Poll: is he ignorant or does he have a point

[fenrizz]

Your step dad says no, and your mother agrees with him.
So you should respect their opinion, and don't get a rifle.

However, strive to show that you are responsible and they might allow you to go to the shooting range.

In any case, you should respect your parents decision.

 

[Sovvolf]

I don't know of any 16 year olds who I could genuinely trust with a rifle, including myself. Get one if you wish, but be freaking careful. Maybe that will convince them that a gun, if used responsibly, isn't the worst thing in the world.

I don't know many 20+ year olds who I could genuinely trust with a rifle. Honestly OP... a gun is a dangerous weapon, they aren't toys and shouldn't be messed with. Guns should only be used when you genuinely need one, like if your a hunter or if your a soldier... maybe if your house is being attacked by zombies.

I'm not meaning to tell you what to do, I just recommend against it. I'd go with your mother on this one. Wait until your older.

 

[captainwolfos]

Aaaaall we are saaaaaaying is give peeeaaace a chaaaaance.

No, seriously. I know how to use a rifle having been to army cadets, but that doesn't make me want to get one right this instant. If it's for target practice, get a can zapper or something.

But this is down to house rules, and given I am not your parent, I have no say in the matter.

 

[bam13302]

He is a bit ignorant, i live in maryland and my dad comes from a family of gun owners, no one has ever gotten hurt and it is a great pass time (although it is a little hard to find a gun range here). Guns are perfectly safe if you know how to use them, if you come from a family that doesnt use guns, i would -strongly- recommend you take a training course (i believe that is required anyway when purchasing a gun) and find someone that also likes target shooting.

The only way a gun is 'safe' is if it's stripped into its component parts, otherwise it's a liability and thinking it's safe is sure to cause an ND or someone getting hurt in general.

Because you can so easily just go to a range and use one of their guns, if you only want to do target practice why would you need to own a gun yourself? Especially with you being a teenager. You may not be stupid with guns but I bet your friends are.

Whereas there is generally not a great deal of difference the zeroing of a sight to your own eye and positioning of your cheek and eye to sight varies between people, if he has his own gun it will be zero'd for him, if he's renting a gun he would typically need to zero it every time he uses it to ensure he's hitting where he's aiming. It gets quite tedious to have to re-zero every time.

I understand your point of view, and that is the idea, a gun is never safe until you understand that guns are never safe. I know, that is a bit confusing, but thats just how it is. Always take care, and dont do anything stupid with the gun, and nothing bad will happen. Store, transport, and fire them properly, and they are, for all intents and purposes, safe.

 

[Mr. Socky]

From an engineering prospective, guns are fascinating. From a 'people are fucking idiots and we will all kill each other' prospective, guns are bad. An American's right to bare arms went right out of date about 100 years ago.

Well, the human desire to kill each other hasn't changed, so I fail to see how there would be any differences one hundred years ago. They just used crappy weapons back then. Besides, most gun owners are responsible people who only fire at the range. The only ones you hear about are the 1% that use illegally acquired weapons to shoot people.

OT: My mom let me get a gun for trap shooting, but I only ever use the thing under supervision, around professionals and the gun lives in mom's room. I have no problem with owning a weapon if care is used around it, like you would use care around a chainsaw.

 

[diablomaki]

u know 22 mag. rounds have pierced kevlar i wouldnt recommend buying them, for that reason

That smells fishy. What sort of round? (Yes I know magnum but other than that)
For a weapon that drops off significantly after 100yards I wouldn't have thought it would have the energy to pierce kevlar.

bullet size and powder load, i would assume this happened over a short distance so depreciating velocity shouldnt really factor in
i assume it was just a normal solid round, any other round seems like it would be counter productive

 

[micky]

im 16 and i decided to get a rifle because i really like shooting and i told my moms boyfriend and he said he wouldn't live in this house if i got it and that "no good would come from that thing". hes acting like its a horrible omen like when i get it the world will end. am i wrong or is he just ignorant
p.s. my moms with him on it


edit: my dads an ex marine and has trained me to the best of his ability's. only problem he lives in new Hampshire

edit again: i want to get one for target shooting and i can get one with parents consent.

edit AGAIN: im sorry if i come off as if im begging to get a gun, i respect the house rules i just dont agree with them. I tried to have a reasonable discussion with them.

Firstly, I have one question for you. Fudge Packer??? (great movie) Second, is there any way to live with your dad? Otherwise, could you just rent guns at the shooting range until you're not living with your mom. It may seem like a long time, but it's only a bit under two years or so.

