Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Hello, everyone!

I understand that you need to be 21 to own a handgun. I also know that you must be atleast 18 to OC. I am 20 years old. Is it legal for my father to buy the gun (so it's in his name) but I carry it? I could not find any clear answers. Also, the gun I am interested in is a Rossi R971 .357mag 4" barrel. Can anyone suggest a good IWB holster for this gun? Thanks in advance!

Yes that is legal some also like having a note that says they have permission to carry that particle gun. You may also want go with an OWB instead of IWB as it is more open carry.

ElOres wrote:Hello, everyone!

I understand that you need to be 21 to own a handgun.

Says who?

ProShooter wrote:

ElOres wrote:Hello, everyone!

I understand that you need to be 21 to own a handgun.

Says who?

You can not purchase a handgun before the age of 21, therefore you can not "own" one. You don't own it because it's not in your name. You may be in posession of it, but you don't own it.

ElOres wrote:

ProShooter wrote:

ElOres wrote:Hello, everyone!

I understand that you need to be 21 to own a handgun.

Says who?

You can not purchase a handgun before the age of 21, therefore you can not "own" one. You don't own it because it's not in your name. You may be in posession of it, but you don't own it.

oh, lord...

first of all, ProShooter's ? is spot on, so i'll repeat it: "Says who?"

Not so, you can own a handgun before age 21. You just can't puchase one before age 21. If your parent gives you a handgun for your eighteenth birthday, you own it, but you didn't puchase it. You would be perfectly legal owning the handgun. The ownership of guns is just like the ownership of any other property. They are not registered or titled like cars. The law does regulate who and where they can be carried, and who can buy them through dealers. You can't take a handgun in Virginia and trace who owns it, only who originally bought it from a dealer. Even that is hard to do because they're not supposed to be in any database, but the individual dealer is required to keep records. As long as we remain a free state (to some extent anyway), there will be no database of who owns what and how many.

Sensai wrote:Not so, you can own a handgun before age 21. You just can't puchase one before age 21. If your parent gives you a handgun for your eighteenth birthday, you own it, but you didn't puchase it. You would be perfectly legal owning the handgun. The ownership of guns is just like the ownership of any other property. They are not registered or titled like cars. The law does regulate who and where they can be carried, and who can buy them through dealers. You can't take a handgun in Virginia and trace who owns it, only who originally bought it from a dealer. Even that is hard to do because they're not supposed to be in any database, but the individual dealer is required to keep records. As long as we remain a free state (to some extent anyway), there will be no database of who owns what and how many.

come on... again?

Says who??

Mk4, federal law says. You can buy a rifle or shotgun from a dealer (FFL) at age 18, but you have to be 21 to buy a handgun through a FFL.

Sensai wrote:Mk4, federal law says. You can buy a rifle or shotgun from a dealer (FFL) at age 18, but you have to be 21 to buy a handgun through a FFL.

good answer!
the key phrase in your answer is: "you have to be 21 to buy a handgun through a FFL.", but that's not the *only* way to legally purchase a handgun in va.

Glad we got that straight, I was beginning to question my understanding of the law. Lord knows they make it hard to get straight! I wasn't clear in my statement about buying a handgun, I asumed that we were talking about through a FFL. Sorry for any confusion that I created.

no worries.
you didn't confuse me, but i think there still is some confusion in this thread. the op hasn't weighed back in yet. if you listen to the drivel being spouted by the antis, they'll tell you 40% of all sales don't go through any ffl. who knows if that number is anywhere near close...

mk4 wrote: the op hasn't weighed back in yet.

Prolly cuz you jokers confused him with your tangential banter...

lonestarag wrote:

mk4 wrote: the op hasn't weighed back in yet.

Prolly cuz you jokers confused him with your tangential banter...

bah! nothing tangential at all.

the op's own words:

"You can not purchase a handgun before the age of 21, therefore you can not "own" one. You don't own it because it's not in your name. You may be in posession of it, but you don't own it."

the op was confused/uninformed before i posted.

mk4 wrote:
the op was confused/uninformed before i posted.

