gilraen

My son (age 21) and I are both waiting on our CHLs to arrive, and we carry in our cars. We also have our guns near us at the apartment I share with him and my other 2 kids.

My son is a good young man, but he's pretty stubborn, and doesn't like to admit he's wrong. The problem is that he isn't as safe handling his gun (or anyone else's) as I'd like him to be. He likes to take out the mag, pull the slide, and catch the cartridge with the same hand, and then reload. And last night, he handed my gun back to me (mag in, but nothing in the chamber) with the muzzle pointed at me. (This is not a one-time occurrence.)

I chided him. He answered "You and I both know there's nothing in the chamber." I replied with "Treat every gun as if it were loaded." He just dismisses that kind of thought as unnecessary, because HE knows what he's doing, and would never make a mistake.

After being on this board for a while, I know how wrong that thinking is, and what might happen on the day he DOES make a mistake. I don't even want to think about it.

Is there anything I can do or say to him to get him to take this more seriously? Do you have any suggestions? Or do I just have to wait for him to grow up, or to make a terrible mistake and learn the hard way?

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CHL Class: 05/31/08
Applic Sent: 06/03/08
CHL received: 10/29/08

FIS0008

I have two adult sons who both carry. On this subject I would treat them just like I do any other adult (which they are). Immediately point out the errors and if it persists, then I would refuse to be around them in the presence of weapons. This is truly a serious matter and my guess is that you would not allow any other adult to this, so I would not let him either.

nedrgr21

What were your nonverbal cues saying to him as you corrected him for his actions?
Has he seen the recent threads on ND's that've killed someone?
Don't hand him any more firearms and don't take any from him.
Your house, your rules, right?

Show him this thread after a day or two.

dukalmighty

I don't know if theres anything you can tell a know it all,maybe start showing him incidents where people were shot and injured or killed by unsafe gun handling and then tell him I bet they knew that gun was loaded.Also the next time he tries to hand you a gun that the chamber isn't locked open on or the cylinder open if it's a revolver refuse to take it,if he sweeps you with the muzzle take the firearm and lock it up til he wants to be more responsible

__________________
I like Poetry,Long Walks On The Beach,And Poking Dead Things With A Stick

levi333

He needs to grow up or get out. There's no way I'd be putting up with someone pointing a gun at me on a regular basis, and I'm his age.
As long as he's under your roof, he needs to listen, simple as that.

When someone is accidently shot, it's "never loaded."

Sometimes I pull the slide and catch the round out of the air when I'm unloading the gun, but that's not exactly dangerous (mag is always dropped first).

DarinD

Bottom line, Gun Safety comes first and too bad if he doesn't like it. Your house, Your Rules.

__________________
Life is too short, stop to smell the roses and don't let anyone take it away from you!

G96X0

I was always told, "don't point any gun at anything you don't want to destroy"...

I think about that statement often.

goldshellback

My 21 year old is a hard headed, stubborn 'adult'......(he takes after his momma)

But.......my house, my rules.....and with gun safety there is NO compromise.

I'm blessed that he has a respect for all firearms and obeys the rules.
Lay it out for your son and stick to it. Catching self-ejected bullets is cool looking in the movies and on TV....but that fiction has NO place in the reality of YOUR home.

__________________
"Just getting a concealed carry permit means you haven't commited a crime yet........CCP holders commit crimes." Daniel Vice, senior attorney for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, as quoted on Fox & Friends, July 7th, 2008

Janq

Lots of people were, are, and will be shot with 'empty' guns.

If he scoffs at that then sit him down and show him this; DEA Agent Shoots Himself

- Janq

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"Killers who are not deterred by laws against murder are not going to be deterred by laws against guns. " - Robert A. Levy
Monday, March 12, 2007 -- Op Ed -- The Washington Post

Ragin Cajun

He might be 21 but you are the head of the household. You also have 2 other kids to worry about. Take control! Tell him if he is going to have a gun in your place he needs to take it more seriously or find his own place. What I would suggest is you make him take a quality gun safety course.