at what age?

[ninja man]

so im trying to figure something out. at what age should i let my oldest daughter have access to the safe? she is almost 12 now. she stays home and watches her sister who is 8. they are home alone often. is it wise to grant her the code for the safe? and if so, at what age? she is someone i dont really have to look over when she is handling a firearm, over the last 2 years i have taught her everything she should know. and she has retained all the info. i have never had to correct her on safety after the first month of her handling a firearm. my youngest daughter is the same way. she is always very careful with pointing her guns in a safe direction. so safety aside, what do you all think about her having the combo to the safe?


they also are not curious about guns. she has had every opportunity to hold, shoot, and clean her gun. so i doubt she would even go into the safe unless it was an emergency and she needed her gun. hell i got both my girls sig mosquitos for christmas. they sat on the counter for 3 days before i was ready to put them into my new safe. and the whole time, my girls were asking me to put them away. not for safety reasons, but because they wanted their guns to be safe.

 

[Mockstar]

I don't think it's an age thing. It's definitely possible that there are 12 year olds with more maturity and common sense than some adults. It's gonna depend on what you are comfortable with. Children by law are not allowed to be able to access firearms without adult supervision. (at least in WI)

My son is proficient with his .22, and knows the ins and outs of handguns, but that doesn't mean he access to my safe. I would not want to be the parent of a child who had a lapse of judgement when I was not around...... showing off what dad has in the giant steel cabinet in the corner to one of his friends, or god forbid even worse.........

Then on the other side of coin is the self protection argument. What if the worst case scenario did happen, and someone tried to harm him when he was home alone. should he be able to get a weapon and defend himself. I don't believe this would be as much of a common occurrence as the latter.

Doors have locks, he has a phone, and he knows other options of getting out of the house and over to the neighbors.

 

[kwo51]

I know some 30 year olds that should not have access to your safe. He may be a little young still . My son got his own guns and storage at 14.

 

[SilvrSRT10]

That is a call only you can make. You know her best. Her maturity, her self control, her mental state, her level of training, her level of curiosity. If you feel comfortable with all these things then maybe it's time. But I would still err on the side of caution. Maybe start her out with her own rifle and place to keep it. I would sure hate to hear she had a momentary laps and had a ND or worse. Most kids don't recognize mortality until their mid twenties.

 

[Concealed 27]

I think that you should make that desicion as a family with your daughters input included, your safe has alot of firepower in it.... maybe when she is in high school is my suggestion... my father let me have his info after i got my DL and proved I was responsible enough, i was already safety smart but it is a hard desicion im sure to make...
you want them to be able to defend themselves if you or mom is not home but dont want anything bad to happen by giving her the combo. Honestly I would wait a little bit shes gonna be going thru the difficultys of becoming a young lady no disrespect at all my friend just a fact. I think your wife should be involved in the desicion you make because if you guys differ on the subject its best not to give the kids access till you guys agree....But the bottom line is only you can make the call.....
Concealed 27

 

[#860]

That is a call only you can make. You know her best. Her maturity, her self control, her mental state, her level of training, her level of curiosity. If you feel comfortable with all these things then maybe it's time. But I would still err on the side of caution. Maybe start her out with her own rifle and place to keep it. I would sure hate to hear she had a momentary laps and had a ND or worse. Most kids don't recognize mortality until their mid twenties.

I agree with you whole heartedly, If anything i would get her her own gun safe. That way she has access in case of an emergency, But your stuff is safely put away. JMHO

 

[kwo51]

Living with the knowledge of having killed is hard at any age,but is better than being dead most of the time.

 

[ninja man]

the wife thought my daughter should have access as well. but i have been thinking of getting a small biometric to mount in her closet with just the sig mosquitos. the hardest thing for me are the pros and cons of it. there is absolutely no curiousity about guns for either of my kids. the only curiousity is how to take them apart and clean them. they are still learning that part. but since they have been around them so much, there isnt an issue of a "curiousity killed the cat" the flip side, is the lapse in judgment. we all do it, but because she is still 11 does she have a better chance of making a bad move? when i was in wyoming i was 13. there were hand guns, rifles, and ammo just sitting there. i tend to think boys will be more prone to a bad judgment call rather than girls. and here were a bunch of 13 year old boys with access to guns.