I'd bank on "uninformed", which would be why he was asking to begin with.

Myself, until I started keeping tabs on this site, I was grossly uninformed AND misinformed.

I love this site.

mk4 wrote:

Sensai wrote:Mk4, federal law says. You can buy a rifle or shotgun from a dealer (FFL) at age 18, but you have to be 21 to buy a handgun through a FFL.

good answer!
the key phrase in your answer is: "you have to be 21 to buy a handgun through a FFL.", but that's not the *only* way to legally purchase a handgun in va.

I hope I'm not adding to the confusion but its my understanding that you cannot purchase a handgun if you are under the age of 21 from a FFL or a private sale.Under 21,can't puchase period.If you are gifted a handgun under the age of 21, you may own it,and if you are 18 or over (not a minor) you may open carry it so long as you are not in violation of any of the the other elligiblity requirements for open carry and possession established by your state and federal laws. I want to be accurate about this so if I am in error please let me know.

Thank all for helping me understand the law better! Now that I know that I may own a handgun, may I follow up with my second question? I don't want to risk a IWB since it's not as open as an OWB holster would be. That being said, can anyone suggest a good holster for a 4" barreled revolver? I'm not too worried about shelling out money for a good holster but I'd rather not go 100+

I use a holster that I got from Wal-Mart. Nothing spectacular, it didn't cost much, and it's been doing just what it's been designed to do. I loop my belt through it, so the holster won't be falling off.

I contemplated a separate belt for it, but decided that I didn't want to appear too "cowboy".

Like I said, nothing fancy, but it does the job.

zerodown1 wrote: I hope I'm not adding to the confusion but its my understanding that you cannot purchase a handgun if you are under the age of 21 from a FFL or a private sale.Under 21,can't puchase period.If you are gifted a handgun under the age of 21, you may own it,and if you are 18 or over (not a minor) you may open carry it so long as you are not in violation of any of the the other elligiblity requirements for open carry and possession established by your state and federal laws. I want to be accurate about this so if I am in error please let me know.

You're only wrong about transfer from a private party. Between eighteen and twenty-one transfer of firearms that aren't rifles or shotguns can only be done if a FFL is not involved.

There's also a difference between the concepts of purchase and ownership and those of possession and transfer, but since a lot of FFLs can't keep those concepts straight, it'd probably be a pointless conversation.

ElOres wrote:I don't want to risk a IWB since it's not as open as an OWB holster would be. That being said, can anyone suggest a good holster for a 4" barreled revolver?

One thing that I've found is that once you start the quest for holsters, you'll end up with several. Different uses (OC vs CC), different looks (formal vs casual), more/less comfortable, etc.
I typically CC an Airweight .38 snub, but I do have a Ruger GP-100 .357 with a 4" barrel that I've been on the lookout for holsters for off and on for a while. One that I have for it is a Barrio belt slide from Triple K products. It's fine, but does not quite fit the bill for me.
A 4" barreled .357 revolver will have a little weight to it, so as you consider different holsters, also consider the belt that the holster will ride on. As noted previously, don't go cowboy and have a separate belt (it can be the one that holds up your pants, too), but the belt goes a long way in providing support and comfort if you carry all day. Some other considerations include the style of holster you want based on your needs/preferences. This is all personal preference stuff, but I will advise that you get a holster that covers the trigger & trigger guard. Since we're talking open carry, also consider what level of retention you want the holster to provide; more passive, like a form-fitting holster that keeps the gun in the holster by friction, or more active, like a retention strap.
Go to a gun store and try some on. Sometimes you can find some helpful folks there. Do be sure to unload your gun if you take it with you to try on holsters, as you will be handling it a lot.

Parry

I have WAY TOO MANY holsters!!!