Anyone have guns?

harryb2448 said:

What calibre are these ATV things.

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What caliber? I believe some are 720 and others are 1080!

In my 12 years in the R.A.F. I held a marksmans badge. That was for the Lee Enfield .303. rifle, the Bren gun LMG .303 and the B.S.A. Martini Mk2 International .22 target rifle. I was an aircraft electrition through the 60s into the early 70s and never had to fire a weapon in anger I am glad to say. I would be terrified if I ever though that I actually needed to carry a weapon as a civilian and would get away from anywhere that made me feel like that.

I have never understood the ideas behind you folk on the other side of the Pond and your love of these bang sticks, but reading a lot of this thread has enlightened me to some of the reasons. Others I have no idea why and don't really want to know.

But I do have a catapault and I use it to scare the cats that come into our garden. Not to hurt them, but did you know that if you drop a stone a couple of feet away from a hunting cat it will accelerat from 0 to about 60mph in about 1/4 second!

Edit due to lousy memory! I almost forgot to say that we are in the middle of the French 'hunting' season where they shoot ANYTHING that moves. For the first couple of weeks of the season the main targets seem to be other hunters and their dogs! Usually a few of each before they get their eye in? Then it's deer, wild boar and they do a **** of a lot of damage and on down to rabbits and the wild birds. You have to be very very carefully if you walk anywhere in the countryside and they virtually shut it down for their season. I find it quite amusing that these 'hunters' trapse around in all their butch camo kit and dayglo gillets and hats! I assume that the French wildlife can't see dayglo?

Interesting graph on today's BBC.co.uk. And still the USA thinks carrying guns is a good idea.

The article that that graph came from makes interesting reading

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-38365729

I don't get the need to critique other cultures and other ways of life. Yes we have more gun deaths in the US, my chance of being offed statistically in any given year is about 1 in 10,000. But if you dig into the numbers somewhere around 70 to 80% of the gun deaths are suicide or criminal-on-criminal. So my actual risk of some one other than myself shooting me (since I don't deal drugs or run with a gang) is about 1 in 50,000, or not much worse than anywhere else.

Also, though I admit it would be wonderful to be able to prevent those with ill intent from obtaining fire arms, we also tend to treasure our personal freedoms and view the societal risk of the "Nanny State" mentality as being as great or greater than the real gun violence threat.

EDIT: and remember this thread exists for those who own and enjoy firearms, not for a running argument on the merits of guns and gun ownership. So keep it civil, and respect our members with differing views.

EDIT: and remember this thread exists for those who own and enjoy firearms, not for a running argument on the merits of guns and gun ownership. So keep it civil, and respect our members with differing views.

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+1 to what Mike said. We understand that our forums have members who live in other parts of the world where local laws and customs are different from ours here in the US. You may disagree with our laws and customs or who we elect to the office of the President, and that's fine as long as you keep that kind of opinion to yourself. It does not belong here. There are other forums where religion and politics are discussed. If you wish to get into that type of discussion, you can always find a place to express your opinions, but not here. Thanks.

Sawday said:

Interesting graph on today's BBC.co.uk. And still the USA thinks carrying guns is a good idea.

View attachment 25620

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Actually, the firearms homicide rate for the US in 2014 was 3.4%. In 2016 it was 3.5%. The overall homicide rate was ~10%.

Honestly, I don't really care how firearms or overall homicide rate stacks up with the UK or anyone else. Beyond being an entirely different country with differing social history, economic conditions and completely differing legal systems, the UK Home Office records a death as a homicide once someone has been convicted of the death in court ie: murders are reported relative to their being solved and in the year they are solved. The US reports homicides when they occur, and whether or not they are solved, and in relation to the deceased not to the convicted. One of many differences in this regard which makes comparison almost impossible. Japan counts a murder-suicide (dad kills mom and two kids) as one suicide, not 1 suicide and 3 murders. It's almost pointless, an definitely disingenuous, to make comparisons to support an agenda without a huge number of qualifiers and admitting some completely irreconcilable data points.

