At what age do you believe people should be able to own guns?

78tsubaki said:

I remember Western Auto selling firearms.

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Yeah, me too. But the Western Auto store in town didn't sell them as cheap as mom and dad did through their country store/gas station.
I've mentioned it before, but I still have a couple of 1962 Winchester/Western catalogs from my mom's and dad's store. It was my job to pump the gas (no self serve in those days) wash windshields, check the oil, and check tire pressure if asked. Between customers, I spent a lot of time studying that Winchester/Western catalog, when I should have been studying my school books.
It all worked out okay though...I went to college after I retired. Our youngest daughter was a graduating Senior when I was just a Freshman at the same university. She helped me with a few of my first papers, just like I taught her about guns while she was growing up.

I have some 50 year old friends that shouldn't own guns! For legal purposes I think if you can be drafted you should be able to purchase a gun! If they raise the gun owning age to 21 they should have to raise the selective service registration age to 21!

I was 19 when I bought my first 22 rifle at a gun show. I was about 21 when I bought my first handgun. I was about 22 when I bought my M1 carbine and about 23 when I bought my M1 Garand. I still own all of them 30 years later!

I got my first BB gun at 6. That started my safety and shooting instruction, with the adults that took care of me. I had my first .22 rifle at 12. I went hunting unsupervised. At 14, I was wearing a .38 revolver on my hip on my trapline. The local sheriff deputy and I used to talk, he would stop to say hi if I was close to the road.

At one time, I felt that if a young adult was old enough to be employed by the United States military, they should be able to buy and own guns. That is no longer the case, I feel the maturity of our young people in this country is in retrograde. Too much immersion in virtual reality fantasy. I rarely trust a 25 year old with a firearm.

john fisher said:

Just kind of curious, what age do you believe people should be allowed to own guns. Also what age were you when you had your first gun in your possession?

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The first part of your question is difficult to answer. It depends on the person's level of maturity, which is not directly related to chronological age. I would use 21 as a convenient baseline, with possible adjustments if the person is in the military, etc. That's for purchase, not necessarily for owning guns.

I'm nearly 74 now, so this is no longer a burning issue for me. I've had rifles since I was 17 (when I persuaded my father to buy them for me). I bought my first handgun, on my own, at age 22, and my first AR-15 at age 23. This happened before the Gun Control Act of 1968.

Age? What nonsense. Much more about maturity than a count of how many days you woke up in the morning.

john fisher said:

How long ago was that?

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1968, just prior to the infringement known as GCA '68.

I think buy them where they want at 18, parents have the right to decide when they can own them up till then. Part of what’s wrong with the world today is there isn’t 12-14 year olds out hunting. I got my first gun when I was 8, 410 shot gun. Later upgraded to an 870 20 gauge when my brother turned 8. Dad or my papa was always around when we had guns out plinking or went hunting until I was around 13-14 and we had demonstrated safety enough they trusted us.

When I got my first? 15 A Colt Trooper MKIII from my Dad. Generally, I'd say 18, simply to remove legal responsibility from a parent for a minor's misdeeds. When I said 15 I meant the first firearm I had actual physical control of 24/7. (didn't have to get Dad's permission)

Those of us who are older grew up in a different world. The first mass shooting that I remember was the University of Texas tower incident in 1966. (BTW, I was there, and was a 21-year-old law student at the time.) Mass shootings have become increasingly commonplace since that time. So naturally we don't trust people to have guns as easily as we used to. I had rifles since I was 17, and AR-15's since I was 23. I'm not sure that should be the normal standard any more. Too many young people have proven themselves unworthy.

doubleh said:

Addressing those that say if you are old enough to die for your country at 18 you should be allowed to own firearms and buy alcoholic spirits., keep in mind that those in the armed forces are very closely supervised and the accident rate soared when they could purchase alcohol.

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You can drink on base at 18, you can buy guns, (with your COs permission to place it in the armory). There’s lots of lee way for those who serve. Some will even bend over backwards to show their appreciation, shout out to the Jacksonville Lincoln Dealership.

Bought my first .22 with my brother when he was 12 and I was 10. We went to the hardware store with our dad and made the purchase, but don't know if we had to have him with us or not. Now days??? It's a difficult question. Have a friend who has been on his own since age 16 due to crappy abusive and neglectful parents. He bought guns then. He is my best hunting buddy now 50 years later. If circumstances were the same these days, should he be punished and not allowed to buy a gun because other people are idiots? i could give you a list of several friends who have been buying and trading guns since they were teens. It's always the trouble with blanket laws based on the behavior of the few and , but negatively impact the vast majority. The common refrain is "If it can save just one life." But, of course you never know if the restrictive law saved anyone. I have to come down on the side of allowing law abiding citizens to buy guns. Since their will be an age limit it should be 18 or any emancipated teen, which would describe my buddy. Tough question with no easy answer. I am more fearful of giving the government the power to set arbitrary age limits than I am of legal citizens legally buying guns. My preference is that the government would have to prove someone is unfit.

As several have said, it’s not age, it’s maturity.

Some kids are mature enough to handle and keep a gun by age ten.

