Saturday 26 June 2021

Guns.


I'm pretty sure that this Texas family is not typical of gun owners in the USA, but I do believe there are more guns in circulation over there, than there are actual American citizens. This lot below look a tad obsessed!


I am a gun owner, and can boast a tiny collection. My guns are not of the military hardware variety as seen in the above photo, but a low-powered air rifle, and an air pistol.

My very old BSA Cadet Major .177 air rifle was given to me by my father (very surprisingly) as a Christmas present when I was about 10. It was totally out of character for him to give me such a wonderful present, and I've treasured it ever since. 

I also own a very old, and heavy, Webley Premier .22 air pistol (below), that is almost an antique. I bought it at an isolated petrol station in Wales back in about 1970. I was paying the man for my petrol when I noticed a glass case containing about five used Webleys for sale. I bought the best of the lot.


In the past I also owned a single shot .22 pistol, that, sadly, was essential in 'dispatching' both a dying Badger, and a wounded Deer. Not pleasant tasks, but one I couldn't have done without my 'priest'.

Guns have always held a fascination for boys and men. Putting a small hole in the bullseye of a target is a 'rite of passage', and that's as far as it goes in this household. Visiting grandsons always ask for a session or two of target practice, and they love it; as do I.

Also in the past I owned a double barrelled 12 bore shotgun. I'd imagined that out here, in the wilds of Southern France, that 'rough shooting' (Pigeons, Rabbits, Pheasants, etc) would be far better than back in England, but in fact it was almost non-existent due to the reckless use of guns by just about every male over the age of 16; no creature was safe. I eventually sold my gun to a Dutch chef; but never received payment.

I would never shoot 'game' these days. I prefer to look at creatures; not kill them.

No, I'm not a gun-totin' redneck from the backwoods; I'm just an ordinary bloke who enjoys target shooting in the garden.

p.s. I've recently noticed that the going price for my old Webley pistol is about £250... so I might take it back to the UK and sell it.

23 comments:

  1. Guns are not part of my life. Some Greek nephews used to hunt but all they seemed to shoot were poor little birds full of bones. We do here shots now and again. An invading goat probably hit the dust.
    Wild boars are a big problem all over the place. Hunting was forbidden during the pandemics worst .
    Boys toys definitely

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are plenty of Wild Boar and Roe Deer here, in fact there are far too many. Our hunters seem to shoot them exclusively these days.

      Delete
  2. None of the guns, apart from two, shown are military hardware. They're all just plain old semi automatic rifles and handguns.The two are the Colt1911,the sidearm of the US military through WW2,Korea and Vietnam and the M1 Garand, the main rifle from WW2 for the US military.
    You have to question the subconscious bias of people who find black rifles scary yet are untroubled by the fact that the rifle that has killed well over half a million people, the Lee Enfield, is still legal to own in the UK on a FAC.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You seem to know your guns! To me most of them look like military guns; not exactly the guns you'd go shooting Grouse with.

      Delete
    2. You have to question the knee jerk support of a person owning that many guns. Guns are a tool, nothing more than a tool. If someone owned 115 hammers, that would be an obsession. I am an American, and America DOES have an unhealthy obsession with weaponry, and that is evidenced by both the shootings as well as the almost hysterical response to any sort of reasonable discourse on the subject. Our drunk neighbor was shouting at us just yesterday that "BIDEN IS COMING FOR OUR GUNS!" Response? "You told me Obama was going to do that?"

      Delete
    3. Well Cro just because something looks like something it doesn't mean it is. In reality in the USA rifles are used in fewer murders than peoples bare hands. It's hand guns that are used in most murders and crimes just as they are in France and the UK despite them being illegal in the latter since 1997...

      Delete
    4. I only said they 'look like' military guns, which is what I image they were designed to do. I have fired a Sten gun and a Sterling machine gun, and neither looked as threatening as half the lot above.

      Delete
    5. Ro's statistic is bs. He reverted to false statistics the last time the debate was raised.

      Delete
    6. The official statistics have a big "Firearms,type not stated" category so I don't think it's possible to categorically state that rifles are used in fewer murders than bare hands.
      "• Homicides by murder weapon in the U.S. 2019 | Statista" https://www.statista.com/statistics/195325/murder-victims-in-the-us-by-weapon-used/

      Delete
    7. I note that in 2019 there were 64 deaths by Strangulation, and 3,281 deaths by un-classified Firearms.

      Delete
  3. Would you have to " smuggle" the pistol into England? I can't imagine they would just let you through customs with a gun!! I will visit you in prison if you are anywhere nearby!
    My son was shot in the back with an air pistol when he was about 14. He was in a pal's bedroom and being shown the pistol. His friend didn't know that it was loaded and my boy stopped the " bullet" ! His thick T shirt meant that he just had a red dent in his back. So lucky it wasn't his face. The father of his pal was round to ours toute suite with a bottle of wine!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I presume that air pistols are legal in the UK, they are certainly on sale everywhere, which is how I discovered the value of my Webley.

      Delete
  4. One of my school pals lost an eye in an airgun accident. I was a member of the Wirral Full Bore Club many years ago and did enjoy firing guns I have to admit. There is something in hitting a target well that is very satisfying. More recently I tried archery but with little success and therefore little satisfaction. Getting a licence to own an air pistol in the UK is not easy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Does one have to have an 'air pistol licence'? I'm amazed; I'll have to leave it here then. I shall make enquiries to be sure.

      Delete
    2. I have just checked. Air pistols are allowed under 6ft.lb, whatever that means. How I would find-out if my Webley is under 6ft.lb I have no idea.

      Delete
    3. In Scotland an airgun over 6 ft lbs requires a firearms licence. Under that (but above .74 ft lb) an Air Weapon Certificate is required.

      Delete
    4. Looks like I'd better leave it here, just to be safe.

      Delete
  5. I have never been in the least bit interested in guns and I don't care if that makes me sound like a fairy. Peace and Love man! Peace and Love!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a good thing you're not in the Queen's Own Yorkshire Rifles; The Queen's Own Yorkshire Puddings has yet be be established.

      Delete
    2. We would all be issued with white flags and instructed to say, "I surrender!" when attacked.

      Delete
  6. I grew up in Texas ~ one of their advertisements says: "It's a whole 'nother country". It is a friendly place, but Texans are different, prone to strange goings on. Am I surprised at the photo? Nope.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can understand people collecting stamps, or antiques, but GUNS.... I wonder what he does with them?

      Delete
  7. The men in my family hunted every year, mainly in northern WI, where my grandfather had a hunting cabin from the time my mother was a child. Several men in my family also served in the military. In other words, I grew up around guns. Never have owned one myself, not has my husband, but when we move to the high country of AZ later this year, we'll need to get a firearm. Bears, bobcats, mountain lions, coyote, javelina, poisonous snakes are all creatures that live there. I can't explain the family pictured, but in many areas of the U.S., especially in country/rustic areas, owning a gun is standard. Never have known a single rancher w/o one.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...