Too old to carry?

salmon creek gary · Feb 20, 2026

titsonritz said:
Might be unhealthy to try and take my keys let alone my guns.

Agreed. I'm close to 82 (no, I don't mean mph) and I drive & carry daily. There are no dents in my 2019 truck and both hands are still far from room temp.

crstrode · Feb 20, 2026

TTSX said:
There are a lot of old farts on the road who clearly don't know it's been time for a decade or more

Young squirts are much more dangerous than old farts.

Nosferatu · Feb 20, 2026

crstrode said:
Young squirts are much more dangerous than old farts.

9mm vs .45 ACP.

I'd prefer not be hit by either.

Alexx1401 · Feb 20, 2026

BlackdogGS said:
I'm 76 and just renewed my concealed license. I'm still in good shape and train often, I carry most of the time when I'm away from the house but rarely at home. I have permits from 3 different states, when they expire I'll be around 80 years old. We all age differently and maybe I'm pushing it a bit. When do you let the permits expire and stop carrying?

I figure if a person can still drive, still get around on their own, is not wandering around lost in a fog? They can carry and use a firearm. The older I get the more important it is to me. I am NOT going to let some scum beat me down even if they are not armed. If they choose to come after me? Well they bought the ticket, now they get to take the ride.

Alexx1401 · Feb 20, 2026

Tlock said:
Ya I was just thinking that after I posted it.....so ya your right.

I have told before the last time I was getting an endorsement to ride. Elderly lady in front of me could not hear. Daughter was standing there screaming in her ear the questions. Then she could not pass the eye test. So they gave her a "daylight hours only" license. I'm standing there thinking to myself "great, she can only run me over during the day?

titsonritz · Feb 20, 2026

Xmark1 said:
Seniors have a lot more reason to carry than a young person, and the law recognizes that.
I want to die fighting the good fight.

View attachment 2253062

Disparity of force being one such legal principle. An aggressive 28 year old vs fragile 82 year old usually isn't much of a contest, unless Mr. Speaker has something to say about it.

wombatz · Feb 20, 2026

titsonritz said:
Disparity of force being one such legal principle.

Cool. If I live to around 99 then I get shoot pretty much anybody that bothers me. Don't worry tho, little chance that I make that long.

gmerkt · Feb 20, 2026

Xmark1 said:
Seniors have a lot more reason to carry than a young person,

Yes, older people need a force multiplier to balance out the advantage of a stronger opponent.

Xmark1 · Feb 20, 2026

gmerkt said:
Yes, older people need a force multiplier to balance out the advantage of a stronger opponent.

This is fact and law.
A senior facing a younger & stronger & faster opponent has the law on his side.

WillametteWill · Feb 20, 2026

I'm all for all of us choosing to be armed to protect ourselves as we age, and disparity of force is a legitimate consideration. I'm not saying everyone, or even most of the people, but we have to acknowledge that as some people age, they are forgetful, get disoriented more easily, and have other cognitive issues that are not compatible with firearms safety. This is a tough pill to swallow, but some are more likely to take off guns and leave them in the bathroom, become overwhelmed by situations more easily that are not 'gun' problems, and gradually lose the ability to handle firearms safely.

My bride (who works at a gun counter) has had older guys pull loaded guns out in the store to show them to people, sweeping the store with the muzzle.

I've watched older "instructors" with complacency issues that were scary, like walking downrange during live fire and taking newer, less "experienced" shooters with them.

I've seen older shooters get kicked out of a class before it started because of gun handling issues

Can these things happen at any age? Yes, and they do. But as an individual, I have to possess the intellectual honesty to know that they are more likely to creep into my life north of 60. For some, it may be 45, for others 75.

Which is more tragic, me getting beaten up and robbed at 80 because I understand that I no longer possess the skills or mental faculties for carrying, or me accidentally leaving my gun somewhere and a child finding it and shooting their brother, sister, or mother? (I'm not 80 btw.)

G1GRANDEUR · Feb 20, 2026

No restrictions.

Long as you are capable to operate firearms physically and mentally, you should.

derrickrf · Feb 20, 2026

As long as I can defend against a gun grab. Of course the perp may still wind up cut to ribbons even after I stop carrying :s0004:

crstrode · Feb 21, 2026

WillametteWill said:
I'm all for all of us choosing to be armed to protect ourselves as we age, and disparity of force is a legitimate consideration. I'm not saying everyone, or even most of the people, but we have to acknowledge that as some people age, they are forgetful, get disoriented more easily, and have other cognitive issues that are not compatible with firearms safety. This is a tough pill to swallow, but some are more likely to take off guns and leave them in the bathroom, become overwhelmed by situations more easily that are not 'gun' problems, and gradually lose the ability to handle firearms safely.

My bride (who works at a gun counter) has had older guys pull loaded guns out in the store to show them to people, sweeping the store with the muzzle. I've watched older "instructors" with complacency issues that were scary, like walking downrange during live fire and taking newer, less "experienced" shooters with them. I've seen older shooters get kicked out of a class before it started because of gun handling issues

Can these things happen at any age? Yes, and they do. But as an individual, I have to possess the intellectual honesty to know that they are more likely to creep into my life north of 60. For some, it may be 45, for others 75.

Which is more tragic, me getting beaten up and robbed at 80 because I understand that I no longer possess the skills or mental faculties for carrying, or me accidentally leaving my gun somewhere and a child finding it and shooting their brother, sister, or mother? (I'm not 80 btw.)

A man's got to know his limitations.

titsonritz · Feb 21, 2026

WillametteWill said:
(I'm not 80 btw.)

You look pretty spry if you were, I'd say you should start bottling that stuff.

titsonritz · Feb 21, 2026

crstrode said:
A man's got to know his limitations.

Do you feel lucky? Well do you, punk?

Capn Jack · Feb 21, 2026

I'm 86. I still drive, I still hit the ducks on my shooting range and my T Shirt says, : "Even Old Dragons Have Teeth".

abbadon · Mar 1, 2026

I will add there are a number "rights" that we take for granted with CHL, alot of laws exempt "a person licensed to carry under sec123.ABC" that you might lose depending on where you live and how active you or your friends and family are in the firearm community or related activities.

I would tend to keep the CHL. Just because you have a CHL, doesnt mean you have to use it.

Oxygen Mask · Mar 1, 2026

Nosferatu said:
Your '94 Buick Century is an automatic.

That's your walker handle that got stuck between the seats back in 2002.

Freakin awesome!

Stomper said:
You should have seen my elderly dad's front license plate (before we got his driver license revoked).... it looked more like a pencil rubbing on paper than it did a license plate due to him "rubbing" into walls, and parking bollards. He also drove like a bat outta hell (always did his entire life).

My father had a bunch of Ram pickup beds scattered around his back field. He always backed in to his garage. He regularly backed into the industrial shelving units and busted the taillights and creased the tailgate...
Turns out good used tailgates are hard to find but in farm country entire beds (including lights) are easy to find.