I can hardly imagine one can go into the woods or plains, set up a target and start shooting with live ammo... what safety-rules are there?
Umm. Where I live, yes. That is exactly what you can do. The key is however that you don't screw up. You hit the wrong thing and you get locked up. It's a matter of common sense and knowing where you are shooting. I know a guy who has a skeet range in his back yard. I shoot there quite often.
I've kept out of this until now but I can't imagine any possible legal reason for an ordinary private citizen owning one of these things. They have one purpose & that is to kill human beings as efficiently as possible.
You apparently haven't lived in farming or ranching country. 99.999% of all killings where I live are of varmints like coyotes, groundhogs, raccoons etc. Nobody wants the animals or crops they make their living on to be destroyed by varmints.
Sometimes there's an accident but in the 35 years I've lived here only two people in the county have been killed in gun accidents while 30 or so have been killed by farm equipment like tractors, combines or wood chippers. Oh yes there have been three murders. One by gun, one by truck and another strangulation.
I have to side with the people who say it's a "tool". I grew up here and have always used a gun as a tool. It's just part of the farm like my hammer or chainsaw. And like a hammer or chainsaw it can do a lot of damage when used recklessly either on someone else or yourself. That's why I learned gun safety from my dad from the time I was old enough to walk.
And yeah I have a gun on a rack in the back window of my pickup. Top rack is a Marlin 30-30 bottom rack is a fishing pole. Guess which one I use the most?
Boling down my interest, my first rifle should have
-Accuracy
-Good up to 100 yards
-Cheap Ammo (to maximize practice and range time)
If you are just learning that .17HMR sounds good but a .22 would be just as good unless you absolutely need pinpoint accuracy at 100 yards. I've regularly hit tin cans at 100 yards with a .22 however. No half inch groupings but it'll knock over a can at that distance and the ammo is dirt cheap.
Please do take the advice someone posted above and take a gun safety course before purchasing a firearm. You wouldn't fly without a license and hours of instruction. Don't handle a gun without the same.
To give you an idea of what they look like-here are a few pictures. You can get them with different barrell lengths (and bull barrels as well):
Nice! I used to have one exactly like that. I got it for my 13th birthday. My cousin got the bull barrel model.
Edit: Forgot to mention the non-fatal gun accidents. About ten years ago we had a sheriff's deputy shoot himself in the leg iwith a shotgun. Six months later he shot himself again in the same leg with his pistol. So much for only letting the authorities carry weapons. I'd much rather go hunting with my friend's 12 year old. Much safer. ;D
by NicksFXHouse » Sun May 14, 2006 2:32 pm 
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