On Sunday afternoon I was on my way to the farm where I do my shooting and while travelling down the back roads I came across an old Jaguar XJS that had broken down. There was a youngish guy there, maybe about 25ish, I’m hopeless with ages, and dressed very nicely. Because I’m a nice guy I pulled over and asked him what was the problem, seems the back wheels wouldn’t turn, some differential problem, and he needed to contact a friend to give him a pickup. He couldn’t get a signal on his phone and when I checked mine neither could I. Must have been in a dip or something. So I offered him a lift to a local village where there would be a signal and he could call for help.
As I had a large bag in the passenger seat I picked it up so he had somewhere to sit and took it around to the boot to put it in there. When I opened the boot the guys face turned white. He had spotted the air rifle in its rack. I usually cover it but today I hadn’t. He then decided that he would wait as his pal would be driving down there anyway looking for him. Seems he was already late so any time now. I actually laughed, I couldn’t stop myself, and asked if he was sure. He said he was as he walked away so I dived in the car and off I went.
It was an eye opener. He was so frightened at the sight of a .22 air rifle that he would rather wait for another person to come along and help him rather than trust me. Sure, it was a black assault type air rifle, I just like the look of them OK? The whole episode made me think how much our whingey whiney politicians and others have successfully demonised tools that were freely available and acceptable only a few decades ago. It is the same with smoking, drinking is next quickly followed by fat. I actually thought that ordinary people just took these as political ranting and actually were not bothered because they have no interest. It appears that they are scared wimps and we have several generations of scaredy cats. They actually do believe the hype that politicians say, obviously not every part or he wouldn’t have had a fuel guzzler like a 5.3 XJS. He, like most of us, are hypocritical with our own interests and we all have our sacred cows.
It also made me consider that as well as this, and related, sites I need to try an champion some sort of shooting club in the area. I already encourage my friends kids to have a go with the air rifle and I teach the safety lessons before letting them have a go but that isn’t that often or regular. Plus they don’t want to touch icky things. They want everything pre packed and not looking like an animal. Many actually think that lambs in fields and lambs in the local store are two separate things. The fact they have the same name is meaningless. I even read an article on a friends blog where a grown woman told him to stop killing defenceless animals and get his from the supermarkets where no animals were harmed. I read that with my own eyes. No animals were harmed in supermarket food. Unbelievable from an adult. This is our future, ill educated and dumb people guiding kids to the future. I suspect that as the older folk die off there are fewer and fewer who can bring back the self reliant spirit and advise us how to be self sufficient and prepared for anything that comes.
Yet I know that kids are eager for knowledge and want to find things out for themselves. They may squeal when you talk about preparing rabbits but they watch with great interest when it happens and pretty soon will have a go themselves. It’s the teenagers and older, they seem past learning new things and they either have it by then or they are already wrapped in cotton wool depending on their parents and, a bit, by their schooling.
I wonder how well a shooting club would be received in the community and what legal hurdles I would need to go through to set up such a club? I may put an advert in the local rag and see what sort of response I get before I do anything else. Something else for the list. To create a new generation of people who are not scared of guns buy simply see tools. I suspect the insurance costs and bureaucracy would be too much though.
To top it off, on the way home about four hours later I passed him at the same spot, He was still waiting and he waved at me, I’m assuming as a thank you gesture for my earlier act, so I waved back to say no problem as I drove past. He looked so desperate and lonely as it started to go dark but I knew that he would be unhappy with someone me stopping especially as some rabbits and pigeons were in the bag so I kept going. Maybe I’m not really the good Samaritan I could have been. I hope he wasn’t too frightened with all that uncontrolled nature around there.
youd be suprised at how scared of guns people are now sd. AND how dumb people realy are out there. theres no hope for some of the poor buggers. The goverments been demonising guns and gun likers for years. they make the citizen fear for their very existance and way of life, blaming the evils of guns and terrorism on all the wrongs in the world. let us get rid of guns they say, no normal person could want suchh an evil device for
any legtimate use. people realy dont know where the meat in the shops come from, they dont know anything but soaps and x factor. just the way the government wants it. scared sheep are easy to control.
Mike,
I was. I know that people didn’t like them but this guy went white. He was terrified. They had clearly managed to convince him and I can’t see him being the only one although he did look a bit of a girly man.
