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

[bassjam]

An 18 year old should be able to buy rifles, shotguns, and handguns. Alcohol too, but that’s an argument for forums that love freedom and allow off-topic conversations.


Prior to 18, it should be up to the parent/guardian. By the time I was 14 I borrowed Dad’s Marlin 39a whenever I wanted, and I got my “own” gun at 16 when I asked my parents if I could have an 870 instead of a class ring. I just bought my daughter an M&P 15-22 for her 10th birthday, but she still isn't allowed to use it without me around so it stays in my safe.

 

[BSA1]

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?

My reply is at what age is a individual allowed to defend themselves with a firearm?

 

[Choctaw]

18 and 18.

I was lucky enough to be raised in a small town (1100 people in the entire county) where you grow up faster than city kids. I started shooting with my dad at six years old. By the time I was in 6th grade I was plowing and roading tractors on highways. At fifteen, I received my driver license and always had a rifle in my truck and oilfield tools in the toolbox. I ran traps, pumped oil wells and hunted without parental guidance because I had proven I was trustworthy and mature.

My sons have been shooting since they were young. I have given each multiple guns and they have taken good care of them. When they are on our ranch I know they can safely hunt, fish and work cattle without me around because they have proven themselves to me year after year.

 

[huntsman]

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?

I bought both my boys their Marlin md 60’s when they were 13 and 15, a year later they each got an 870 express 12 gauge for Christmas.

I started shooting my Dad’s gun at 10years old, was carrying a Colt match or Winchester 63 on our land by myself at 12 and was hunting by myself at 13.

From what I see of today’s suburban youth I don’t believe they’re mature enough as a teenager, but I’m willing to believe there’s still country boys I would trust as teenage gun owners.

 

[Gridley]

I believe I was 22 when I bought my first firearm (a Browning Buckmark) but I might have still been 21. A lot of my records from that time period got lost not long after - though I still have the pistol.

I agree with many previous statements on the thread that ideally we would judge firearm possession by maturity, but as I am not aware of any objective standard for measuring maturity I'm going to go with "whatever local law says is the age you can purchase/own a car." Which I also believe should be the age at which you can purchase/own alcohol. Note that parents/legal guardians on private property are welcome to let their children shoot, drink, and drive at their discretion (hopefully their discretion will include not mixing those activities).

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I concur with ontarget in post #3 regarding age.

As for me, I have had a family heirloom firearm (nothing extravagant, just an old single barrel 16-gauge) as long as I can remember. I couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 when my uncle passed it down.
Of course, it stayed with my dad's firearms, it was just understood that it was mine.

I actually started shooting at 7 (not the 16-gauge, but another old single shot, this one in .410).
I was gifted a few over the years.

I actually purchased my first at 19 or 20, a hunting rifle.

 

[mcb66]

12 or 13 years old I got my first handgun. A Pietta 1858 Remington .44 replica with all the accessories. I had to learn hand gun usage from the ground up. Safety first. I think I got my first .22 single shot Daisy about the same.

 

[denton]

If you grew up on a farm, you probably almost can't remember when you didn't know how to shoot.

 

[HB]

I bought my first gun on my 18th birthday, was given one when i was 10.

Not sure today’s youth are any less responsible than years past. Todays muder rate is the same as the 50s and crime much lower now than 1990.

I believe drunk driving is much less prevelent today as well. Hunting accidents waaaay down.

 

[CapnMac]

When the parents think they are old enough, until age 18, and 1 thereafter.

I had a 1911 in my paws at 13; a Garand at 15. There was much supervision, but I knew better than to shoot up wellhouses, barns, or the neighbor's cattle.

 

[Zoogster]

As a result of politics the age of majority to purchase, as we have to start them young to counter opposition. From an actual maturity point of view the brain of most young adults is still forming and changing and their decision making and moral processing is said to not even be fully mature until almost age 25. I don't know if I would say someone has to wait that long to have rights, and people in that age bracket are also going to be most of the victims of violent crime too.

 

[Kaybee]

I don't know about firearms but I think they shouldn't be allowed to have smartphones until they are 32.

 

[gulogulo1970]

Pick an age where people are considered adult. I would say it should coincide with voting age, so 18 for everything.

Different ages for being able to do different things seems wrong to me but our own Constitution does it. A person must be aged 35 or over to be President, 30 or over to be a Senator and 25 or over to be a Representative. So age discriminating laws have been there from the beginning.

