How do you feel about a 21 year old carrying?


RJ_Whitlock

M&P 9mm
I've always wanted to know the answer to this question from serious people, I get bashed by some of my friends and others understand but think I'm crazy, they think I want to kill anyone who crosses me which is not the case what so ever.

I just would like to be able to dictate who will be taking my life and who won't be. I'll tell you a little about how I carry, when I CC my firearm never ever leaves the holster, I never flash it (to feel cool or what have you) and I always carry in Condition 1, cocked and locked. You'll never have time to rack that slide back when someone is coming at you with intent to do harm. Also, honestly what's the point of carrying with an empty chamber? I know my pistol is heavy but it probably won't be enough to stop a threat as a club.

I have taken gun safety prior to my CCW class I know the 10 commandments of firearm safety. When I'm in a friends house or a discreet enough location, and they want to see/handle my pistol. I always and mean ALWAYS do the following (while keeping the muzzle in a safe direction), I remove the magazine, remove the round from chamber with the safety still engaged, I will rack the slide back multiple times just make sure there isn't a round in the chamber.

I disengage the safety and slid the magazine back in just enough so my mag safety is disengaged and proceed to slowly let the hammer get back in to it's resting position. I then hand them the pistol with muzzle pointed in a safe direction so then can see it. After they give it back to me, I check to make sure the chamber is empty and proceed to go back to my normal CC'ing and that is that.

I hate being stereo typed by the ones around me because I have tattoos, and piercings because I chose to defend myself and the ones I love. I train as much as I can (quick drawing, situational awareness, thinking up a safety plan if something were to happen, and getting rounds down range to get more proficient with my pistol). I know this is long and I appreciate and thank anybody who has read this in it's entirety and would like to provide more constructive criticism.

My mind set has always been before I got my permit and started carrying is that I'd rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it. Also, I just plainly don't want to be another statistic of some ******* that want's to rob and or kill me. With all this being said I thank you all.

Have a good day!
 

I started carrying at age 21. As a matter of fact, I got my permit 8 days after my 21st birthday. I waited that long only because the pistol I bought on my 21st birthday had to be ordered and it took 7 days to take possession of it. I picked it up late in the afternoon and was at the Sheriff's Office applying for my permit the very next morning.

Age has very little, if anything, to do with whether or not a person is capable of being safe with a firearm. I've been in contact with numerous people over the last 20 years that were well over the age of 21 and were unsafe in their firearms handling. Like the 50 something retired soldier that put a .45 caliber hole in the living room floor at the home of the owner of a gun club I once was a member of while showing off his 'fast draw' (with a loaded SAA that he'd 'forgotten that he'd loaded after the match'). Or the self proclaimed 'retired police firearms instructor' that started sending 9mm rounds down range while I was putting up my target on a cold range. In both cases, they were escorted off the property by the owners and banned (the first guy did so AFTER he wrote a check to cover the repair costs instead of having a police report filed).

Can a 21 year old be safe with a firearm? Absolutely. Just like in every other case, it comes down to the person, their maturity level, their level of safety training and whether or not they adhere to what they've been taught.
 
Why not? The 2nd amendment doesn't say at what age you can possess a firearm. I was carrying openly in AZ at age 20 and have been carrying concealed for more years than I care to admit. Age has nothing to do with it, rather it's the persons maturity level that counts.
 
Don't worry about the peer presure. When I was your age I bounced at clubs. Unfortunately, nj does not hand out ccw's to the non rich or politically unconncted. So I carried anyway. The dangers presented in today's society are real. The world your generation is coming into is much worse than 22 years ago when I used to bounce clubs. If your friends eyes are wide shut, one day they will open to the reality of our ever changing for the worse society. Hopefully, you will be around to protect them from the horror show.
 
I feel the same way about 21 year olds carrying as I feel about 16 year olds driving.

With that said...I had my driver's license at 16, and my first CCW at 22. (I was a late bloomer! LOL!)

I'm 38 now.
 
I know some 50 year old's I wouldn't trust with a gun. Age doesn't matter as much as maturity does. Some should never have a gun no matter their age.
 
I'm also a young ccw holder, with tattoos and piercings. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. Nothing wrong with a responsible 21 year old carrying. Think of how many of our soldiers are 21.

The only part I read in your post that I'm not sure about is the mag safety (never had one). The mag safety doesn't allow the hammer to fall unless the mag is in right? After you do that, do you take the magazine back out before handing it over?
 
I don't drink, so instead of going to the bars for a drink at 21, I applied for my license instead. So needless to say, a 21 year old is totally fine carrying.
 
I'm also a young ccw holder, with tattoos and piercings. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. Nothing wrong with a responsible 21 year old carrying. Think of how many of our soldiers are 21.

The only part I read in your post that I'm not sure about is the mag safety (never had one). The mag safety doesn't allow the hammer to fall unless the mag is in right? After you do that, do you take the magazine back out before handing it over?

Yea a mag safety is when the mag is out, it won't fire with safety off as well. Also, I never ever hand my friends a loaded magazine with the weapon. Just the gun itself.
 
I’m going to go w/ it depends on the 21 Y/O in question. It’s a scientific fact that the part of the brain that governs impulse control does not fully develop until you are 25 or so. I see a lot of 21 Y/Os that act like they have permanent ADHD and I’m not sure I’d be comfortable knowing they were carrying guns.
 
Some people have common sense at younger ages than others. I know plenty of 50 year olds that aren't responsible enough for me to consider "safe" with a firearm or automobile or even a spork. I also know a few teenagers plenty responsible enough. 21 is simply the state's attempt at finding a median age that people are responsible enough.
 
21, so what??

I don't see any problem. I was a US Army MP who was armed with an M1911A1 at 18 years old. I always treated my weapon with respect and utilized it for what it was; a dangerous (if misused) tool that I needed to do my job. Like you, I had a very healthy respect for the damage a mishandled weapon could do. I had one Sr. NCO who I wouldn't trust with a water gun. Even the armor hated to see this fool coming. So I know firsthand that age is not a foolproof indicator as to who will handle a weapon properly. As long as you are mentally mature, don't drink while you're armed, and follow the safety rules, you're good to go!

Be safe, and welcome to the sheepdogs.
 
as long as your smart about it, do it the legal way, i say carry on. i got my permit last year (now im 28) so i only have a few years on ya. i get the same from my family, but after talking it over with them (still dont like the idea) but have a better understanding for why i carry and that i passed everything required for me to do so, its almost a non issue anymore.

be safe out there and keep carrying!
 
All I have to say about it is this: I joined the military at the age of 18. If the government didn't have a problem with me around weapons of any sort, why should anyone else?. Besides, so far as maturity is concerned I know some people in their 50s that shouldn't even ride a bicycle. At least you can still train someone in their early 20's. ;)
 
I started open carry when I was 16, but back then in Arizona there were not strict guns laws. If the 21 year old in not a mental case, felony record or spousal abuse and passes the so called background check then they have the right to purchase and carry just like any other person.

If this person is pulling his firearm in public for no reason other than to show off one can report him to the authorities as this 21 one year old could be a threat to himself and others.
 

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