And that's about all I'm going to say, again, on this ridiculous tangent.

I think that when a question is put out as this has been and I live in a totally different life style it's only natural for me to ask why?

I have not tried to question or critisise anyone's sulture and if it's come over that way it wasn't intentional. All I was interested in is the difference. It is and will remain a mistry as to why it is necessary carry a weapon of any kind in daily life unless you are in the armed forces?

I think that I will stick to the forums outside the Schwebs, it's safer. I think that is a shame to have to think that way?

Earlier today we were coming home form shopping and passed a Sapeur Pompier ambulance and a SAMU doctors car going in the opposite direction. The Sap Pomps are medic/firefighters and SAMU are the emergency docs. Not too uncommon. But on leaving the small town we passed a sign on the side of the road announcing that the local hunters were about with their shotguns and high powered rifles and to beware! Within a few yards there was a blue flashing light at the back of a feild on the left and all sorts of activity around it. A classic situation where a 'hunter' has shot someone that dared to move while he was in the area!

We dare not walk in the countryside anywhere away from the roads between the end of October and end of Feb! This is when the the hunters comandere the countryside and they are a VERY small % of the population. Not just us expats who complain either. The French are getting totally pissed off with the idiots who start their day with a brandy breakfast and a wine lunch while they are shooting at anything that moves in between times.

So you on the other side of the pond are not alone with idiots with bang sticks, but you appear to have a greater % with them it seems to my untrained eye?

The previous post was done before this incident and I thought it appropriate to renage on what I said before, this time.

Jonzjob I suspect you are blessed with the gift of embellishment and wonderfully so!
I live in the Great State of Maine and we have our yearly hunting seasons usually without incident or nearly so. There have been no fatalities in the past several years to the best of my knowledge.
I can't speak for the French (well actually I do speak french) but it seems a little education is called for here!

We've had 22 hunting fatalities in Minnesota in the last 10 years. Less than 1/2 were firearms related. On top of that are about 20 hunting-related injuries each year, again less than 1/2 firearms-related. That is in relation to the 700,000 - 800,000 permits issued each year. Feel free to peruse the data on the MN DNR hompage.

So... anyone else like wheel guns? I have a pile of semi-autos, but the ones I really love the most are my wheel guns - mainly out of production S&W revolvers:

Below we have:
a 442-1 .38+P (still made but the no lock variants seem to be tough to find sometimes)
a 65-3 "Ladysmith" .357 Mag (all my guns are ladies)
a 19-3 .357 Mag (pinned and recessed last model)


They aren't collector grade condition because I shoot my guns!

I've always been partial to the Ruger single action (Blackhawk) line. Only owned .22 and .40 Mag in that, and currently have neither. In fact was intending to purchase a .357 Ruger Blackhawk when I ended out with the .45 S&W ACP

I'm guessing you either had a .41 or .44 mag. If it was indeed a .40 it was one of a kind.

Pasquanel said:

I'm guessing you either had a .41 or .44 mag. If it was indeed a .40 it was one of a kind.

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You would be correct. I meant to type .41 and thought I had (too lazy to proofread I guess).

For myself, I have a BB/pellet rifle & pistol - mainly in the past to shoot dogs getting into our garbage cans - no longer an issue.

Now, I love the history of guns & weaponry and have watched and own a number of videos on the subject - plus, when visiting museums and historic sites w/ weapons, I can spend hours (much to my wife's chagrin) looking - most recently in Little Rock, Arkansas looking at a Jim Bowie exhibit.

Dave

brianwmay said:

if you NEED to carry, then you are spending time in the wrong places.

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So you don't go to movies, or church, or concerts, or even schools. You must lead a pretty secluded life. My point is you don't know when of where you might need it.

You're responding to someone who posted that a long time ago. Please watch the dates of a post before you reply. Thanks.

I have a walther p99