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(Pre-comment justification for posting an anecdotal story.....For those that don't know already, I'm generally regarded as being massively "anti-gun" and do tend to spend most of my time in J/PS slapping down the more ludicrously illogical "pro-gun" posts. Therefore, I thought it might be worth posting my experience with a gun).
I took my girlfriend away to a nice hotel on a lake in Wales last weekend. We spent a lovely few days (Friday - Monday) going for long walks around the lake and through the forest to waterfalls, playing golf (badly), and even horseriding (worse). Our hotel was set in several hundred acres of protected countryside and runs quad-biking expeditions through the grounds. It also owns fishing rights on the lake and shooting rights to the surrounding estate for rough and driven shooting (of grouse, pheasant and rabbit) and also clay pigeon shooting. It would have been rude to ignore such an opportunity, so I booked myself in for an Introduction to Clay Pigeon Shooting with the gamekeeper….
I must say I had a fantastic time. The first trap launched clays slowly directly away from me, giving a nice easy introduction to the sport as the clays more or less hung in the air at the same height until they crashed into the hill in front of me. No bother here, I hit 8 out of 10.
The second trap was a complete bastard - it fired rabbits…Not real ones, but clays designed to roll along their edge. Basically, a clay was fired out along the ground left to right, replicating a rabbit breaking out of the undergrowth and running across 10 clear yards before gaining cover on the other side. I had to swing across very quickly, get just in front of the clay and then fire (without stopping the swing and without going too high). I think I only clipped 4 out of 10 here because they were going so fast that by the time my shot got to them they were 12 inches ahead. It was only on the last few shots that I got the right delay, and even then I was a bit high.
The last trap was my favourite – challenging but fun. It fired clays up and away from me, as if I’d flushed a rocket-propelled pheasant out of the bracken at my feet. The gun had to come up quickly but smoothly, follow the path of the clay and move through it, firing just as the end of the barrel blocked the clay from view. I got 6 out of 10 here.
The gun was a magnificent o/u Beretta, although I’m afraid I didn’t bother to note the model number. Lots of nice engraving and retailing at about £650 apparently.
So….I had lots of fun and can totally understand why people love to shoot. But then I always have understood that. The experience hasn’t changed any of my other opinions either – I still regard being able to own such a uniquely dangerous object as a privilege rather than a right. Moreover, I’m even more convinced that the only way that a sane, responsible society can allow its citizens to use firearms is if there are well-enforced draconian regulations governing the ownership and use of those weapons.
Yes, of course a repressive dictatorship can limit the potential for rebellion under the guise of “gun control” legislation, but equally a libertarian government can open the door to increased violence if little or no control is exercised over who owns guns and what they do with them, and if guns are regarded as casual, everyday items.
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