When is someone old enough to shoot a firearm on their own?

MM, you are probably mature enough to go out and practice on your own, but your parents have a lot of liability to consider in the unlikely event something goes awry.

Don't take it hard - you'll be shooting on your own soon enough.
 
MM, Excellent question. I hope you have posed this same question to your mother and father.

My daughter is your same age. She doesn't have the urge to practice like you do, but she likes to shoot just the same.

I would not let her take her rifle out alone. She is not ready. Sometimes, she follows the safety rules perfectly and I don't have to remind her about any of them. Other times, It seems as I am constantly reminding her about the safety rules. Her mood and other goings on in her life get her mind wandering!

You father is watching you also, I suspect. Talk with him, let him know your desire to shoot more. I am sure he will turn you loose on your own when he knows you are ready.
 
HiBC, hats off to you for mentioning Ruark's writings. None better for Mosin. The Old Man and the Boy, TOMATB Grows Older, and Horn of the Hunter are timeless treasures for any shooter.
 
Have you had any formal safety training such as a state hunter safety program? In Wisconsin, the law states you cannot hunt on your own until you are 16....unless you have taken a hunter safety class, then you can hunt alone @ 14.

As others have said, your parents know you better than strangers on the internet. If your dad allows you to shoot once a week, I'd consider myself fortunate. If your dad shoots with you once a week, he knows your attention to detail and your gun handling skills better than any of us here. Tellin' your dad you're safe, doesn't work near a well as showing him. If you haven't taken your hunter safety, make sure dad tags along. Even if you and/or he doesn't hunt, the safety training still applies.

I started shooting firearms when I was six. Wasn't till I had hunter safety and turned 14 that I was allowed outta the house alone with firearms. Till then, I had to be satisfied with BB and pellet guns. 50 years later and I still feel I owe much of my shooting accuracy to Daisy.
 
There may also be concerns about the legal status. It's not unheard of to require adult supervision of young folk in possession of firearms up to varying ages.
 
As a compromise, have you considered getting a good air gun for target shooting? You can learn a lot about fundamentals that way and maybe they'd be quicker to let you shoot that unsupervised
 
When is a good age to let a young person practice on their own?
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Handguns - at least 18. I wouldn't trust most anyone under 18 to safely handle a handgun 100% of the time on their own. Speaking from experience here.

.22LR Rifle - Maybe 15 if you live on a lot of land in the country and are going by yourself, and not with other similarly aged friends.
 
Handguns - at least 18.
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Doing some web searching this appears to be North Carolina state law. To possess a long gun on their own, 12 appears to be the minimum age. Of course I'm just checking the internet, so these sites may be old, outdated, or even incorrect from the get-go.

Beyond that, parents may be less concerned about their child and more about their neighbors. I could envision a scenario where parents feel their child is responsible enough to handle a firearm on their own, but the neighbor lady is too much of a whack-job to allow their child outside with a firearm at her 911 dialing mercy.
 
whenever your parents/adults say you can, or 18 whichever comes first. I started shooting at 15, and until i move out of the house i did not have access to my firearms unless my parents for them out for me. If i remember correctly i was allowed to take my 22 rifle and over under 22mag/20ga shotgun down to a friends house in the country by myself at around age 17 or so. i would go every saturday it was great. they let me have free gas if i stopped off and mowed the church park, which was about half way, it was about the size of 3-4 softball fields on thier nice zero turn mower... took me 2-3 hours. then down to my friends to shoot and chill in the woods fora couple hours before he got home from work.... i used to go through a 550 brick of 22 and a box of 12 ga every weekend.... those were the days
 
For me, it was 18 but that's because by the time I became really interested in guns we lived in town and the local ranges wouldn't let anyone under that age shoot unsupervised. When I was younger (about your age) and we lived in the country, my dad had no problem leaving a loaded revolver in a place accessible to me when he and my step mom went out for the evening (I'm the oldest child so I was left in charge when they went out).

I guess I'd have to agree with most others here that it depends on the individual and circumstances. I've known several people your age and younger that I would trust to safely handle a firearm by themselves and I've known several people much older than you that I wouldn't trust with an airsoft gun.
 
Hi MM,
Frustrating alright, I suggest that you can gain lots of practice by getting into one of the four positions, use a sling as much as possible and dry fire. I know it isn't the real thing but when your working on the six steps to firing a shot and can see the sights when the firing pin drops I believe you will be amazed at the amount of improvement. Note that practicing involves safe gun handling as well. Make it work, show your folks that you are seriously working to improve. Dry firing practice is one of the best off range activities.
All the best,
Rob
 
Way back in the 60's,there were a lot more 50 ft indoor ranges with Jr NRA smallbore programs supported by the Director of Civilian Marksmanship.

