A firearm safety dilemna... help

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
This situation has 'bad ju-ju' written all over it! I feel for you, brother.

I'm not sure I have a better suggestion than what you're already doing. The tough part of this is, he is of age, and the more you keep him from getting one the more he's going to want one. If you don't do it with him, he might go get one on his own which is almost even worse.

Maybe one solution might be to go with him to get something, and then he only gets to use it when under your supervision. Otherwise it is kept locked in a safe, or secured with a gun lock. This way he can get what he wants, but you can control the situation. Definitely something in the low capacity, single action, category though, like a revolver.

ETA - Another thought...has he ever fired a real firearm? Firearms are a lot louder than most new shooter's expect. What I'm going to say next is not a good idea on a long term basis, but is there any chance you might be able to get him to fire a firearm without hearing protection once or twice just so he understands just how loud they really are. The sound alone may deter him, especially if his desire to get one is based on TV shows, movies and video games.

Agreed! And I would add that the recoil on the firearms he is interested in might also be a deterrent. Take him to a shooting range and rent a couple Bigger caliber firearms to shoot and see if he still wants to buy one.

Thanks for all of your input.

We have explained to him that multiple firearms on a small property are dangerous. He will not be permitted to carry here. That concession... that took some work.

Moving forward, we are trying to get him to take a gun safety course... before he commits to buying one.

Fingers crossed...