 

[cce1302]

Check your state laws before taking my advice

Assuming that home defense is the issue here: Would it be unthinkable to have one firearm in a separate place that she can get to if you're not home and she needs it? A single pistol safe or inside a book on one of your bookshelves maybe?

 

[#860]

Check your state laws before taking my advice

Assuming that home defense is the issue here: Would it be unthinkable to have one firearm in a separate place that she can get to if you're not home and she needs it? A single pistol safe or inside a book on one of your bookshelves maybe?

Yes be sure of local & state laws, Kalifornia is kinda pissy. :nutkick:

 

[kwo51]

It is against the law in most states for a loaded gun to be left in reach of a underage child.

 

[hotrodpc]

I agree with you whole heartedly, If anything i would get her her own gun safe. That way she has access in case of an emergency, But your stuff is safely put away. JMHO

I tend to agree here. My kids NEVER and to this day, now age 17 and 25, never got the combo to the safe. They've been shooting since 5yo under MY supervision, but I don't give access to anyone. My ex never even got the safe combo. If I die, they'll be able to find the safe combo, but noone but me knows my safe combo. I do have an inexpensive weapon left out of the safe in a secure place where young kids can't get to it, for home protection and my kids do know where it's at if needed.

Oh, and my 25yo daughter has her own Glock 23 now too. Sadly, she's back home too. Going thru the Big D.

 

[cce1302]

It is against the law in most states for a loaded gun to be left in reach of a underage child.

That's why I love Indiana. They let parents be parents, for the most part.

 

[hotrodpc]

It is against the law in most states for a loaded gun to be left in reach of a underage child.

What is considered underage child? Wasn't that long ago, I think it was a 15yo male shot an intruder while he was protecting himself and his 13yo sister while mom and dad were at work. IIRC, that was in TX and no charges were brought against the parents or kids. But charges were brought against the dude in the hospital.

 

[Maxx2893]

Well that's because it's Texas. If the "good guys" don't harm anybody other than the "bad guys," the state of Texas almost never brings charges against the "good guys."

 

[hotrodpc]

Same in OK. I'm real surprised the pharmacist got charged and then got life. BUT, he also went back with a 2nd gun on tape, and made sure he was dead. It was the making sure that got him busted.

 

[ninja man]

so i am thinking about getting a biometric safe to put in her room with just her sig mosquito, and a second biometric in my room with my xd40. i still havent made a descision yet, but i want to know what you all think about giving her access to 2 handguns. if there were ever to be a break in here at my house, i think my kids would go upstairs first since it would be the quickest route away from danger. they may not be able to make it to the garage. our area is secure, but crime can happen anywhere so i want to have them have a way to fight back. she has shot every gun of mine except the .357 and 338 lapua, so experience or safe gun handling is not an issue.

 

[hotrodpc]

The one weapon, I had in a SAFE place that the ex, and my 2 kids had access to was a 12 shotgun. First 2 rounds were bird shot, next 3 were 00 Buck. Reason for the birdshot, was my fear of wall penetration and someone sleeping on the other side of the wall. It was my hopes in the event of something bad happening, at close range to the chest/face would do significant damage and by that time they've got full control of the situation, and can finish the job with 00 Buck and KNOW that noone is on the other side of a wall, or that they aren't going to miss.

We also did things out at the property. We took drywall scraps and shot them with birdshot and 00 Buckshot at different ranges from 5 foot to 20 foot so they understood what shotgun blasts do and how they react and spread with more space to do so, but then see how much shallow the pellets were in the drywall at different distance so they get the idea of penetration power. Then we did the 00 Buck. So after we did all that and they understand, then we went and shot some turtles, rats, a few frogs etc so they got to see blood and guts splatter and have an idea what happens to a person when they're shot with a shotgun.

I just wanted them to know what to expect. In the event they do have to shoot someone, I don't want them freaking out when blood and guts go flying, and don't be afraid of the 2nd or 3rd shot if needed.

 

[kwo51]

What is the law on gun access for minors in you state? Make sure you have the safe combination your self. This sounds like a good place to start. WILL SHE SHOOT A HUMAN ???????!!!!!!! That is the Question for all of us? Hesitation kills.