That has changed to the CMP,Civilian Marksmanship Program.

One group that has some of these programs is 4H.

Maybe,,if you do some checking,you can find a smallbore program to participate in.

The CMP has a website and a rifle marksmanship book.

Another,if you can find it,is "Position Rifle Shooting"

Others here may make more suggestions.If your dad is into it,maybe,referring to what these books have to offer,he could coach you some.Understand,I cannot write a script for your Dad,and I don't know him.Learning to shoot,a coach is very useful.

I agree with the suggestion to dry fire.

You can sling up,find good position,natural point of aim,breathe,squeeze,and call your shot on a target.

Not talking about just snapping the gun at the wall,but doing it all,just not putting a round in the chamber.

Hey,kilmanjaro,thanks!
 
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This is a tough question....and parents make the call.

When I was 5-6, I learned to shoot. By 12 I shot every gun we owned. I hunted small game too with dad around this time. I was taking a bigger and bigger role in cleaning and reloading through ~15. Around 15-16, I was allowed to shoot with a close friends family without dad. By 17, I could take a couple guns and shoot with a trusted friend at the club.

My girls too started with the 22 at 5-6. At 12, 15 & 22.....they really haven't progressed much beyond this point. No way they are shooting alone or with friends and my guns.

This is why it is a parents call. You really have to know the situation.

Your take on this is that you expand your boundries by proving you are very conscious of your current boundries, take impeccable care of the guns, always show respect for guns& gun safety at the highest level, including showing an active study of gun safety.

Then ask for small increases in boundary like offer to clean all guns after shooting and ask your parent to inspect before putting it away. Be forthright...if you loose a screw or spring, own up to it and help fix it by finding the part, calling and getting a quote, etc.
 
Another 2nd on it's the parent's call. I have a 10 year old who is a heck of a shot and loves to shoot, but some days she loses her mind and I have to wrap her range outing up after 1 magazine. The way it's been lately, I would say she would have to be 18 for me to trust her. A couple of months ago I would've likely said 14 or 15 (if we had land at our house that she didn't have to travel to, we don't so it's moot point). I will likely think that 14 or 15 would be appropriate for her again in a few months... these things are tough to call. I was able to go dove hunting with my BIL when I was 14, and I was mostly alone but he was still around. I finally went squirrel hunting with a 20 gauge with birdshot at 15. My dad wasn't gun savvy, but my brother in law was. He made a lot of the calls for me when it came to guns. When I turned 16, I bought my own truck and had a full time job on top of school. I pretty much got to do what I wanted so long as I made okay grades, didn't get in trouble, and was home at a decent hour. That was too much freedom for me. Oh the stories that my parents still don't know about.

OP, as others have said you seem pretty mature but this is an internet forum. We don't see your actions at home day to day, but you write well and seem to have a good head on your shoulders. I'm sure it'll come soon for you.
 
It depends on the person. I've known a few people who I think aren't really mature enough to shoot safely on their own even though they're past 40. I've known a few kids under 15 who I would consider mature enough to be safe with a firearm on their own.

As far as second-guessing parents on this topic, here's my two cents. I'd say that in general, parents are better judges of when their child is mature enough to shoot on his/her own than most anyone else would be. And when they are wrong, it seems that they are more likely to err on the side of being too tolerant than on the side of being too restrictive.

I guess what I'm saying is that I can see myself sitting down with a parent and telling them that they have overestimated the maturity of their child and that it wouldn't be wise to trust them with firearms. In fact I've done that more than once.

It's harder for me to see myself sitting down with a parent and telling them that they're being overly cautious in terms of restricting their child's access to firearms. I've never actually had occasion to have that discussion.
 
I was about 10 when I went hunting with a .22 with my teenage brothers. At 12, I was hunting with my cousins who were my age. Safety in all things was drilled into me from a very young age. I have been around children who safely handle firearms and adults who should never touch a firearm. There is no perfect age.
 
I'm going to tell my parents tonight I think I'm old enough and safe enough to handle at least my single shot .22 Remington 514. Wish me luck. :D
 
Don't do it! I hope its not too late. waiting for the results. I was hoping this was not why you were asking. If you try and tell them instead of asking, it will not end well. And if you were or are trying to gather information to prove it or make them understand, that wont work either. It will just make you look like you are not mature enough or ready. I went through the same thing and the harder i pushed the bigger the NO got. Eventually, when my parents finally let me, I didn't have to ask, they told me it was ok and to be careful. Trying to force the issue, or make it happen will, almost certainly, result in them not allowing you to do it. Trust them, when the time is right it will happen. good luck.
 
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