I would say your step-dad is not being ignorant (possibly over-reacting), because even though gun safety goes a long way to prevent accidents, not having the gun completely eliminates that chance.

it is a great movie! and no, there really isnt a way to live there

 

[micky]

im 16 and i decided to get a rifle because i really like shooting and i told my moms boyfriend and he said he wouldn't live in this house if i got it and that "no good would come from that thing". hes acting like its a horrible omen like when i get it the world will end. am i wrong or is he just ignorant
p.s. my moms with him on it

Have you ever fired a gun before? Been to the firing range? Know about gun safety?
I would be hard pressed to give a 16 year old boy a gun. I especially would feel weary if everyone else in my family knew nothing about gun safety. Even if you know how to operate it, that doesn't mean accidents can't happen.


You're 16. Just move out in two years and get in then. Why do you need one anyway? Back when I was your age kids just bought crack.

ive shot about 15 types of guns and my dads an ex marine, i think i should be trusted, it wont be out anywhere it would be locked up were no-one but me can get to it.

Your dad being an Ex Marine has absolutely NOTHING with whether or not you should be trusted with a gun. Are you a hunter? Have you ever gone hunting?

Points for you not to get a gun:
1)YOU DON'T NEED IT.
2)Who you are living with does not want you to have one.
3)Your whining about it no matter how much you don't tyou are.
4)Go half way ask for a PAINTBALL or a BB Gun don't go the whole fucking mile to get an actual gun your SIX-FUCKING-TEEN.
5)If you don't like the rules in your MOM's house why not go live with you dad?

like ive said before i dont think maturity should be measured by age, and i know i dont need one its a hobby. your 3) doesnt make sense and i cant live with him because of personal reasons

 

[DemonicVixen]

as long as its mainly for taret shooting (and not on animals either) and you have no intention of using it for anything else, and also are under trained supervision or at least some form of supervision, i cant really see the harm and even i myself would love to get a rifle... did used to have an air rifle but never really got the chance to use it =(

Also i believe that when not in use it should be kept locked away with a trustable adult.

 

[micky]

I don't think any civilian should be allowed have a gun unless it's for hunting.

However disregarding that I suppose he is being irrational, guns are only dangerous in the hands of idiots.

thats what i said! but he thinks it can kill on its own.

i signed up with escapist purely to respond to this.

guns are always dangerous. it doesn't matter who is holding one or whether it's sitting by itself on the table. the attitude "guns are only dangerous when someone other than me is holding one" is precisely where problems start happening.

if you ask a chef whether knives are dangerous, they will say 'yes'. it is the knowledge that knives are dangerous that leads to them being respected in the kitchen (always either in use, being cleaned or put away). and despite this, chefs still cut themselves. trained professionals who know what they're doing, still injure themselves.

gun related accidental injuries are far more serious than knife related accidental injuries. if you don't have a gun, there is no chance that you'll accidentally injure yourself or others.

and before you start comparing how knives are useful tools to have in the kitchen, i'll say this: you don't use guns to chop your veggies up (and if you do, you shouldn't ever be allowed near a gun again)

welcome! OT i know this sounds crazy but a gun with a trigger lock is safer than a knife, i know the dangers and i know how to keep it SAFE so that there wont be an accident period

 

[spartan231490]

2nd ammendment. Just saying. Yes, he is ignorant in my opinion. 1) target shooting is a hell of a lot of fun. 2) there is a reason psychos shoot up schools, not gun shops, so people wont shoot back. 3) those of u who think that gun ownership means a higher violent crime rate, I cant remember where i read it, but i wrote a research paper about that a year or two ago, and the country in eastern Europe with the lowest violent crime rate, had the highest percentage of gun ownership, i think it was finland, just saying.

2nd ammendment was there for a reason, or 4

and good luck convincing your parents.

 

[Zero47]

Them being against you owning a gun isn't "ignorant", it's common sense. You say you tried having a reasonable discussion but it sounds like you just didn't like the answer rather than that they were being unreasonable about it.

 

[Krion_Vark]

like ive said before i dont think maturity should be measured by age, and i know i dont need one its a hobby. your 3) doesnt make sense and i cant live with him because of personal reasons

I know maturity isn't measured by age I have a few friends that show that greatly. You are complaining about the rules put forth by the ones you live with and want to go and throw those rules to shit. That to me is a great show of how immature you ACTUALLY are. You may think that you are mature but trust me when I tell you you probably haven't seen anything yet. Your main argument is that you should get a rifle because you LIKE shooting. That is the most retarded IDIOTIC reason to get a gun I have EVER heard. Seriously if you were going to use it to go hunting thats a completely different story entirely. If you are completely dead-set on getting a rifle just wait the 2 years until you turn 18 and can buy it yourself without your mom or her boyfriend's permission and see how long before you get kicked out of the house.

