Parents - do your kids own guns?

[rbernie]

My 16yo has a Ruger 10/22, a Ruger 22/45, and a Remington 870 20ga. He does not ever use them outside of the presence of an adult, since we have to be there to drive him to a range.

My 8yo and 10yo do not yet own any firearms of their own, although that's fixing to change for the 10yo.

 

[Naterater]

I am one of these children with an extended privilege.

I owned the following guns:
Massberg 500 @ age 12
Ruger 10/22 @ age 13
Remington 700 .308 @ age 15
Reloading equipment for shotguns and rifles @ age 15

I do not need supervision from my parents, as they are now less experienced than me with firearms. My father was never a big shooter.

Most guns are partially paid for by my parents at Christmas time or my Birthday. I have invested in reloading early, so I hope to (not save), but shoot more for the same amount of money!

 

[3KillerBs]

We purchased a 12 gauge for our oldest son when he was 16 or 17.

We purchased a Hi-Standard revolver for our daughter when she was about 14 (the same year).

And at the same time we purchased a Crickett rifle for the then 7yo.

While I have no clue about the legal status of these guns, we have always considered the first two as definitely owned by the then children, now adults of 18 and 20. The Crickett, however has, like the bike of the same era and other outgrown items, been passed on to the youngest child, now 5. So when finances permit we will buy the now-11yo a new gun which, depending on when this occurs and whether or not its something he will physically outgrow, may or may not be his in the sense that the then teens owned their respective firearms.

 

[AK103K]

Each of our boys got a Chipmunk .22 when they were born, a Spanish FR8 and a Winchester 1200 when they were around 10, and a High power when they were 12. They were "their" guns.

Once they had "jobs", Id buy what ever they wanted, and did buy a couple of things for them.

As much as many seem to like to throw it out there, the straw purchase thing doesnt apply to parents and "gifts".

While we mostly always shot together, I didnt have a problem with our kids being around the house with their guns on their own when in their early teens. By then, they had more experience then many, if not most adults, and were mature enough to handle it.

 

[HankB]

No, you can not legally take money from a minor to buy a gun for that minor.

I strongly suspect this is the most common form of "straw purchase" there is. (Junior is a good kid. Junior earns money - paper route, bagging groceries, whatever. Dad takes Junior to the gun shop and fills out the paperwork for Junior's new gun; maybe Junior even forks over the $. So long as Junior doesn't do anything nefarious, this is a family transaction which will never come to the attention of any law enforcement agency.)

Is there any statute of limitations on this type of "straw sale?"

 

[AK103K]

This is from the ATF's website.....

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/unlicensed-persons.html#gca-unlicensed-transfer

"Q: May a parent or guardian purchase firearms or ammunition as a gift for a juvenile (less than 18 years of age)?
Yes. However, possession of handguns by juveniles (less than 18 years of age) is generally unlawful. Juveniles generally may only receive and possess handguns with the written permission of a parent or guardian for limited purposes, e.g., employment, ranching, farming, target practice or hunting.

[18 U.S.C. 922(x)]"

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

You are walking a very thin line. That's a straw purchase, which is highly illegal.

The only legal way to do it is to buy it for them as a gift, and allow SUPERVISED use until they are 18.

AK103K posted part of it but as I recall, it's not a straw purchase if it was bought for your child.

 

[sting75ray]

I have twin daughters that will be 15 next month. They have both had Ruger 10/22s since they were about 7 years old. At 12 I bought each of them a TC Encore for deer hunting. They both now have about 10 guns each. For Christmas this year I gave them both a Ruger BH 357. All of their guns stay locked up in my safe until we go to the range out back or on a hunting trip. All of my guns are in a photo album with the girls names on the ones they now have and which ones they are to get when I am gone. Each year for their birthday and Christmas I give each one of them another gun out of my collection. I do not shoot them as much as I used to so there is no reason waiting until I am gone before they get to enjoy most of them.

 

[Gunnerboy]

I was one of them children with a arsenal, in my 17th year alone i bought 1 handgun, 2 shotguns, and 9 rifles mainly old mil-surps.

