Convincing my parents to let me get a gun: HELP!

[credit-hunter]

I would strongly suggest starting off with a .22 rifle to learn proper SAFETY & MARKSMANSHIP skills from a certified Instructor. 

[KaLin]

The more training/range time you can get in before purchasing a gun, the better.

I was also of your parents' mentality when it came to guns until just the past 6 months or so.  I wouldn't even consider owning a gun while my boys were growing up -- just to avoid the risk of an AD or ND.  (If you don't know the meaning of those, you're not ready to own a gun)

I would also attend a Lethal Force Law class locally to bring yourself up to speed on your state laws and what you can do, and can't do when it comes to self defense.  Even though you say that's not your objective, we don't get to pick and choose when bad things happen to us.  I know -- I was the victim of a home burglary this past September.  It was just after that when I reversed my thinking on owning a gun.  I now have two -- a 9mm pistol and a .22 mag revolver.

Like others have mentioned, sign up for some basic and advanced training from local gun clubs or the NRA affiliate in your area.  That will also show that you're serious about being a responsible gun owner.  And do twice as much dry fire training as actual ammo spent at the range.  You need to develop "muscle memory" in the event you ever have to use your firearm for self defense. 

The more training you can get under your belt, the better. ^^ See First Line

[Gunnar419]

Gun owner here, too. Everybody has given very good advice, about training, practice, house rules, and type of firearm.

I would like to add to the advice Irish gave against introducing your family to firearms via an AR type. They're great guns, nothing wrong with them. But to people unfamiliar with or afraid of firearms, they carry too much emotional baggage. They're also $$$$$!

If you really want to start with a firearm in .223 or 5.56, consider a Ruger Mini-14. Functions just like the AR but looks more ordinary and utilitarian. You can later add an aftermarket stock and other gear to make it look cooler, or you can graduate to the AR after you leave home.

The suggestion to get a .22 as your first firearm is also good, and in that case a Ruger 10/22 rifle is a great first choice. Only problem with that is that .22LR ammo has been hard to get for the last couple of years and is still scarce.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

thank you everyone for your responses! I definetly don't want to buy one and store it somewhere else, I mentioned to them that I would buy a safe before I get the gun that way I have a safe place to keep it. They know I have gone to the shooting range a couple times with my friends. It's not that they treat me like a kid, they respect me as an adult and give me freedom to do almost anything I want. We have a very good relationship so that really doesn't have anything to do with it. In NJ, you have to be 21 to own a handgun, but only 18 to own a rifle. When I talked to them I mentioned that i wanted to get an AR-15. They basically just say that there is no need for it, and there is no reason for me to have one. Taking up shooting as a sport/hobby just didn't seem to justify it for them.

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Great conversation. Bottom line ... you are living in your parent's house and need to abide by their rules! Don't like it move out. My dad told me that he paid the bills so he got to make the rules. Went in the military and never went home to live again. Also obtained lots of experience with weapons and it can be pretty scary if you don't know what you are doing.

[youdontkillmoney]

Nothing wrong with a .22LR in in a pistol or rifle, got one of each. However, I remember when I was the OP's age (I was 21) and I was more interested in one for the looks, the self defense aspect of it too. A 45 ACP was my first caliber, Glock 21 to be exact. I was able to handle it. So regardless of the caliber, 22, 45, 9, 40, whatever, the caliber is not as important to me as the OP demonstrates a commitment to safety and proficiency through training.

[Gunnar419]

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

Nothing wrong with a .22LR in in a pistol or rifle, got one of each. However, I remember when I was the OP's age (I was 21) and I was more interested in one for the looks, the self defense aspect of it too. A 45 ACP was my first caliber, Glock 21 to be exact. I was able to handle it. So regardless of the caliber, 22, 45, 9, 40, whatever, the caliber is not as important to me as the OP demonstrates a commitment to safety and proficiency through training.

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Good point. The coolness factor matters to me even today and I'm a lot older than the OP. When it's time for the OP to purchase a firearm, what matters, beyond looks, is how comfortable the firearm feels in the OP's hands and how well it meets the OP's needs, whether those needs are for target shooting, hunting, defense, competition, etc. So I agree that could be any caliber and could be rifle, pistol, double action, single action, bolt action, semiauto, anything. Also of course how well and how safely the OP is prepared to use it.

However, as long as the OP lives at home and has to try to persuade parents, the coolness factor of an AR (or for that matter a Glock or any other high tech black pistol) plays against him. Wanting an AR as a first firearm is like waving a red flag in front of parents who are fearful or reluctant. In fact, I have a slight suspicion that while this is about getting a firearm, it's also about a domestic generational power struggle, in which the AR is an in your face gesture.

On the other hand, a Mini-14, a 10/22, or a revolver looks more familiar and less frightening to those not used to guns, and both the Mini and the 10/22 can later be tricked out every which way to look however the OP wants them to look. (Just check out Archangel stocks if anybody doubts that! http://www.archangelmanufacturing.com/ )

OP, good luck. Now that you've scared your parents with the AR, maybe they'll be relieved if you step back from that to something they haven't been conditioned to fear.