Some... I’m afraid that these days there are less and less kids who could be trusted with anything more dangerous than a spoon.

I had full access to the family firearms from about 12 on forward. By age 14, I was carrying a .38 revolver daily after school. Let's just say my kids will have similar access if needed.

john fisher said:

Just kind of curious, what age do you believe people should be allowed to own guns. Also what age were you when you had your first gun in your possession?

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Same as legal age to join the military.

Same age we let people carry them into combat.

BB gun @ 9-10, Remington SS .22 @ 11-12, shotgun in. my mid-20's, 1st handgun @ 55, and now I have several more handguns and a PCC in the collection. At 61, I have all the guns I need, but not all that I want!

I never remember shooting at things inappropriately, even from the first gun @ 9-10. I guess my dad and my BIL impressed safety on me adequately.

As for as age allowed that’s the parents decision, and responsibility.

And I think I was about 12ish when I was first allowed to keep a long gun in my room, still wasn’t allowed to touch a handgun without supervision.


I’ll also say I remember turning 18, nothing magical happened. I was no more, or less, responsible than I was the day before. Selecting a universal age just seems silly to me.

i bought my first gun when I was 14. If you are a child living at home I believe the age limit can be determined by your parents otherwise 18 is a good age for long guns and hand guns.

I got my drivers license when I was 14. I bought my first gun at 15.

As many others have stated if you can sign a contract to enlist in the US military then you should be able to purchase firearms.

It's not a cut and dry answer but I'd agree that it's a decision parents should make. I "owned" my first gun when I was about 9 or 10 but that meant keeping it in my grandad's closet and taking it out to shoot. Then when we moved, my guns stayed in Dad's closet and I'd ask to take them out. Once I got my own (non-dormitory) place, I started keeping my guns with me so I suppose I was 19 when I had "true" ownership.

I think kids' parents should maintain possession of guns and kids get permission to use them. For my Dad, it was his house so he was in charge of the guns. Keeps the child accountable and somewhat decreases the odds of some jack legged friend coming in and wanting to horse around. Peer pressure can be dangerous for even the most level headed middle schooler.

And I'd agree, some folks never do grow out of that stage.

The ideal would be no age at all. If the child is able to plan well enough to get the money on his or her own s/he should be able to buy anything they wish. But since the great white father in Washington doesn't allow children gainful employment* I would have to say 15 1/2. My reasoning for that age is that (in the state of Indiana) a child can be issued a permit to operate the weapon that statistically is most likely to cause his or her death. It stands to reason that if the state feels it reasonable to allow the child to operate an automobile it's reasonable to assume they are capable of operating the less deadly firearm.

*if you pick on the sarcasm it will leave a really nasty scar.

SamT1 said:

I think buy them where they want at 18, parents have the right to decide when they can own them up till then. Part of what’s wrong with the world today is there isn’t 12-14 year olds out hunting. I got my first gun when I was 8, 410 shot gun. Later upgraded to an 870 20 gauge when my brother turned 8. Dad or my papa was always around when we had guns out plinking or went hunting until I was around 13-14 and we had demonstrated safety enough they trusted us.

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I agree. At 5 my uncle wouldn't let me shoot my new daisy buck until I could recite and explain the 4 gunsite rules. Ever since I got my bb gun all I would do on the farm after chores was hunt. Only got more fun once I got a .22 and then a 16 ga. I knew I'd be held to those rules and I didn't want to lose the privilege of shooting it hurt anybody.

When kids' only exposure to guns is shoot em up video games I think that adds to the problem. That's how you get 21 YO "tacticool" nimrods who know nothing about gun safety. I think hunting nurtures a respect of wildlife and also of the real danger of firearms. When you actually see bloodshed you realize you're not carrying s toy around.

For my kids, it was between 6 and 9 years of age, the boys were a bit younger than the girls.
Size and interest had alot to do with that.

I miniaturized/kids sized .22lrs for them, and took them along as I showed them over a few years.........and when I felt they were competent, I let them hunt alone, as shooting someone else or getting shot is usually a 2 person tragedy .
We also used guns daily and it was imperative to pay that aspect of growing up under control and well educated in any and every aspect of firearms ownership and their use I could think of.

I first had a real gun in my possession at 9- 410 crack barrel dove hunting. Got my own first gun at 10- a wingmaster 870 in 410. At what age to purchase any firearm, own and use , with no adult oversight whatsoever? 18- the age when one is no longer a child by law. For ALL things- firearms of all types, voting, drinking alcohol, military service- EVERYTHING. IMO there should be 1 age for adulthood. If the snowflakes want to change it to 21, 25, or 30- then they can be responsible for the care and feeding of their "children" until that age, the military can wait to receive them until that time, etc. Can you tell this is sore subject for me?

I was hunting pheasant's and rabbit's with my own 410 along side my brother with his 20 gauge when I was 8 and my brother was 9. My dad gave me my first 22LR rifle at the age of 8 ( had to share it with my brother). We lived out in the country and using firearms at a young age just seemed natural. My dad wouldn't give my younger brother a gun until he was much much older. Plus he didn't show an interest in shooting. Motorcycles were his thing. We had BB & pellet guns from 6 on up.