Hey all, I'd like to start shooting again, which means loading again. I have the classic dilemma though of needing to spend time with my girls. I don't think they're ready for shooting yet, 2yo and 4yo (in june) and they don't like loud noises. But I'd like to have them in the shop with me.

I obviously don't want them messing with the press, or handling powder. I was thinking maybe cleaning primer pockets, putting brass in the tumbler, putting it in the reloading trays. they might find that interesting (for short periods) and it would let me get bits done here and there.

Anybody had their little ones help?

Red

A whole lots of luck.

You may, with a big question mark, get 5 minutes of work out of them. Maybe they'll clean a few primer pockets but then they'll stick their fingers in their mouth and ingest lead from the primer residua.

Why do you clean primer pockets????

At that age, I would keep them as far away as possible from anything that comes in contact with primer residue. Lead is not good for anyone, but for small children it is even worse than for adults. I would not involve children in reloading before they are old enough to start shooting and learn the proper procedures to limit their exposure.

Hey DR, I know a couple of young girls that I'd read Hunting Stories to. We would come in from the field and be waiting to go to lunch or perhaps eat there. Anyhow, as I got comfortable for an attempted short snooze, my buddies wife would hand me the baby and the other daughter would magically appear. Then she would grab a Hunting Rag and I'd read to them.

If it is a good Hunting story, they remain BIG eyed throughout the rendering. Not sure there are any of those kinds of Gun Rag stories in print today. But, if you have access to some old ones, there are some fine stories.

Best of luck ot you all.

I agree with JV, the girls are TOO young, too many toxins involved with reloading. I get my son {he just turned 9}to help, seat bullets, clean primer pockets, add and remove cases from the tumbler e.t.c, he does not touch the primers or the powder and I make sure he wears gloves.

federal primers use aluminum not lead.
the little ones can help put cases in the tumbler.
put loaded rounds in the boxes.
that type of stuff.
the 2 yo will be more interested in the boxes and trying to see what the cases taste like.
the 4 yo will more likely want to help load rounds.
i even started my girl shooting a 22 rife at that age, she wants to shoot and go hunting still at 16.
kids want to help at this age and it is the very best time to build a relationship,and start forming their ability to communicate with you.
include them in the shopping trips for primers/brass etc and even ask thier opinion.
and don't be afraid to ask them "can you do that?" and then watch them try.

My two year old always comes around when I'm in the basement loading. I give him a few pieces of cleaned brass to play with and let him pull the handle to seat bullets a few times (with dad's help). But if I'm set on loading a bunch of ammo I don't want him around, its too much of a distraction for me. Its great that he's interested in dad's hobby but it will be several years before I want him around helping full time.

I used to have my kids help, mostly putting loaded rounds into boxes. Pretty low exposire to anything that can hurt them, & even a 2yr old can do that. As they got older, I would have them load primer tubes, always under supervision, always w/ safety glasses on. Just use common sense & you must supervise.

I have a 4 and 5 year old that really like pulling the press handle. I'll place the brass and bullets and let them then work the handle. They also like weighing powder on the balance beam. I usually keep it to ten minutes or less so they keep their attention. They even like helping me seat primers. I think it is all good fun as long as proper supervision and safety steps are followed.

quote:

Originally posted by duckboat:
I have a 4 and 5 year old that really like pulling the press handle. I'll place the brass and bullets and let them then work the handle. They also like weighing powder on the balance beam. I usually keep it to ten minutes or less so they keep their attention. They even like helping me seat primers. I think it is all good fun as long as proper supervision and safety steps are followed.

+1

I agree with the above poster too. Mine all liked pulling the handle to seat the bullets and the 4 Y.O. may be old enough to hold the bullet in the case mouth at the same time. I know when my kids were tiny they had a much easier time seating 20 caliber bullets than I did!

Thanks guys, I did think about the toxins. I think I'll let them box them for now, they would like that. Also, on some rounds, I mark the bottom of the case with a permanent marker to differentiate (like in load testing or something) I can let the older one do that.

I clean the primer pockets because I like them shiny!

My daughter's 4 and helps with my reloading. Seats bullets (jacketed) and boxes the finished articles for me. She also likes working the bolts on new rifles, smoothing up the actions. Needless to say there's no ammo around when these operations take place!
She can neck size but doesn't have the weight or strength to resize anything bigger than a hornet yet. I'd love to take her out with a 22 but the law in this country would go apoplectic.

I find that in general a youngster's attention span in minutes is equal to their age in years. Really need to supervise closely. However this can be a good way to teach a child, by seeing and doing, how to make decisions and pay attention to details. Just remember to set goals that they can reach.


muck

let em work the handle .. and let them go when the are distracted .. that's what i did with mine

I have a picture of my daughter when she was a year and a half old pulling the handle down on my MEC 650 shot gun press. I got them to help from a very young age.

my 31/2 yr old likes to help daddy build bullets. i let her hand me cleaned cases while im sizing/depriming. i try to keep her away when im charging. i usually prime while watching tv and she watches but loses intrest in that pretty quick.

I once went out into the desert here with a buddy from work, his teenage son and a bunch of the son's friends.

We were shooting the friends' .500 S & W; helluva lot of fun until the kid standing right next to me pulled the trigger and the revolver blew the Hell up!

Turns out the teenage son helped Dad reload some rounds for the trip the night before. Scratch a $1000 revolver, no warranty, zilch! Luckily the only injury was one kid down the line got a small fragment in his arm. We only found half the cylinder, no top strap ( went to the moon!). I was lucky not to be hurt at all.

This just reinforced my notion that I will be the ONLY one that reloads for my guns because I know my QC system works!

My kids like to resize brass. I also let them run my AR ammo through the LFC die. They like it and they know to wash their hands when done. More time spent with them and helps them catch the "fever" we all have!

My two older ones have helped me since they were about 3. Usually pulling the handle or placing prepared cases in the trays, wiping cases with paper towels.

Once they got to about 5, I let them take the spent primers from the press well & they play money with them. The wife grumbled about spent primers all over the place. I always make sure that the live primers are not accessible to the kids.

Once they reach about 10, they try to work the handle for sizing some cases. But I always finish each case - part of my QC. I have never let them handle powder - even my 14 yr old.

Some of the most memorable times are spent with my son in the cave. Both kids accompany me on rabbit & goat shooting trips.

The youngest one is now 7.5 yrs old and has never been interested. He will shoot a few targets with an air gun & that is it.