Age restrictions?

[Ex-MA Hole]

Does your shooting club have a set age limitation? What is it? How do you feel about age restrictions?

 

[mortablunt]

Well, I remember that the local ones have a 21 age minimum for those who want to join and anyone else simply has to be with someone who is 21 or over. From my perspective, it's really quite unfair. It means that I have to either drag along an older adult in order to go shooting, I get invited someplace, or I simply have to do the normal thing and rent a range lane. I just can't rent firearms.

 

[Ex-MA Hole]

How about a minimum age to actually shoot a gun under supervision?

 

[HOOfan_1]

I know of no age restrictions...they do say that you have to be taller than 5 feet to shoot at the 15 yard pistol range though

 

[paintballdude902]

18 to go with a rifle or shotgun 21 if youre taking a pistol. the owner even told me it just helps with the price f his insurance to set an age restriction.



my dad used to drop me off when i was 16 and come back 2-3 hours later or when i called

 

[ball3006]

To shoot by yourself you have to be old enough to own the gun you are going to shoot. Otherwise, there is no age limit on adult supervised kids. The club has a junior 22 league and a air gun league. Common sense rules if the kid is old enough to safely handle a gun.......chris3

 

[effengee]

5 years old.

Well, at least the kids were when I first let them pull trigger on the .22 at my backyard shooting club. All are welcome and targets are fairly unrestricted.

This is one of the major reasons I moved to a place where there's no safety zones or town ordinances, and own my house.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

This is for the local indoor range: http://myshootersedge.com Under 18 must be accompanied by adult. (From an interaction I observed, they seemed pretty "kid-friendly." ) There is a lowermost age limit as well as one for shooting rental automatic weapons, but these escape me at the moment. I have no problem with any of it.

 

[RNB65]

No. But there is a minimum height limit on the handgun range due to the berm being lower than the berms on the rifle ranges.

 

[The_Next_Generation]

The usual. 18 for the rifle range (if under, must be supervised by 18+), 21 if you've brought a handgun. However, the guys at my local range told me I'm welcome to head on down whenever I like, sans escort.

Guess it pays to be 17 and well-behaved

- The Next Generation

 

[M2 Carbine]

How about a minimum age to actually shoot a gun under supervision?

My range, so no age restrictions, except no matter what the person's age is they have to be safe.

I've taught friends kids to shoot when they were so young they couldn't pull the slide on a Beretta 21A 22LR. They used the tip up barrel to camber a round.

There's a 11 year old boy that shoots here that I would put up against anyone for safety and competence with a gun.
I started teaching him and his brothers to shoot when they were about 7.

So, I don't think there's a set minimum age to be safe.

 

[303tom]

Don`t belong to a Shooting Club, don`t have to. We have our own range !!!

 

[Zach S]

At the range I frequent, you must be at least 18 to shoot a rifle and 21 to shoot a pistol unsupervised. My uncle used to go with me as my "babysitter."

IIRC, children under 10 are not allowed in the range. I don't know if the rule gets bent for customers he knows well or not, I haven't had the opportunity to find out, as my four year old is not ready for the range.

 

[bearcreek]

Mostly I shoot on my mom's farm. Minimum age with supervision a person has to be old enough to talk. I think the youngest we've had is one of my little brothers at 4. IMO, ranges setting a minimum age on supervised shooting is counterproductive to the range itself and to the culture of responsible firearms ownership and use.

 

[VT Deer Hunter]

I havent been to the range in a while but i think its 18.

 

[drsfmd]

12 to shoot, 18 to shoot unsupervised.

Frankly, most 12 year olds aren't mature enough to shoot... I'm horrified when I hear of people letting their 4 and 5 year olds shoot.

 

[ATBackPackin]

I don't think my club has an age restriction for shooting supervised. They have a junior membership for ages 16-18. Anyone over 18 has to have a regular membership.

 

[bearcreek]

12 to shoot, 18 to shoot unsupervised.

Frankly, most 12 year olds aren't mature enough to shoot... I'm horrified when I hear of people letting their 4 and 5 year olds shoot.

In my experience maturity level is far more dependent on how a person is raised and the examples they follow than their age. I know several 18-60 year olds that are not even close to mature enough to shoot unsupervised. I also know a couple 13-17 year old's that I would consider to be mature enough to shoot unsupervised. They are the exception but they do exist. Years ago it was perfectly normal for 8-17 YO's to go hunting by themselves or with peers and bring home squirrels or rabbits for the family's dinner. Many kids today are not raised in an environment that promotes maturity at a young age (or ever) but that doesn't mean they can't be. Ignorance of firearms and their proper and skilled use and handling is a very dangerous position for kids to be in, both for themselves and, IMO, for the future of this country.

 

[kludge]

DCC is a "family" membership. There no age restrictions on using the range, but the member must be there with the child making sure that they are being safe. Spouses can get their own range card if they go through the range safety orientation, meaning they can use the range without the person listed on the roster being present. Youth can get a range card at age 15.