Lucky he did not walk to get a signal, take your registration an phone it in.
Just see armed response looking for you or waiting back home for you.
This day an age you should always keep them out of sight.
John,
I was expecting that but I do all the time now when I go out. It is legal and I’ll complain bitterly in the press and Plod about how I was treated. It will make little difference but it is the least I can do.
Its the ban it mentality encouraged by neurotic women and the media, its sheeples instant response to someone getting hurt by something “Disgusting, It should be banned” gets mouthed every time an incident occurs.
When I had an ARMY cadet detachment of LI cadets one evening this stupid woman turned up with a bemused Policeman. ” HIM she point to me, Thats him, He has been giving guns to children!!!!!”
Cutting to the chase she was outraged that an army funded unformed military cadet detachment taught children to shoot !!!, Needless to say her child did not last long at cadets.
A colleague of mine had a similar incident in another detachment, the mother said to Terry ” But your equipping my son to be a killer he could go out kiling people” Terry replied in an ice cold manner and used the great analogy that came from the US ” Madam you are equipped to be a prostitute but you are not going around selling yourself are you? “.
As history has shown us with gun crime in the UK, less than 1% of gun crime was ever commited by legally held guns and most of those were suicides by farmers, but that did not prevent kneee jerk hysteria by the media getting legally held guns banned, which in turn led to an increase in illegally held gun crime of over 50% in the following 5 years.
Was that late Sunday afternoon?
Sure was
A university in the US did an experiment in the US to judge how easily the media could cause hysteria in a community, They issued a report about a deadly substance I think they called Bihydrogenatedmono-oxygenate. They use media type hype to say how this substance had killed over 200 people in two years in the tri state area, how it could corrode steel, how it was being shipped in open containers across state boundaries, how it could expand and crack solid concrete etc, and how some teens were seen drinking it !!!!!!!
Shock horror, students, students groups, local politicians, the media etc including someone from the Governers office demanded a federal investigation and the immediate banning nation wide of Bihydrogenatedmono-oxygenate before innocent children were killed.
Course the sheeple turned sheepish when the University pointed out they were describing WATER not some deadly chemical, but for weeks after the experiment the authorities were still bombarded by outrage sheeple demanding action to protect their children from this deadly chemical.
It was Dihydrogen Monoxide and yhe hoax was designed to show how lack of understanding and an hyped analysis can lead to public fears. They got people to sign a petition banning it which got thousands of signatures and support from politicians.
Enjoy http://www.dhmo.org/
Thats the beastie, cheers
Its a nationwide mass hysteria up in Tyneside a few kids celebrating one boys 12th birthday were playing with cap guns in their back garden when some idiot phoned the cops are the fire arms team decended on the party and siezed the guns. Socialists and Media hype Grrrrrrr
Skean
He probably thought you were a serial killer and would probably take him to some isolated area and do no telling what to him.
I wonder if he is still standing there?
Nope but I did notice a pool of blood and what was obviously a trail off the road where a fox was killed and eaten by the very same spot.
I’ll check the local papers but it was a bit off the beaten track. Only farmers go down there. Maybe I’ll check local barns for a hidden XJS.
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If I had been that guy I would have seen the rilfe and said “Cool what rifle is that”. Being in Norfolk such things are pretty normal round here. I love Norfolk its almost like being back in the 70’s here some times.
Tony,
Welcome.
It was a simple air rifle. What most people automatically think of when they see a rifle nowadays. Seeing a proper rifle is rare and I only ever see any others on shoots or in shops myself.
I bet he cried himself to sleep that night. LOL
Thanks for the post,
it’s a shame that even with the UK’s restrictive firearms laws people think that you’re a nutter as soon as you mention that you occasionally shoot things for food, even if it’s with a fully-legal sub-12lbf air rifle. (well, until that becomes illegal too). That is why I’ve ordered a new reliable air rifle, about 3 spare parts for everything on it and around 6,000 rounds of ammunition just in case the already-ridiculous laws start to encompass air-weapons. Get one (and some pellets) while you can because they won’t be around for long. First they’ll put a system of monitoring in place for purchasing and sale, then you’ll need to be inspected, then they’ll ban imports and eventually the government will go round to people’s houses searching for them. Things are getting worse so it’s best to get ready while you still can.
Saunders, Welcome.
What air rifle are you looking at then? Sounds just the thing for us.