Until the 1960s and 1970s all Boys and some girls were always trained to use rifles and pistols: Why?

Because this is a very big and wild country and always was. If you don't live in a big city see example below:

41 hr (2,776.9 mi) via I-40 E

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So, imagine this. You live 50 to 100 miles from the nearest sheriff or policeman. if something happens you are dead. So, you better have a rifle or a pistol or something to protect you from crazy people or animals that could be a problem for you and your family. It has always been this way for 400 years or more here in the U.S. Without some kind of weapon (even if it is a baseball bat or sword) thousands to millions of people wouldn't be alive now here in the U.S.

 

Because of this for example, my father was taught to use weapons by age 6 and his brother by age 4 and his older brother was given a small shotgun (by age 9) to hunt for food in Oregon and Washington.

 

So, at age 8 in 1956 I was given my father's .22 Rifle which was a pump action Remington Rifle and taught to be accurate with it to around 100 yards hitting anything. So, by age 10 I was a crack shot and could hit anything I aimed at. This was the experience of most of my friends too who were 8 to 10 years old in 1956 in Glendale, California. However, obviously we couldn't shoot a gun in the city, we had to go up into the mountains or into the deserts near Los Angeles to do this. But, we all became very accurate with .22 rifles which don't have the kick of a 30 30 or a 30 odd 6 which are bigger rifles for bringing down deer and larger animals. So, most children were very proficient with a .22 rifle then that I knew in 1956 to 1960 here in California. And all the boys I knew had their own .22 rifles that they kept in their bedrooms with the bullets stored in their closets or somewhere safe.

 

This was an honor bestowed the most upon boys who were trusted by age 8 or 10 years of age to protect their family from harm (from bad people or animals). It had been this way for hundreds of years back to the Pilgrims in 1620 in Massachusetts.

 

But since then children have become infantalized like many pets are and so we have lost this part of our heritage As Americans (hopefully not forever).