question to Me. I rest my case if you take in consideration how many deadly accidents happen in traffic and especially with motorbikes.
    ...And then still maintain that this kid should not me allowed to shoot guns in a sportive environment...?

25. Clint Deadwood
    August 14th, 2009 at 9:06 am

    Is this 'cute' and/or SICK...

    The Lad is in league with the Two year old Chinese smoking prodigy.

    This is why America is so beautiful and so very wrong!

    P.s. - Wonder what his grouping is like?

26. Kyle
    August 14th, 2009 at 11:36 am

    @Clint Deadwood, how does this video and the Chinese kid smoking make America "so very wrong." This video is from the Philipines. The smoking video is from China.

    The kid in the video does a great job handling the gun, considering it appears to be a .45 1911 of some sort. In any case, still probably not a great idea. I can't say I'd ever let any child of mine shoot a handgun anywhere around that age.

27. Ride Fast
    August 14th, 2009 at 12:46 pm

    [...] The World’s Youngest Practical Shooter [...]

    Awesome. I hope the kid keeps at it. Looks like he'll be a champ.

28. Ride Fast
    August 14th, 2009 at 12:50 pm

    Whoops, meant to add that that semi-automatic pistol seems to be malfunctioning. The slide normally locks back (open) on the last round. The kid isn't used to counting his rounds fired because normally he doesn't have to.

29. horned_one24
    August 14th, 2009 at 3:26 pm

    I see absolutely nothing wrong with this kid shooting. Im so flippin tired of the fear that media and idiots have put on guns. No gun has ever killed anyone with out a meat hook pulling the trigger.

30. ted
    August 14th, 2009 at 7:42 pm

    I think there's no need for a child this age to be using guns. A six-year-old can drive a car - should he be given a licence? A six-year-old girl is capable of having sex - should she be married?

31. Christophe
    August 14th, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    I'm relieved to see that war torn countries are not the only ones featuring kids with guns...

    On the other side it's also a sport, albeit a disturbing one here.

32. Chris Johnston
    August 15th, 2009 at 10:45 am

    I'm so jealous! When I was a kid, and my parents sent me off to summer camp, they left explicit instructions that I not be allowed anywhere near the shooting range (or the archery range, for that matter)!

33. kevin
    August 15th, 2009 at 1:51 pm

    @ted, #30: huh? your analogies make no sense. you are taking it to the super extreme, and its not proving a point. it's only making you look like a pedophile.

34. Ride Fast
    August 16th, 2009 at 9:57 am

    [...] Public Opinion On Guns [...]

    Counting comments, tabulating opinions.

35. ted
    August 17th, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    Nice, kevin.

    I'll try to speak more clearly, then, so you don't think I'm advocating six-year-olds driving cars or getting married.

    A child is physically capable of smoking; a child can operate a voting machine; a child can operate a drill press or a table saw.

    Simply because the child is able to do something, does that mean he should be allowed to do it?

    There. Is that less extreme for you?

36. Conrack
    August 29th, 2009 at 8:27 pm

    Ted, I think there’s no need for a booger eatin' moh-ron child of your age to be the booger eatin' moh-ron that you are. The point is that you FREELY, because this is America, CHOOSE to be a booger eatin' moh-ron because it's YOUR RIGHT to choose to be a booger eatin' moh-ron.

    I think there’s no need for a booger eatin' moh-ron child of your age to be dictating which rights and constitutionally protected activities your fellow FREE citizens choose to engage in and enjoy.

    Reducing the lives of others to only the things that you think anyone "needs" is a sure sign of an authoritarian socialist communist of the worst kind. The Nazi's didn't think the German citizens "needed" their guns, so they took them. Then when the people couldn't fight back, the Nazi's decided the Jews didn't "need" their businesses, so they closed them. Then then Nazi's decided the Jews didn't "need" their money, gold, artworks or any kind of assets, their freedom, health and in the end their very lives, so they took all of those too.

    Whenever I read or hear anyone using the "need" argument I smell the stench of Nazis, and I can smell you from all the way out here in L.A.

    Thankfully, whenever the "need" Nazis get out of hand with controlling what others "need" there are always a band of free, brave, clear thinking men and women that can see that the world doesn't "need" people like that and we rise up and kill as many of you as we can to return oppressed people to a state of freedom.

    As a free man I proudly stand in front of, beside and behind this man and his son and all of my fellow free American citizens in the free enjoyment of our right to life, liberty, pursuit of happiness and self determination.

    And that's all that "needs" to be said about that.

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