 

[Steve CT]

My son took his NRA class at age 16 (paid for the class himself, asked me to drop him off in the morning and pick him up that evening). His first gun was a Ruger MK II, he is a very accomplished shooter with handgun, shotgun, and rifle.

He is currently a Gunner's Mate in the USCG, and came home from a year in the Persian Gulf and Iraq a year ago.

 

[Sam1911]

AK103K posted part of it but as I recall, it's not a straw purchase if it was bought for your child.

It isn't a straw purchase if it is bought as a GIFT.

It IS a straw purchase if you're taking someone else's money and buying a firearm on behalf of them. Even if it's your child. Son who is 16 works a part time job and saves up for a rifle. Gives money to Dad. Dad goes to store and buys the rifle and gives it to son.

Dad is committing a federal felony as this is unquestionably a straw purchase.

If you change the terms a little and Dad goes to the store and buys a HANDGUN and gives it to the son, then Dad is committing another federal felony in providing a handgun to someone under 18 years of age outside of very specific and/or closely supervised circumstances.

Now, Dad knows son has been pining for a new Remlinchester .389 Magnum and goes to the store and buys one as a gift for his son, that's fine. But he still can't do that with a handgun until the son is at least 18.

 

[damford]

all 3 of my boys got there "own" guns for there 12th birthday
all have 22s and been shooting since they were old enough to hold guns

my 19 yr old has a siaga 410,22, 270 and a single 410 from his grand dad
my 16 yr old has a moss 500, 22 and a pump 410 from grandpa
my 12 yr old has a 22, a single 20 and a 38-40 model 94 winchester from grandpa.

ALL guns in my house, even the ones my 19 yr old owns stay in my safe locked up. only my wife and i know the combination.

 

[AK103K]

Dad is committing a federal felony as this is unquestionably a straw purchase.

By the "letter" of the law, your probably right, but good luck proving it in court. At best, its a gray area in reality.

If you change the terms a little and Dad goes to the store and buys a HANDGUN and gives it to the son, then Dad is committing another federal felony in providing a handgun to someone under 18 years of age outside of very specific and/or closely supervised circumstances.

Again, good luck proving anything in court, unless the kid is caught outside running around with it off the property.


Not really related here, but it is in a way. We used to do a lot of hiking/camping on the Appalachian Trail and similar places as our kids were growing up. We all carried handguns, including the kids when they were older. While having a discussion with a friend in law enforcement, and touching on the subject, I asked that if since they were my responsibility until they are 18, why coudnt they carry their handguns "concealed" under my permit. That started a big ball of worms.

In the end, I ended up in a long series of run around phone calls and emails to PA's Attorney Generals office trying to get an answer to it, and they never would give me an answer, even unofficially. Seems that was a scary question.

 

[wannabeagunsmith]

I wish my parent would let me....

 

[USAF_Vet]

Buying a gun for a kid with the kids' own money does sound like a straw purchase, but a lot of it depends on where that money originated. My kids get an allowance, which is money their mom and I give them for doing chores. more often than not, it's money they have on credit, and rarely cash in their pocket. If they have earned enough allowance money and want to buy a gun, as long as we approve of them having it, I don't see a problem buying it for them. In which case, the money is technically theirs, since they have earned it, but lacking any sort of physical or electronic banking transfer, the money is technically still mine, too. When the kids get older and get real jobs, I honestly won't feel any different about buying a gun for them with the money they earn. It'll be kept in my house, in my safe, under my care and supervision until they move out on their own. By all intents and purposes, I am the legal owner of the firearm. that's how it is with my step-sons .410. I bought it, legally I own it. The 4473 even says as much. I mean, technically since my wife and i have a joint checking account, if she deposits money in the account for a gun i buy for her, is that a straw purchase? Only the most anal of ATF agents would think so.

 

[j tice]

my 13 y/o has a cricket 22, my 15 y/o has a mossburg semi auto 22 and my 18 y/o has a mossburg 500 12 gauge pump, are they owners of the guns?, yes ! are they in their possesion, no, only when at the range or hunting. my wife dont care for them to have them so we compromised. they stay locked in the gun cabinet we go to use them. i got my first gun when i was 16. did some trading with my uncle and got 2 winchesters. a 67 a 22 single shot bolt action and a single shot 20 gauge.

