This item was too big and cumbersome for my 7 year old nephew to use comfortably. The water did not shoot as far as claimed, but that may be due to the fact that you need quite a bit of strength to hold the cannon full of water and exert signicant force to get the water to propel. It was very difficult for me, too! My nephew happened to receive other water guns for his birthday, as well, and he's enjoying these much more.