Help!!

atrixblue.-MFR-.

the laws on air guns are tight. your not even allowed to transport it from being repaired by walking or public transport with one in an apporved case no longer. the laws have tightened on age to purchase one, in cases like these i blame irresponsable parenting, one allowing a irresponsable teen to get access to it, and leaving the ammo with it, and most importantly the police do not seem to care that an airrifle is being shot from somones garden.

i live on a housing etate (its not littered with drug users/dealer or asbo kids) but there are a few parents that allow their kids to do as they please when their not at home.

2 years ago i was repairing my satalite dish in may garden wich overlooks my neighbours back garden and the street around the courner the first house in the street around the courner housed three teens of who'm i knew from teeny boppers and knew them and their mum, when they hit 14 and 16 left to do as they please at home.
the 14 year old is a pleasant boy but he gets himself in trouble all the time, i was repairing my dish when i heard a tssh, ting and whiz past my ear, i shrugged it off thinking a bee or fly flew close to me. and then the same thing, happened again a min later, looked into the back garden of his and the window was open and saw the cheap chinese rifle pop out the window, he was fireing at the steal shed in his garden but the pellets were rikocheting off it in my direction, a quick shout of OI and the window was closed, i went round to his house mum wasnt there and knocked regardless, he came to the door, and repeatedly said sorry, but i went through into the kitchen picked up the rifle and took it home with me.

i then back round when his mum and her boyfriend were home, explained what he'd done but mum was like "oh i told him loads of time he cant have it here but he wont listen to me" "it's not his anyway its Bxxxx's" so i let rip why the hell isnt it locked away why is the ammo not kept appart from it so if he does get to it cant fire it, you can throw excuses to me but boils down to you as a responsable adult.

then i proceeded to give the kid a lecture on rifles, and what could of happened if he hit me with a pellet and i kept the rifle and disposed of it down the police station.

the same kid that summer was firing a BB metal handgun !!!!!! so he knew what was going to happen cos in that situation i called the police (who didnt remove the pistol from the premisses) and he spent a few hours in interview and a cell under his mum request plus he had a rollocking off me.

theyve moved now, but i have seen a few teens messing with airguns in the field behind my house, you call the police and they say we'll be there when we can IF we can as its not an emergency or no one has been hurt. but ragrdless a rifle is being fired closer than 200yards from a footpath and houses but untill they do damage they not want to know.


god i myself have an airrifle, ive been hunting for allmost 7 years, my gun is kept safe at a different location from my house, and the ammo is someplace else always has been. it never left loaded and has the safetly on at all times, and only see's action on private land in the middle of no mans land. i wouldnt dream of letting my children have a go of it. and they know (at the age of 6 and 3) that they are dangerous, can cause harm, if i can teach my kids why cant other parents!

and yes even though i own a rifle, i believe that the law should be strict on them, in my opinion you should only be able to buy one if your a member of a rifle club or soft airarms clubs passed strict safety training, and pass a police background check, to obtain a certificate to purchase one have the rifle checked every 6 months at a police station and a barrel print taken (they shoot a pellet and the barrels unique marking left on the pellet recorded just like a finger print) then when they check your rifle the cross check the system for any incedents where by a pellet was left at the scene and this should be accessable to all vet practaces she when they remove a pellet from a domestic animal at least there a hope that a perp is found and dealt with.

any pasthistory of antisocial behaviour, you dont get verified to operate a rifle simple as, because those who like me enjoy the hobby are being penalised by those just out to cause trouble or cant be bothered to know whats going on with their kids. since my health has deteriorated i havent been able to use it and havent taken it out, but i still have it serviced everyyear for safety.

yeh i'm pretty !!!!!! that my cat was target practice and that i and my mum is out of pocket because of someone thinking they can do what they like with a rifle. but on the upside it must of been some sh!tty rifle! for him to live having being shot in the head.

full lead pellets get squished on discharge from the hammer in the gun hitting it, making the pellet travel poorly through the air at a slower rate, even mores so by a poor made rifle.

decent pellets have alu or steal inlays and coated in lead or plastic these boys do damage more than pointed tipped ones! but are expensive to buy only rifle stockists stock them as enthusiats will by a good pellet for that money.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Hope he gets better soon.