 

[chiappa1911]

My son is 13 and has 8 guns and has alot of experince from me and his grandpa

 

[Zach S]

Yes, my four year old daughter has a little pink cricket in the safe. I haven't gave it to her yet, but its there for when she's ready.

 

[surplus-addict]

I'm not a parent, but I AM a minor who LEGALLY owns long guns. A minor can legally own a long gun, they just can't BUY them (or ammo). I have manufactured and own an AK-74 receiver (Don't have a parts kit yet to finish it), I own a Winchester model 94, and a Savage model 64 rifle. All the finished rifles were at one time my fathers, and he transferred them to me after he got "bored" with them (who can be bored of a gun?!?!). Mind you, a minor can't own a handgun until they are 18 at the earliest, cause that's when you can do a inter-family handgun transfer (at least here in Cali). So yes, as a minor, I can/do own guns. And so do my sisters.

 

[UpTheIrons]

I had a Mossy 144 LSB by the time I was 12 (for 4-H shooting sports), a Mossy 500 (12 ga) the next year (after I "graduated" from the single-shot .410), and free access to the several other .22s and shotguns in the house. I had been shooting for several years by then.

I started hunting deer around age 13, too, but didn't have my own rifle until a couple of years ago. I "inherited" my dad's Win 94, and also hunted with his .50 CVA muzzle loader.

My son got a Crickett for Christmas when he was 7, and he earned a Browning Buckmark this past May (at age 8).

My daughter got a Savage Cub (with the pink laminated stock, naturally) for her 9th birthday, and this Christmas, at 11, she got a Walther P22.

The only reason she didn't get any guns any earlier is because she wasn't as interested as my son.


Good luck!

 

[viss]

I bought my son a mossberg 500 .410 for his 12th birthday.

At 16 he got a Remington 1100 12 ga.

When he graduated highschool his gift was an 1187. ( his idea, too heavy

for my liking)

When he graduated colledge he recieved a Remington 700 in 223.

When he moved to his own home I gave him a S&W Sigma as a housewarming gift. Now when he wants to go hunting or shooting he still comes and borrows guns from my safe.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

If you change the terms a little and Dad goes to the store and buys a HANDGUN and gives it to the son, then Dad is committing another federal felony in providing a handgun to someone under 18 years of age outside of very specific and/or closely supervised circumstances.

Now, Dad knows son has been pining for a new Remlinchester .389 Magnum and goes to the store and buys one as a gift for his son, that's fine. But he still can't do that with a handgun until the son is at least 18.

You can't own any gun under 18, it's not just handguns.

 

[12gaugeTim]

Happy New Years everyone! OP here, earlier today (or I should say yesterday) my uncle, sister, cousin, and I grabbed a few handguns and went to shoot into the new backstop the uncle pushed up at some pumpkins. Apart from the uncle, we were all fairly young, me being the oldest and the sister and cousin coming in at 13 and 12, respectively. Surprisingly, the sister, with the least amount of experience out of us all, hit a pumpkin dead center on her first and only shot with the 44 mag. Repeated hits afterwards with a MKII. Probably at ~25 yards. A remarkable display of marksmanship from someone with virtually no experience. She displayed the same talents a few weeks earlier with the 357. Again, one shot, dead center.
Have any of your gun toting/owning/possessing children displayed similar natural fortes such as the sister's?

 

[Sam1911]

You can't own any gun under 18, it's not just handguns.

This is not correct.

Minimum age for ownership of rifles and shotguns is regulated by your state laws. You may not buy from a dealer until you are 18, but federal law does not limit you regarding ownership except in the case of handguns.

http://www.nraila.org/issues/factsheets/read.aspx?id=43

...Many of these regulations impose greater restrictions upon persons below certain ages, with age cut-offs ranging from as high as 21 years of age to as young as 12.

 

[cooldude14]

Im 14 and I have 6 guns, but ive had to pay for 4 of them the other too were gifts