 

[George P]

Pick an age where people are considered adult. I would say it should coincide with voting age, so 18 for everything.

Different ages for being able to do different things seems wrong to me but our own Constitution does it. A person must be aged 35 or over to be President, 30 or over to be a Senator and 25 or over to be a Representative. So age discriminating laws have been there from the beginning.

Personally, I think voting should be about age 25; folks have matured, hopefully have some more education and responsibilities by then, and would be better able to tell the lies from the truth. Of course, I also think 18 should the driving age minimum for vehicles on the street.

 

[dh1633pm]

I had my first gun at 14. So 14.

 

[78tsubaki]

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.

"Those of us who are older grew up in a different world"
Yes! What has changed? When I was young Have a Gun Will Travel was my favorite show. My first "guns" we're a matched pair of Fanner 50s. I never had enough caps. Paladin wore a black hat but he had integrity and a moral code.
Show and tell often included an 06 round and discussion about how it worked and how the last deer was killed.
When we had school yard disagreements the worst damage was a bloody nose, then we all went home to lick our wounds. Live to fight another day.
Fast forward. Technology has allowed pre teens to be put in the first person shooting people for hours.
In some cases, I believe parenting has been replaced by parenting by peer and increasingly violent on line opportunities.
To the OP, the time and effort you put into parenting your children will pay off many times over. The decision for you to provide your child firearm training and shooting opportunities will be clear to you.
Your bringing this question to the forum indicates to me that you get it. Best of luck in the future.

 

[Rembrandt]

I too grew up in a different time period, in those days you pretty much knew how firearms worked by the time Dad took you out with the real thing. We never missed the start of the "Rifleman"....no one could fling lead like Lucas McCain.

 

[huntsman]

Personally, I think voting should be about age 25; folks have matured, hopefully have some more education and responsibilities by then, and would be better able to tell the lies from the truth. Of course, I also think 18 should the driving age minimum for vehicles on the street.

Voting should be left to landowners and taxpayers, it’s all about having skin in the game.

 

[Jim Watson]

Yup. Good enough for George Washington et al.
And look at auto insurance rates if you don't think 25 would be a reasonable age of majority. The insurance companies have a lot of data and they know where the average driver settles down.

 

[Steve51]

My dad bought me my first long gun when I was 12 years old - a used Stevens over-under (.22LR over .410 gauge). He paid $24 for it. At age 16 (1967), I bought my first shotgun from a Sears catalog - a 20 gauge bolt action. When I was 18, I purchased a Western Auto Revelation .22LR semi-automatic rifle.

I don't think a person should have to be over 18 to purchase a long gun or a handgun. I certainly don't have a problem with the age being lower than 18. I enlisted in the Army at 18 years of age. If you can serve in the military at 18, you should be able to buy a firearm at 18.

 

[jmace57]

My grandfather gave me his '40s vintage Remington .22 rifle on my 12th birthday. I grew up in Colorado and at that time (1968) you had to take and pass a hunter's safety course (including shooting) before you got a hunter's safety card. Minimum age of 12. Without the card, you couldn't buy ammunition. In addition to what I learned in the course, I was given stern warnings from my father about gun safety.

I bought a cap & ball pistol when I was 14. A .22 revolver at age 20, and a .357 at 21.

I would agree with most of the others that age 18 is old enough to be in the military...should be old enough to buy a gun.

 

[Lo8080]

I was eighteen and bought a Rem 870. I think your age is determinate to own ALL firearms at eighteen. My rule would be a manditory firearms safety/self defense/statute regulations course before you can legally own at eighteen and a follow up renew at age 21. The courses would also judge maturity level by the instructor.

 

[rskent]

While I don’t think there should be any age restrictions on owning a firearm. If you have to have an arbitrary age limit it would be 18. I don’t understand how you can restrict legal adults from buying anything legal.

 

[rskent]

The courses would also judge maturity level by the instructor.

And who sir, is going to judge the maturity of the maturity instructor? Or do they get a license from the US department of maturity? OK, I’m not being very mature here. Sorry.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

In 1975 my dad took my older brother an me to a gun store and let us pick out our first 22 rifles. my brother was 14 and I was 12. My brother got a Remington 552 Speedmaster and I got a Winchester 9422 XTR. I was really into Westerns back then. I still have that rifle today.
Owning a gun is just part of being an American and I feel that every 18 year old should be allowed to buy a gun, be it a rifle or handgun.