I suppose the question is, if there were easily reached ranges/activity centres where interested people could learn to shoot properly, safely and legally, would they still be taking potshots at the cats?

I think they would, as a lot of people seem to have a pathological hatred of animals and wouldn't dream of bothering to hunt with a purpose, they are just looking for an easy kill.


Although I found that telling the guy who ran the one shop selling them round where I lived that if anyone or anything even remotely connected to me was hit by a pellet, that I would be down there to deal with him myself.

Although:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tributes-paid-to-boy-five-killed-by-air-rifle-1777350.html

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/814952-boys-death-sparks-gun-pellet-warning

I also remember another one where a toddler was killed, but that was around 1992, so doesn't show up on web searches, all of which prove that air rifles aren't toys.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Hope he gets better soon.

I suppose the question is, if there were easily reached ranges/activity centres where interested people could learn to shoot properly, safely and legally, would they still be taking potshots at the cats?

I think they would, as a lot of people seem to have a pathological hatred of animals and wouldn't dream of bothering to hunt with a purpose, they are just looking for an easy kill.


Although I found that telling the guy who ran the one shop selling them round where I lived that if anyone or anything even remotely connected to me was hit by a pellet, that I would be down there to deal with him myself.

Although:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tributes-paid-to-boy-five-killed-by-air-rifle-1777350.html

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/814952-boys-death-sparks-gun-pellet-warning

I also remember another one where a toddler was killed, but that was around 1992, so doesn't show up on web searches, all of which prove that air rifles aren't toys.

i too remember.

the old boy is 8 this year. and has had 2 previous anesthetic accounts, that were OK, so i hope he makes this one but the op is longer.

whilst i agree to everyones opinions, the way i see it from my aspect being a rifle owner, that there is room to restrict further without banning them alltogether and upsetting hundreds if not thousends and thousends of people who enjoy hunting. there a people who need rifles (farms,pest control etc).

i supposed if you had to purchase upon obtaining certificate like i said and 6 monthly rifle checks with the police (hey its a requirement to MOT your car once a year why not check a rifle twice a year) then again information is held to the person against that rifle. if they sell it to a person of who has no certificate then that person loses that certificate and has to pay a substantial fine and be held responsable for any animal that has been linked to the pellet fired from that gun. fire at a domestic animal and get found out substantial fine and this may open the door for the animal owner to persuit in court for vet fee's. if a kid gets hold of it and hurts someone then that person who holds that cert is liable for prosocution end of, because he would of had the training to prevent such things and the evidence would be much more simple to obtain as the guns own markings would be held on file.

i know to the average person that i may sound crazy not to outlaw all guns, but at the end of it it will never get to that stage ever.

putting a system inplace ensures that someone is countable for any harm to domestic animals, the rifle isnt recycled into unknown hands and if it is the person whom sold it still has liability.

and ensures everyone owning or wanting to own one, is of sound mind with no criminal back ground, and gets the proper training on how to use one and store one safely, and again if not followed through and a accident happens is liable for it severely. with police evidence to back it up.

shop owners stay in a job and families do not resort to having to lose the buisiness, allthough it will be small market.
the shop owners do keep record of who'm they sold a rifle to as you have to produce id with photo name and address on, wich is then passed to police if required.

like i said the government should target the irresposable parent alowing a teen to take a rifle out down the field unsupervised by an adult and upkeep the present laws but intriduce new harder ways to obtain a rifle at the same time.

sorry people for me its like sitting in the middle of a protest with regard to rifle's because i see both side's of the argument.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

he's had his OP and is doing fine, i'll be keeping him indoors from now on (well try to) he's very vocal atm (other than he's vocal any way just a bit more than usual.)