You can get a sight picture with this that is fairly accurate because there is a front prong and notched rear sight as you would have wih some firearms. This might be safer introduction to firearm practice and learning how to aim for a child than say a B-B Gun. General principals of firearms safety apply regardless and this seems like a good way to teach a child in a relatively safe way: Always assume that a firearm is loaded; Point the firearm in a safe direction; Never aim at a target that you don't intend to hit i.e. don't aim this an animal or person for example.The handbow is fun for a child and adults too for that matter. The child needs to have a little bit of strength in his/her hands to pull the string back, so it is probably best for 6+ if trying to cock him/herself and perhaps older if the child cannot follow directions well i.e. not to aim at anyone for example.Note only 3 darts come in the kit. The handbow looks like it would last a little while for a child that was careful with it. But, I don't think it would not survive a hard throw against a wall. So, the child needs to be respectful and treat the toy with a little kindness. Putting the unit together wasn't quite as easy as I would have liked, not fully illustrative, but in the end was able to figure it out.Included (among other instructions) in the package insert: Made in China. Not suitable for a child under 3 years of age. Choking hazard. Adult assembly required. To be used under direct supervision of an adult.We got the SureShot Handbow version of this, came with a few darts (which we promptly lost one of). You pull back the bow, it clicks in, and then a dart can be loaded. They come out fairly quick, fast enough that you don't want them shooting around other kids. They stick really well, one has been stuck to our glass basketball back board for a few weeks now, kids love to shoot it at it. Glad they sell separate darts as well, but they are kind of pricey since you can get a gun + darts for not much more.It's really just OK. It is a well made bow considering it's plastic and they're only suction cup darts. But it's a serious enough weapon that it hurts to get hit by them. Most Nerf softball guns are intended to hit others and play games of war; this is not one of those games. This thing hurts, the dog yelped, it left a red mark on the little brothers arm. But then other than windows the suction cup darts don't really stick to anything. If you are a true cross bow fanatic and your kid wants one to look like dad then I guess this is it. But as a toy, it's hurtful.I like how this is a handbow that is geared more for an older kid. It's not babyish. I do think 6 might be too young to let let use it unsupervised. It's more powerful than most. It's accurate within 3-4 feet. The darts are small and harder than others my son has. Make sure the child you are giving this to is old enough to understand not to aim it at anyone's face! I do wish that more than 3 came with the set. Being that they are smaller, they are easy to loose. 5 or 6 in the set would be better. The toy does require some assembling but it's simple to do. When put together the handbow feels sturdy and a good quality. Overall, I am pleased with this.There’s not much to assemble before you start shooting. It’s a very nice toy that’s a lot fun but maybe a bit harmful, just like anything else... It’s about a foot long and the bow spans about the same... It’s colorful, sturdy, feels comfortable. And it’s easy to use; doesn’t require much strength – so youngsters, younger than advised, can get their hands on this toy and use it... And the trigger is very sensitive to the touch.Loading the darts is specific though – although the plastic on the darts is weak – one of the wings bent as my kid was trying to force it into place... When putting together the bow on the “gun”, it has to be perfectly centered otherwise, when shooting the string doesn’t release properly.For target practice, as you can imagine, it’s got a 8-10 ft shooting range.This is actually a fairly fun toy and my nephew had a lot of fun with it on Christmas day. It's typically cheap plastic, but the cocking mechanism impressed me for being very easy for a six year old to use, and also being sturdy, secure, and appearing as if it would stand up to the test of time. I wouldn't be surprised to find this toy working as well three years from now as it does today. The darts it shoots as are plastic with a soft tip and won't hurt someone unless you get the dreaded eye shot. I was very happy with the hand-bow, my nephew loved it, and I'm pretty darn sure he will lose all the darts that come with it long before the hand-bow falls to the rigors of time.Great toy for responsible kids... I do not qualify, as I had my kids shooting each other pretty quickly.So far, we have found the handbow and the darts to be well built. No faults yet.It has surprising power... actually painful to get hit by at around 7ft or less. But no, you won't be killing anything with this.The kids (including my 19 year old) have fun standing action figures up, then taking slow motion video as they shot them. Also, hollow chocolates are shattered to pieces (Sorry Santa).This has some power. I thought that since it was just a toy that it would not be this powerful or accurate but I was wrong. The set up was easy because it is just the plastic piece and the bow, the part that you place and screw in the front is metal, you then pull back on the cord and place it into position. I kept trying to set it off without a dart in the slot but it would not work, the special dart must be inserted and pushed all the way until the safety clicks up for this to work.This says that it can be used indoors or out so I first tried it indoors and it made a loud pop and ricocheted off the wall. This has some power and I would imagine that it would really sting if it hit someones skin.