Found bb gun in sons room?

Question

My son is 17, almost 18. I just found a BB gun in his room, under his bed. I didn't realise at first it was a BB gun becuase it looked more like a hand gun. I have been informed it is a BB. I am really ticked. First, I have a 6 year old in the house and my son clearly isn't keeping safety in mind. Second, concern is, we don't live in the country, so what would he be doing with it? I haven't spoken with him yet. My first thought was, Thats it! He is out on his butt!! Am I being quick to judge? What would you do/say in this same situation?

Answer 1

A BB gun really?Your mad about a BB gun I understand your woried the six year old might get his hands on it and hurt himself but I wouldnt be too worried just take it away from him and give him something safer like an airsoft gun.Airsoft guns sting a little but can't kill or even hurt really anyone.Good Luck!

Answer 2

i would calmly explain that there are younger children in the house and you dont like the idea of him having it in your house, if he argues with you tell him those are your rules and he needs to respect them if he wants to live under your roof

Answer 3

Is it legal for him to have it at all? If not, confiscate it, and tell him you will not have him breaking the law in your house.

If it's legal, then I would sit him down and tell him that it's not safe for him to keep it under the bed. If he wants to have one for a legitimate reason then he is to keep it secure. That will involve him buying a lockable case for it.

A six year old is NOT old enough for a trust system. This is a gun which could take an eye out or worse. This gun needs to be locked up at all times when your son is not using it. And you need to find out what he's using it for. Target practice - fine. Shooting cats and/or messing around shooting at things in the street without any control of who could get in the way  - ABSOLUTELY NOT. To be honest, if he's interested in guns I would get him down to your local club and have him learn target shooting in a safe, controlled environment.

Answer 4

Take the gun away and don't say anything.  Let's see if he'll come around and ask for it..???

Answer 5

well im 17 myself and would think that being booted out the hosue is a bit rash. Maybe speak with him. Maybe he wanted to tell u about it but didnt know how. You need to make yourself approachable as a parent and be considerate. No offence but instead of asking on here, you should ask your son in person.

Answer 6

I would say you do have a problem.....

Only in that you would run to YA! before your son has a chance to give his side of the story.

We don't know his side, and neither do you.  He may have found it on the street, it may be a friends, he may have been robbing liquor stores or banks with it.... we don't know, and neither do you.

Find out if you have a reason to blow your top, then if you can't figure out what to do, give us a chance to help you.

Answer 7

First I would ask him what he needs a BB gun for, and I would expect a detailed answer without any attitude. Secondly I would give him a choice hand the gun over, it's put in a safe place and he gets to live at home or he can decide to not hand the gun over and move out. There's no need for a 17 year old to have any kind of gun, espically if there's a 6 year old child running around the house. Just because BB guns don't shoot the same kind of bullets, doesn't mean they can't kill or seriously injure another person.

Answer 8

Deep breaths...OK no one was hurt. Now you have it, so no one is gonna get hurt. I grew up around BB guns used for target practice and you really have to work at it for them to hurt some one but that isn't the point here. Its your home and i assume he knew guns aren't allowed. sounds like you need to talk to his dad alone get on the same page and then talk to him calmly with a united front. where did he get it, why did he get it and why did you not know about it. what is the punishment and how can he redeem himself? Its possible that this wasn't meant to be malicious, that it was for shooting cans with friends in the woods (no harm there, but you should have been notified and it should have been stored better)  sooo calm yourself, as much as possible (might be hard here) and try to remember what it was like to be a dumb kid.

remember that your angry because you love your family and you want everyone, including him to be safe... not because you dislike him.

Good luck!

Answer 9

ok im not sure what the policy at your house is about weapons but to us teenagers, having a bb gun isn't a big deal at all. Keeping things under your bed is typical of guys and a six year old should have the common sense to stay away from weapons and to respect your other sons privacy. What he could be doing with it would either be target practice or it may be an airsoft gun which is used as an alternative to paintball. You are being quick to judge and being a 16 year old male i would want you to be cool headed and give me time to give you a reason why it is there. Also i would be a little pissed as to why you were under my bed so i would be prepared with that answer too.  These kinds of things are NORMAL for a teenage male to have so he may think he's done nothing wrong. hope this helps

Answer 10

I would be very upset if my teen had a bb gun without my permission, especially leaving it where a young child might have access to it.  I believe you are supposed to be 18 to have a bb gun, but local laws may vary.  Call the police and ask.  If it is illegal for him to have it, by all means involve the police.  This will not ruin his life; in fact, it may have a very good effect.  

How I would react depends on the teen's general character.  Is he defiant and irresponsible?  Is he violent?  Does he do drugs?  These would make the situation much more serious.  If you feel he is a danger to anyone in the family, you need to find a placement for him.  You can't just kick him out at 17.  If you have no idea what to do, talk to his school counselor for a start.  They have a lot of good information.

But if he is basically a decent boy, it's not as bad.  You have to respond strongly, of course, and punishment may be in order.  He needs to understand the safety aspects, as well as the fact that you are in charge, not he.

Answer 11

It's not too big a deal. My cousin had a BB Gun when he was 16.

Answer 12

First scenario - take it from him, and don't tell him.... carry on as usual - see when he notices it's gone - and what he does about it. you'll get to see if #1 how important it is to him, is this something he uses every day - or looks at I should say. #2, whether or not he comes to you about it.

Second scenario - take it from him and sit down and talk to him about it. Ask him, very calmly, what he's doing with it, what he does with it, where he got it from, does he realize what would happen if his younger brother found it. Is he safe with it, is it locked, safety locked I mean, loaded?... what ever else you can think of. Have a real conversation with him over it.

I don't know which one I would do..... probably number 2. good luck! ♥

Answer 13

well why were you looking under his bed? you asking for it will make him more distant from you because you were looking in there. you could either take it and see if he asks for it, or you could confront him about it. you could also just ignore it, but im sure you wont do that. take a deep breath and relax before taking action, or you will regret what you do. you need to remember its just a BB gun, not a actual handgun, its not like hes killing someone or robbing a store with it. My nephew is 6 and has a BB gun, my brother and I got one when I was 6 and he was 10- they are just innocent guns that shoot little BBs, kids use them to shoot at pop cans or targets- or my other nephew is 11 and has one, and he actually kills birds with them. they are basically a kids gun- for kids too young for a real gun. Since you dont live in the country, is there anywhere within 20-30 minutes of your house where there could be small animals or birds he might be shooting? Im sure he just has it for something like that, or just to feel cool (maybe all his friends have one) hes almost 18, so its not like hes a kid and going to do some damage. your risiculous if you kick him out of the house for this! its no big deal