Range Question

[VinF88]

Wanted to put this in general to get the most coverage as possible.

I'm aware that Federal Law states that 18yo can purchase rifle ammunition, however one must be 21 to purchase handgun ammunition.

I'm troubled by a law that was told to me by a local range employee that i do not necessarily agree with.

He stated after looking at my ID that you must be 21 to shoot handguns per federal law. When i questioned it and stated that at the age of 19 I am permitted to own a handgun because it could be handed down to me from my father ect. He kind of stumbled a bit and said well yeah, you can transport it but you cant shoot it. This Made me more confused because of the fact that at 18 you can open carry and like stated, transport to and from a range.

Can someone clear up why some, if not all rages only allow those 21 and older to shoot handguns even though an 19 year old can be in possession of, and transport a firearm to and from a range?

Thanks,
Vin.

[ErSwnn]

I'm not aware of any law prohibiting you from using a pistol. I'm sure someone will come along and cite law for you. But a range can prohibit anyone under 21 if they so wish. Or anyone else they feel like. I brought in a member to my club who was 17 at the time he joined. He wasn't allowed to carry or use any firearm without my presence. But now that he is 18 he can use anything permitted by the club at his own will. The only restriction I know of is you can't purchase or CC a handgun.

[zackattack784]

Wanted to put this in general to get the most coverage as possible.

I'm aware that Federal Law states that 18yo can purchase rifle ammunition, however one must be 21 to purchase handgun ammunition.

I'm troubled by a law that was told to me by a local range employee that i do not necessarily agree with.

He stated after looking at my ID that you must be 21 to shoot handguns per federal law. When i questioned it and stated that at the age of 19 I am permitted to own a handgun because it could be handed down to me from my father ect. He kind of stumbled a bit and said well yeah, you can transport it but you cant shoot it. This Made me more confused because of the fact that at 18 you can open carry and like stated, transport to and from a range.

Can someone clear up why some, if not all rages only allow those 21 and older to shoot handguns even though an 19 year old can be in possession of, and transport a firearm to and from a range?

Thanks,
Vin.

As you'll soon find out, people pull "laws" out of their butt at will on a regular basis. He's full of it and flat out wrong. With that being said, a range is presumably privately owned so they can set the rules.

[Xringshooter]

A 6 year old can shoot a handgun (abet it has to be under parental or legal guardian supervision). The guy was pulling stuff out of thin air. He probably has never even read (or even skimmed) the UFA or the Federal laws.

Tell him to cite the law that shows that or tell him to read the UFA and go to the BATFE website and read the information there.

Now, as said previously, any range (public or private) can set any kind of rules it wants. Look at the "public" PGC ranges, they limit the amount of rounds you can load in your firearms and also tell you what else you can or can't do while using the facility. But to blatantly tell someone that a person under 21 can't shoot a handgun is ridiculous, that tells me he has no idea about the law.

What the law says is that you must be 21 to purchase ammo for a handgun.

[knight0334]

A 6 year old can shoot a handgun (abet it has to be under parental or legal guardian supervision). The guy was pulling stuff out of thin air. He probably has never even read (or even skimmed) the UFA or the Federal laws.

Tell him to cite the law that shows that or tell him to read the UFA and go to the BATFE website and read the information there.

Now, as said previously, any range (public or private) can set any kind of rules it wants. Look at the "public" PGC ranges, they limit the amount of rounds you can load in your firearms and also tell you what else you can or can't do while using the facility. But to blatantly tell someone that a person under 21 can't shoot a handgun is ridiculous, that tells me he has no idea about the law.

What the law says is that you must be 21 to purchase handgun ammo. This is getting to be a gray area now because you can get long arms that shoot handgun ammo (Lever actions in .44 Mag, .357 Mag, carbines in 9mm, etc., etc.) And actually if buying .22LR ammo in most stores the clerk is supposed to ask if it is for a rifle or a handgun (although what's to stop someone from just saying , "Yeah it's for a rifle.")

There isn't "handgun ammo" or "long gun ammo", cartridges don't get segregated between the length of guns. How the law is worded it more says, "ammunition for a handgun". That can be anything since they make handguns in just about any chambering these days. If the person is under 21 the clerk needs to ask whether the ammo is for a handgun or a long gun regardless of the cartridge design, unless the clerk absolutely knows for a fact that there has NEVER EVER been a handgun produced in that cartridge.

If some 18yo was given a Contender or Mag. Research BFR revolver chambered in 30-30, he could not buy 30-30 ammo for it. Now if that same 18yo also had a Winny 94, he could buy the 30-30 for the long gun. There has to be proper intent of usage of the ammo.

[knight0334]

Wanted to put this in general to get the most coverage as possible.

I'm aware that Federal Law states that 18yo can purchase rifle ammunition, however one must be 21 to purchase handgun ammunition.

I'm troubled by a law that was told to me by a local range employee that i do not necessarily agree with.

He stated after looking at my ID that you must be 21 to shoot handguns per federal law. When i questioned it and stated that at the age of 19 I am permitted to own a handgun because it could be handed down to me from my father ect. He kind of stumbled a bit and said well yeah, you can transport it but you cant shoot it. This Made me more confused because of the fact that at 18 you can open carry and like stated, transport to and from a range.

Can someone clear up why some, if not all rages only allow those 21 and older to shoot handguns even though an 19 year old can be in possession of, and transport a firearm to and from a range?

Thanks,
Vin.

For the most part a range is private property. Like any private property they can make their own rules. Most people have no idea as to what the law says, they go on the belief that since you must be 21 to buy a handgun and ammo for a handgun from a FFL that you also must be 21 to possess and use a handgun - which is not true.

Between ignorance of the law and fearful reprisals of insurance companies/lawyers, some ranges opt to not allow <21yo persons to shoot.

[Xringshooter]

[QUOTE=knight0334;1364609]There isn't "handgun ammo" or "long gun ammo", cartridges don't get segregated between the length of guns. How the law is worded it more says, "ammunition for a handgun".

Correct, I had it worded incorrectly. Noted and post edited. Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow.

[VinF88]

That's an argument I've heard of before. Say I wanted to purchase 9mm ammo but it was a barreta cx4 that's I was using. Not a handgun, not handgun ammunition.

[ErSwnn]

That's an argument I've heard of before. Say I wanted to purchase 9mm ammo but it was a barreta cx4 that's I was using. Not a handgun, not handgun ammunition.

Correct. You may purchase any ammo that can be used in any long gun so long as it's being used in a long gun. In a cx4 it isn't "handgun" ammo, it's just ammo. It's not long gun, it's not handgun, it's just ammo.

But someplaces still won't sell it to you. Mostly Wal-Mart. Hell, they still ID me and ask what sort of firearm it's for. I'm 52. I was actually asked if the 12g ammo I was buying was for a handgun.