Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns What is the lowest age you will sell a handgun to?

I have a pistol on a local classifieds and am getting young people around 19 and 20. Far as I know 21 is a federal law for handguns. They do allow concealed carry at 18 here, but I figure the parents had to purchase the gun for them.

One of them sent me this link: First time I'd seen it. https://www.atf.gov/questions-and-answers/qa/may-individual-between-ages-18-and-21-years-age-acquire-handgun-unlicensed#:~:text=An%20individual%20between%2018%20and,possessing%20firearms%20under%20federal%20law

Am I the only one that's behind the times??

The 21 rule is only for buying new from an FFL. Some states (the ones you don't want to live in) may have their own rules.

If there is ANY doubt...


"...you know the thing...the thing!"

"C'mon, man!"

Why would you ask how old someone is? Do you ask if they are from the same state? Do you ask if they are a felon?

It’s not your responsibility to know if they’re legal.

In a lot of states it IS your responsibility. As dumb as that is.

I dont get rid of guns, but I wouldn't sell to under 21.
Pa requires transferring ownership, if your state doesn't I
would still do a signed Bill of sale for both parties.
If ever ask, it shows who and when you a sold it.

Might not be my responsibility but I sleep better at night knowing I asked the person buying it if they can legally own it.

Follow your heart.

does look matter?

I gave some pistols to a couple teenage kids one time. Had their dads permission first, tho....

It's only a gun - It's not like you're offering them 'candy'.

Many on this site are gun people, we like guns we would have multiples of everything we like if we could afford it. Not many have ever said it was wrong or incorrect to value a nice or large firearm collection. Now we have liberal gunhaters in federal offices who want nothing more than to reduce the numbers of people who have and own firearms. For absolutely no reason other than from fear and ignorance of them they don't want others to have them. So history has given us thousands of gun laws that don't work for the simple reason that guns don't kill people , people kill people. But they hate guns anyway. They blame the high death rate in Chitcago of black on black violence on guns just too fugging stupid to understand it's the people but they don't have balls to say you black guys can't behave while owning guns so you can't own them. Guns aren't the problem people are. I bought my 1 st rifle at 11 years old in a hdwe store (pre 1968) guy that sold it to me said "Did you talk this over with your dad? " I said yup paid the 10 dollars and 30 cents tax and walked with my new used 22. Bought a Ruger single six at 14 the lawyer who sold it to me said bring it back if it makes your dad mad. My dad was more concerned that whatever I bought was good quality. Today is different we have too many liberal retards in public office and they hate everything they can't control or blame their failures on the other view point. I would be [bleep] careful who I sold a gun to these days certainly no one under 21 because of the laws they will use against you if that firearm is used in the commission of a crime. If you did a 4473 on the gun when you bought it , it's looking smarter to me all the time to trade it back to a dealer and get the bill of sale from him or other documentation proving you moved it in the approved way. Bitme and crew want to end private party transfers, I think a guy really needs to cover his ass these days because I don't trust the commies in power. They hate the constitution specifically the second amendment. Be smart CYA

Only if they're not white.

I'd bet that there is a attorney out there who would argue that a person selling a deadly weapon is responsible for exercising due diligence to insure that he/she isn't selling that deadly weapon to a person who is legally prohibited from owning it. I wouldn't sell a firearm to a person who couldn't legally go to a dealer and purchase the same firearm, but what you do is your business, not mine..

Caribou, please ignore this.

I actually DO ask if a person is 21 if I am in doubt. I also ask if a person is legally allowed to own a gun before I sell one to them. That way if something happens, it would be exceedingly difficult for a prosecutor to come back on me, since I actually asked and the questions were answered.

Mac, I agree, in my classifieds I typically say they "must be at least 21 YO, and a resident of Idaho. I prefer to see a concealed carry ID, but an Idaho Drivers license will suffice. NO FELONS." That way not only do I hopefully scare away anyone illegal to buy, there's evidence I made a good faith effort. With the ATF description of 18 from a non FFL has caught me off guard. I suppose someone can also comeback with my gun my rules. Lot's of this stuff is a call at the moment.

Federal law require that the purchaser be at least 21. Federal laws do not apply to an individual private sale of a used firearm. That falls under the jurisdiction of state law which is why you don’t have to go through an FFL. Most states set the minimum age for handgun purchase at 18 but a few set the minimum age at 21.

So new purchase and federal FFL laws apply. Used sale between private citizens federal laws do not apply they have no jurisdiction and it’s left up to the individual state and usually 18 years old.

To me if someone is 18 years old in a state that requires they be at least 18 to purchase and I have no reason to believe that they are going to commit a criminal act that’s plenty good enough for me. Obviously if the person is right on the bubble age wise I’d want to take a glance at a drivers license to confirm that they weren’t underage but that’s where your responsibility and business starts and stops IMO.

If you take that attitude, and they go kill someone with it the next day, how do you think that's going to play out for you with the DA?

Anytime I'm dealing with a person who doesn't already own guns, before I hand them one, I go down the basic list of questions on the 4473 with them.

Are you a convicted felon, have you even been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, are you in the country illegally, do you do drugs, have you ever been involuntarily committed to a mental institution, have you renounced your citizen ship....

Yes, I want to see how they react to the questions, but it's also part of educating new prospective gun owners to the complexity of laws surrounding gun ownership and the consequences for not following them.

Plus, there is always the issue of civil litigation that is totally separate from criminal litigation. O.J. Simpson won his criminal court case, but lost his subsequent civil litigation.

I've got news for yall.... If a DA or civil attorney want to string you up, asking, "Are you 21?" ain't gonna help you at all.

For that matter, even seeing that they have a carry license won't help you..... Was the license still valid? Had it been revoked due to domestic violence? Did you even check? Why didn't you just meet at an FFL and have him run a background check? And you're a gun guy, right? You know how background checks work and that your license to carry may be revoked and somebody could still have the actual hard copy of the license? But a background check would have caught that. If you would have cared. Look at how much pain and misery could have been avoided if you would have just cared.

Sincerely,
An actual survivor of a civil case who knows what he's talking about, written from the land of activist attorneys