So You Want a Gun, But You are Under 21: A How-To Guide

By Rueben Kruger

You are just about tired of hearing your oom talking about his majuba kettie while you only get to shoot once every 2 months with a gun you like. You always think about the day when you get to buy your own firearms so that you can do your own thing. But the guys on the range tell you that firearms are exclusive to the over 21 club. Lucky for you this is not true. In fact, the “over 21 club” is not as exclusive as some believe it is.

I have been shooting for 13 years to date, starting out small now I am an addict seeking help. The funny thing about this is I am still 19 years of age. I too believed that I need to wait forever to be able to apply for that first blaster. I just knew where to look, I received help when I had my 15^th birthday. I had my competency done and my first 2 applications approved right before my 16^th birthday. Somehow, I had to prove a point that it is not as hard as people believe it is.

There are a few very important key points to consider first:

Section

This is the crux of how your application will be considered. Being privileged to be able to help masses of younger shooters is where I learned what the police want from you. Section 16 remains the most failsafe section to apply under, I have only had one application refused to date (successfully appealed) on section 16. That will be 11 successful approvals on my name alone. Section 15 is still possible, here the motivation has to be fairly complex to land it (you are more likely to have your motivation properly looked at if you are u21). Section 13 has had almost a 70% refusal rate with people I help.  But ALWAYS motivate for the intended use.

Background

If you want that nice-looking gun on the gun shelf you will need to work for it…. It rarely happens were I get a younger shooter approved with next to no background in shooting. It does not mean you must be a kid Steven Seagull to get a gun. You just need to be able to prove that you can work with firearms and that you are serious. It is not hard, join the big sporting bodies. Get your name out there.

The actual motivation

This part should look like it was hand-crafted by the ancient Greeks, it needs a lot of thought and a bit more detail than any other shooter. Your DFO is required to select “under 21” on the system with your application. You are marked. Use it to your advantage and convince the officer dealing with your app.

These are just a few small differences, If you follow them you are good to go, these points can apply to everyone, be specific and you can win. You are not limited, having a few semi autos, handguns, hunting rifles etc in and out the safe I can say that it is possible.

Finally, when you see that other youngster on the range drooling on the guy in lane 2’s AR, help him out.

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Rueben is a young sport shooter who happens to be an IT student.