Like I said before if you like shooting GO GET A PAINTBALL OR BB GUN. Those are a lot safer to shoot around than actual guns.

Here is my new question for you. Where exactly do you live and where would you shoot this rifle you want to get?

 

[micky]

"no good would come from that thing"

Okay, let me ask you this, what good came come from it?

its better than being cooped up in the house playing video games and its a way to meet people or bond. it teaches responsibility and is a great stress reliever. after having a rough day shooting some rounds down range can make your day good.

there are other ways to relieve stress and meet other people/bond with them.
It's a bit of a hard situation. on one hand, guns are very dangerous, even with proper care (they're still guns you know). then again, if you ARE a raging psychotic, you could just as well use a big kitchen knife.
can't you like, rent a gun at the shooting range? like renting ice skates on the icecapade. that'd seem like an acceptable solution, you can still shoot targets (in a safer environment if you ask me), and you don't have the gun around at home where it could potentially land in the wrong hands.

think of it this way, why do you think people buy there own bowling balls or ice skates and not just rent them. im not going to be shooting mice in my yard im going to use it only at a range

 

[spartan231490]

I don't think any civilian should be allowed have a gun unless it's for hunting.

However disregarding that I suppose he is being irrational, guns are only dangerous in the hands of idiots.

thats what i said! but he thinks it can kill on its own.

i signed up with escapist purely to respond to this.

guns are always dangerous. it doesn't matter who is holding one or whether it's sitting by itself on the table. the attitude "guns are only dangerous when someone other than me is holding one" is precisely where problems start happening.

if you ask a chef whether knives are dangerous, they will say 'yes'. it is the knowledge that knives are dangerous that leads to them being respected in the kitchen (always either in use, being cleaned or put away). and despite this, chefs still cut themselves. trained professionals who know what they're doing, still injure themselves.

gun related accidental injuries are far more serious than knife related accidental injuries. if you don't have a gun, there is no chance that you'll accidentally injure yourself or others.

and before you start comparing how knives are useful tools to have in the kitchen, i'll say this: you don't use guns to chop your veggies up (and if you do, you shouldn't ever be allowed near a gun again)

welcome! OT i know this sounds crazy but a gun with a trigger lock is safer than a knife, i know the dangers and i know how to keep it SAFE so that there wont be an accident period

Guns are inanimate objects, as long as u treat them as what they are, you wont get hurt. Always leave it unloaded and safety on when your not using, and always treat it as if it is loaded. It's really quite easy, and a very high percentage of gun related accidents, happen because of alcohol, or irresponsible hunting practices, like shooting at sounds. the rest happen because of irresponsible treatment of a firearm when your not using it. guns dont shoot themselves.

as a side note, 67,999,987 firearms owners, killed no one yesterday.
by both absolute numbers, and percentages of owners, guns kill far far less people than automobiles, or cigarettes, or probably alcohol.

 

[AWAR]

Gun laws in the U.S. are stupid as hell. SO many people die due to guns compared to other countries.

So no, I don't think you should get a gun.

I recommend watching that Columbine documentary from Michael Moore, gun laws are not the problem.

The movie from Michael Moore said that guns kill a lot of people, and that we should ban guns because they kill a lot of people. He didn't actually examine the effectiveness of Gun bans. He just sort of assumed the result would be lower crime.

Eh? No, have you actually seen the movie or you just made that up? If that's what you understood from the film then watch it again or something...

 

[micky]

ive shot about 15 types of guns and my dads an ex marine, i think i should be trusted, it wont be out anywhere it would be locked up were no-one but me can get to it.

Dick Chaney knows how to shoot a gun, so? Dude your 16, just wait till you move out. What do you even need a gun for? Get an alarm system if your that paranoid.

Its not like you live in a variety store in the gheto.

Edit: Also dude, try to use better grammer, people here will eat you alive for bad spelling.

(even the mods don't like it)

I am going to use it for targets and competition, not hunting. Guns aren't only for protection.

 

[Matt King]

why do you really wont a gun they only cause trouble if u dont need one dont get it i mean how bad would u feel if u were shooting tins and u missed or tripped and shot someone